Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Suguru met Satoru when he was fifteen.

Suguru had arrived at Jujutsu Technical School before his other classmates. It was only a few days, but he spent those days secretly giddy at the thought of meeting other sorcerers. Until one day, Yaga had called him from his dorm to meet his new classmate, who had just arrived from Kyoto. 

The first thought that crossed his mind when he laid eyes on gangly, fifteen-year-old Gojo Satoru was – Blue Eyes. 

His second thought was – Omega . 

Later he’d learn that Satoru was on a diabolical amount of suppressants at the time, how Suguru was even able to smell his scent under all of that, he’ll never know. Secretly, he’ll think it was something like fate . Something calling to each other in all the genomes of the DNA that makes up Satoru and Suguru . 

 At the time, though, he'd just felt a little flustered. He hadn’t met many omegas, apart from his own father – but even he was a rarity back in Suguru’s village.  

Then, Satoru had opened his big, dumb mouth and said, “What’s with those bangs?”  

And after that, Suguru hadn’t had the wherewithal to think about anything else but annoyance. Too busy putting up with Satoru’s bad personality and trying to assimilate into the world of sorcery. 

So, truly – after their first meeting, Suguru honestly, hadn’t paid much more thought to Satoru’s designation.   

Suguru didn’t have many friends growing up. His schoolmates liked him well enough, but he never had close friends – forever labeled as the kid that saw things no one else saw in elementary school. So, while had acquaintances, he was always regarded carefully. Never had a best friend. Not like the one he'd find in Satoru – once he got past his brash exterior. 

And then he had Shoko, too – and Utahime sometimes too, despite Satoru’s protests. Then the next year, Nanami and Haibara. 

Suguru thought so little about his own designation, being an alpha was tertiary to everything else about him. It wasn’t like Shoko or Nanami or Haibara really talked about their own designations that much, either. So, he rarely thought about anyone else's designation, either. 

He figured that’s how it was for sorcerers – an afterthought – secondary to their cursed techniques.  

So, he didn’t think much about it, either, when it was just him and Satoru alone in his dorm one evening. It was hot – middle of summer. The dorm window was open and they both just had shorts and t-shirts on. 

They’d officially been dating for a few weeks, their friendship had shifted to something more . 

Satoru was the one who started in, kissing Suguru on the fields of campus as they watched the fireworks of the summer festival.  

Truthfully, since then, not much had changed in terms of their friendship – apart from kissing. That was new.  

Suguru was sitting on the floor, flipping through the pages of a manga Satoru gifted him, fanning himself with a folded up magazine he had laying around. Satoru was less calm. He was laying on Suguru’s bed, attempting to play a game on his PSP, but he was fidgeting and flipping around, trying to get comfortable.  

Suguru watched him out of the corner of his eye, as Satoru wiggled his long, lean body around the bed trying to find the right spot. He’d seen his dad do this before, when his nest didn’t feel right. 

When Suguru was little, he would lay in the center of all their blankets as his dad fixed all the pillows, sheets, and blankets until he declared they were just right. Then, he’d cuddle Suguru to his side and they’d fall asleep. 

Satoru is half-doing that, right now – but he’s not taking the next step to adjust any of the blankets or pillows. 

Suguru laughs, “You can make a nest – if you want. You know you don’t need my permission.” 

Suguru meant for it to be a reassuring kind of joke, but when he looked at Satoru – he was sat ramrod straight in the center of the bed, looking like he'd been spooked. 

“Alphas don’t make nests,” Satoru said, quietly. 

Suguru smiled, tried to laugh it off, with a shrug. “Well, my mom was an alpha and used to help my dad sometimes. I helped my dad, too. I can help you if you want!” 

He finds he wouldn’t mind that – helping Satoru with his nest. 

“No, I –” Satoru froze, but said nothing. 

Suguru moved closer, “It’s okay, if you don’t want to make a nest, too! I know, not every omeg–” 

Satoru shook his head, cutting him off. Then he looked very carefully at Suguru, and he swore he could feel the weight of the Six Eyes passing over him. Suguru froze, too. He hadn’t meant to offend Satoru, he’s only been around his dad – and Haibara. Maybe he’s said something out of step. But, he thought – well, Satoru’s his boyfriend now. 

“How did you know?” Satoru said, very quietly. Which felt very wrong – because the Satoru he’d grown to know was always so cocky and strong and sure of himself. 

Suguru felt flustered.

“I – I knew from the first time we met? I thought – everyone did?” 

Satoru reached out and grabbed Suguru’s wrist, pressing down on his scent mark. 

“Suguru, no one knows.”

No one? 

Suguru feels flustered and afraid. 

“I – I don’t know. I just knew.”

“Oh.” Satoru looked down at his lap. Suguru’s heart felt like it was beating out of his chest. 

Finally, Satoru looked up at him – eyes so fucking blue and beautiful.

“Do you think – have you thought – of me differently? Because of it.” 

Suguru presses closer, putting his hands on Satoru’s shoulders. 

“No,” he said firmly – and he meant it. “Satoru is just Satoru, to me.”

Satoru looked up from his lap and smiled at Suguru. 

“Suguru is everything to me.”

Suguru rolled his eyes, but his cheeks felt hot. And when Satoru kisses Suguru, it’s not because they’re Alpha and Omega. No, because they’re Satoru and Suguru. 

After that, though – their designations truly did not mean much to their relationship. Apart from heats and ruts, which only took up a handful of days out of the year. 

Later, Suguru will learn about all of the Jujustu Clan Dynamics, Satoru’s family’s preoccupation with appearing strong in the eyes of the other clans. Their assertion that the Six Eyes couldn’t look weak. Couldn’t possibly be an Omega . Suguru will hate it, but he’ll swallow it all – for Satoru.

Satoru has never pretended to be anything but himself. But he’s never disclosed his designation. A lie of omission, to the world. To those that didn’t attempt to know him. All their friends grew to know, eventually. Not that it mattered. Suguru would make sure of it, not that Satoru would either.

Sure, at the end of the day – Satoru was an omega. Suguru was an alpha. Just an insignificant, random variable of a chromosome that decided to switch on as they both developed in the womb. 

But, essentially – they were just Satoru and Suguru. Rarely one without the other. 

Truthfully, Suguru didn’t think much about that, most days. Because Satoru was the Strongest. 

But above all, Suguru loved Satoru. And Satoru loved Suguru, right back. 

That meant more than anything else – any designations or cursed techniques, even. 

Now, it’s been close to decade, since they first met. Seven years since they mated. Two years since they had a big, fancy wedding and got married. 

It’s early May and the humidity of spring strangling Tokyo is oppressive. The air feels like soup. It makes Suguru’s brain feel fuzzy and his lungs feel like they’re drowning with each breath of thick air.

Suguru is finally returning home, after a rare, week-long mission. 

He finishes his report in Shoko’s office, because it’s quiet and he can focus, then makes his way back to the sorcerer-appointment dwelling he shares with Satoru on campus – their apartment. His mission took him far away from campus. It was a long journey on the back of his manta ray curse and he’s exhausted, a little sunburned, and covered in bug bites from being outdoors too long.

Suguru wants to shower and crawl into Satoru’s nest and sleep for 18 hours. Then, he’ll emerge ready to try to face the world again.

He unlocks the apartment door and drops his bag in the foyer. It’s not like him, he likes to keep their home tidy, but Suguru’s tired today. 

“Hey, I’m home–” 

Suguru stops. The light is on in the kitchen, dishes are left on the counter. Satoru should be nearby, but there’s no sign of him. 

Suguru frowns, toeing off his shoes, and moving the now long-cooled bowl of instant noodles to the sink. The door to the balcony is open, like it’s meant to air out the place. 

He can’t name it, but something’s not right. 

“Satoru?” 

There’s no response. It makes something dark twist in his belly. 

Suguru moves further into their apartment, with still no sign of Satoru. Their bedroom is dark, save for the light coming from the bottom of the shut door of the en-suite bathroom. 

Nothing is truly amiss, really. The blackout curtains are drawn shut, just as Suguru left it half a week ago. But Satoru’s nest – is a mess. 

Satoru is still not much of a nester, compared to other omegas. He likes a lot of soft blankets and pillows, sure – but he’s usually tidy in his arrangements. Never really knew how to build a nest before he met Suguru. Now, he prefers for Suguru to heavily scent the few soft items that he’s grown to love, and places them carefully in their bed, but the current nest reflects nothing of the sort.

Instead, their bed – the nest – is piled high with dirty laundry, all of their couch throwpillows, and several of Suguru’s uniform jackets that were once hung neatly in the closet are tucked into the empty spaces. The room stinks of a stressed omega, burnt sugar. 

It feels oppressive and so unlike Satoru’s usual scent. Which is usually so mild to others, and always sweet and calming to Suguru.

What’s happened?

Suguru thinks hard, trying to find evidence of what may have caused this change in Satoru’s behavior. They spoke on the phone every night while Suguru was away on his mission. Just little chats to say goodnight, but Satoru texted him throughout each day, like he usually does. He said he had a migraine. But, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. To suggest whatever is going on now.  

At the sight and scent of it all, there’s a pit slowly forming in Suguru’s stomach – something like dread . He can’t formulate exactly why . 

Still, Satoru isn’t coming to greet Suguru, so unlike him . But Suguru can smell him, his equally unusual scent leaking from the bathroom. Something still uniquely Satoru, though.

Suguru manages to find the courage to move towards the door, though his body feels like it’s weighed down by lead. He knocks on the door, fingers curling around the handle. It’s locked.

Somehow, Suguru finds his voice.

“Satoru, let me in, baby. Please.” 

There’s no response for a moment, and it feels like his heart might beat out of his chest, the way it’s pounding against his ribs. A beat passes and sure enough, there’s the click of a lock, and Suguru practically falls into the bathroom with the way he’s pressed his weight against the door. 

He finds himself face to face with Satoru. His mate looks – beautiful. Satoru’s always beautiful. But his pretty blue eyes are wet with unshed tears. There’s a pallor to his cheeks. He looks sick. 

“What’s wrong?” Suguru asks. “You –” 

He stops, he can’t help it, he’s drawn into Satoru’s orbit, moving closer to wrap his arms around his mate, stroking his mate’s back and face. 

Satoru squeezes his eyes shut, moving closer to press his face against Suguru’s collarbone. Suguru feels it, the heat of the wetness that leaks from Satoru’s eyes is pressed into the fabric of Suguru’s dress shirt. 

“Baby – what’s wrong?” Suguru can barely find the words to ask. 

He’s filled with anxiety, barely managing to suppress the way he feels like he’s about to shake out of his skin. Like Suguru’s body has recognized it before he’s found any evidence to suggest so, that they’re teetering on the precipice of something bigger than both of them. 

Satoru shakes his head, hands gripping and twisting into the fabric of Suguru’s shirt. 

Suguru holds on to Satoru tighter. 

“It’s okay – whatever it is. Just – tell me.”

Satoru pulls away from Suguru’s body, to cup his face between his hands. His eyes are still all wet but he smiles, pearly white teeth all sharp. 

“It’s not – bad.” 

Then, just say it – Suguru wants to plead. He stays quiet, though. He waits, nods. Suguru’s good at being patient. 

There was dread, with the unknown of it all. But in the actual words that Satoru says, something happy blooms inside of Suguru.

“I’m pregnant,” Satoru whispers, but he’s smiling.

Suguru swallows. Blinks. His eyes burn. He squeezes his hands where he’s holding Satoru’s waist. 

“How do you know?”

It feels like the wrong thing to say, but Satoru smiles wider and his eyes crinkle at the corners. He presses his thumbs against Suguru’s cheeks.

“I can see their cursed energy. I wasn’t –” Satoru shakes his head, hair flopping in his eyes. “I took a test, too.”

He hands Suguru the test from the bathroom counter. Positive . But that’s nothing, just plastic. Satoru can see it . Their baby. Of course he can . Still, it feels surreal, impossible.

“Really?” Suguru’s voice sounds small, amazed.

Satoru nods, smiling and holding Suguru’s face. 

“Satoru, I –” he can’t figure out what to say. To capture everything he’s feeling right now. 

There’s no need to explain it all. Because Satoru understands. He always understands Suguru. He pulls Suguru close and presses their lips together. Suguru tries to deny it, but secretly, he’s a very greedy, selfish man. Satoru knows this, of course. So, he can’t find any shame to stop himself from drawing closer, kissing Satoru deeper and harder. Pulling him closer to himself. 

They’re moving, suddenly and slowly all at once. Back into the darkness of their bedroom. Suguru shifts, pressing Satoru onto the bed, their nest. Satoru clings to him, fingers digging into Suguru’s hair, nails scraping against his scalp. 

Suguru buries his face against Satoru’s neck, where his mating mark is and where his scent is the strongest. The musk makes him feel drunk, or high, or something stronger than both combined.

He pushes his hands under Satoru’s shirt, up and over his head, so he can feel his warm skin. Suguru moves closer, pressing his lips against Satoru’s skin, flattens his tongue against Satoru’s nipples.

Satoru sucks in a breath, pushing half-heartedly at Suguru’s face. 

“They’re – sensitive ,” he whispers, looking bashful. 

Suguru smiles, he moves down Satoru’s body, kisses below his belly button.

Satoru is just wearing his boxers, so it’s easy for Suguru to move them down his legs and press between his legs. It’s not been more than a week they’ve been apart, but Satoru’s slick smells so divine, but so different. It has to be the pregnancy, he’s sure. Suguru is greedy as he drinks in Satoru’s slick.

Satoru keens, grabbing at Suguru’s nape. 

“More, need you inside.”

“Really?” Suguru barely conceals his surprise. They don’t do it like that very often. Pretty much only during heats or ruts when it’s all that will satisfy them. 

Satoru likes fucking Suguru, and Suguru likes getting fucked by Satoru. It’s what they’ve always done, for the most part. There was never any discussion, really. It was what felt natural to them, from the first time they went all the way. Satoru fucking Suguru. Satoru has always led Suguru in this way. It’s what works for them, a perfect match.

But, Suguru has never been one to deny Satoru. Never. Now is no different. 

He moves his fingers between Satoru’s legs, feeling the slick that’s gathered there. He wants it to feel good for Satoru. Satoru doesn’t like pain, doesn’t like feeling any discomfort, really. When Suguru’s satisfied with the way he’s stretched Satoru open, he pushes inside of him with ease.

Even though they’ve been apart for a week, and longer since he’s had Satoru this way – it feels like coming home. The way Satoru’s walls squeeze around him. Satoru clings to him and wraps his arms around his back. Sharp nails digging into his skin.

It doesn’t take long for Satoru to start begging, so familiar, even though the roles are reversed. Satoru asks and asks. Suguru is so willing to give and give.   

“Knot me, Suguru. Knot me.” 

It’s different – from Satoru’s usual pleads, when they have sex. But again, Suguru never denies Satoru. So, Suguru knots him. His chest aches as they’re joined together. It’s like he can feel Satoru’s heart beating his chest. As close as two people can get. But this time, somehow it doesn’t feel close enough. Suguru is shaking.

It feels selfish, almost – this need. He’s already put his baby inside of Satoru, he’s knotted him, but he needs him closer, somehow. But he needs Satoru impossibly closer. He feels desperate like he needs to fuse and melt into his mate until they’re one person. He’s sure one of his curses could manage the feat. 

He settles for drawing Satoru to his chest. It helps, Satoru mouthing at his neck. 

“Love you,” Satoru whispers against Suguru’s collarbone. “I love you so much.” 

“I love you, too,” Suguru whispers back, hand moving between their bodies to press against Satoru’s flat, warm belly. 

Satoru falls asleep quickly, but Suguru can’t sleep. His world feels like it’s tilted on its axle.

A baby.  

Half-Satoru, Half-Suguru. Down to the DNA. A true, pure product of their love. Something they’ve made together. 

Suguru thinks of what will be in the coming months and it bleeds into his dreams. He’s simply enjoying the fact that he’s too excited right now to really consider being scared, or think of any of the more anxiety-inducing things related to having a baby. 

It’s very rare for Suguru, a nice change of pace, really. But his nose is pressed to the back of Satoru’s neck, his scent all potent and wreaking of something so uniquely combined of both of them, and maybe that’s helping. 

The next morning, Suguru sleeps in late, exhausted from his days-long mission and staying up too late. When he wakes, Satoru’s gone from their bed, on to another mission. He vaguely remembers Satoru kissing his forehead earlier in the morning, but the bed has long gone cold without him. 

Later, Satoru sends Suguru a picture of his lunch, with a smiley-face emoji. Like nothing’s changed, a typical day. And maybe it is. He’s not sure how long Satoru’s really been thinking about the possibility of him being pregnant. Maybe he’s already gotten used to the idea. They didn’t really talk about it. 

But Suguru can’t stop thinking about Satoru, about the pregnancy.

It’s – well, Suguru’s always wanted kids. Satoru wanted kids, too, but he was less sure – of the logistics. It’s different, Satoru’s the one who will have to carry their baby. 

Suguru likes being a teacher now. Likes watching the students grow and develop their cursed techniques. 

Selfishly, he’s wanted more . Quietly, he’s wanted a little version of him and Satoru to nurture and raise. But he’s not the one that can carry a baby. So, he keeps that little desire tucked away. Reserved for heats and ruts when he can spill out all of his wants under the guise of hormones and pheromones. 

It’s, of course, different for Satoru.

Satoru’s well – Satoru . He’s the strongest. He’s the one they can all count on to handle the toughest missions. To keep the balance of the jujutsu world in order. 

Satoru’s everything to Suguru. He’s also a lot of things to other people, as well. 

Suguru takes missions, too. Sometimes. But, he prefers to teach. After Amanai Riko, when Suguru almost fucking lost it – this was the solution they settled upon. Suguru teaches and he takes missions sparingly. 

And it’s worked well for him – for them. 

He loves teaching. He doesn’t mind missions every once in a while. He likes getting to go home to Satoru most of all. 

Throughout their relationship, and more so since they got married, Satoru has always talked about the hypothetical existence of their kids . 

“I hope our kids like vegetables as much as you. I don’t feel like paying dental bills for a kid with my sweet tooth.” 

“Do you think we can take our kids to Okinawa someday? To the aquarium.” 

“When we have kids, do you think they’ll have blue eyes? Or is that just because of the Six Eyes thing? I don’t know, you always read more of the Jujutsu Texts than me, Suguru. My great-aunt had grey eyes I think, that’s kind of blue. Purple eyes would be very good too, though. Suguru-eyed babies.”  

“Suguru will be such a good dad, someday. So kind. So good.” 

Satoru says a lot of things. A yapper , Shoko says. Suguru has always regarded these particular kid-related statements with a level of casual detachment. Pretends like Satoru’s teasing, or having visions of grandieur. 

He tries not to cling on to these little statements. Doesn’t want to get his hopes up. Worse, doesn’t want to take too much from what Satoru is able – or willing – to give him. Satoru gives enough to other people, to the world. He gets to take from Suguru. 

Things changed when Nanami and Haibara had their baby earlier in the year. A little girl. 

They went to see her after Haibara and the baby were settled back home. Nanami, ever the proper alpha, was practically shaking out of his skin at the sight of visitors. But Haibara was ecstatic for visitors. He practically thrust the baby into Satoru’s arms right when they walked into the apartment. 

Satoru blanched, looking at Suguru in horror as the baby squirmed and wailed unhappily in his arms. 

“It’s not my fault,” Satoru defended himself. “I’ve never held a baby!”

Suguru smiled and shook his head, arranging Satoru’s arms in a proper cradle and rubbed a hand over his mate’s shoulders to get him to relax, so the baby calmed down in tandem. 

Satoru beamed at Suguru, then down at the baby. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be an omega?” Nanami pointed out, always managing to be somehow equal parts proper and tactless at the same time. Suguru suppressed the urge to snap at him, being in the den of another alpha, afterall. 

Satoru just laughed, “What do you expect? I was the only kid in my clan. Not like Suguru, with all his cousins.”    

He turned to Yu, “You did a good job, Haibara. She’s very cute – perfect! And she looks just like you!” 

Suguru’s not so sure of that when it’s his turn to hold the baby. She blinks up at him with an unfocused gaze, but she looks like she’s judging him. An expression that mirrors Nanami completely. She’s very chubby and has cute, pink cheeks – that’s Haibara, for sure, though. He fusses with her blanket and she rewards him by grabbing his index finger in a strong hold, another Nanami trait, he thinks.

When Suguru looks up from the baby, Satoru is looking at him, completely smitten. He might even be blushing a little. Satoru whines, reaching for his phone to take a picture of Suguru and the baby. 

“This is too cute. Gah, I can’t handle it!” 

Haibara smiled, rubbing his cheek against Nanami’s shoulder. “That’s baby fever for you!”

Satoru blanched, embarrassed again. This time, Suguru couldn’t suppress his smile. 

Nanami and Haibara live on campus too, a walk from where Satoru and Suguru’s apartment is, though. It’s a cool winter afternoon, so they decided to walk. Suguru isn’t a fan of Satoru’s warping, much to Satoru’s dismay. Suguru intertwines his hand with Satoru’s on the stroll back. 

Satoru squeezes their hands together and leans over to kiss Suguru’s cheek. His sweet, sweet Satoru.

Satoru talks the entire way back, nothing about Nanami, Haibara, or the baby. Just his endless stream of consciousness. But Suguru can tell there’s something else he wants to talk about. Satoru likes talking, sure – with other people. Though, it’s unusual for him to be this chatty when it’s just the two of them. He listens and waits for Satoru to say what he actually wants to say. 

Satoru’s brain is always processing too much stimuli and information. It’s like talking in endless circles helps him work through things sometimes.

Back home, Suguru orders delivery for dinner, too tired to cook. Satoru declares that he wants drunken noodles, green curry, and sticky mango rice for dessert. Satoru picks the show he wants to watch, which is something boring, a nature documentary. Only adding to Suguru’s suspicion that he wants to talk about something else – or do something else . Suguru isn’t so sure about the latter, though – wishful thinking.

It doesn’t take long for Suguru’s suspicions to be confirmed. After he’s cleaned up their meal and put away the leftovers, he finds Satoru sprawled out on the couch. He makes grabby hands at Suguru when he’s in view, so he crawls on top of Satoru’s lean figure, tucking his face against Satoru’s neck. Satoru is taller and broader than him, his hugs always feel all-enveloping and warm. Suguru loves it. 

The arctic wolf documentary is droning on in the background, ignored. Satoru’s heart is beating fast beneath Suguru’s cheek. Satoru is running his fingers through Suguru’s hair, twisting the ends and scratching his back over his t-shirt. It feels nice. 

“You were really cute with the baby,” Satoru whispers. Hand sneaking under Suguru’s shirt, to press his palm against Suguru’s back. 

“Yeah? She’s cute. Unfortunately, she looks just like Nanami.” 

Satoru laughs. “She does, but my mother told me it’s bad to say a baby doesn’t look like the dame. She was very upset that everyone said I had my sire’s nose when I was born.”

It’s Suguru’s turn to laugh now, it’s rare that either of Satoru’s mothers are correct about something. He turns his face to kiss Satoru’s cheek.

“I’m proud of you, so tactful.” 

Satoru pinches the skin on Suguru’s back in retaliation, to make him jump a little. They’re silent, after. Suguru watches the wolf puppies on the television playing in the snow, as he listens to Satoru’s heart beat underneath his cheek.

“Hey, so – my heat is coming in March,” Satoru says as the wolf puppies are helping their mother eat an elk, and Suguru hums against Satoru’s chest in an affirmative. 

He knows this, of course. Knows Satoru’s heat schedule like the back of his hand. With suppressants, it’s been the same schedule their entire relationship. Satoru likes to take PTO the week after, he probably wants to plan another trip to somewhere tropical, Suguru is not opposed. 

“And, I think I want to get my IUD taken out.” 

Suguru tries to not react too much or too quickly, because it’s really not an out-of-the-norm statement. But anxiety starts to coil in Suguru’s belly, that something’s amiss. Satoru’s switched between different birth controls since they were teenagers. Condoms, pills, the shot, and the IUD. 

The pills were awful, because Satoru is very busy and forgetful. The shot was too strong and made him irritable and sad for a month, which was very jarring for both of them. So unlike Satoru, until he managed to get his RCT to work to undo the effects. 

So, in general, they know Satoru doesn’t react well to many of the spiel of options currently available for child-bearing aged people. And with RCT always running, he has to be careful. So, the IUD has been most effective, since Satoru perfected his RCT. He can easily direct his RCT around it, to make sure his body doesn’t counteract its intended effects.

Suguru hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary lately, but it’s up to Satoru, really – what he likes best. 

Maybe he’s started feeling badly and Suguru didn’t notice. He feels guilty that he didn’t notice something was wrong. He’s usually so in tune with Satoru.

Suguru thinks he should take some of the money he’s saved from teaching and being a sorcerer, and put it towards research for new-age birth control drug trials. With Satoru’s happiness as the goal for the experiment, of course. 

“You want to go back to condoms?” Suguru asks. They haven’t done that since 2007, like one time, Suguru thinks, but it’s the tried and true, non-hormonal method. He’ll do whatever Satoru wants. 

Satoru groans, covering his face with his hands. 

Okay, so Suguru took a misstep. What else is there? He’s getting anxious. Does Satoru want to spend his heat alone? That’s – well, that’s not an option Suguru would like very much. But, well – if Satoru wants him to go stay at a hotel for a week, he’ll do it. Actually, no – he won’t do that. Satoru’s heats are so bad. How does he think he’ll do it without Suguru? 

Fuck, he’ll overdose on suppressants before he leaves Satoru alone through a heat.

He’s starting to feel very anxious. He tries to broach the subject carefully, “You want to spend your heat alo–”

Satoru cuts him off, removing his hands from his face. He looks very exasperated. 

“Suguru! No, are you stupid? I want to try ,” Satoru whines, throwing his head back against the couch arm. Satoru shouldn’t do that, he still gets migraines sometimes. 

“Try? Try what! ” Suguru asks, feeling equally exasperated, now.

“For a baby , you idiot,” Satoru practically shouts, looking at Suguru with crazy eyes. 

Suguru freezes. 

Try. For a baby. He hadn’t expected that . 

Satoru wants to try for a – baby?

A baby. 

He wants to take his IUD out to try for a baby. During his next heat. A baby – with Suguru? 

“Suguru, you’re really not making me feel great. I ask you to try for a baby, and you just look at me all stupid. I thought you – wanted kids?”

Satoru looks all dejected and his scent smells rancid and sad. It makes something in Suguru’s brain wake up fully. 

“What? Satoru, yes – of course. I want kids. Kids – with you?” He sounds insane, unsure, which isn’t right. This is everything Suguru has ever wanted. He’s not doing this right .

“With me? ” Satoru sounds equally unsure, insecure.

And that’s not right, either, Satoru’s never insecure.

“Yes!” Suguru says, more sure of himself, looking directly at Satoru’s deep, blue eyes.

“Yes?” Satoru repeats.

“Yes?” Suguru repeats back. “I thought – I didn’t want to. I thought you didn’t want to – I don’t know?”

Satoru pouts, “Well, I changed my mind. I want to have a baby. I’m 27, my frontal lobe is developed.” 

Suguru gives him a look, “You’re sure?”

Satoru shakes his head, but he’s smiling. “Yes – I’m sure. I want to have a baby with you.” 

Satoru kisses Suguru’s shocked, open mouth. That’s a dirty move, because Suguru can’t help but kiss him back. Suddenly, they’re making out. Hot and heavy.

Satoru wants a baby. He wants a baby with Suguru.  

Suguru pulls away from the kiss. “You’re sure, Satoru? This isn’t just ‘cuz you thought the baby was cute – you really mean it?”

Satoru rolls his eyes. 

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. But, seeing you hold a baby did sort of seal the deal.” 

Satoru shrugs, shameless. They kiss again.

So, it’s settled. Satoru makes an appointment with a doctor in the city. Doesn’t ask Shoko to do it, because he wants it to be a secret, just between Suguru and Satoru.

And when Satoru goes into heat in March, it’s as good as it always is. But, there’s the added bonus. That they’re working to make something bigger than both of them. They’re trying to make a baby .

When Satoru begs Suguru to put a baby in him, he sounds more than sure of himself. 

The day after Satoru took the test. Suguru decides to make a nice dinner for them, to celebrate. He makes Satoru’s favorite meal. Orders delivery of their dessert from their favorite restaurant, too. 

When Satoru returns to the apartment at the end of the day, he drops his bag by the front door, and smiles at the spread Suguru’s made on their kitchen table.

“Suguru spoils me,” he smiles, sitting down at the table. 

Suguru can’t help but smile too, “Satoru deserves it. We’re celebrating, afterall.”

Satoru smiles Suguru’s favorite Satoru smile, the one where he looks all goofy. 

Later, the same day, when they’re laying in bed, Suguru finds the courage to ask what he’s been thinking about all night – and all day, really. 

“How did you know – that you might be pregnant?” He adds the last part as a qualifier. He doesn’t want to give Satoru space to purposefully misunderstand, like he sometimes is wont to do, with hard conservations.

“I guess, I’ve been feeling weird since a little while after my heat. Tired, sensitive. But I didn’t think too much about it, birth control changes and everything,” he waves a dismissive hand. “While you were gone, I had the worst migraine in forever . Everything was making me feel sick – even my ramen, humpf .” 

Satoru only eats a spicy brand of instant ramen, it’s so high in sodium it makes Suguru feel ill just seeing it. 

“– And I really missed you, Suguru.” 

“Your nest,” Suguru supplies. The crazed, disorderly status of it that they’re still laying on top of. Suguru needs to fix it, if he’s going to have a uniform to wear when he goes into work tomorrow. 

“Yes, my nest,” Satoru sighs. “I was going a little crazy without you here. I needed my Suguru, baby.” He shrugs.

The gravity of it all hits Suguru full force, suddenly and all at once.

He realizes their lives are going to be changed irrevocably. He knew it would. But, the reality of it feels both frightening and exciting at the same time. There will be so much to work through in the next year – years, rather.  

After a beat, Suguru escapes from his brain and asks, “What are we going to do, Satoru?”

“We’re going to have a baby, silly,” Satoru teases, kissing Suguru. 

He tastes like ice cream and whipped cream from his dessert. 

Naturally, they tell Shoko about the pregnancy first. 

They invite her to lunch somewhere off campus at a place she likes. Satoru’s been avoiding her, since she’ll figure it out immediately, he’s sure.

Satoru’s wearing a t-shirt and basketball shorts. He says it’s the style. An expensive brand, athleisure. It’s always a little bizarre to see Satoru in regular clothes. He usually just wears his uniform. Satoru’s still svelte and lean, of course – he’s only like eight weeks pregnant. 

But Suguru can’t help but wonder what he’ll look like when he starts showing. It’s hard to imagine. Satoru’s grown into himself, strong and sturdy, but Suguru will always remember the gangly boy from their youth – with a bad haircut. 

They’re sitting at a table outside, it’s a nice day. Satoru reaches underneath the table and squeezes Suguru’s leg as they wait for Shoko. Suguru smiles at his mate, knocking their shoulders together.

Shoko shows up in her work clothes, on her lunch break. She hugs Suguru first, he’s sitting closest to her. When she hugs Satoru, she immediately freezes. She pulls back and examines him more closely. She narrows her eyes at him. Satoru blushes a little – caught . 

“What’s wrong with him?” Shoko asks Suguru, cautiously. 

Suguru freezes, feeling like he’s done something wrong, but Satoru just rolls his eyes casually. He smiles boyishly, “That’s why we wanted to talk to you, Shoko.”

She gives him a strange look, “Your cursed energy feels all –” She makes a motion with her hands, “ – weird.” 

“Yeah? That’s ‘cuz Suguru knocked me up.” 

It’s a good thing they chose outside seating because Shoko full-on shrieks. 

“ You’re kidding – well, obviously you’re not,” she gestures wildly at Satoru again. “But, oh my god. ” 

Satoru has nearly a foot on Shoko, so it’s almost comical the way she wrestles him into another hug, burying her face against Satoru’s shirt. When she pulls away, she tries to hide it, but she’s wiping at her eyes.

“Shoko! Have you been drinking? I’ve only seen you like this after a bottle of wine!” Satoru teases, but Suguru can tell he’s getting a little emotional, too, by the waver he notes in his voice.

Shoko smacks his shoulder. Satoru yelps, “Hey, I’m with child . You can’t hit me! Suguru –”

Shoko ignores him. 

“No! It’s – just ,” she’s looking at Suguru now, with watery eyes. “I’m just really happy for you guys. And I’m sad for Suguru, because you’re probably going to be really annoying.” 

Suguru’s heart warms. That’s how it is between them, raw feelings masked by little jabs, humor. So it’s easier for all of them to stomach. How much the three of them mean to each other. Shoko’s hugging Suguru now, squeezing him tight. 

“First of all, rude, ” Satoru pouts. “And second of all, you’re both leaving me out – when I’m doing all the work!”  

Shoko just rolls her eyes. But Suguru frees an arm to drag Satoru in to join their hug.

“So, will you be my doctor?” Satoru asks. 

Shoko groans, “I’m not that kind of doctor.”

“Awww, don’t sell yourself short. Sure you are. I won’t even be mad if you Google stuff in front of me, either!” 

“Ugh, fine.”

Satoru makes a pleased, happy noise, and squeezes his arms tighter around the two of them. 

It would be almost easy to forget that Satoru is pregnant during those early days. He doesn’t act very differently, and he doesn’t look pregnant. But, it manages to plague all of Suguru’s thoughts. 

Early on, Satoru declares he’s going to be the “best pregnant person ever” and Suguru is inclined to believe him. Satoru’s never been bad at anything before. In fact, he’s managed to master about everything he’s ever put his mind to. 

Satoru’s fourteen-weeks pregnant now. He’s still going on missions, each day. Suguru notes that Satoru’s migraines seem to be worse, though, and he’s very tired. He comes home each night and collapses onto the couch. He’s transformed the couch into a new nest, which is very unlike Satoru. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this exhausted in my entire life ,” he whines. “And my pants are fucking squeezing the life out of me. It’s got to be too soon for that . Curse you and your huge baby genes, Geto Suguru.”

“You’re just bloated,” Suguru rolls his eyes, but he runs his hands through Satoru’s hair. “First of all, you’re taller than me . And weren’t you the one who was like 10 pounds at birth?” 

“Did my mother tell you that? Propaganda . All of it!” 

Satoru has piled pillows and blankets onto the couch, tucking Suguru’s dirty sleep shirts into the spare crevices. He makes Suguru lay down there each night to spread his scent into it. 

Suguru wakes up late one morning. He's not scheduled to teach or supposed to go on a mission. He’s surprised to find that Satoru is still next to him, snoring cutely. Even on their joint days off, Satoru’s usually up and awake long before Suguru is. Suguru needs like ten alarms to wake up. 

It’s 10AM and there’s the sound of an alarm droning somewhere beneath the layers of blankets and pillows and clothes, which Satoru has still refused to remove from the nest. Suguru understands why not, at least. Satoru’s feeling funny as the pregnancy progresses, and well, the nest gives him comfort. Suguru’s fine just having a couple of jackets to wear to work each week. 

The sound of the alarm is oppressive though, so Suguru searches under the covers to find the phone. He finds it, eventually, hidden under two pillows and tucked into the sheets. It’s Satoru’s phone and the alarm is titled – “Wake up rt NOW!” 

Suguru usually knows Satoru’s schedule as well as his own. He didn’t know Satoru had a mission today. He shakes Satoru’s shoulder, even though it pains him to wake up his mate. Satoru looks so fucking peaceful. 

Satoru’s eyes open widely and he sits up in the bed ramrod straight. 

“Oh my god,” he says, still sounding half-asleep. “I’m gonna be so late.”

“You have a mission?” 

Satoru shoots out the bed, running towards their closet. He finds a stray uniform jacket and puts it on. 

“Yes, it was last minute. I totally forgot to tell you.” 

“It’s okay, I’m sure it will be fine,” Suguru supplies, trying to be comforting, but he’s still half-asleep.

Satoru shakes his head and pulls on a pair of pants. Before he can zip them or anything, he freezes, giving Suguru a strange look.

“What’s wrong?” Suguru asks from the bed.  

“I –” Satoru goes to explain, but suddenly he’s running from the closet to the bathroom. And then, he’s puking. 

Satoru has prided himself on the fact that he hasn’t thrown up from morning sickness – Iron Stomach! However, Suguru wouldn’t dare point out that Satoru’s been complaining about being super nauseous and has suspiciously been avoiding anything spicy, or exciting for the last few weeks.

Satoru was very pleased with himself making it out of the first trimester without puking. Declaring himself to be free from the clutches of morning sickness. Though, it looks like he’s not out of the clear yet – where morning sickness is concerned. 

Suguru cringes, springing from the bed to chase after Satoru. Satoru is the picture of misery, perched over the edge of the toilet. Suguru shushes him, pulls his hair off his forehead and pushes it back. He pats his back comfortingly. 

“You’re okay,” Suguru croons, feeling terrible for his husband. Suguru’s no stranger to puking and upset stomachs. Satoru is, though, he hardly ever gets sick. Even with a cold. 

At least he was, until he got pregnant. 

Satoru heaves, emptying last night’s dinner into the toilet. 

 “This is awful, Suguru. Why is this happening?” Satoru pleads. 

Suguru rubs a hand up and down his back.

“I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”

Eventually, Satoru’s okay and sure he’s not going to puke more. He accepts a toothbrush from Suguru and swishes water around his mouth. 

“That was – fucking gross ,” Satoru decides. 

Suguru is inclined to agree, feeling awful for his lover. Worse, Satoru’s pants are still unzipped. Suguru looks down at the sight, then back at Satoru. Satoru blanches and he goes to zip his pants, but they just barely close, and it’s not enough to button at the top.

Satoru frowns. Frantic, he lays down against the bed to try from a different angle. But it’s useless. Satoru’s pants won’t button at the top. 

“Suguru, I can’t do this.” 

Suguru grabs one of his hair ties and twists it around the button, a makeshift solution. 

“Here, how’s that.”

Thankfully, it manages to work, even if it’s still a stretch and the pants kind of squeeze Satoru around the middle. How did that happen so fast? Almost overnight. Poor Satoru. 

“This is the worst,” Satoru pouts, draping his body over Suguru’s, sniffing at his scent gland.

“I’ll get you new pants.”

“It’s the least you could do, you did this to me,” Satoru’s frown stretches into a slow smile. “Though, I’m glad you did.” 

Satoru kisses him. Suguru kisses him back. 

He can’t help himself from sneaking his hand underneath Satoru’s jacket and rubbing his palm over the small curve of his belly. 

It feels real .

It’s less fun to tell Yaga about Satoru’s pregnancy. But, Satoru’s getting too far along to hide it much longer. He’s already well into the second trimester. 

It feels very much like they’re in trouble. Even though it’s been a long time since Yaga chewed them out for getting caught making out in one of the dojos they thought no one would be walking by. After Satoru revealed his true designation to Suguru. 

27-year-old Geto Suguru unfortunately feels very much how 17-year-old Geto Suguru felt sitting in front of Yaga-sensei, with Satoru squirming nervously next to him. 

“Out with it,” Yaga says, gruffly. “Just say whatever it is.” 

Satoru laughs. 

“Well, Yaga-sensei – you’re going to be a grandpa.” 

Yaga freezes. He squeezes the pen he’s holding in his hand. Suguru’s a little worried he’s going to crush it and ink is going to spew everywhere. 

“Are you being serious?”

“Very serious,” Satoru smiles. 

Yaga’s silent for an unbearably long time. 

“You understand what this means – both of you? How could you be this irresponsible? ”

Now, that – that really pisses Suguru off. Irresponsible? They’re mated, married even, in their late twenties. 

He’s had a bit of a strained relationship with their old teacher. It started that summer after – Amanai. 

Suguru fell into a deep depression, consumed by guilt and all the curses he was taking in. Satoru went scrambling to become the Strongest. Shoko wasn’t much better off, either. Binging on vodka and cigarettes. And then, Haibara got hurt – almost died. Lost the lower half of one of his legs. He had to learn to walk – and live – again. Nanami was a nervous wreck, filled with guilt because the accident happened on a joint mission.

Among all of that – there was little support from their teachers. Even less so from the Higher Ups, which was expected. From their teachers, though – that hurt more.

Suguru’s had to look past a lot of those old, festered wounds. To stay in this world. To live the life he wants to live with Satoru. To be a teacher. 

The anger, strain, and hurt has shifted since Suguru became a teacher. He’s found that anger of things that have happened to you, the way you were treated in your youth – it shifts and transforms and multiplies – when it’s done to someone you care deeply about. His students.

Suguru’s had to demand a lot of changes when it comes to his students. He’s had to make sure a lot of safeguards are in place to make sure he feels safe sending the kids out on missions. It’s been – well, it hasn’t been linear. But he’s had to tear a lot of people out when the students come back busted up and bruised, especially when it’s the result of bad intel from the Higher Ups. 

Still, above all, Satoru is the most important to Suguru. He likes to think, even if they weren’t mates – and had just stayed friends, Suguru’s sure he’d feel the same way. 

So, at Yaga’s suggestion – that it’s irresponsible for Satoru to want to start a family of his own. When he’s given so much of himself already.

Suguru bristles.

He’s angry – but Suguru is also very smart, so he channels the anger into something more useful. At least, he hopes so. 

He tries to sound calm and collected. 

“Now, I know you didn’t just imply that Satoru – after years and years of service. Doesn’t deserve to take time to do something for himself. Is that what I’m hearing? We’re not seventeen, still, Yaga-sensei. ” 

Satoru’s looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. 

Suguru kind of hates that Yaga wears those dark sunglasses. Keeps him from seeing how he’s truly feeling. But, Suguru can see the sweat collecting at Yaga’s forehead. He’s – nervous. 

Suguru has almost lost it before, and got really close to it. In fact, he almost took Satoru away from the Jujutsu World. Yaga probably doesn’t want a repeat of that mess. Everything that took place after. All the paperwork. 

Yaga sighs. “Geto –,” he doesn’t call Suguru by his name much anymore and it should hurt more than it does. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s hard not to see you as two dumb idiot teenagers. I was just – thinking about how we’ll adapt the caseloads – with Satoru out for the count.” 

Satoru reaches across the space between them and casually swipes his hand over Suguru’s scent mark, trying to calm him down. It works, unfortunately. Suguru feels boneless. Satoru’s pregnancy scent has been having a stronger effect on him, lately. 

“Nah,” Satoru waves a dismissive hand, leaning back in his chair. “It’s not like I’ll be out for long. Only towards the end, and then after the baby’s born. It’ll be 12-weeks – tops. Promise.” 

Now – Suguru doesn’t like that very much. But it’s all happening too fast for him to react, now.

“You really think so?” Yaga says, looking at the calendar app on his phone. “So, you’ll work til what – 8 months, give or take?”

“Yeah, I was thinking 35 weeks,” Satoru shrugs. “Does that sound good?” 

No, that does not sound good.  

In hindsight, they probably should have talked about this in detail before talking to Yaga.

“The Higher Ups will agree to that, I’m sure. And you’ll return back to the field – when?” 

“I’ve been researching – I think maybe 8 weeks, or so. So I guess, it’ll be 14 weeks, really. Is that fine?” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Yaga nods, cooly.

“Yay, perfect,” Satoru claps his hands together. He stands from his chair, and pulls on Suguru’s sleeve to make him stand up. He pulls Suguru to the door of Yaga’s office. Which is good, because Suguru feels numb – like he’s powered by a motor. How did that all happen so fast, right in front of him?

“Oh, Satoru – Suguru,” Yaga says. “Congratulations, by the way. I am really happy for you, both.”

They’re silent on the walk back to their apartment. Though, Suguru’s steaming and anger is sizzling under his skin, unused. 

Satoru must realize it, because he keeps his distance. He doesn’t try to cling to Suguru like he usually would. Instead, he trails beside Suguru, with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground.

Once they’re inside, Suguru immediately moves to the kitchen, looking to make a quick meal. He’s hungry and it’s late. 

Satoru toes off his shoes and almost cautiously across the apartment, leans against the kitchen counter where Suguru’s silently stewing. 

“Did you eat?” Suguru asks, trying to be calm. He’d really like to go run four miles, or swing Playful Cloud at training dummies until he feels more like himself again. Satoru was away on a mission, but he was back on campus while Suguru was still teaching.

“No,” Satoru says quietly. He must be feeling guilty, because he’d usually add on a smart quip. Say something like – No, because Suguru takes such good care of me!  

He doesn’t say that now though, and Suguru frowns. 

“Satoru! You’ve been gone all day – you need to take better care of yourself.”

Now, it’s Satoru that’s all prickly and angry. His scent immediately fills the apartment, rancid and angry omega.

“I know! I’m not stupid, Suguru. I know how to take care of myself. I just got – busy .” 

“ Satoru ,” Suguru shakes his head. 

Suddenly, Satoru is the angry one. He reeks of an upset omega. He’s red in the face and his eyes get all watery. He doesn’t say anything, though, just bolts out of the kitchen in the direction of their bedroom. Suguru lets out a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding. That doesn’t seem fair. Suguru was the angry one and Satoru’s gone and stole his thunder. He supposes it’s fair, Satoru’s the one growing another person.

He doesn’t chase after Satoru, he needs a minute to calm down. It’s taken him a long time to learn that not everything needs to be settled right in the moment. Over the years, he and Satoru have had many knee-jerk, desperate-to-solve-the-issue-fights , only to find it made the situation so much worse.

So, he finishes making dinner, eats his fill, and makes a plate for Satoru. 

Satoru is hidden from view under the covers he’s wrapped himself in, only a tuft of white hair sticks out at the top. Suguru reaches down and finds Satoru’s shoulder. 

“Hey, come on – time to eat.” 

Satoru doesn’t say anything, just tries to hide deeper in the covers. 

Suguru sighs, “Come on, I made it for you. Please.” 

It takes a second, but Satoru slowly extracts himself from the blankets, enough to wiggle to sit against the headboard. He doesn’t look at Suguru but accepts the bowl from his hands. He really must have been hungry because he digs in immediately. He looks a little like a troll, a very cute troll, as he scarfs down his dinner. 

After a few minutes, Satoru steals a quick glance at Suguru. “Are you mad at me?” 

“I’m not – mad at you ,” Suguru starts, not really sure how to capture everything he’s thinking and feeling right now, or about the entire situation. 

Satoru deflates, “But, you’re mad.” 

It’s not that Suguru’s mad . That’s not the right word for it. 

It’s just – it feels like everything they’ve worked for has been for naught, in a sense. For the last decade, Satoru and Suguru have worked to pave a better path for sorcerers. And the crazy part is – it’s worked . There’s been a significant decrease in sorcerer casualties. Hell, Nanami and Haibara have even worked in tandem to flesh out a fucking benefits package for sorcerers. 

When Suguru happily accepted a future where he had babies with Satoru, he didn’t realize – whether foolishly or not – that Satoru would be exempt from those same benefits they’ve worked so hard to put into place for other sorcerers. 

It’s – maybe he should’ve known better. 

“Can’t we just leave everything to him from now on?” Nanami had said, after Haibara was injured.

Satoru’s pregnancy has started to show him that he was wrong, to think otherwise.

It makes him worry, what if the baby is a Special Grade? Will they just replace Satoru someday? Is Suguru going to have to watch his kid be subjected to the things Satoru’s subjected to? 

He – hadn’t thought about that . It makes him feel very selfish, for daring to want this . 

He doesn’t know how to say all of that to Satoru now. It’s not fair to put it on him. 

“I just didn’t think you’d keep working that late into your pregnancy.” 

Haibara still takes missions. Sure, they’re not as intense as Satoru’s, but they’re still missions. And he stopped much earlier than 35-weeks when he was pregnant. Lots of sorcerers have kids and they get leave. It doesn’t seem fair . That Satoru doesn’t get to experience the fruits of all their work.

Satoru frowns down at his bowl and shoves another bite into his mouth sorrowfully. “I don’t know what else to do. I mean, I plan to take less as it gets closer to then. But, who else will take my missions? It’s not like Yuki will. It’s not fair to ask you.” 

Suguru shakes his head, “I would do it, Satoru. I would do it for you . You just – we didn’t talk about it. I’m sure we can work something out.” 

Satoru looks distraught, he’s wrapped in a blanket and his eyes are all watery, crouched around his food. He looks so unlike himself. 

His voice sounds wrecked, “I’m sorry, Suguru.” 

Suguru reaches forward, holds Satoru’s face in his hands and uses his thumbs to brush at his wet eyes. 

“Satoru – it’s not like that. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be sorry. I just think you deserve this, I think you deserve to rest. I want you to have that, before you have our baby.” 

At that, Satoru completely breaks and it’s almost startling to Suguru. Satoru never gets upset like this. He’s usually silly and strong and finds a way to twist things to be less heavy. But now, he just leans forward and hides his face against Suguru’s chest. Suguru wraps his arms around his mate, holding him close. 

“Hey – Satoru, baby. It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.” 

Satoru rubs his face against Suguru’s shoulder. “It’s just – I can’t. I can’t put that on you – or other people.” 

He says it so quietly, Suguru isn’t sure he hears him right at first.

“You can, Satoru – you really can.” Suguru feels like he might cry now, too. 

Satoru doesn’t say anything else for a while, just stays pressed against Suguru and held in his arms. Suguru strokes his back, holding him close. Just when Suguru thinks he’s calmed down, he lets out a mournful sounding sob which makes Suguru jerk him away from himself in concern. 

“What! What’s wrong?” Satoru hardly ever cries – let alone sobs . It’s startling, scary almost.

“I – can you get me ice cream? I feel like I’m going to die, I’m so hungry. ” 

That’s – not what Suguru expected. But Satoru sounds so genuinely miserable. So, Suguru scrambles out of their bed and finds a pint of ice cream tucked in their freezer. He rushes back to the bedroom and offers it to Satoru, who accepts it with a look that is so unbelievably full of love and sadness. 

“ Thank you ,” Satoru sighs and immediately digs into his ice cream, even though fat tears are streaming down his face. Suguru feels so out of his element. It’s usually the other way around – Satoru comforting Suguru when his brain isn’t working right. But he’s happy to help Satoru however he can right now, even though anxiety is still coiling in his gut. 

Satoru finishes his ice cream and Suguru takes it from him. He wets a washcloth and wipes Satoru’s face off. 

“Thank you,” Satoru whispers, all sleepy as Suguru tucks him into the covers. “I love you a lot.” 

“I know,” Suguru smiles, despite himself. “I love you a lot.” 

Satoru smiles and immediately passes out. 

Suguru always knew pregnancy was difficult. When he was growing up, his mother used to talk about how awful it was – when she was pregnant with him. There were lots of mood swings and changes happening too fast to keep up with sometimes. He grew up with cousins that had babies, so he was no stranger to the phenomenon. 

It’s just – different to see it all happening to Satoru. 

As the weeks pass, Satoru grows bigger. 

He frowns at himself in the mirror each morning and evening, turning side to side as his belly rounds out. He complains that nothing fits right. But, his uniform jacket still hides the growing swell of his belly, for the most part. 

“I’m getting so huge,” Satoru whines, collapsing onto their bed and wrapping his long limbs around Suguru, like a koala. If koalas had huge blue eyes and white fur. 

“You’re not,” Suguru rolls his eyes, shifting his iPad so he can keep reading the article over the top of Satouru’s head. 

“You’re lying,” Satoru groans. “Someone gave up their seat for me on the train today. It’s official, I have to accept my fate. I can’t hide it anymore.”

“You took the train today?” Suguru asks, ignoring the other nonsense Satoru is spewing. Usually Satoru would just warp back from his missions, if he doesn’t have an auxiliary manager driving him around. 

“I was feeling nostalgic today,” Satoru says casually. 

Suguru’s not so sure he believes him, but he doesn’t say otherwise. He wonders what that means about how his cursed energy is feeling. At Satoru’s last appointment, Shoko said his cursed energy is shifting, that he should monitor it as the pregnancy progresses, take it easy.

To Suguru’s dismay, Satoru continues going on high-intensity, special-grade missions. He comes back each time pretending he’s not exhausted, but curls into the blankets of his nest and presses his face against Suguru’s neck and breathing in his scent. Suguru is taking more missions, to offset Satoru’s caseload. He’s getting desperate – even trying to get in contact with Yuki. Worse, he spends every free moment poured over an excel sheet he’s created, to figure out how to move around caseloads for Satoru’s leave.

Satoru is 24-weeks pregnant now. He complains that his feet hurt from standing too much. Satoru’s whines put on a little weight due to the pregnancy. It’s barely noticeable to anyone but him, but something he’s never dealt with before, being such a bean pole his entire life. He shifts on the bed and thrusts his feet into Suguru’s lap. Silently begging for a massage. 

He’s spoiled . As if Suguru would have it any other way. 

The baby has started kicking, strong to the point where Suguru can feel it on the outside. Satoru takes his hand and moves it to where the activity is the strongest. 

“It feels like an alien is trying to escape,” Satoru laughs, pressing Suguru’s fingers against his belly. 

“So, they’re going to take after you then?” Suguru teases and Satoru whines, pretending to be offended. Suguru calls Satoru his alien. Satoru pouts.

“Or, I guess it feels like I ate something really bad. ” 

“Oh? So maybe they take after me?” Suguru makes himself the butt of the joke, all the curses stirring in his stomach constantly, and Satoru likes that much better. He full-on cackles. 

They’re going to have a baby soon, they’re over half-way there, but neither can find the way to broach the actual topic. So they speak in circles sometimes. Only acknowledging the things that are happening to Satoru’s body. As if there’s not an actual, namable cause.

Suguru doesn’t push, of course. Even though he’s anxious and terrified. He just takes Satoru’s swollen ankles into his lap and massages the heel of his mate’s foot. 

They’ll figure it out, all of it, in time. 

There are weeks left before this impossibility becomes a reality. 

Satoru asks Suguru to accompany him every time he has a pregnancy-related appointment. As if Suguru wouldn’t want to. 

They make a little routine out of it, scheduling appointments with Shoko on days when Suguru doesn’t have classes and Satoru has no missions. They sleep in late and Suguru makes a nice breakfast so they can eat out on the balcony. 

Shoko pretends to be annoyed at their presence when they show up at her office. But Suguru can tell by the light-look in her eyes – that she’s happy to see them. Happy that she’s able to do this for them. 

They go through the familiar motions of a typical appointment. Shoko forces Satoru to get weighed, even though he whines and complains. She measures Satoru’s belly. Then, she pulls out the ultrasound machine Yaga bought for this occasion. The second half, this is Suguru’s favorite part, getting to see their baby. Satoru reaches his hand out, wiggling his fingers for Suguru to grab. 

“Hey,” Shoko says casually, as she squirts the cool liquid on Satoru’s belly and ignores the way he shrieks. “Did you want to find out the sex?” 

“What?” Satoru says, distracted and picking at his nails, not fully listening. “Sex? I think it was probably missionary. I wasn’t feeling very creative during that particular heat.” 

Shoko groans, “You idiot!”

Suguru flicks Satoru’s forehead, for good measure. How can a genius be so stupid, sometimes, he’ll never know – and probably will spend the rest of his life wondering. 

Satoru pushes at Suguru’s wrist. “Oh – of the baby? I’m experiencing pregnancy brain, you know. Besides, it’s up to Suguru – do you want to know?” 

That’s a nice sentiment, in theory. But, Suguru knows Satoru – he hates surprises. Even though he loves springing surprises on other people. Suguru leans over and examines Satoru’s face. He looks sincere, but you can never be too sure with Satoru. 

“Satoru,” he says carefully. “Did you already find out for yourself? With the Six Eyes.”  

Satoru looks positively scandalized. “I’ll have you know – I have not! In fact, I have practically stopped looking at myself just to keep it a surprise for you, dummy! ” 

Suguru smiles, “I don’t know, I catch you looking at yourself in the mirror everyday! ”

Satoru sighs, “It’s different – ugh, I can’t explain it! The Six Eyes don’t work like that. But I promise, I don’t know! I was waiting for you. I wanted to leave it up to you.” 

That’s actually – that’s very sweet. Suguru is completely smitten with Satoru. It always makes him a little happy, selfishly. That he’s the only one that gets to see Satoru like this, all sweet and pure-hearted, and vulnerable. Well, Shoko’s here too, but she doesn’t count.

Suguru leans over Satoru’s prone form on the bed and smiles. “I want to find out.”

Satoru breathes out a sigh of relief and reaches up to playfully push at Suguru’s cheek. “Good, because I really wanted to find out, too. I was kind of going insane.” 

“Well aren’t you two just the sweetest, ” Shoko deadpans. But Suguru knows she’s playing coy. 

“Alright, let’s have a look now, shall we?” Shoko declares, moving the probe around Satoru’s belly. She purses her lips, trying to get the right angle, but eventually – she smiles. “You two are going to be the proud dads of – a little girl.” 

Suguru eyes immediately well up and he looks at Satoru, who looks equally amazed and baffled. 

“Shoko – you’re sure?” Suguru asks. 

“I think like 95% sure, but yeah! It’s a girl.” 

Suguru practically tackles Satoru in a hug and Satoru’s arms come up to pull him closer. A baby girl – they’re going to have a baby girl. A whole baby! A baby that’s a girl. 

Shoko sends them on their way, assured that the baby – their baby girl! – looks healthy and on track. 

They go for lunch after, at a restaurant they like just off campus. Satoru likes to sit outside. He resembles a cat, Suguru thinks, the way he tilts his chin up to take in the sun. 

Satoru reaches his hand across the table to take Suguru’s hand into his own. 

“Are you happy, Suguru?” 

Suguru intertwines their fingers closer and squeezes their palms together. “I’m very happy, Satoru.” 

Satoru opens his eyes, “Good, I want you to be happy.” 

“Are you happy?” Suguru asks. 

Satoru thinks about it for a second, and Suguru honestly appreciates his honesty. “All the changes are very strange. And I’m very tired.” It’s surprisingly honest for Satoru. “But, I’m also very happy.” 

Suguru laughs, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Good, I’m very glad you’re happy.” 

“What do you think she’ll be like?” Satoru asks, thumb rubbing against the side of Suguru’s wrist. 

It’s – strange. Satoru hasn’t talked much of the baby, at least not like this. Like she’ll be a real person soon. 

Suguru thinks about it for a moment. “When I think of her, I think she’ll be very stubborn. The way she kicks you when you lay in the wrong position, and punches at you all the time, probably because you talk too loud. I think she’s already thinking about the ways she’s going to boss us around. It makes me glad – that she’ll be strong-willed from the start.”

Satoru looks at him strangely for a second, his other hand rubbing at the swell of his belly. He looks a little surprised, like he hasn’t realized Suguru has categorized all of these random moments of his pregnancy as special and meaningful. 

But, Satoru smiles and leans across the table to kiss Suguru’s mouth. “I think you’re right, Suguru. I think she’s going to give us a run for our money. And I think she’s going to be a very special person.”

He sounds so sincere. It makes Suguru’s heart ache a little bit – a lot a bit, truthfully.  

“You’re making her,” Suguru kisses Satoru again. “Of course, she’s going to be a very special person.”

“The best person,” Satoru nods.

Suguru can’t help but agree.

It’s Halloween and Satoru is 31-weeks pregnant. Seven-and-a-half months! Less than ten weeks from meeting their baby. 

Suguru feels vastly unprepared. It feels like they barely have anything. Every time they try to go shopping, they both just get distracted by all the cute outfits and toys. The baby doesn’t have a place to sleep yet, but she will be very well dressed. Satoru tells him not to worry, that they still have plenty of time. 

Suguru isn’t so sure, but he’s been waiting to place the behemoth online shopping cart order they’ve been collecting. 

All of that can wait for at least another day, Suguru decides, because it’s Halloween. They’re meeting up with everyone at a little street fair, not too far from campus. Satoru insists on dressing up as a nun and a priest. Naturally, he insists Suguru goes as the nun. So, of course, he goes all out – does a smoky lid and cat-eyeliner. Even paints his nails, which he’s been slacking on keeping up with for the last few months. 

Satoru gawks when he sees him, running his hands up and down Suguru’s cinched waist. 

“You’re so fucking hot,” Satoru whines, kissing Suguru’s neck. “Are you sure you don’t just want to stay home? We could just stay here and role-play instead. I’m the priest that you knocked up –” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, cutting him off with a kiss to Satoru’s cheek – leaving a red lipstick print against the side of his mouth, only helping the costume. Satoru blushes.

“We already told everyone we’d go, come on. You’ll get FOMO otherwise.”

Satoru pouts, but acquiesces. 

Satoru, for his part, looks a little ridiculous in his priest costume – pregnant belly and all. To be fair, Satoru looks a little ridiculous in everything he wears these days. Still too tall and slight, that it mostly looks like he’s shoved a basketball under his shirt, especially since he’s taken to wearing Suguru’s baggier clothes. 

Shoko and Utahime saved a table for them. When the girls see the two of them, their reactions are mixed, and completely predictable. Shoko’s dressed as a black cat and she just rolls her eyes and laughs. Utahime is dressed as a bunny and she gives them both a judgemental sneer. 

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?” Utahime asks, wagging a finger between them. 

Satoru scoffs, as if this wasn’t the reaction he’d been hoping for, “Maybe if you’re closed-minded like Utahime!” 

He upturns his nose and sits next to Shoko throwing an arm around her and laying his head on her shoulder. Pregnancy has made Satoru clinglier. 

“Shoko, I don’t know how you put up with her!” 

Now it’s Utahime that’s sputtering. They’re so predictable – the both of them. Always rage-baiting each other. Suguru sits across from Utahime to play damage control and starts chatting with her, asking her about the Kyoto section of the school, her first years. It works, like it always does. She’s happy to talk about her students.

While Suguru distracts Utahime, Shoko hugs Satoru back and pats his belly. She’s the only one, apart from Suguru, who’s allowed to do so. 

“It’s still so weird seeing you like this, I’ll never get used to it.” 

Satoru throws his head back and laughs. He squeezes Shoko once more then stands up to go sit on Suguru’s side of the table, so he can crowd into his space instead. 

“Better enjoy it for the next ten weeks, because who knows if I’ll be brave enough to do this again. This shit is kind of awful.” 

Shoko frowns and pokes Satoru’s cheek. Suguru’s a little surprised by how honest Satoru’s being in the presence of Utahime, maybe he’s decided that she’s safe via her proximity as Shoko’s mate. Or, maybe he’s just tired and wants to complain. 

Nanami and Haibara show up with the baby, and all complaining is cast aside for the time being. They’re dressed as Ash, Misty, and Pikachu, which is actually hilarious – especially the fact that Haibara got Nanami into a costume, even though it’s lowkey just jeans, a shirt, and a hat. Haibara's pregnant again, just a few months along - he swears it'll be a boy this time.  

Nanami scoffs at the rest of their costumes, especially Satoru and Suguru.

Haibara doesn’t seem to care, “Hi guys! Happy Halloween!” He thrusts the baby into Suguru’s arms and grabs Nanami’s arm, “Come on – we’re getting everyone drinks.” 

Shoko laughs and points at Satoru, “That’ll be you soon. Pawning off your baby.” 

Satoru feigns offense, “I’d never.” 

Suguru laughs. He bounces the baby on his knees, she’s gotten big in the last few months and can sit up and everything. She looks absolutely darling in her little Pikachu costume and smiles up at Suguru.

“Suguru – stop being cute with the baby,” Utahime whines. 

“Why? Does it make you want one?” Shoko asks her mate, quietly. Utahime blushes. Suguru feels as though he’s privy to a conversation he wasn’t meant to hear. Satoru, tactless Satoru, doesn’t seem to think so. 

“Yeah, come on – it’s great. Join the darkside, you’ll get stretch-marks and everything, it’s awesome. Not that I have, of course–” Liar, Suguru rolls his eyes, “–but you probably will.”

Utahime scowls and Suguru elbows him – softly albeit, but enough to get the point across. Suguru attempts to diffuse the situation by handing the baby to Satoru. Satoru flounders, not sure what to do with the squirmy little thing and looks helplessly at Suguru. 

“Come on, Satoru – you’ve got to practice,” Shoko laughs. 

“Hey! She was a lot less – wiggly the last time I saw her,” Satoru pouts, but it quickly turns into a smile when Suguru helps him adjust the baby and smiles up all cute at him. 

“Good thing you’ve got Geto, or else I’d worry about the kid,” Utahime adds. Satoru laughs, but Suguru sees the slight twitch in his face. 

Suguru pats Satoru’s back, “Hey, it’ll be okay – Satoru’s the best at everything.” 

He’s pleased when Satoru’s smile shifts into something a little more genuine. Of course, it’s then that MeiMei decides to show up, unannounced and uninvited, as per usual. She’s not dressed as anything, which is almost just as scary. 

MeiMei immediately looks at Satoru’s belly. “Oh my god, I can’t believe the rumors are true . All this time, I thought Geto was the omega. But no, it’s the great Gojo Satoru – that’s the omega . How laughable.”

Satoru’s designation wasn’t exactly public knowledge, at least before the pregnancy. People knew they were mated, but they kept their relationship private, where it mattered. Of course, the pregnancy has changed that. Suguru’s not surprised rumors have spread. They’ve always spread, but surely it’s worse now. It’s not like they’re hiding it – or that they’d want to. 

“Really, MeiMei?” Shoko shakes her head. 

MeiMei just laughs, “No wonder the great Gojo clan spent all that money parading you around Tokyo throughout your youth, spreading all that the strongest propaganda. And all of that wasted for you to go and get knocked up, like some common omega.”

“‘Daww, MeiMei – if you’re that jealous, just say so,” Satoru smirks. 

MeiMei shakes her head, “I’m going to get a drink. We’d better be getting paid triple for covering your maternity leave.” 

It’s so stupid, her words – so useless, that Suguru can’t even find it in him to growl and defend Satoru’s honor. Because, everyone that truly knows and cares about Satoru, has known he was an omega a very long time ago. And barely cared, otherwise. That’s what was so stupid about the Gojo clan’s attempts to hide his designation – it doesn’t matter .

Instead, Suguru rolls his eyes, and shouts after her, “By the way, no one invited you, MeiMei.” 

She flips him off as she walks away, which is just as well. 

“Hey,” Shoko says, reaching across the table to grab at Satoru’s hand. “Just ignore her, Satoru. She’s a freak. No one cares about that stuff anyways. At least, none of us do.”

Even Utahime says something, which is rare, and emphasizes the gravity of the situation.

“Yeah, anyone that cares about designations and clan politics like that – clearly has too much time on their hands.” 

Satoru shakes his head, “Thanks guys, but it’s okay. I really don’t care about that stuff.” 

Suguru is not sure that’s true. 

But, the subject quickly changes – Nanami and Haibara come back with drinks. Satoru hands the baby back to Yu and decides he’s going to go look for snacks. He says he doesn’t want Suguru to come with him, probably because he wants to get a lot of junk food that Suguru will scold him for.

When Satoru’s long out of ear-shot, Suguru shakes his head. 

“Why would she say something like that?” 

Nanami and Haibara are confused and Utahime quietly fills them in while Shoko leans closer to Suguru, “She’s a cruel person. She only cares about money and clan standings, she probably thinks she’s got something on Satoru, knowing about the pregnancy. Probably thinks it’s something she's got him, another way she can extort more money from him. Complaining about more work.” 

“All that’s left of the Gojo Clan is just Satoru and his mothers, and a bunch of servants. They hardly have the means to care that everyone knows about his designation now. That ship sailed long ago.”

“MeiMei has known Satoru a lot longer than both of us. Clearly she said it to make him feel some type of way. That’s all it was – she was trying to make him feel less than. There was no real threat.” 

It doesn’t exactly make him feel better. In fact, Suguru thinks that’s much worse. 

“That’s a fucked up thing to say to a person,” Haibara says, caught up to speed. “Omegaphobia in the year 2017 – I swear. Clearly, we need to do something about that .” 

Nanami nods, putting his arm around his mate’s shoulder. “We’ll talk to Yaga about more mandatory sensitivity professional development. Not just that, but a plethora of other things, too.” 

Suguru wishes it could be that easy, to erase thousands of years of bigotry levied against omega sorcerers – omegas in general. But he supposes it has to start somewhere. 

“Thank you, guys – that’s a great idea, I appreciate it.”

It’s then that Satoru comes back with an armful of treats and sweets, piled high in his arms. He deposits them all on the table. 

“Satoru!” Suguru shakes his head. “You said you were just going for one thing.”

Satoru smiles as he takes a bite out of a mochi, “I was – but all these aunties gave me a bunch of free treats, and I just couldn’t say no!” 

Suguru cannot deny Satoru, he never has. Where it matters. So he just rolls his eyes and feeds Satoru a bite of another mochi. And they spend the rest of the evening with their friends, in good spirits. 

“You’d be a better omega than me, I think,” Satoru says a few nights later. He settles against Suguru’s chest and finds his hand, bringing it to rest of the swell of his belly, where he’s the roundest and where the baby likes to kick at the most.

Suguru doesn’t say anything, just presses a kiss against Satoru’s forehead. Satoru’s been hearing a lot of things recently, that Suguru doesn’t want to perpetuate, or make any worse. 

“It’s true,” Satoru argues, “You’d be a good omega.”

Other alphas would be more than offended by a statement like this. Suguru just laughs, dusting his lips against Satoru’s exposed collarbone.

Suguru doesn’t dare say anything. But sometimes he wishes he’d been born an omega. A hidden, shameful part of his brain wishes he could be the one to grow thick and heavy with their baby. Especially as his anxiety mounts as Satoru’s pregnancy progresses and he keeps taking riskier missions. 

He loves their relationship just the way that it is. But sometimes, he’s always wondered, secretly – that things might have been easier between them, if their designations were reserved. If Suguru was the omega and got to stay home, growing and raising their babies, while Satoru was out exorcizing special grades. 

He shouldn’t feel nervous – Satoru is the strongest. But – he loves Satoru and worries about him.  

He’s always worried about Satoru. The baby has just made it so much worse.

“Really,” Satoru defends his argument. “You’d stay in your nest. Grow all soft and round. Get the nursery all ready.” 

He’s flirting , Suguru realizes. 

“You think so?” Suguru laughs. 

Satoru hums an affirmative. One hand moving up and down Suguru’s body, the other searching for the bottle of lube they keep on the nightstand. 

Satoru’s belly is getting heavy, he says it’s in the way all the time. Yet, somehow, he manages to bend Suguru over and fucks his cock into Suguru’s ass. 

Satoru always prided himself on having an above-average sized cock for an omega – or even a beta, even some alphas. When he spills inside of Suguru, he bites at Suguru’s scruff, wraps a hand around the base of his cock so he mimics the feeling of knotting something.

Satoru says Suguru would be a better omega. But as Suguru pants and whines around Satoru’s cock in his ass, he couldn’t ask for a better omega. 

Satoru is his perfect omega. Not just his omega, so much more than that. Their designations are insignificant when they lay together like this, and the rest of the time, too. 

Satoru is his perfect partner, lover, and best friend. 

Like he was made just for him. 

And Suguru was made just for him in return.

It’s Suguru’s day off. He typically has Fridays off. No teaching and rarely does he accept missions. 

Satoru typically doesn’t either, but he’s taken one at the last minute. 

Suguru was against it, because it was a little farther from Tokyo than he’s comfortable with. Satoru assured him it would be fine, though. But, he has to force himself to trust Satoru. Satoru is the Strongest, after all. 

Satoru’s in the third trimester now, 33-weeks-pregnant. Just a few weeks before he’s set to take his leave, Suguru is counting down the days. 

Satoru’s feeling every second of it, too – how far along he is. At least, from Suguru’s perspective. Satoru’s bone-deep tired, sleeping whenever he gets the chance. He has to piss all of the time. His lungs are compressed by the baby, making it hard to breathe. 

It’s almost painful watching him get comfortable at night, or when he goes up stairs. Satoru’s biggest plight, though – the stretch marks. 

He thought himself immune to it, without any popping up during the first and second trimesters. But he found his first a few weeks ago, a small, red line diverging from the center of his belly. Satoru nearly cried when he found it and spent the entire night making Suguru rub cocoa butter on his belly. 

Suguru is painting the baby’s nursery, a nice blue color that Satoru decided on after reading an article that said babies like soft, but exciting colors. Suguru just thinks he’s trying to sway the baby into liking his blue eyes best of all. Suguru’s clearly not against that logic, as he’s painting the nursery the color Satoru picked out. 

He’s half-way through the second coat of paint when he gets a call from Satoru.

It’s rare that Satoru calls him while he’s on a mission. So, naturally – Suguru answers immediately. He tries to stay calm, because sometimes Satoru just calls him to have something to do on the train back. 

Which is also – another issue of concern. Satoru doesn’t warp much anymore. But, he still hasn’t really said why that’s been the case. Either way, it makes Suguru anxious. The unknown of it all. 

“Hi, baby,” Suguru answers the phone, trying to remain cool and collected. 

“ Suuuggguurruuuuu, hey, ” Satoru sounds drunk and Suguru’s stomach drops, immediately.

“Satoru! What’s wrong?” 

“ Suguru! ” Satoru laughs on the other line. “ Nothing is wrong, I just think – you need to come get me. Like right now. ” His laugh sounds maniacially, he’s got to be so out of it. 

Suguru’s already calling forth the Rainbow Dragon and mounting it. It’s his fastest and most reliable curse, it knows where he needs to go. And that’s the thing, he doesn’t need any additional information from Satoru to know where he is, he knows deep in his soul. It’s not far, thankfully . 

He immediately sends a text to Shoko, to prepare her office. There’s no way he’s letting Satoru off the call, though. So, it takes everything in Suguru to remain calm. 

“Satoru, what happened?” He tries to stay calm.

“ I dunno ,” Satoru says, yawning. “ I think – my technique got all weird. I’ve been feeling – bad. ” 

“Weird? How so?” 

“I tried to cast my domain, but it wouldn’t goooooooooo. Suguru, can you believe that? ” 

“I can’t – that’s weird,” Suguru agrees, but he’s already circling the domain Satoru’s clearly set up for his mission. “Hey, baby – can you release the veil? So I can find you.” 

“ Oh, haha – yeah. But you’ll have to get the curse, ” Satoru’s laugh stops and he suddenly sounds very sad. “ Suguru, I’m sorry – I know you don’t like to take in Special Grades. ” 

“Satoru! I don’t care – it’s fine. Just release the veil. I can’t get in.” 

“ Yeah – okay, just don’t be mad. Promise? ”

What an ask. 

“Yeah, I promise.”

Satoru releases the veil – and it’s honestly, not that bad. It really is easy for Suguru to take in the curse. Barely takes a flick of his wrist. It’s harder for him to scoop his half-crazed, pregnant mate into his arms. Satoru looks surprised to see Suguru there.

“Suguru! You came – my savior. Blue wouldn’t work – and red just doesn’t do it, sometimes. And well, if blue isn’t working – then of course purple isn’t working either. That’s kinda bad, yeah?” 

Satoru’s rambling, it’s been a long time since he’s heard him like this. Probably since they were teenagers. When they first saw each other, after Satoru fought Fushiguro Toji and ascended into a higher level. 

“Suguru,” Satoru says, when they’re nearly back to campus. “The baby is kicking. She’s okay. She’s kinda mad, though.” 

Suguru tries to mask his relief. He wants Satoru to be okay, but he was very worried about the baby, too. 

“Here, you can feel,” Satoru says and drags Suguru’s hand to his belly. Sure enough, the kid is kicking rapidly against Suguru’s palm. 

“Oh wow, yeah – she’s not happy.” 

“She’s notttt ,” Satoru whines. “She wants to soak up all my cursed energy. She’s very hungry.” 

“You can eat once Shoko sees you, I’ll go get you food. What do you want?” 

“Nooooo – you don’t understand . She wants my cursed energy. I used too much today and I can’t make it as fast as I used to.” 

Suguru really must not understand, but they’re back on campus and he can’t ask too many questions. He just takes Satoru into his arms and carries him into Shoko’s office. Satoru passes out immediately, once his head hits the pillow of the examination bed. He’s truly exhausted. Shoko’s close by, thankfully – to work her RCT into the places where Satoru’s is currently failing.

Later, Shoko says that Satoru’s cursed energy was attacking the baby and the baby’s cursed energy was attacking Satoru in return. 

“Have you heard of Rh-disease?” Shoko asks him. Suguru’s confused, terrified – shakes his head. Wishing she would just be direct. 

“Basically, it’s when the positive/negative protein in a carrier parent’s blood type is incompatible with the fetuses. Positives don’t mix with negatives, right? So the body sees the baby as a foreign, harmful entity.” 

“Okay…?” 

“Cursed energy works a lot like blood types in a way. So, let’s talk in terms of blood type. So pretend Satoru’s CT is like – O-, okay? Your’s is more like AB+. Cursed techniques are genetic, right – and the baby is developing the genetic make-up of her CT right now, developmentally. And her energy is presenting more like – I guess, B+. Am I making sense?” 

She’s making that swooping motion with her finger, the one Suguru always struggles to interpret.

“Yeah, kind of? Satoru makes so much cursed energy, so he’s like the universal donor. So, the basic level is compatible, but the charge is different.” 

Suguru tries to cling on to every biology lesson he’s ever taken. On a basic level, O donors are compatible with B donors, and vice versa, but the positives and negatives confuse it all. 

Shoko nods.

“So far, Satoru’s body seems to have mostly adapted to channeling some of his cursed energy to the baby. Because well, Satoru’s probably more like a negative on his basic genetic level, but he’s learned to make a surplus of positive energy. Blue, limitless.” 

Suguru nods, understanding somewhat. Shoko continues. Satoru makes enough positive cursed energy that his basic, negative incompatibility with the baby’s positive CE has gone unnoticed, maybe apart from how he can’t warp anymore. But, enough where he’s been fine, thus far. 

“And so far, it’s been enough to combat the difference. But the baby’s bigger – more developed now. Today, he probably used too much energy overall, so it put him and the baby on equal footing, in a way. With an empty pool to take from. So Satoru’s negative interacted negatively with the baby’s positive. But Satoru’s Satoru, so his negative – his RCT tried to step in and basically protected the baby and fried him in return. So, they’re both okay – but it took a lot out of Satoru, explaining why he was so out of it.”

Shoko lets out a breath, after talking for so long. 

“Does that make sense?” 

Suguru thinks so, kind of.

Essentially, Satoru’s body naturally makes negative energy – pulling in with blue. But he has to work to make positive energy – pushing out with red. Today, he used too much of his positive cursed energy, without being able to replenish it, because the baby is using his to make her own CT make-up. And once depleted, Satoru’s body saw the baby as an attacker, depleting Satoru even more, but in return, his RCT has been trained to keep the baby safe.

A mess overall. 

Shoko thinks it’s something developmental in sorcerer’s pregnancies, from what she’s been researching. It tends to happen to a lot of sorcerers. Most just aren’t using cursed energy – or have the usual endless pool of cursed energy – that Satoru does on a daily basis. So, they don’t experience symptoms like this.

So, Satoru wasn’t wrong, that the baby was taking his cursed energy, in a way. 

There doesn’t seem to be anything they can do. Satoru will just have to be more careful until the baby is born. His estimates were a few weeks off. It’s not like he could’ve known. Shoko says there’s not a lot of research on sorcerer pregnancies and in-utero development of cursed techniques. 

Suguru stays by Satoru’s bedside. He can’t fathom leaving or doing anything else. Satoru wakes up the next day. He bats his eyes slowly, cringing under the bright lights of Shoko’s morgue. 

Satoru blinks and smiles up at Suguru. 

“What happened?”

Suguru can’t help but smile too, even though his heart hurts to see Satoru like this. 

“You don’t remember?’ 

Satoru yawns, “No? Not really.” 

“Your cursed energy isn’t compatible with the way the baby is developing. It messed everything up. Your body was adapting and giving too much to the baby in return. You were really weak.”

“Oh, yeah – it’s coming back to me,” Satoru laughs and rubs a hand up and down the swell of his belly affectionately. He speaks to his belly, “Wow, greedy girl. Haven’t you taken enough?” 

Suguru blanches at him, not sure what to say – to convey the severity of the situation. 

Satoru seems to realize this though, as he stretches out his limbs. Because he freezes and

examines Suguru’s expression. 

“Suguru? I – were you scared?”

Suguru can’t hide it. His voice sounds small and weak, “I was – I was really scared.” 

Satoru frowns and reaches up to pull Suguru into his arms. Suguru presses against Satoru’s neck and his eyes leak. But being close to Satoru, he can feel the baby kicking where his body is pressed against Satoru’s, and Satoru is whispering nice things into his ear. 

And it feels a little better. For now.

That feeling is completely gone when Suguru wakes up a few days later to find Satoru getting ready in their closet. He’s putting on his uniform. 

Suguru blinks, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. “What are you doing?”

Satoru doesn’t say anything for a moment. But eventually he acquiesces, “Getting ready?” 

“For what.”

“A mission.”

It’s too early for Suguru to access any reasonable parts of his brain. Executive functioning, emotional regulation, fluid reasoning – all of it is gone at this moment. He only feels anger and frustration.

“Are you kidding?” 

Satoru just looks at him, frozen in place, twiddling with the button of his pants. He can barely see around his belly to button his pants and he wants to take a mission. 

“No…?”

Suguru can hardly believe what he’s hearing. All he’s thinking about is Satoru in his arms on Rainbow Dragon, then laying in the hospital bed after the last mission. He thought it was the last. 

“You can’t be serious, Satoru.”

“Suguru,” Satoru huffs, rolling his eyes. “It’s nothing crazy, I swear. I’ll be back by – like noon, at the latest.” He’s still trying to button his pants. How does he plan to get his shoes on after he’s needed Suguru’s help for the last few weeks. 

“That’s what you said about the last time. And look at what happened.” 

Satoru rolls his eyes. “That was a fluke. I miscalculated. It won’t happen again.” 

Suguru shakes his head.

“No, I’m not letting you risk it.” 

“You’re not letting me? ”

Suguru shakes his head, crawling out of bed and walking towards the closet.

“It’s not like that Satoru. Don’t pretend it is. You don’t even remember how you were last time.” 

Satoru shakes his head, “Yeah, because it was nothing! ” 

“Nothing?” Suguru asks, stunned. “You think that nothing – you could’ve died, Satoru.” 

“I wasn’t going to die – come on, Suguru.” 

Satoru is, well – Satoru. He’s probably right, he’s outlived death before. But that’s not the point .

“You didn’t hear what Shoko said!” Suguru’s speaking loudly now and he probably sounds very mean. Satoru’s bigger than him, it’s not like he can really overpower him physically, but he knows he must sound very cruel. “Your cursed energy was depleted . Because your’s is incompatible with the baby’s when you use too much . Like when you take Special Grade missions .”

“Suguru –” 

Suguru cuts him off, pulling on his own uniform jacket and pants. 

“Please, you stay here. I’ll fucking take the mission. I don’t get why you don’t just ask me? I’ve been planning for your leave, making teams to cover your missions for months. I don’t get why you don’t just talk to me?” 

Satoru blanches, “It’s not like I knew that, you don’t talk to me – about that! ” 

Suguru bristles, “I thought you knew I cared about you enough to handle this!” 

Satoru’s eyes are all watery and wipes at them rapidly, “Why do you think I keep taking missions! Because I care about you !” 

Much later, Suguru will realize – years ago, they made the decision to cut out most of the talk of the jujutsu world from their relationship, the bureaucratic things, as a boundary, to keep each other sane. To eliminate that inequity between them. 

But, in turn, they’ve stopped talking about something that’s still so big and impactful in their lives, both separately and together. Something that’s been more than necessary to confront as their lives shift.

Right now, Suguru’s too angry to listen or reason, Satoru’s always had a weird, warped sense of justice. He finds Satoru’s iPad, complete with the mission details. It’s a Special Grade, but of course – not something Suguru can’t handle. 

“Please, just – stay here. I can’t bear to watch you put yourself at risk any longer. I’ve begged you for months to just rest, why don’t you ever listen to me?” 

Satoru’s face is flushed and he’s crying now. Satoru wipes frantically at his face, he’s embarrassed – always complaining that he’s never cried so much in his entire life. Suguru has to push down the part of him that feels bad because he knows this is what’s best for Satoru – for the baby. 

“You never fucking listen to me, either!” Satoru spits back, sounding livid. 

But he moves back into the bedroom – as fast as he can with the way his belly has started to force him to slow down. Another reason he shouldn’t be going on any missions right now. Suguru watches as Satoru buries himself underneath the covers of the nest. He smells absolutely dejected and miserable. 

But, he’s staying here – and he’s safe. 

Suguru completes the mission quickly. 

He’s got another Special Grade in his repertoire now. He’s been working very hard the last few months, to try to develop a way to better integrate higher-level curses into his rolodex. Better than the days it used to take when he was younger, where he’d be down for the count trying to weave the new cursed energy into his own.

It’s been a work in progress over the last few years, but recently it’s taken a lot of meditation to really enact it. He’s also been training with Shoko on how to implement his own RCT – and it’s working. 

It’s – now that Suguru’s thinking about it. 

He hasn’t really told Satoru about these advancements. Satoru knows it’s something he’s been working towards, vaguely. The same way he was pleasantly surprised when Suguru managed to scrape together his domain from his combination of curses with innate domains. 

Then, Satoru had no idea Suguru was working towards it, but hey – he was proud of him. But, well more recently – Suguru admits he hasn’t been giving Satoru updates. He hasn’t wanted to stress him out more, they don’t talk about these things, but maybe he’s done the opposite by keeping it from him. 

The pregnancy has caused a ripple effect on their lives, but they haven’t done much to shift their previously established world back into place, in return. It’s one thing to realize something, it’s another thing to do something about it. And well, Suguru still has to figure that second part out, with Satoru. 

When he returns back to campus, he goes straight to Yaga’s office. Yaga is there, surprised to see Suguru. It will always make him feel young and small, being in Yaga’s office, but he has to do this. 

“I need to show you something.” 

The fucking excel sheet , that he’s been pouring over. Every minute Satoru’s been gone, or Suguru hasn’t had a class, he’s been working on this beast. He has meticulously put together teams of sorcerers, categorized by their grades, weaknesses, and strengths, figuring out a formula to determine how to best match teams to certain types of special grades. 

It took a fucking long time and he had to ask a lot of people for help, but he’s sure it will work. 

After he spends the better half of an hour explaining it, Yaga seems to think so, too.

When Suguru finally returns to the apartment, it’s dead quiet. Satoru is definitely still upset.

Suguru makes his way into their bedroom and Satoru is where he left him. However, there’s takeout bags, a pint of ice cream, and kimchi sitting on the bedside table. He must have ordered delivery, among other things. 

Satoru makes no move, even though Suguru is sure he knows he’s home. He must be very, very upset. 

Suguru takes absolutely no pleasure in seeing Satoru like this. Seeing him so unlike himself. He feels guilty, like Suguru’s anxious, depressed genes have infiltrated Satoru’s happy-go-lucky ones and made him all sensitive and upset. It doesn’t fulfill any sense of alpha-related duty. No, it just makes him sick to his stomach with worry. He hates it. He hates that Satoru is going through this – that Suguru’s done this to him. 

“Satoru?” He calls out softly, feeling very guilty that he’s left his mate like this for over half of a day. 

Satoru grumbles something unintelligible from underneath his blankets. 

“What?” Suguru asks. 

Satoru peaks out from his blankets and shouts, eyes so blue and bloodshot, “I said – I don’t want to fucking talk to you!” 

Suguru should probably listen, but he can’t find it in himself to do so. Because Satoru’s scent is absolutely horrid and sad and distressed. If it were anyone else that stumbled upon him, they’d bolt immediately. But, Suguru is Satoru’s mate – he’s somewhat immune to this, where it counts. Because he’s the one that’s supposed to help Satoru when he’s feeling this way, not the one causing it. 

So, Suguru moves closer to Satoru and sits on the edge on the bed where Satoru has sequestered himself underneath the layers of blankets. 

“Satoru – I was very angry and cruel today. You didn’t deserve that. I know – you’re going through a lot, trying to navigate this the same as I am. But, I shouldn’t have been so angry. I’m sorry.”

Satoru is silent for another few moments. Every passing second makes Suguru’s heart ache in his chest. He feels terrible. He hasn’t fucked up – in terms of his relationship with Satoru – like this in a long time. 

Still, Suguru waits. He’s good at being patient. 

Eventually, Satoru peaks his head up from around the cover of blankets. His eyes are still so blue in the dark of the room and Suguru can see how swollen they are. Which only makes him feel worse. 

Satoru extracts himself from the blankets fully and tackles his arms around Suguru. It’s unexpected and surprising, but so far from unwelcome. Suguru holds Satoru close to him. He’s selfish so he pushes his hands underneath Satoru’s shirt so he can feel his warm skin – so he can feel more of Satoru, after too long apart. 

Satoru presses his face Suguru’s neck. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, too.” 

“It’s okay,” Suguru whispers.

Satoru takes a shaky breath, finger nails digging into Suguru’s biceps. He sounds exhausted and sad and frustrated, “I’m not good at this .”

“At what?” 

Satoru shakes his head against Suguru, he gestures towards himself. 

“At – beingpregnant."  

He says it so fast, Suguru almost doesn’t hear him. But when he comprehends, the words surprise Suguru, he can’t suppress the shaky laugh that comes out of his chest, and he twines his fingers into Satoru’s hair to caress his scalp.

“It’s not – you’re doing great, ‘Toru. You’re doing amazing. You’re so amazing.” 

It’s true – Satoru has been pregnant in a way that Suguru probably wouldn’t – if he had the chance to be the pregnant one. And he’s thought about it a lot over the last several months. Hypotheticals. But in reality, Suguru doesn’t have the chance to do so, and so that’s not a fair comparison. It’s easy to think about impossibilities. Realities are much harder.

Well, compared to other pregnant people Suguru’s been around, Satoru has been more than strong. He’s dealt with more changes than ever in a very short amount of time. And he’s only had a few meltdowns in the process. He really is the Strongest, in every way possible.

Satoru finds Suguru’s lips and kisses him. Nothing too steamy, just kissing for closeness, connection. They stay wrapped up like that for a while. Kissing softly, holding each other. 

“Do you want to watch a show? Are you hungry? Do you need anything? Water?” Suguru asks, his inner alpha twitching coming out after being exposed to Satoru’s upset omega scent for too long. 

Satoru shakes his head. Suguru doesn’t believe him.

“I want to fuck you,” Satoru says, batting his eyelashes up at Suguru. Even though he’s sort of blinking around unshed tears, he sounds more like himself than he has in a while.

“I – are you sure?” 

Suguru’s not exactly opposed. But, he’s not sure Satoru really wants that, or if he’s just saying that.

But, Satoru nods assuredly, pushing his fingers into the sides of Suguru’s pants. Searching for the lube on the bedside table. 

“Yes, I’m sure, Suguru.”

“I –” Satoru captures his lips in a hot, heavy kiss before Suguru can fully formulate his thoughts. “Okay – just, let’s take it slow, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Satoru repeats. But his words carry little weight, because he moves between Suguru’s legs and yanks his pants off. Then, presses a lubed finger to Suguru’s ass. 

Suguru sucks in a sharp breath, grabbing Satoru’s hair. 

“Slow, Satoru.” 

“I’m going slow ,” Satoru whines, but he pushes his finger into Suguru and immediately finds the spot that makes Suguru keen. He’s a professional. 

“Come on, that’s not –” 

Suguru’s cut off by the insertion of another finger. He gapes, looking down at Satoru, who just smirks and starts scissoring both of his fingers inside of Suguru.

He keeps at it, stretching him open, until Suguru’s abs coil tight. 

“Satoru – stop, I’m – ” 

Satoru shifts, pulling his fingers out, and presses his cock between Suguru’s legs. It’s a bit of a maneuver for him. His belly has gotten bigger since the last time they went all the way like this. For the last couple of weeks, they’ve both been too tired for more than handjobs or going down on each other.

Suguru almost hesitates and asks if Satoru is sure this will work, but he bites his tongue. He has to trust Satoru with this.

In turn, Satoru manhandles Suguru into the right position, so he can push his cock into Suguru. He sinks in slowly, both of them breathing heavily, grabbing at each other. Once he gets his bearings and the right angle, Satoru proceeds to pound into Suguru, like he hasn’t been struggling to catch his breath after the smallest of activities over the last couple of weeks. 

Suguru’s brain feels numb. He’s beyond exhausted, to the point where everything feels so good. 

He tries to pull Satoru closer for a kiss, but there’s a barrier between them with his bump. So, he settles for sucking on Satoru’s fingers and the scent gland on his wrist. 

Satoru falters as Suguru clenches around him and bites at his wrist.

“Come on, Satoru – come inside of me.” 

Satoru breathes heavily, blows his hair out of his face. He smirks at Suguru. 

“I’m gonna get you pregnant.” 

“Yeah? Gonna put your baby inside of me?”

Satoru nods, “Yeah, gonna get you pregnant. Gonna get you all soft and sweet. I fuck you so good, I bet you’d carry at least ten of my babies.”

Suguru manages a laugh, even though it feels like his organs are being rearranged. “Ten! You’d have to be so nice to me.” 

Satoru grips his hips, “I would – I’d be so nice to you. Keep you all barefoot and pregnant. You’d stay home and take care of all our babies. Suguru is sweet like that. He’d be soooo sexy pregnant.” 

Suguru can barely think, he tilts his head back against the pillow. “Come on – get me pregnant, Satoru. You’re the strongest – you could do it.” 

Satoru falters, hips losing their steady rhythm. He has the wherewithal to wrap his hand around Suguru’s knot before he spills into Suguru. Suguru comes too, wrapped tightly in Satoru’s fist, all over his chest. 

They lay together after in the mess they’ve made, both of their chests heaving. Satoru wraps himself around Suguru and nibbles at his neck. 

He’s perfect. 

Satoru’s perfect – perfect, perfect Satoru. 

Satoru spends the last weeks of his pregnancy sequestered in his nest. He’s like a spoiled prince with the way he shouts for Suguru when he needs a snack or his water bottle filled.

Their baby is measuring big, Shoko says. Satoru says he already knows. Of course, he probably does. Whether it’s because of the Six Eyes, or the way he complains about the baby pressing into his pelvis with each passing day. He says it feels like lightning is shooting up his spine whenever she shifts the wrong way.

Yaga granted him leave, after the incident , despite Satoru’s protests that it’s not necessary. Suguru disagrees. It’s not only necessary, but Satoru deserves it, too.

Still, Satoru hides under the blankets of the nest for the majority of his days. He says his brain feels too overstimulated most of the time. But, he still makes Suguru put on this reality television show he’s watching – or rather, listening to. 

They celebrate Satoru’s 28th birthday, just the two of them. Satoru refuses any big celebrations, which is rare for Satoru. But well, he’s nine months pregnant. That changes a person.

Instead of a big party, Suguru picks up dinner – Satoru’s current craving. He’s been dying for zaru soba and rice balls from their favorite restaurant. He says Suguru’s DNA has warped his own.

Suguru plates the carry out and presents it to Satoru as he sits in his nest, wrapped in blankets. He adds a pint of ice cream with a candle on top, which makes Satoru smile.

“Happy birthday, Satoru,” Suguru says and kisses Satoru’s cheek.

Satoru’s estimated due date was supposed to be December 8th. He says he’s mostly glad the baby wasn’t born too close to his birthday, but he’s also miserable and done with being pregnant.

“Make a wish, Satoru,” Suguru presents the single-lit candle to his mate. 

Satoru closes his eyes, “I wish that the baby decides to vacate my body very soon .” 

Suguru rolls his eyes and laughs. 

They go for walks together each evening. Even though it’s cold, dark, and miserable in the middle of December.

“I’m too hideous to be seen by the public in the light of day,” Satoru wails and he clings to Suguru’s arm as they make their slow lap around the nature trails around campus. 

Suguru likes to stop by the little temples set up along the path to send up a prayer for a safe delivery for Satoru and the baby, even though Satoru teases him for his superstition. Suguru doesn’t quite believe in it all, but figures a little extra blessings can’t hurt. Satoru gets a lot of practice contractions and has to stop. He squeezes Suguru for support.

“That shit sucks ,” he groans, leaning his forehead between Suguru’s shoulderblades.

Satoru’s belly really has gotten very round and heavy in the last few weeks, made worse by the fact he’s a week overdue by now. Satoru looks a little silly, Suguru thinks fondly – and privately. He wouldn’t dare tell Satoru this, since he’s feeling a little self-conscious about it all. 

He catches Satoru looking at himself in the closet mirror one night, frowning at himself.

“What are you doing?” Suguru asks.

Satoru shakes his head, hands moving up his belly and settling to cup his chest.

“I just can’t believe I have tits now. That’s crazy.”

“Satoru, it’s not crazy – your body is getting ready for the baby,” Suguru tries to reason with him. 

Satoru pouts. “Do you still like me with tits, Suguru?” 

“I like every version of you, Satoru.” Suguru means it, too.

Satoru smiles, “Awww really?” 

Suguru gives Satoru’s chest a quick, teasing squeeze, and Satoru slaps his hands. 

“Hey! Don’t be gross.”

Suguru ignores him and wraps his arms around Satoru’s back, hands cupping his belly, holding it up. Supporting the weight of their baby. 

“That feels –” Satoru tilts his head back against Suguru’s shoulder. “That feels really good. Can you feel her? Her head is like rightttttttt here.”

He presses Suguru’s hands against the base of his belly, so he can feel where the baby’s head is pushing against Satoru’s skin. 

“You’re in the wrong spot, little girl,” Suguru scolds. “Stop hurting your dad.” 

It makes Satoru laugh, “Yeah, come on – clearly you can’t find it, but that's not the exit.” He rubs his belly, wincing as the baby shifts. “Hey, didn’t you hear your daddy? You’re being very naughty.”

“I have a feeling you’ll be saying that for – let’s say, the next eighteen years, probably longer,” Suguru teases, kissing Satoru’s forehead. 

“Unfortunately, I think you may be right there, Suguru.” 

And well – only time will tell. 

He’s half-excited, half-terrified. 

Mostly excited. 

Later Suguru’s laying on his side in bed, reading on his phone. Satoru is knocking around in the bathroom, making a lot of noise as he gets ready for bed. Eventually, he crawls into bed, pressing his belly against Suguru’s back and wrapping his arms and legs around him, trying to get as close as he can, like he does most nights. 

Satoru rubs his nose against the back of Suguru’s neck and presses a kiss there. 

“Hi, what are you looking at?” Satoru asks, peering over Suguru’s shoulders. 

“Just reading a book Nanami recommended,” Suguru feels a little embarrassed. 

“Oh really? What is it,” Satoru clicks on the screen to see the title. “Ah, How To Raise A Good Human, I want to raise a good human. You should send it to me.” 

“I will,” Suguru smiles, sending the ebook file to Satoru. He turns off his phone and sets it on the bedside table. The room is dark now. He finds Satoru’s hand and intertwines their fingers together to hold against his chest.

“Hey,” Satoru says. “Speaking of the human we will be raising, have you thought of any names?” 

Suguru laughs at himself, because he’s thought of so many scenarios over the last few months, but he hasn’t thought of a single name.

“I guess not – have you?” 

Satoru laughs, too, but not his usual Satoru laugh. He sounds a little bashful. 

“I mean, yeah – when I was a kid, I used to think of baby names. Didn’t you?” 

“Really?” Suguru’s surprised at that. He tries to imagine a little Satoru dreaming up names for his future babies.

“Well, you know – I didn’t know I was an omega for a while. When I found out, I thought it was kind of weird and gross. But, I had a stuffed animal that I would secretly pretend was my baby.”

“Who gave it to you?” Suguru frowns, always a bit sad thinking about lonely, little Satoru.

“One of my favorite maids, she was one that was with me for a long time. She was awesome. She used to scold me a lot though, but I didn’t mind it, because she treated me like a typical little boy. I think I got her in trouble. I made fun of one of the pregnant Kamo wives that came to visit my dame. And she said something like I shouldn’t laugh, because I could have babies and would be cursed with a hard pregnancy in return. Which is really funny – now . I guess I must’ve asked one of my parents about it, because she wasn’t my maid anymore, and I never saw her again.”

“That’s very sad, Satoru,” Suguru squeezes his hand. “What was her name?”

“Megumi, she was very nice.” 

“So, what did you name your imaginary babies?”

Satoru groans, dodging the question. “Seriously – you didn’t have imaginary babies as a kid?” 

Suguru tries to think hard about himself as a child. “Hmm, I thought about having kids when I grew up. My mom would say stuff about it. I don’t think I thought about any names, though. But, tell me, what did you name your babies?” 

“ Megumi – I was uncreative and didn’t know that many people.” 

It makes something in Suguru’s chest ache. Lonely little Satoru dreaming about having babies named after the only person who was kind to him. Who treated him like a person. 

“Megumi is a good name – blessing .” 

Satoru thinks about it for a minute, “Yeah, it’s a nice name.”

Suguru thinks about it for a minute, “What do you think of – Megumi? I like it. Or is it too weird to name your baby after someone you knew?” 

Satoru’s quiet for a moment, thinking about it. 

“No, I actually like it – I like it a lot.” 

Suguru reaches behind himself and pats at Satoru’s belly. 

“So Megumi it is?” 

Satoru finds his hand in the darkness of their room.

“Yeah, Megumi it is.”

Pregnancy was one battle for Satoru. But birth is another. 

It starts in the middle of the night. Satoru wakes up at dawn, slowly waddling to the bathroom so as not to wake Suguru. It’s no use, Suguru’s awake as soon as Satoru is. 

“Suguru, please – I’m begging you,” Satoru wails, slamming the bathroom door shut in his face. “Go back to sleep.” 

He spends the next hour in the bathroom, completely miserable. But he says he’s fine every time Suguru tries to intervene. Each time, Satoru tells him to go back to sleep. Suguru doesn’t, of course. Choosing to sit against the bathroom door. 

At some point, Suguru’s had enough, and gives up pretending and goes to join Satoru in the bathroom. 

“Are you okay?” He offers Satoru a water bottle that he chugs. 

“No,” Satoru says, weakly. “I’ve been alternating between shitting and puking for like the last hour. I didn’t even know that was humanly possible, Suguru. So, yeah I’m really not okay. What did I do to deserve this? Do you think Ijichi cursed me? I’ll change my ways, I’ll do better.”

Suguru laughs, scratching at Satoru’s undercut.  

“Do you want to take a bath, maybe?”

“Yeah, that’s – that sounds good.” 

Suguru gets the bath to the right temperature and helps Satoru get into the water. Satoru sighs once he settles into the warm bath, his belly peaks over the water. He opens his eyes and looks at Suguru very fondly. 

“Will you get in with me?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Yeah, I kinda do.”

“Kinda?”

“I really want you to, okay?” 

So, Suguru steps out of his pajamas and crawls behind Satoru in the bath. He starts rubbing Satoru’s shoulders and back. His muscles are very tense, from the weight of carrying a baby, and everything else . Suguru takes extra care, pressing his thumbs into each knot that he finds. 

“That feels good,” Satoru whispers. 

Suguru rubs at his lower back and Satoru sucks in a sharp breath, like he’s in pain. 

“What’s wrong?” Suguru asks.

“Contraction,” he takes Suguru’s hands to feel the way his belly is all taut and hurting. He’s been having contractions for a few days, off and on. He tries to hide it, but Suguru can tell from the way he sucks in his breath and tenses his shoulders. The day before, had been the worst out of all the days so far, though. He’d been practically silent the entire day, which was very unlike Satoru.

“How often?”” Suguru thought that might be happening, but he was waiting for Satoru to say so. 

Satoru shakes his head, “I think like, every ten minutes. Can you count?”

Suguru makes one of his curses go get his phone, so he can set a timer. Satoru rolls his eyes, but desperate times call for desperate measures. They stay silent in the tub for the next few minutes. Satoru tenses against Suguru, sucking in a breath. 

“How long?” Satoru asks, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“My phone says 8 minutes, but it took us a second to get it set up.” 

“Fair, fair – let’s keep waiting.” 

They stay in the bath for a while, Satoru keeps having steady contractions. 

It’s real – it’s actually happening. 

Satoru decides he’s done with the bath, but he wants to stay under the water. Suguru helps him stand up and lean against the showerwall so he can drain the tub and turn on the showerhead. 

He angles the water to aim against Satoru’s back. He takes Satoru into his arms and holds him up. Satoru drapes his arms over Suguru’s shoulders so he can stretch his back out. Suguru presses his thumbs against Satoru’s lower back. 

“Fuck,” Satoru whines. “That feels good – keep doing that.” 

How can Suguru disagree? 

After a while, Satoru gets frustrated.

“I need to like – move or something. I need to get this kid out, like yesterday .” 

Suguru moves Satoru into their walk-in closet to get him dressed. He tries to find soft clothes that wouldn’t overstimulate Satoru, because his skin has been very sensitive.

“How’s that?” Suguru asks.

“It’s good, yeah. Let’s walk – wait, I’m about to contract.” 

Satoru looks a little insane on their walk. He’s wearing a hat, scarf,  and a thick winter coat with his slippers, because he refused to wear anything else. He’s already agreed to throw them out once they’re back, so Suguru just let him do as he pleases. Satoru is stepping up and down on the curb of the street, because he read an article that said it was good to get the baby in the right position. 

In Satoru’s defense, his contractions do seem to be getting closer together. It’s been three hours since they woke up and Satoru’s contractions are 6-minutes apart. 

So, it’s good – his labor is progressing. 

Satoru is breathing heavily, pressing his hands against his lower back. 

“Are you okay?” Suguru asks. 

Satoru opens his eyes, “Yeah – let’s keep walking, another lap.”

Satoru does another lap, stepping up and down on the curb. Once they finish their lap. Satoru makes a face. 

“Let’s go home,” Suguru suggests, knowing Satoru won’t be the one to ask. 

“Yeah, we should,” Satoru agrees.

Right as they make it to the steps of their apartment, Satoru’s water breaks, wetting the front of his sweatpants. It’s less dramatic than Suguru thought it would be, from movies and the like. Satoru makes an uncomfortable face, distracting Suguru from all of that. 

“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you,” Suguru holds Satoru up. 

Satoru digs his fingers into Suguru’s forearms.

“It’s just like – everything inside of me shifted, all of my organs. Ewww . I can feel all of her, like in my fucking ass. Ahhhhhhhh .” 

Well, that’s just a beautiful statement. 

Poor Satoru.

Once they’re back inside of the apartment, it’s very clear that something has shifted in terms of Satoru’s labor. 

Suguru helps him out of his sweatpants and tries to help him into new boxers. Satoru shouts at him to stop. So, he’s just left in his big t-shirt. Where did he even get that shirt? Since when do they own something like that?

Satoru crawls slowly into the nest. He collapses on his side, out of breath. 

“I think you should text Shoko,” Satoru says, quietly.

Suguru already has, from the moment Satoru’s water broke. 

“It’s okay, she’s on the way.” 

“Oh good, that’s good,” Satoru nods. 

His eyes are closed but he searches the bed for Suguru’s hand. He squeezes it once he’s found it. 

“Hey, you’re gonna stay with me the entire time, yeah?” 

Suguru squeezes Satoru’s hand back, what a silly question. 

“Of course, I’ll be here the whole time.” 

“Oh, yeah – thank you.” 

Suguru kisses each of Satoru’s fingers. 

“No, thank you.” Suguru means it, too. He’s never been so grateful in his life. 

“Hey Suguru?”

“What is it?” 

“Are you scared?” 

Suguru thinks about it for a second. He’s been so scared. Terrified. Everything is moving so fast. He’s had months to think about their baby, but it feels like they’re sprinting to the end. But, he trusts that Satoru can do this, more than anything. 

“No,” he says firmly. “Satoru is the strongest.” 

Satoru smiles. 

Shoko arrives with all of her equipment shoved in a bag. Super professional, but Suguru wouldn’t trust anyone else more. 

“Bad?” Shoko asks.

“It’s well – not great. He’s in a lot of pain.” 

Suguru takes her down the hall to the bedroom. Satoru is still on side, gripping a pillow very tightly. He opens one eye. 

“Oh, hey Shoko – what’s up?” 

“Nothing much, I just need to probably do something very unpleasant.” 

Satoru pouts. 

“Really?”

“Really.” 

Satoru groans, clutching at the pillow by his head. 

Shoko puts a glove on. “Okay, Suguru – hold his leg up for me, will you?” 

“Suguru, don’t listen to her – okay?” Satoru teases, even though he willingly lets Suguru lift one of his legs. Suguru caresses the side of Satoru’s face as Shoko checks his dilation.

“I’m sorry,” Suguru whispers, looking at Satoru and hoping that Shoko can’t really hear. “Thank you for doing this for us.” 

Satoru’s eyes widen and he laughs a little, gripping at Suguru’s forearm, and swipes his thumbs at Suguru’s wet eyes. 

“Hey, it’s okay, baby. I promise,” Satoru whispers. 

“Wow,” Shoko says, leaning back. “You’re practically all the way there, Satoru. That was fucking fast.”

Suguru smiles, “Hear that, Satoru? You’re doing so good.” 

They’re all quiet for a while. The television is on in the background. Satoru is steadily breathing through each contraction, body tense and taught as he grips his pillow and Suguru’s hand.

 
Eventually, something shifts.

“I – I need to move, ‘Guru – please.” 

Satoru sounds desperate, which he never does. So, Suguru reacts quickly. 

They get Satoru into a better position, kneeling between Suguru’s leg on the bed and arms wrapped around his shoulders. His head is pressed against Suguru’s chest. He’s not making any noises, but Suguru can see that he’s silently crying. 

“What’s wrong? How – how can I help you?”

Satoru looks up at him and his eyes are so blue. 

“It’s – I just can’t believe we’re going to have a baby .” Big tears are still dripping down Satoru’s cheeks even as Suguru tries to wipe them away, but he’s smiling a little. He hates when Satoru cries.

“We are – we’re going to have a baby soon. You’re giving us our baby. You’ve done so well, Satoru.”

Satoru brightens for a moment, but his face turns into something more mournful as he weeps, “Suguru didn’t even like me at first. And now, we’re having a baby.” 

Suguru holds him closer, feeling out of depth. He looks at Shoko for help, but she looks just as confused. This isn’t like Satoru. He’s been in pain for hours – days even, since the contractions started.

“I did like you, then. I like you a lot. I love you more than anything. Satoru, we’re mates. We’re married . Don’t be sad, please .”

Satoru shakes his head, “No, I’m not sad – I’m happy. I was just – I used to be scared this wouldn’t happen. That you wouldn’t be here. But you are . And we’re having a baby.” 

“I’m here, Satoru. I’m right here. We’re having a baby.”

Satoru quiets, for a moment. He stays pressed against Suguru’s bondmark. Just breathing heavily. He pulls away and looks Suguru in the eyes. For a second, Suguru sees Satoru’s Six Eyes in their glory, but beneath it all is just Satoru. His Satoru. Sweet, beautiful, strong Satoru. 

“Hey,” Satoru whispers. 

“Hey,” Suguru whispers back. 

“Let’s do it, now. Let’s have a baby.” 

Suguru nods, “Let’s have a baby.” 

Shoko laughs, snapping on her gloves. 

“Alright – let’s have a baby.” 

Satoru pushes for ten brutal minutes. Later, Shoko will say it was impossibly fast for a first birth. To Suguru, it felt like an infinity – everything and nothing at the same time. Suguru is so viscerally aware of the fact that their lives are changing completely, in this liminal moment in time. 

The baby passes from Satoru’s body into Shoko’s hands. Satoru lets out a sigh of relief and collapses against Suguru. The baby is quiet and Suguru panics, it’s not what he expected. Satoru’s nails dig into Suguru’s biceps, anxious. 

Suguru watches as Shoko cleans off the baby’s face and suddenly the baby lets out an annoyed little whine. The baby blinks up into the dimly lit room and looks around and up at Shoko, then lets out a very sad-sounding wail, looking for Satoru. It breaks Suguru’s heart. 

Suguru helps Satoru safely turn around to lean against his chest. Satoru holds his arms out and Shoko passes the baby to him. She wraps a blanket Suguru laid on the bed around the baby. It’s sort of amazing, the way the baby quiets instantly in Satoru’s arms. 

“Hi, Megumi,” Satoru whispers, long fingers stroking the baby’s chubby cheeks. “It’s nice to meet you finally –” he freezes, giving Suguru a strange look. 

“What’s wrong?” Suguru asks, there are tears streaming down his face. Satoru’s so beautiful, holding their child. 

Satoru laughs, “Shoko, you were wrong – the baby is not a girl.”

Shoko blanches, “What? You’re lying.” 

Satoru shakes his head, “No, we have a baby boy , Suguru.” 

“Ugh, you knew this was not my speciality! It’s not like we double checked! Besides, shouldn’t you have caught it with your Six Eyes? Don’t blame just me!” 

“I didn’t look with the Six Eyes,” Satoru shrugs. “It didn’t feel fair to see the baby before Suguru. So, I kept it as a surprise for both of us.” 

He tilts his head up to look at Suguru. It’s so – thoughtful, Satoru wanted them to experience this together, for the first time. Suguru is weeping now. He has to kiss Satoru, he feels desperate to do so. 

“I love you so much – should we think of a different name?” Suguru asks, voice quiet. Not sure he has the words to say exactly what he’s feeling right now. 

Satoru shakes his head. 

“Nah, this is Megumi – say hi.” 

Suguru wraps his arms around Satoru and the baby. He runs his fingers through the baby’s dark hair, holding up his tiny fingers. He’s sure Megumi has Satoru’s fingers, long and pretty. 

“Hi Megumi, happy birthday,” Suguru whispers. “We’ve been waiting to meet you for a long time. Our blessing.” 

Megumi was born at 2pm on December 22, just a few days before Christmas. It’s snowing outside. A sign of pure, new beginnings. 

Megumi is an omega, which probably explains why Shoko probably got the sex wrong. It’s hard to differentiate male omegas on ultrasound. He’s very chubby, weighing in at 4.4 kilos. He has round, cute cheeks and long, pretty eyelashes. 

Suguru gets to cut the umbilical cord. He’s also instructed to give Megumi his first bath, while Shoko heals Satoru and gets him into different pajamas. 

Shoko and Satoru are in the next room over, but it’s the first time Suguru’s been alone with his baby. He lays Megumi on a towel on the bathroom counter, as the water warms up. He wets the wash cloth and cleans Megumi off, the remnants of the fluids that kept him safe and growing inside of Satoru. 

“Hi Megumi, I’m your daddy, we’re so happy you’re finally here,” Suguru whispers as he cleans vernix off Megumi’s face. He’ll get a real bath in a few days, this is just to clean him up a little. Megumi blinks up at Suguru with dark blue, unfocused eyes. He’s quiet though, following the sound of Suguru’s voice, like he recognizes him. 

“How’s that? Feeling better,” he says once Megumi is all clean. He dries him off and puts a diaper on him, puts him in a onesie Satoru picked out from their pile of baby clothes. 

They’ve probably been away from Satoru for too long, because Megumi whines a little, looking up at Suguru. It’s like he’s asking where Satoru is. 

“It’s okay – we’re going back to your dad. Are you hungry?” 

Shoko stripped the bed and put new sheets on. Satoru’s sitting up against a pile of pillows. He smiles when he sees Suguru. He holds his arms out and Suguru places the baby in his arms. 

“Did Daddy get you all cleaned up, Megumi?”

“Get together, let me take your picture,” Shoko says, grabbing Suguru’s phone off the bedside table. He’s totally forgotten about it, hasn’t looked at it in hours. Suguru wraps his arm around Satoru’s shoulders and they both smile for the picture.

“That’s really fucking cute, I’m going to bring back lunch.” 

Suguru is very grateful. He is forever in debt to Shoko. 

“How are you feeling?” Suguru asks, rubbing Satoru’s shoulder, when they’re alone. 

Satoru sighs, “Shoko fixed me up. I feel better than I have in months. But it also feels weird to have him outside of me. It’s scary, he’s been wrapped in Infinity and now he’s out here on his own.” 

“We’ll keep him safe.” 

 “Yeah, we will,” Satoru smiles.

Megumi twists against Satoru’s chest, whining and smacking his lips. 

“What’s wrong, baby?” Satoru asks, rocking the baby.

“I think he’s hungry.” 

Satoru looks up at Suguru lost. 

“Hey, it’s okay – we’ll figure it out.” 

He helps Satoru lift his shirt up and guides the baby to his chest. It takes a second and some maneuvering, but Megumi latches on eventually.

Satoru makes a face. 

“Does it hurt?” Suguru asks, grimacing. 

“No,” Satoru asks, but he’s still making a strange face. “It just feels weird.” 

Megumi falls asleep on Satoru’s breast. 

“Awww, look at him, he likes it! No wonder he’s so fat,” Satoru laughs, poking Megumi’s cheek. 

“Nah, it’s probably because of all of the ice cream you ate,” Suguru teases. 

Satoru whines, pinching Suguru’s thigh.

Later, Shoko comes back with sandwiches. They have a little picnic on the bed. 

“This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Satoru decides. “I missed this.” 

Megumi is sleeping in Satoru’s lap. 

“Good, you deserve it,” Shoko laughs. 

“Hey, do you want to hold the baby?” Satoru asks. “Well, I guess you were the first too, but ya know – for real?” 

Shoko puts her sandwich down on her napkin. “Wait, really?”

Omegas are typically very protective of their pups, very selective of who gets to touch their babies during the first few weeks. But, Satoru is not like other omegas.

He nods, holding the baby towards Shoko, “Yeah, come on. He wants to meet the person who made us call him a girl for four months.” 

Shoko makes a face at Satoru, but readily takes the baby into her arms. She looks down at his cute little face. She rocks him, her hair hiding her face from them. But Suguru can tell, she’s crying a little.

“Shoko, don’t get tears on my baby,” Satoru teases, but Suguru knows – and Shoko must too – that he’s being genuine, in his own special way. 

Shoko shakes her head. 

“It’s just – I can’t believe you guys have a baby. It makes me really happy.”

Suguru has cried so much today, but he’s crying again. He throws his arm around Shoko and hugs her to his side. Satoru gets jealous and joins the hug, too. Megumi squawks in between them, awakened abruptly from sleep. The sound he makes is so cute, they can’t help but all laugh. 

Shoko leaves later in the day. And then, it’s just Satoru and Suguru and their baby. They have a whole baby! 

Satoru is exhausted, so Suguru forces him to sleep. Then, it’s just Suguru and Megumi. Megumi is sleeping against Suguru’s chest. Chubby little cheek squished against Suguru. Satoru is turned on his side, head pressing into Suguru’s arm. Looking between Satoru and the baby, he realizes Megumi’s side profile resembles Satoru's so closely. It’s kind of bizarre looking at the two of them side by side.

“Megumi, you look just like your dad. I’m glad, your dad is beautiful. You’re so beautiful, too, baby.” 

Megumi opens his eyes, cheek still smooshed against Suguru’s chest, and scowls up at him. It seems they have a grumpy baby on their hands. 

“Hi,” Suguru laughs, stroking a hand through the baby’s fine, black hair. It sticks up in every direction when Suguru plays with it, kind of like Satoru’s. Suguru rocks Megumi back to sleep and he curls against his chest, all cozy. 

The first night is quiet, for the most part. 

Satoru is passed out for most of it. Suguru changes the baby’s first diaper, and it’s actually horrifying. He’s read about this, sure. But reading isn't enough to prepare Suguru for the real thing. He nearly gags but it makes him feel worse for little Megumi, because he whines and cries through the entire experience.

The first diaper change is successful, though. And Suguru crawls back into the nest with the baby. Satoru is still completely passed out, he’s worked hard over the last ten months, growing their baby. Megumi seems to be content in Suguru’s arms, with Satoru close by. 

Suguru falls asleep with the television droning in the background. He startles awake when Megumi wakes up and cries, rubbing his face against his chest. It’s 3AM. Satoru wakes up too, body probably pre-wired to the baby’s needs. 

“Is he hungry?” Satoru asks, sleepily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and trying to sit up.

“Yeah, I think so,” Suguru says, helping Satoru lean against the pillows. 

Satoru nods and holds his arms out. Suguru places the baby in his arms, rucking Satoru’s shirt up. The baby latches on and Satoru makes a face. 

“Still really weird,” he says sleepily. “How are you? Have you been sleeping?”

Suguru runs his hand through Satoru’s hair. “I have yeah, he woke up once with a dirty diaper. ‘Toru, it was so gross.” 

Satoru laughs, holding the baby against his chest so he keeps eating, undisturbed. 

“Really? I’m sad I missed it.” 

“Nooo, you’re lucky you missed it. Google said it will probably happen again, though.” 

“Oh good,” Satoru laughs, moving the baby to burp him a little. “You better wake me up next time.” 

“Okay, I will,” Suguru promises, taking the baby back from Satoru as he falls back to sleep. Suguru holds the baby for a while, vaguely following what’s happening on the television show. The baby starts snoring and Suguru falls asleep shortly after. 

When Suguru wakes up, sunlight is filtering through the blinds. The baby isn’t on his chest and he panics, sitting up in the bed. But, he finds Satoru leaning against the pillows of the nest with the baby on his breast. 

He waves at Suguru, “Hi, did you have a good sleep, baby?” 

Suguru smiles, turning to press his face against Satoru’s thigh. “Am I – I’m baby? ” 

“Yeah, duh – you’re always my baby. I just have two babies now.” 

“I slept well. How did you sleep?” 

“Good, I feel much better. So much better. I feel like a person again. The boobs are still weird, but Chubster seems to like it.”

Suguru rolls his eyes, “Don’t call him that!” 

“What!” Satoru laughs, “He is a chubster.” 

He pats Megumi’s back as he drinks. Satoru runs his pointer finger over Megumi’s profile. 

“He looks just like you, Suguru. The shape of his eyes are the same as yours. His little grumpy face, that’s all you.” 

Suguru smiles, but shakes his head. “Noooo, his profile looks exactly like you. If you cover up his hair, he’s baby Satoru.” 

Satoru laughs, pushing the baby’s hair up his forehead. “Yeah you might be right, but I think he looks just like the both of us!” 

“Well, that’s good!” Suguru laughs, “Imagine if he came out looking like Ijichi, then I’d have questions.” 

Satoru shrieks and smacks Suguru’s thigh. 

They eat breakfast. Then, Satoru gets to witness the baby’s second diaper change, which is just as bad as the first one. He buries his face in his shirt and screams and Suguru changes Megumi. 

“That was awful, I shouldn’t have asked for this!” Satoru gags.

 
They have a baby, a whole entire baby. These past few months have felt like a race to a finish line. But, Suguru realizes, the real journey has only just begun. 

Chapter Text

The first week of Megumi’s life feels like a sacred space in time, carved out just for them. 

There’s nothing to do, nowhere to be. Just getting used to the new addition to their family. 

It’s just the three of them, apart from Shoko stopping by to check in on Satoru and the baby. Satoru’s healing well and Megumi has passed all his tests with flying colors. Satoru made him perfectly, Suguru tells him, and he just shakes his head.

They’re learning that Megumi is a grumpy little thing, only really content when he’s in Suguru or Satoru’s arms. He’s happiest, though, when he’s drinking from Satoru’s breast, or a bottle when Suguru manages to trick him into it to give Satoru a break. He gets mad when he realizes, face going from angelic to his dark blue eyes opening wide before bursting into tears, like he’s got an image to uphold.

He’s a good sleeper as long as he’s being held and he makes this cute, displeased little face whenever they have to wake him up. But, they talk and keep the TV on, and he sleeps right through it all. 

At the end of the first week, Suguru’s parents visit. 

Suguru is a little excited. He loves his parents. But, well – they don’t understand the Jujutsu World. They don’t understand this part of him. They’ve always shied away from his technique. So, in turn, his relationship with them feels very surface level. Like, he can’t share his entire self with them. That they won’t accept him.

Which is ironic, in a way, because Suguru’s parents aren’t a traditional pair – his mother is an alpha and his father is an omega. It’s rare, but his mother gave birth to Suguru. 

Suguru picks them up from the train station. Satoru greets them at the front door with the baby in the cradle of his arm. Suguru makes them wash their hands before they hold Megumi. Suguru hands the baby to his dad first. 

His dad was the one who took care of Suguru the most as a kid. He’s the parent Suguru felt closer too, even though he didn’t carry him. He was the one who picked Suguru up from school, helped him with homework, and put him to pet each night. 

His dad smiles at the baby, rocking him gently in his arms. 

He looks at Satoru and then back down at the baby, “He looks just like you, Satoru!” 

Satoru laughs, he pulls Suguru into his lap and hugs him close. It’s been a while since they could be this close. It feels nice.

“Really? I think he looks more like Suguru,” Satoru laughs, perching his chin on Suguru’s shoulder.

Suguru’s mother disagrees, taking Megumi from her husband. “Hmm, maybe – but in the eyes, they’re the same shape as Suguru’s. How was the birth?” 

Satoru shrugs, “Well, it really hurt, a lot. They told me it was very fast for a first birth. But Suguru was with me, so it was okay.” 

“Satoru did a great job,” Suguru says, smiling at his husband. 

Satoru smiles back and kisses him. 

-

Suguru’s parents stay for a couple of days, mostly spent loving and doting on the baby. His mother does deep clean the bathrooms and kitchen, which is very thoughtful. Suguru takes them back to the train station at the end of their stay. He’s glad that they got to meet the baby for a few days.

He comes home and finds Satoru and the baby in the nest in their bedroom. 

Suguru kisses Satoru and the baby. 

“I hope that wasn’t too much.”

“Nah, I like your parents. They’re nice,” Satoru shrugs.

Suguru takes the baby from Satoru, scenting Megumi’s head. Suguru tucks Megumi into the designated, safe space Satoru has made for him in the nest – a pup nest, Satoru googled how to do it. Satoru tugs on Suguru’s shirt and maneuvers Suguru closer to him, so they’re face to face, draping his arms around him, forehead pressed together.

“Are you tired?” Suguru asks, hand squeezing Satoru’s hip, where he’s grown a little soft, after months of carrying and growing Megumi. Suguru can’t help it, it feels nice. Satoru being soft for the first time ever, in all their years of knowing each other. Satoru yawns.

“No, I’m awake,” Satoru sighs, tucking his face against Suguru’s neck. “Tell me a story.”

It’s something they do a lot, when one of them isn’t really tired enough to fall asleep. 

Tell me a story. It helps when your brain won’t stop thinking. Usually, Suguru’s the one asking. Satoru has a lot of stories, he’s been to many different places and met interesting people. Most of Suguru’s good stories involve Satoru, anyways.

Suguru thinks for a moment.

“When I was a kid, during the summer – our aircon was so bad. My mom worked late. So, my dad and I used to sleep in a nest on the floor, because it was so hot in our house. He’d tell me a lot of stories so I’d fall asleep, and not think of the heat. I liked it a lot, but it was a lot of stories you probably shouldn’t tell a kid.”

It’s true, Suguru tells him how he remembers the buzzing of mosquitos and the heat of summer as his dad's fingers traced shapes on his back. Made him guess the design he’d drawn. Spelling out, love you. Or, go to sleep. When he thought Suguru was asleep, he’d talked about how he had many miscarriages and a very traumatic stillbirth. So much sadness and loss, until Suguru’s mother was the one to get pregnant. His dad talked about how happy he was when Suguru was born. How lucky he was to be Suguru’s dad.

Satoru listens and makes an affirmative, sleepy sound. 

“I’m happy you were born, too.” 

Suguru laughs. 

When Megumi is a few weeks old, they have to take him for a visit to the Gojo Compound for his initial blessing and protection from curses.

Admittedly, Suguru’s a little surprised that Satoru’s willing to participate in his clan’s old traditions. He’s usually so opposed to it. 

When Suguru asks him about it, he says that he wants to keep up appearances, in case he wants to be Clan Head someday. It would be a good opportunity for their little family, as far as the Jujutsu World is concerned, Suguru has to agree. Satoru adds it won’t hurt – extra blessings for Megumi. 

Suguru is a little nervous about going to the Gojo Compound. He has only met Satoru’s mothers a handful of times, but they’re both interesting people, to say the least. They don’t seem like a matched pair. But then again, neither do Suguru’s parents – so who is he to judge?

The story goes, the Gojo Clan’s Alpha Daughter defied clan rules to marry Satoru’s dame. They met when Satoru’s sire was on a mission, and she stumbled upon the omega. And it was love at first sight. Suguru’s always found that a little hard to believe, from the brief moments he’s seen them interact with each other – thinks it was more like love at first bite. But, he’d never say that to anyone, even Satoru. He doesn’t like to talk about his mothers much.

All of the family lore aside, Suguru’s a little worried about subjecting Satoru to the journey and all the clan pageantry. Satoru’s still healing from the birth, as much as he hates to admit it, it’s true. He’s still sore and tired, and getting used to having a baby.

Suguru drives them to Kyoto. Satoru sits in the backseat with Megumi, cooing over him as the baby whines about being in a carseat and not being held for the first time in his short little life. They have to stop a lot because Megumi truly hates it and needs to be held and fed a few times. Although, one of the times, Satoru makes them stop for snacks at a conbini, Suguru won’t hold it against him. 

Suguru pulls up to the front of the compound, taking a deep, steadying breath. It’s then, Megumi absolutely starts to wail, like he’s learned to sense that the car being parked means it’s time for him to be held and fed.  

“Oh,” Satoru makes a sound. “I’m going to take him to my room and feed him. You remember where it is, yeah?”

Suguru doesn’t get a chance to respond before Satoru’s taken the baby and teleported away. He really can’t blame him. One of the Gojo butlers is waiting for him and grabs their bags out of the trunk. Unfortunately, Satoru’s alpha sire and his omega dame are waiting for him as well. 

“Where is Satoru?” Satoru’s sire asks him. 

“He’s feeding the baby, he’ll be down soon.”

The Gojo alpha scoffs, making a quiet comment about her insolent son. 

Satoru hasn’t been excited to see his mothers. They’re both a lot, too put it lightly. But Satoru is also a lot. And someday, someone may say Megumi is a lot. Suguru is also a lot in some ways. Genetics. All in all, Suguru knows what he signed up for.

Suguru follows them into the mansion. The maids have laid out snacks and tea waiting for them in the front room. Once they’re all settled on the couch, Satoru eventually makes his way into the common area, with the baby tucked in the crook of his elbow. He has a sour look on his face. 

Satoru greets his mothers, as politely as he can manage.

Satoru’s sire is a severe woman. She has white hair like Satoru and she keeps it slicked back in a tight bun. She dresses in the traditional, alpha-designed robes of the Gojo clan, even in casual moments. 

She gestures towards Satoru. “Bring the child here.” 

Satoru hesitates, briefly, but he places Megumi in his sire’s waiting arms. He sits next to Suguru, but he hovers close by, watching. 

Satoru’s omega mother is a little softer, very beautiful, though her features are harshened by her fancy Gojo clan yukatas. She has long, dark hair and her face looks exactly like Satoru’s, apart from the dark eyes and hair. Suguru can understand why she found it so annoying that people have always said Satoru looks like his sire, when he got all his beauty from her, apart from the white hair and pale skin. Maybe Satoru does have his sire’s straight nose, though. 

Satoru’s alpha mother inspects Megumi and states, “He looks like his alpha father.” 

How ironic, Suguru muses, to himself, of course.

Suguru wonders if Satoru’s parents even know Megumi is an omega. Probably not from the way the baby’s been thoroughly scented by Satoru and Suguru. He wonders what they would think if they knew. If they’d ask Satoru to keep it a secret? If they’d even dare, in the face of the Strongest Sorcerer, who was once a small omega boy they could control, to some degree.

Suguru shakes his head and moves to sling his arm around Satoru’s shoulder, subtly easing his mate’s tense shoulders down a little, inch by inch.

“No, he looks just like Satoru.” 

Satoru looks at him and smiles a little, relieved. Like he didn’t expect Suguru to stand up for him. As if. 

Satoru’s dame speaks up, reaching out to stroke the baby’s downy, dark hair. “I agree – he looks just like Satoru when he was a baby. We have pictures somewhere. We can get them out, yeah?” She looks at her mate for approval.   

Satoru chuckles, but it doesn’t meet his eyes. His mothers keep looking at the baby and Satoru’s scent is souring more and more by the second. In response, Megumi starts fussing, little fists balled up by his reddening face. 

“Give him back, he needs me,” Satoru demands.

His mothers don’t seem to react to his urgency. 

But, Satoru doesn’t wait, he snatches the baby out of his mother’s arms and retreats to an adjacent loveseat. He sequesters himself in the corner of the couch, bringing his knees up to further cradle the baby against his chest. He gives Suguru a look, which he’s long grown to know means – come here right now. So, he quickly moves to sit next to Satoru, letting him entwine their arms together. 

Satoru relaxes. And as soon as his maelstrom started, it seemed to pass just as quickly. He schools his face and looks pleasantly at his mothers. 

“So, tell me, how is everyone doing?”

The rest of the first day of their visit at the Gojo’s compound passes in a similar fashion. Careful, cordial conversation. 

Satoru eventually lets his omega mother hold and fawn over the baby. She says he has Suguru’s nose, funnily enough. Satoru agrees with her, even though Suguru thinks he’s very wrong. Megumi just got Suguru’s black hair, but that’s about all. He’s Satoru’s double in every other way. Suguru is so glad, secretly. 

They share a meal that the Gojo clan chefs painstakingly made and Satoru’s mothers are in bed by nine. Suguru takes the baby while Satoru gets ready for bed. It’s strange to be in Satoru’s childhood bedroom, now that they have a baby. It feels very – odd. They’ve been in here before, of course. But not with a baby. Their baby!

They make a quick nest together and Satoru takes a very long shower. He eventually emerges in new soft sweatpants and Suguru’s t-shirt. He flops down on the bed, belly first and hisses at the feeling.

“Bad idea?” Suguru deadpans.

“Very bad idea,” Satoru whines, rubbing his chest as he sits against the headboard. “Give me the boob demon.” 

Suguru laughs, placing Megumi in Satoru’s arms. He lifts his shirt and guides the baby to his chest and he starts suckling greedily. Satoru winces at first, but eventually relaxes, stroking the baby’s head. 

“Is it weird?” Suguru asks, turning on his side to look at Satoru.

Satoru hums, “Yeah, I’m not sure I like it very much, but I like that I get to do this for him.” 

It’s the first time he's said anything like this – that he doesn’t like it. It makes something gross twist in Suguru’s belly, that makes him feel like he’s somehow forcing Satoru to do something he doesn’t want to do. Something that makes him uncomfortable, more so than he’s already been for the majority of the last year. After watching Satoru shoulder and suffer through pregnancy. The guilt that brought along with every passing milestone. 

“Satoru,” he starts carefully, thinking about what he’ll say next. “If you don’t like breastfeeding, you don’t have to. You can stop.”

Satoru just shakes his head, looking down at Megumi. “No, it’s not like that. I like – I’m the only person that can do this for him.” 

“It’s – we could find another way. If you’re –” 

They both read so many articles about this, feeding a baby – their baby. He worries Satoru has internalized something about breastfeeding that’s just not true. It’s one way – but it’s not the only way. He’s not sure how to express it or tell him, without sounding mean and invalidating. Or like he doesn’t trust Satoru’s judgment. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m the only one that can do this for him.” Satoru smiles, poking Megumi’s chubby cheek. 

He burps Megumi and usually he’d put him in the pup nest or pass him over to Suguru. Suguru typically takes care of Megumi overnight. Instead, Satoru just keeps him in his arms. 

“Hey, I can take him, if you’re sleepy,” Suguru whispers, after they’ve turned off the lights. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I just kind of want to keep looking at him for a little while longer. Just go to sleep, Suguru.”

Suguru doesn’t feel much like sleeping after that conversation, but it’s been a long day. He rests his head on Satoru’s chest, pressed against his side. Satoru’s scratching his head and running his fingers through his hair, and despite his better efforts, Suguru falls asleep.

When Suguru wakes up, Satoru’s standing at the edge of the bed. He has Megumi laying on a blanket they packed in their luggage, as he’s changing his diaper. He hasn’t realized Suguru’s awake yet, and it’s obvious in the way he’s just chatting to Megumi. 

“Ew, Megumi!” Satoru feigns a gag, but he kisses the bottom of Megumi’s foot that’s kicking in the air, wiggling his little toes. He ties up the old diaper and throws it into the designated trash can across the room with scary accurate precision. 

“I think I have the stinkiest baby alive.” He puts a new diaper on the baby and kisses his belly. 

“But it’s okay, because he’s also the cutest baby alive, too.” He peppers kisses on Megumi’s cheeks, tucks the baby’s arms and legs into a new onesie. 

Satoru knew next to nothing about babies before Megumi was born, but he learned very quickly – like he always does. It’s only been a few weeks, but Suguru has loved watching how he’s blossomed into parenthood. 

Suguru sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“The stinkiest baby alive, really ‘Toru?” 

Satoru looks a little startled as he buttons Megumi back into his onesie, but he laughs and hands the baby to Suguru. Suguru cradles Megumi to his chest and scent his head, taking in his sweet, pup scent – something so uniquely Satoru, Suguru – and of course, Megumi, too. 

“It’s true, we have the stinkiest baby alive.” Satoru crawls onto the bed and sits next to Suguru, both of them looking down at their baby. 

“I think he’s actually perfect,” Suguru whispers, tracing Megumi’s features with his index finger. 

Satoru laughs, “Do you think so?” 

“Yeah, I really think so.” 

Suguru means it. 

“Ready to face my mothers?” Satoru asks. 

“No, are you?”

Satoru cackles. 

They eat breakfast with Satoru’s mothers. They keep the conversations light. Satoru’s dame asks about the birth, Satoru shrugs and says it was fine. Satoru’s sire asks how he’s maintaining his cursed technique. 

Satoru rolls his eyes, “It’s fine – I”m the strongest.”

His alpha mother shakes her head, “Well, you need to be cautious. Pregnancy can impact that.” 

Satoru shakes his head, “Maybe for others, but mine is just the same as it was before I got pregnant.” 

His mother stops the discussion, for the time being. 

-

Later, back in Satoru’s childhood bedroom, they take a shower together. The maids lay out robes for Satoru and Suguru on their bed. The dark black, starched haori is clearly meant for Suguru, and the soft, baby blue pastel furisode is meant for Satoru. Satoru scoffs at the sight, angry. And they share a look between the two of them and switch the robes. 

Megumi is dressed in his traditional robes, which should be all that matters.

However, Satoru’s mothers are most definitely scandalized at the swap between Alpha and Omega garments as Suguru and Satoru present their baby to the Gojo Clan. Of course, there are too many witnesses for them to make an actual scene. So, all in all, Satoru wins another battle. 

And in the end, Megumi still receives a blessing from his birth clan and is marked safe from any possible curses. 

So, all in all, a win. 

At least, Suguru decides so. 

Suguru’s 28th birthday falls on a Sunday. 

Suguru’s not much of a birthday person, he never has been, and this year he feels no different. He barely remembers it’s his birthday. 

Satoru refuses to let that happen, of course. 

Megumi is six weeks old, so Satoru is still very much within the postpartum period. He’s barely left the nest, apart from visiting his mothers. Still, he refuses to let Suguru’s birthday pass without any recognition. 

Suguru has been up with the baby all night. Just keeping him happy, so he’s feeling a little delirious as Satoru kisses him awake. 

“What’s going on?” Suguru asks, pushing his bangs out of his face. 

“It’s your birthday, baby,” Satoru says, kissing Suguru’s cheek again. “Here, blow out your candle.”

Suguru blinks awake and blows out the cupcake Satoru holds in front of his face. 

“Let’s open your presents, yeah?” Satoru says.

Suguru is still half-asleep, he pats Satoru’s thigh, “It’s okay, Megumi is my present.” 

“Ah, no – he’s my birthday present. Get your own! Come on, open it!” 

He presses the gift into Suguru’s hands. Suguru’s still sleepy, but he opens the poorly-wrapped package Satoru hands him. He takes it apart and lays it out against his lap, it’s a t-shirt. It’s screen-printed with Megumi’s name in a cringy font, declaring, “Megumi’s Dad,” with several pictures of Megumi looking like a baby potato collaged on the front.

It takes Suguru a minute to take it all in – and then he cackles. 

“Do you like it?” Satoru laughs. 

“I love it,” Suguru chuckles, and kisses Satoru on the cheek. 

It’s so cringey, but he’s very proud to be Megumi’s dad, so he’s very proud to wear the shirt. 

He’s not much of a birthday person, but this birthday isn’t half-bad. Nah, it’s better than that. 

When Megumi’s a little older, they invite their friends over to meet him. 

Suguru helps Satoru pick out an outfit, secretly selecting clothes he wore when he first got pregnant, because he doesn’t want Satoru to be uncomfortable. He thinks Satoru’s been pushing himself a little too much. 

Satoru looks nice. He’s wearing jeans and one of Suguru’s flannels over a t-shirt. It’s not how he usually dresses, but Suguru’s smitten. There’s something about seeing Satoru in regular clothes that really does it for him, every time.

“You look very nice, very handsome,” Suguru says, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing Satoru’s cheek. Satoru blushes, pushing weakly at Suguru’s arms.

The most fun is deciding what Megumi will wear. Satoru lets Suguru pick this time. Suguru decides on a pale blue onesie.

“Oh my, god,” Satoru coos, “He looks like a little skater boy. Do you think he’ll be cool when he grows up?” 

Suguru laughs, “With us as his parents? Probably not. He’ll pretend though, for sure.” 

Satoru makes a face, picking Megumi up and pressing him against his shoulder. “Awww, don’t listen to daddy, Megumi. You’ll be cool, someday. I promise.” 

Shoko and Utahime are the first to show up. Shoko’s already met the baby, but Utahime hasn’t. Shoko gets to hold Megumi first, naturally. She declares he is too cute to determine who he looks like – ever the pacifist. Spoken like a natural doctor, she declares the baby is healthy, though. 

Utahime has no problem declaring that Megumi looks exactly like Suguru. Suguru is the first to tell her that she’s very wrong. She disagrees vehemently, of course. 

Nanami and Yu arrive next, with their daughter, and Yu is nearly about to give birth to their second. He declares that their unborn son Yuji will certainly be Megumi’s best friend. Satoru is enthralled by the idea and presses Megumi against Yu’s belly. 

Nanami declares that Megumi looks exactly like Satoru, which is proof enough to make Suguru feel vindicated in his own opinion.

All in all, their friends declare that Megumi is a very cute, perfect combination of Suguru and Satoru.

Satoru’s late visiting Shoko for his postpartum check-up. Megumi is a little over two months old. And it’s been even longer since Suguru and Satoru have had sex. 

There are other ways to be intimate, of course. They’ve been together a long time by now, through many ups and downs, ebbs and flows of life, to know that. It’s a little different in practice. Suguru feels closer to Satoru just laying together each night. He’s not a typical alpha, doesn’t have a crazy libido. But, he does miss having Satoru in that close, special way. 

Satoru took the baby with him to his appointment, so Megumi can get a check-up too, while they’re at it. It’s the first time Suguru’s been alone for the first time in a few weeks. Suguru used to like his moments of being alone. It used to give him time to quiet his mind and reset. Now though, he just feels anxious. He wishes Satoru were here. Wishes Megumi were here, too. 

Instead, he settles on cleaning up the apartment. They’ve gotten behind on laundry. So, he focuses on the pile of clothes that’s steadily been rising over the past few weeks in their closet. He finishes the laundry too quickly, so he settles for wiping down the kitchen counters, labels the milk that Satoru pumped and tucks them neatly into the freezer for safekeeping. 

Even after all of that, Satoru’s not back. Suguru frowns, then he heats up leftovers so it’s ready by the time Satoru’s home. 

It’s embarrassing, the way he perks up when he hears Satoru enter through the front door of the apartment. Suguru rushes towards him. Satoru has the baby tucked against his chest, Suguru takes Megumi from Satoru’s arms and rubs his nose against his head. 

“Wow, what am I? Chopped liver?” Satoru pouts. 

“Hush,” Suguru ignores him, and pulls Satoru against his chest, rubbing his nose against his forehead. “How was your appointment?”

Satoru tucks his face against Suguru’s neck and breathes in his scent.

“It was good, Shoko says I’m all healed, back to normal.” 

Suguru tries not to react too much, “Oh, that’s good. I’m glad you’re all healed.”

Satoru smiles and agrees.

They eat dinner together and they put Megumi to bed in his crib. Suguru and Satoru peer over the edge of their baby’s crib together, watching as he sleeps in his bed. He’s in his sleep suit, moonlight streaming over him. 

“He’s so perfect,” Suguru whispers, leaning his head back against Satoru’s shoulder. 

Satoru tightens his hands around Suguru’s waist. “Yeah, he’s the best.” 

Suguru agrees, echoing Satoru. “Yeah, he’s the best.” 

Eventually, they’re alone in their bed, just Satoru and Suguru. The baby is in his own bed for the first time in his life. They've got the baby monitor on the bedside table, but he’s quiet and still asleep. 

Satoru rolls over and presses their chests together. Then, he’s moving on top of Suguru and smiles down at him, he presses their lips together. Suguru shakes his head. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Satoru smiles cheekily, but he slowly moves down Suguru’s body, pressing a trail of kisses down Suguru’s chest and stomach. Satoru draws Suguru’s sleep shorts down his legs, then he presses in between Suguru’s legs, surging forward and finding Suguru’s hole. He licks a strip between the curve of legs, finding where Suguru’s most sensitive. 

Suguru thrashes underneath Satoru’s hold, but his palms keep him grounded against the mattress. Satoru eats him out, then shifts to fingering him. Suguru thrashes and whines, leaning in to the pleasure offered. It works, because eventually Satoru shifts and presses into Suguru’s body. 

Suguru gasps, scratching at Satoru’s shoulders to pull him closer. It’s embarrassing, for both of them, how quickly it takes for them to succumb to pleasure. It’s like they’re teenagers, trying this for the first time again. But, soon – Satoru comes inside of Suguru, having half-a-mind to wrap his fist around Suguru’s knot. Suguru’s head falls back against the pillow as he comes around Satoru’s cock. 

“Hey, thank you,” Satoru whispers, collapsing against Suguru’s chest. Suguru laughs, because why did he say that, out of all things. Satoru smacks his head to make him stop laughing. 

“Yeah, thank you, too,” Suguru says back, wrapping his arms around his mate. 

A beat passes, just lying against each other. Satoru is straddling Suguru’s hips and he grinds down on Suguru’s leg.

“What are you doing, baby?” Suguru asks. 

“I –,” Satoru gasps, saying nothing of substance, but he’s rubbing his hole against Suguru’s thigh. 

“What?” Suguru asks again, wrapping his arms around Satoru’s waist.

“Want you in me, Suguru,” Satoru whispers, raising up on his knees, trying to line Suguru’s cock up to his entrance. 

It’s so unexpected, so unlike Satoru – Suguru is unsure of how to react.

“Huh?” 

“Please, Suguru,” Satoru whines, “I want to feel you.” 

Suguru has never been one to resist Satoru – well, ever.

Suguru presses his fingers between Satoru’s legs but he hesitates. 

“Shoko said it was okay? You're sure?”

Suguru first-hand watched Megumi’s head come out of Satoru. He’s feeling a little worried about it all, sue him.

Satoru rolls his eyes, hovering over Suguru’s fingers. 

“Yes, I’m healed – I’m sure,” he breathes out and takes it upon himself to sit back on Suguru’s fingers, gasping at the feeling. 

Well, Suguru cannot resist the opportunity to make Satoru feel good. So he curls his fingers against the spongy spot inside of his mate’s pussy, as Satoru grinds down on his fingers. Satoru works himself up for a while, but wraps his fingers around Suguru’s wrist and replaces fingers with Suguru’s cock. What he’s wanted this entire time.

Satoru bounces on Suguru’s cock, but eventually tires himself out, curling over their bodies and ducks his head against Suguru’s collarbone. 

“Please, Suguru – baby, please,” Satoru whispers. 

Suguru takes it as permission to finally thrust into Satoru with abandon, wrapping his arms around Satoru to hold him in place. It doesn’t take long for Satoru to dig his nails into Suguru’s biceps as he comes around his cock, triggering Suguru’s own climax. He comes inside of Satoru, knot tying them together. But Satoru is the one who gathers Suguru into his arms, pressing him against his chest, soothing them both as they catch their breath.

Suguru manages to get up and clean the two of them up. He lays down next to Satoru, but he kind of feels guilty. Mind is spiraling and racing.

“Hey, you didn’t do that – just because you thought I wanted to, right?” Suguru asks, unable to ignore the coil of guilt curling in his belly.

Satoru flicks him between the eyes. “Suguru – no. Don’t say that. I just – wanted to. Okay?”

“Okay,” Suguru agrees, wrapping his arms around Satoru tighter. But guilt keeps gnawing at the back of his brain. He whispers against Satoru’s neck. “Is it okay that I knotted you?” 

Satoru sighs, exasperated, but still sweetly squeezing Suguru’s arms around his body and whispers back, “Yes, it’s fine. Don’t worry.” 

Suguru relaxes. Then they have a few moments of pretending to try to sleep, just the two of them. 

But eventually, they start missing Megumi. So they put on sleep clothes and Suguru retrieves the baby from his crib to bring him back to where he belongs, right between Satoru and Suguru.

Megumi looks ridiculously cute in his little sleep jumper. Satoru runs his hands through Megumi’s hair, pushing his bangs off his forehead. 

“I think we made the cutest baby ever,” Satoru says, scenting Megumi’s head.

“We did,” Suguru agrees, tracing Megumi’s little, perfect features with his fingers. 

Eventually, Satoru has to go back to work. 

It’s well, Suguru’s not sure he actually has to go back to work – at least maybe not yet. From the tabs he’s kept on everything in Satoru’s time off, Suguru’s plans and teams have really been working well. There haven’t been any major hiccups or injuries. Yaga actually calls Suguru and thanks him for his work and planning. It makes him happier than it should. 

However, Satoru wants to go back to work. Suguru doesn’t really blame him. Satoru loves being a sorcerer. He craves it. The feeling of going on missions and solving problems. The power behind it. It’s easy for Satoru, honestly. Makes him feel good. He’s been twitching out of his skin the longer he’s at the apartment on his postpartum leave.

And how can Suguru take that away from him? It feels unfair and cruel. 

They make a deal, though. Satoru won’t be taking long-term missions until the baby is older. Satoru admits that he still wants to breastfeed and he wants to be close by in case he wants to see Megumi. He says he wants to take lunch breaks and be home for dinner. Suguru agrees. 

Suguru will go back to teaching soon – but it’s still a little early for the baby to be around other people for extended periods. Instead, for the time being, Suguru will keep consulting on missions and wrapping up reports for Yaga and other sorcerers. 

Satoru’s been very excited to get back into the field. He practically lays out his uniform the day before. He reads over the mission he’s been assigned very carefully, in a way that he hasn’t done for a long time – or ever, maybe.

When morning comes, Satoru’s a little more hesitant. He’d pumped the night before, just in case Suguru needs extra milk while he’s gone, but he spends a long time in the nest feeding Megumi. Afterwards, he just keeps holding Megumi, looking at him and stroking his fat cheeks. It’s about time for Satoru to leave for his mission, but Suguru doesn’t want to disrupt him. 

The night before, Suguru made sure to pack Satoru a bag, with everything he might need – water bottle, snacks, phone charger, a change of shirt, breast pads, just in case he needs it. He’s spent the last three months attached to Satoru’s hip, it’s making him a little anxious at the thought of being away from him, even though it’s only going to be for a few hours. 

Satoru’s still holding Megumi and he’s loitering by the door. 

“Are you sure you wanna go?” Suguru can’t help but ask, though he feels a little evil and selfish. It’s – Satoru’s mission today isn’t crazy. He could wait until a Special Grade curse pops up. Not that Suguru would say that part out loud. 

Satoru bites his lip, scenting Megumi’s downy head. 

“Yeah, but – I guess I’d better get going.” 

“Yeah,” Suguru says, even though it makes him feel a little sick, the thought of Satoru being apart from him. He wants to tuck Satoru against him and scent him for the rest of the day, wrap his limbs around him until they become one person.

Satoru passes the baby to Suguru, but he keeps looking at the baby in Suguru’s arms. 

“I love you,” Suguru says, kissing Satoru. 

Satoru smiles, “I love you, Suguru. I love you, too, Megumi.” He kisses Suguru again and kisses Megumi’s head. 

Satoru shoulders his bag but he sways on his feet by the door, still looking at Suguru and Megumi. 

“You got everything?” Suguru asks. 

“Yeahhhhh,” Satoru says, very coolly. He makes a move to turn to the door, but freezes, grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Let me just – take a picture of him.”

“Okay, yeah, of course,” Suguru agrees. 

Satoru takes one picture, then another. Then he makes Suguru smile for a picture, too – for good measure. 

“Alright, I’m ready to go.”

“Okay, love you.” Suguru says it again.

“Love you,” Satoru repeats. He opens the door and steps out for a second, but he turns back around immediately. He buries his face against Suguru’s neck and scents him thoroughly, then he scents Megumi and kisses him again. 

“Hey, it’s okay – you’ll be home soon.” 

Suguru can hardly believe the words are leaving his lips. He really wants to be begging Satoru to stay and just decide to spend the rest of the day in their nest, no – the rest of Megumi’s life, actually. If Megumi decides to never go to college and lives in the guest room until he’s 40, Suguru thinks that will be fine. He’s sure Satoru will agree and decide to stay, too. 

But, that’s not what happens. Suguru nods again, trying to seem sure of himself, of this situation. Satoru nods, too. 

“Yeah, I’ll be home soon. I love you.” 

“We love you, too.” 

They barely ever say that – they both have just always known they love each other, they don’t need words all of the time. But they need words sometimes, like today. Something about having a baby has shifted the ways they express their love, overall. Suguru’s glad they said it as he watches Satoru leave for his mission. 

It takes a few minutes for Megumi to realize that Satoru’s gone, eyes squinting up at Suguru and twisting his neck to try to see the rest of the room. He scrunches up his nose, trying to scent for Satoru. But once it hits him – that Satoru isn’t there –he becomes very upset. 

He blinks up at Suguru like he realizes that he’s also not Satoru, and then he starts wailing in earnest. It takes some time for Suguru to calm him down. But eventually, after a little milk and cuddling back in the nest, Megumi seems fine and content, though still a little grumpy. 

The next few hours pass a bit more easily. Megumi naps, drinks a bottle, even though he’s a little pouty about it. Suguru tucks Megumi into a baby wrap against his chest and he’s able to get some laundry done and he even finishes a few reports, emails them to Yaga. 

Megumi wakes up with a little meow-like sound against his chest as Suguru’s starting to prepare an early dinner. It’s then that Satoru bursts through the front door. Of course, the baby senses it immediately and starts fussing. 

“Hey,” Satoru says quickly, practically running over to Suguru and starts making grabby hands for the baby, but can’t figure out how to undo the wrapping. 

He stops for a second, like he remembers Suguru is also here, and kisses his cheek. “Hey, hi – baby.” 

“Hi, baby,” Suguru laughs, unwraps Megumi and passes him to Satoru. Satoru breathes a sigh of relief once Megumi is in his arms and scurries over to the nest on the couch, where he sits and presses the baby to his chest. He scents Megumi’s head like a feign, taking in his scent. 

“Did you miss him?” Suguru asks, as he’s chopping vegetables to add to the pan.

“Yeah, I did,” Satoru whispers, but Suguru hears and it makes him smile. 

He gives Satoru his time with the baby and keeps working on dinner. When it’s finished, he plates it and brings it to Satoru, deciding they can just eat their meal on the couch. Satoru is still just looking at the baby, but when he sees Suguru he pushes the plate away so Suguru’s forced to set it on the coffee table, and makes Suguru sit next to him, so he can bury his face against his neck. 

“Hi,” Suguru whispers and kisses Satoru’s neck, his bondmark, then his cheek. “We missed you a lot.” 

“I missed you guys, too. A lot.” 

“How was your mission?” Suguru asks, laying his head on Satoru’s shoulder so he can peer down at Megumi looking so cute and sleepy pressed against Satoru’s chest, right where he’s meant to be. 

Satoru shrugs. “It was good. Wait, if I tell you – will you want to write my mission report?”

Suguru laughs, “Baby, of course I will. I’d be happy to.” 

Satoru laughs too, “Thank you, I knew there was a reason I married you.” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, but it makes his chest feel all nice and warm. Satoru recounts the mission to him and Suguru tucks it all away to write a report later. They decide to eat their dinner. Satoru picks the show they’ll watch. They put Megumi to bed and they take a shower together. And after, they lay together in bed.

The next day, Satoru goes on another mission and the routine repeats. It’s how their life was before the baby, but something about it doesn’t feel right. 

It feels like Satoru is missing. Every time Megumi smiles or does something cute. Satoru’s missing.

Suguru got used to it before – Satoru being gone, for the most part, a long time ago. But, it’s like he’s had to start from the beginning, again. 

The way Satoru comes home so desperate each night, he wonders if he feels the same way. 

Suguru loves being a dad. 

In theory, he knew he always wanted kids, liked the idea of it all. However, the reality of actually having a baby is different. But as he spends more time with Megumi and as he gets older, Suguru finds that he truly loves having a baby and being a dad, everything that comes along with it.

Every morning, Suguru wakes up next to Satoru. Satoru takes Megumi from his pup nest and he tucks him against his chest and feeds him. Megumi is very greedy and digs his nails into Satoru’s skin. Satoru doesn’t mind, he just laughs and pats Megumi’s bottom. When Megumi’s had his fill, Satoru passes the baby to Suguru, then scurries off to take a shower and get dressed for the day. 

Then, it’s just Suguru and Megumi.

Megumi is so fucking cute. Part of Suguru’s knows that there are hormones and endorphins involved to make his brain accept the baby as his kin, at a primal level, but past that – Suguru knows they have the cutest baby ever. Megumi is chubby and soft. He smells sweet and has pretty, long fingers that curl around Suguru’s hands. 

Satoru gets all sad every time he has to leave Megumi. Megumi gets sad too, but Suguru has a system down to distract him. So, he’s not upset for too long, now that he’s gotten used to the new routine. He still gets upset, though. 

Suguru doesn’t blame him. He finds it hard to be apart from Satoru for long periods of time, and he’s known Satoru for far less time, when he compares his life to Megumi’s. Suguru’s 13 years of Satoru is measly in comparison to Megumi’s 125% of Satoru.

He often tries to think about what it must be like to be Megumi. What it must be like to be in this strange new world, mostly just seeing Suguru and Satoru each day. 

He’s five months old. Shoko says his hippocampus is starting to really develop, forming memories and starting to make connections. He’s learning to recognize his own name and different cause and effect. Like how it makes Suguru laugh when he blows raspberries against his chest. Or, how he can calm down immediately when he presses his face against Suguru’s scent gland.

Megumi’s still a little grump, but all in all, he’s really a happy baby. He doesn’t get upset very often. They’ve got a good schedule down. After Satoru leaves for his missions, Megumi does tummy time on his playmate while Suguru gets ready for the day. As a reward, Suguru reads him a story, high contrast books that Megumi likes to grab at. He takes a morning nap while Suguru responds to emails and tries to write reports. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they go to the library with Yu and his daughter Tsumiki for a playgroup. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Suguru just takes him for a walk around campus, and shows Megumi where they walked each night while they were waiting for him to be born. He still stops by the little shrines to ask for blessings for his own little blessing. After, they play and Megumi naps again. Suguru works out, then he finishes up reports if he’s got extra time. He tucks Megumi into a wrap or lets him play on the carpet while he makes dinner, then Satoru’s home, and the best part of the day can begin. When it’s just the three of them.

Eventually, Suguru also has to go back to work. He doesn’t mind much, though. He loves being a teacher. And it’s better because he gets to bring Megumi along with him now. The students completely fawn over him. Megumi is usually content to peek his head over the baby wrap to meet new people or explore new parts of the campus. 

Sometimes he leaves him with Haibara when he needs to take the students on more dangerous missions. Though, he tries not to very often, feeling a little bad because Yu is very pregnant now, ready to give birth to his second baby.

Megumi doesn’t mind too much, he likes Nanami and Haibara’s daughter, even though she’s a little older than him. He’s always happy to see Suguru at the end of the day. Or Satoru when he finishes his missions earlier than expected.

Whatever the daily schedule is set to be, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are always the best, because it gets to be all three of them, for the entire day. 

But, on any day, Suguru’s favorite part of the routine is giving Megumi his nighttime bath and putting him in his warm, patterned pajamas. Wrapping him up in a blanket and laying him down for bed, his sleepy little face and downy scent. Always smelling so much like Suguru and Satoru, something they undeniably created together, and still something so uniquely himself – Megumi. An entire new little person. 

Suguru goes to bed each night, so happy knowing that he gets to do it all over the next day. 

And the next and the next and the next. 

Giving a little more to his child and his partner every day, and getting to take a little more in return. 

He loves being a dad. 

He loves being Megumi’s dad.

Megumi is nearly six months old. He can almost sit up without assistance. He rolls over all on his own. It’s almost like he’s starting to form his own personality. He gets grumpy and happy, depending on what’s in his reach. He copies facial expressions sometimes. He likes stuffed animals and trying new foods. 

His favorite thing, however, remains to be Satoru – and Satoru’s milk.

They’ve mostly had a system in place, since Megumi primarily breastfeeds. However, Satoru isn’t great about staying on a schedule for pumping and they haven’t tried to test any formulas that Megumi might like. It makes Suguru nervous, but Satoru doesn’t want to. He says their current system works just fine. 

Current system being: Satoru knows the baby’s schedule, Satoru teleports back to the apartment at those specific times, Suguru calls him if the baby is fussy or needs an unexpected feeding, or last resort, Satoru pumps sometimes. 

To Satoru’s credit, it does work. But, he’s sure it must be exhausting for Satoru, trying to keep track of the time and warping and breastfeeding and pumping and everything else he has to do. Suguru’s growing a little worried about him. All of his responsibilities, some thrust-upon him, some self-inflicted, maybe. 

And well yes, it works – for the most part. There are rare occasions, when it doesn’t, like today – where Megumi’s upset and screaming his head off. He’s red in the face and hungry, and doesn't understand why Suguru isn’t feeding him, very displeased at any other options given to him so far. 

Satoru was supposed to be here, but he’s not answering his phone. Suguru’s stressed, and by extension it’s bleeding into feeling pissed at Satoru. He’d told him this morning that they didn’t have any more milk in the freezer and Satoru said it would be fine. That he’d be back in time. 

“I know, buddy – I’m sorry,” he rocks the baby, trying to get him to suck on his pacifier. 

He thinks about whether or not he should just make Megumi a bottle with the container of formula he bought a few weeks back, out of some level of anxiety that wouldn’t stop gnawing at his brain. He hopes Satoru will forgive his betrayal eventually. 

He tried to get Megumi to eat oatmeal and yogurt, but he mostly just played with it. And the truth remains – he wants milk.

He calls Satoru one last time and makes a deal with himself – that if Satoru doesn’t answer he’ll make the bottle. He counts the rings, until the chimes change into Satoru’s VoiceMail. Suguru sighs, opening the cabinet where he stashed the alumni container, whether out of guilt or shame or distrust – he doesn’t look into the feeling too deeply. 

As he’s crouched on the floor, the scent of ozone fills the apartment and Suguru freezes, jolting into a standing position. Satoru materializes into the middle of the kitchen. Megumi must smell that Satoru’s here because he absolutely wails, fighting and kicking against Suguru’s chest.

“What are you doing?”

Suguru ignores his question. “Satoru! Where have you been? I’ve been calling you.” 

“Sorry,” Satoru shakes his head. “I was in the middle of something.” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, “Well, the baby is hungry and he’s been screaming. You said you’d be back when we woke up from his first nap.” 

Satoru sighs, sitting down at the kitchen island. He gestures for the baby and Suguru passes him over. Satoru rucks off his uniform jacket and unbuttons his dress shirt, then pushes his undershirt under his chin. 

His chest looks swollen and uncomfortable. He angles Megumi to the right spot, tucking his flailing, upset little body into the corner of his elbow. It takes Megumi a second of being upset before he realizes he’s eating and immediately turns into Satoru’s body, cuddling close. Tiny fingers squeezing his skin, relaxing.

Satoru is running his fingers through Megumi’s hair, holding him close. But, there’s something – off. He seems nervous, on-edge. Leg bouncing, eyes glancing at the clock over the stove. He’s anxious. Satoru didn’t sleep well last night. Megumi was up a few times during the night, demanding to be breastfed.

Satoru said it was nothing crazy, that he just needed some comforting to fall back to sleep. But Satoru was still up, and fed him a few times. Apart from the feedings, Suguru could feel him tossing and turning next to him.

It’s well – Suguru’s worried. Something doesn’t seem right. 

Suguru looks at Satoru, really looks at him. He sees the dark circles under his eyes. The way he’s holding the baby close. The bitten edges of his nails. The baby jerks and twists and Satoru winces briefly, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. 

“Satoru?” he asks. 

Satoru looks up at him, their eyes meeting. 

“Huh? What?” 

“Are you – okay?”

“What? Yes,” Satoru says quickly, brushing him off. 

Suguru presses further, “Like actually, are you okay?” 

Satoru blanches. He looks – offended. 

“Seriously? You’re asking me?”

“Satoru–” 

It’s too late, Satoru is turning away and storming to Megumi’s bedroom. Megumi hardly ever sleeps in his room, apart from solo naps from time to time, or when they need a few hours alone. They have everything he needs in there, as well as a full-sized bed tucked in the corner from when it used to be an extra guest room. Satoru built a nest there and sometimes he likes to lay with the baby in the blankets there, to show him his future room. 

Suguru gets the feeling that’s not the case right now.  

That’s not how Suguru intended for that to go. 

He’s genuinely worried about Satoru. Something hasn’t seemed right for awhile now. Satoru’s upset and he probably just needs some time with the baby, it doesn’t feel right to push right now. Worse, he doesn’t want to fight in front of the baby, even if he’s little and won’t remember. It feels wrong. 

He should make lunch, that feels like the right thing to do. Satoru will probably be hungry after he’s done feeding the baby. 

Suguru gathers some of the leftovers in the fridge, trying to put something together. They really fucking need to grocery shop. Satoru left his phone on the counter, and it keeps vibrating. Suguru sighs and declines the call – Yaga. Then, he declines another call a few seconds later – another from Yaga. He rinses the lettuce, ignoring more of the vibrating. 

It’s no use, because his own phone starts vibrating in his back pocket. It’s Yaga, of course. He considers declining, but eventually he answers. 

“What?” 

“Suguru! Where the hell is Gojo?”

“He’s done for the day, sensei.” 

Yaga makes a terrible, angry noise on the other line. The drama of it all. 

“No, that’s – he left in the middle of a mission. Tell him to get back here right this instant.” 

“No, not today. No more. He’s done for the week, actually.” 

“Well, if he’s fine letting a Special Grade kill innocent people —” he keeps yelling and Suguru moves the phone away from his ear to sigh and suppresses the urge to roll his eyes. Maybe it makes him a bad person, but he’s really finding it hard to care about people that aren’t Satoru or Megumi. 

“Fine, I’ll be there in a second. Send me the coordinates.” 

He hangs up before Yaga can say anything else. Naturally, he sends the coordinates quickly. Suguru regretfully leaves the lunch he was trying to put together and calls forth one of his curses, following the location Yaga sent. 

The curse he finds is a Special Grade, sure – but Satoru pretty much did all of the work beating it down, probably thought it was already done for. So, it barely takes more than a flick of his wrist for Suguru to absorb the curse. He stays a little while after speaking to witnesses outside of the veil. No casualties, despite what Yaga was spouting over the phone. 

He calls Yaga after and tells him the curse is taken care of. He considers asking why another team couldn’t have finished the job, but Yaga’s already pissed at him, and he just wants to get home. He stayed longer than he wanted to. 

When Suguru makes it back to the apartment, Satoru’s waiting for him. He’s standing in the front hallway, rocking a sleeping Megumi in his arms. He’s not wearing a shirt and he’s still got his uniform pants on. He turns to look at Suguru and his eyes are all wide and wet, like he’s been worried and upset. His scent is terrible. 

“Hey,” Suguru walks closer, almost like he’s approaching a scared, wild animal. “What’s wrong?” 

Satoru frees his arm and snakes it around Suguru’s shoulder, wrapping his fingers in the hairs at the base of Suguru’s neck. 

“It’s –” he stops himself, teeth digging into his lip. It’s a bad habit he’s developed lately. 

Suguru puts a hand around Satoru’s waist, uses his other hand to free Satoru’s lip from his teeth, strokes his cheek, the thin skin underneath his eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks again, keeping his voice soft and even.

“Suguru, I thought,” Satoru shakes his head. “You left?” 

“Toru,” Suguru frowns, pulling his mate closer so he can rub his face against Satoru’s bondmark. “I went to finish up your mission. I didn’t leave. I wouldn’t leave. Never.” 

Satoru just looks at him. It goes unsaid. What they’re both thinking. Suguru has left before. A long time ago. When they were teenagers, after everything went down. It was barely more than a day. But he still tried to leave. Turned off his phone and took his Rainbow Dragon Curse half way across Japan. Holed himself up in a bed and breakfast, before Satoru found him. Demanded to know what he planned to do. Eventually, took him back to Tokyo – and the rest was history, in a way.  

It hasn’t been brought up in a long time. Having a baby has dredged up a lot of those old insecurities. Those basic instincts and fears and worries. 

Suguru figures, it’s been slightly worse for Satoru, he’s the one that’s had to go through the most intense bodily and hormonal changes, carrying the baby and all. Suguru hasn’t been unscathed through the whole experience either. His alpha is more twitchy than he ever was before. 

They don’t really talk about it. But the fears – they’re there. Made worse in moments like these. When they’re both exhausted and tired and life is still happening outside of just having Megumi and being new parents. 

“I’d never leave, Satoru.” Suguru whispers again. 

Satoru worries at his lower lip, like he’s not sure whether to believe him or not. And that just won’t do. So, Suguru moves closer. He kisses Satoru’s cheek, then his lips. Then his nose for good measure. 

“Never,” he repeats. 

Satoru’s still frowning, though he looks more like himself than he has all day. “I feel stupid, now.” 

Suguru shakes his head, tries to smile, “It’s not stupid. I say stuff like this all the time.”

It is a little ironic, now that Suguru’s really thinking about it. 

Throughout their relationship, Suguru’s usually been the one insecure and worried about pushing Satoru away. About Satoru leaving. Even though Satoru’s never been the one to ever suggest leaving. It’s been a while, but it’s still strange that the roles seem to be shifted.

Satoru smiles a little, too, “You really do. Or well, you used to.” 

“Yeah, I’m not so worried about that anymore,” Suguru scratches at the short hairs at Satoru’s neck, where his undercut has grown out a little. Megumi stayed asleep through it all, so Suguru can’t help but rub the back of his hand against his soft baby cheeks. He makes a soft, cute little noise, like a kitten all sleepy, cuddling closer to Satoru’s bare chest. Suguru’s a little jealous of him. He wants to press his face against Satoru’s chest. 

“‘Cuz I baby trapped you?” Satoru says it, meaning to tease, and it’s nice to hear him being his crude self again. Even if what he’s saying is so wrong.

Suguru rolls his eyes. “How is it baby trapping if we were already mated and married? And he was a planned baby, you’re just extra fertile and an overachiever. First try and everything.”

“It’s just funny, to tease,” Satoru shrugs, but he leans forward and hides his face against Suguru’s bondmark now, breathing in his scent. 

Suguru runs his hands up and down Satoru’s back. 

“Hey, we skipped lunch. Do you want to order something? We have – like, no food.” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Satoru nods, but he makes no move to pull away from Suguru. 

Suguru squeezes him tightly, though he’s mindful of the baby in between them. By now, they’re used to hugging with Megumi in the middle.  They’ve had a few months of practice, when Megumi was still in Satoru’s belly, and now with him outside, too.

“I can take him, if you want to order your food,” Suguru suggests. Satoru shakes his head. 

“Nah, I just want to hold him today. I trust you to order for me.” 

How sweet, Suguru smiles, shaking his head. Satoru takes the baby and sits himself on the couch nest that’s only grown over the months since Satoru was pregnant. They’ve never had so many nests scattered throughout their apartment. Suguru certainly doesn’t mind. Satoru doesn’t seem to mind either. He used to be embarrassed about it, but it seems he’s grown to embrace this side of himself. 

While Suguru tries to decide on dinner, he listens to Satoru blabbering to the baby, one of Suguru’s favorite pastimes. When Megumi was first born, Satoru was very worried he wouldn’t know what to say to the baby. Suguru knew he’d be fine, but Satoru was practically distraught at the thought of doing something wrong.

But of course, Satoru’s a natural at talking to the baby, narrates his entire days and thought processes to the baby, without a second thought. He’s a great parent. 

Satoru talks to the baby as he decides on a movie to watch for the evening. He settles on an animal documentary, because he’s convinced Megumi is an animal lover. Suguru is inclined to agree, because Megumi’s eyes get all big whenever he catches a glimpse of coyotes and wolf puppies on the screen. 

However, Megumi’s been very fussy today. He’s probably teething, or something. So, he’s very uninterested in the elephant documentary Satoru puts on, and instead decides to wail until Satoru lets him nurse again.

Suguru places the delivery order and climbs over the couch to sit next to Satoru. He peers down at Megumi as he sucks and paws at Satoru’s chest unhappily. 

“Has he been this grumpy all day?” Satoru asks, stroking Megumi’s chubby cheek. 

Suguru shrugs, “He must be going through a growth spurt.”

Satoru laughs, "Definitely. He’s been cluster feeding since I got back.” 

“Last night, too,” Suguru points out. 

“Oh, you noticed that?” 

“Of course, I was worried about you.” 

Satoru looks at him for a moment, surprised. 

“Suguru,” he says, smiling all dopey. 

“Satoru,” he says back. 

“I’m glad I had a baby with you.” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, “I’m glad I had a baby with you, too.” 

Megumi says his first word when he’s eight months old. He’s been babbling for days, seeming like he was going to form something close to a word. Suguru’s listened to all of it half-excited, half-slightly terrified that Satoru wouldn’t be here to hear it. 

But, Suguru’s grateful that he waits for a weekend. 

It’s the middle of August and they’ve got the door to the balcony open, to let some fresh air in. Satoru’s cleaning the kitchen, scrubbing at the stove. 

Suguru is lying on the floor in the family room. Megumi’s on his stomach and he’s pressing him into the air, holding him over his head because it’s making Megumi cackle and full-belly laugh. So, naturally, Suguru keeps doing it. Satoru abandons his work in the kitchen to come sit next to Suguru on the floor, and doesn't want to be left out of the fun. 

Suguru changes Megumi’s course in the air and moves him closer to Satoru each time he presses him into the air. Megumi keeps cackling and tries to reach for Satoru and laughs even harder as Suguru moves him away each time he gets close enough to grab Satoru. 

Suguru moves Megumi close enough to Satoru for their noses to touch when Megumi says his first word clear as day.

He reaches his hands out to touch Satoru’s cheeks and squeals, “Dah!” 

Satoru and Suguru both freeze, looking at each other. Megumi is still suspended in the air between them. 

“Did he just?” Satoru asks. 

Suguru sits up, taking Megumi with him. He points at Satoru, “Who is that, ‘Gumi? What’s his name?”

Megumi points at Satoru, and declares, “Dah!” 

Satoru gapes and looks at Suguru again. Suguru is smiling so hard, it feels like his cheeks are going to burst. Satoru is still frozen in place, a dopey grin on his face. 

Suguru sits up and holds Megumi around his belly and nuzzles his cheek, “Yeah, Megumi that’s your Dad. Such a smart boy.” 

“Dah,” Megumi says again, and now Satoru can’t help himself from his reaching out and pulling Megumi against him, peppering kisses against his fat cheeks. Suguru can’t either. 

Satoru sits back with Megumi and points at Suguru, “Who’s that, ‘Gumi?” 

Megumi tilts forehead against Satoru and furrows his brow as he considers Suguru. Satoru whispers into Megumi’s ear. The baby narrows his eyes and points at Suguru.

“Pah!” 

Satoru lights up, smiling so brightly, squeezing Megumi and kissing his cheek again, “Yeah, baby – that’s your papa. Say it again.” 

“Pah,” Megumi repeats. They both cheer. Suguru is still smiling so widely, but his eyes are getting all wet. Satoru reaches out and pulls Suguru against him and then they’re both crying and kissing Megumi. 

Another happy memory.

Megumi has brought a lot of those, happy moments, in the last few months.

Megumi’s first birthday falls on a Sunday, a few days before Christmas.

A few weeks before, it was Satoru’s 29th birthday. It was a Saturday, but he said he just wanted to spend it at home, not unlike a year ago. When he was heavily pregnant and just wanted it to be spent alone with him and Suguru and ice cream. 

Naturally, Suguru ignores that decision, and gifts Satoru with a new gaming console and plethora of games to go along with it. Satoru is absolutely smitten with the gift. They put Megumi to sleep early and spend the night playing the new Pokemon game that Suguru bought for Satoru. And if they fuck on the couch, that’s no one’s business but their own. They’re grown adults with their own autonomy. 

But now, it’s Megumi’s first birthday. Satoru wants it to be a small affair, but he sends out invites to everyone they know. His mothers, Suguru’s parents, and all of their friends. 

They decorate their house and order a sheet cake for the guests, and a smaller cake for Megumi, too. Since it’s his special day. 

All their friends, and both Suguru and Satoru’s parents show up for their son’s special day. They sit Megumi in his high chair with the smash cake set in front of him. They all sing happy birthday to him, and Megumi claps his hands happily. He smashes his cake with abandon. 

Satoru takes a million pictures. Everyone is so happy to cheer Megumi on and celebrate him. In the chaos, Suguru can’t help but hug his mate and kiss his cheek.

“Remember this time last year?”

“Yeah, I felt terrible and we were walking around in the cold. You made me throw away my favorite slippers,” Satoru pouts. 

Suguru laughs, holding Satoru closer against himself. 

“Yes, but after that do you remember?”

Satoru rolls his eyes, “What are you getting at?” 

Suguru kisses him, “You had our baby.” 

Satoru rolls his eyes, “Oh, that? It was nothing.”

“Nah, it was something. Thank you, ‘Toru.” 

“Nah, thank you – ‘Guru,” Satoru teases back and Suguru pinches him for good measure. 

After a moment, Satoru says something else, smiling, “It’s been a good year, hasn’t it?” 

Suguru smiles back, “Yeah, it has. It’s been a good year.” 

In truth, it has been a good year, all things considered.

There have been ups and downs. 

There’s been give and take.

But altogether, it’s been more good than anything else. 

And, Suguru can’t help but wonder what the next year will bring. 

Chapter Text

It feels a bit like déjà vu, the second time it happens, but entirely something different altogether. 

Suguru picks Megumi up from Haibara’s, because he’s been out of town for a mission, and Satoru had to stay late working on his own duties.

Megumi is ecstatic to see him, in his own little grumpy, sea urchin way. His fourth birthday is two months away. But he’s tall for his age and has shed most of the baby fat from being a toddler. 

He’s starting to look more like a full-blown child, and less like a baby each day, breaking Suguru’s heart a little. Still, he demands to be held, which Suguru will indulge for as long as he can. 

They enrolled Megumi in part-time preschool, since they think he’s a little too young and not quite ready for full-time school, and their schedules luckily allow them the flexibility to make that choice. But still, their schedules don’t always align with Megumi’s days off. So, he stays with Haibara and his kids some days or in the afternoons. Best of all, he likes the days he gets to spend playing with Haibara and Nanami’s son, Yuji. 

He’s a few months younger than Megumi, but he’s a goofy little alpha boy – always getting into well-meaning mischief. Even with Haibara’s kindness, Suguru hates leaving Megumi with Haibara too late, because the boys can get a little too silly with each other, especially when it’s just the two of them.

Privately, he also tries to not fear what their budding friendship will mean for his future, pushing down those fatherhood-related anxieties. 

Today is one of the days that Megumi’s at Haibara’s for most of the day. Satoru texted him and asked him to get Megumi if he made it home before 5PM. Suguru is more than happy to. At pick-up, the first out-of-sorts thing that Suguru notes is that his son practically reeks of Satoru. Smelling as if he’d been drowned in Satoru’s scent. 

He asks Haibara about it, but he doesn’t seem too concerned by it. 

He just laughs, “Oh, ha. Yeah, he’s been like that all week. Gojo-senpai stopped by at lunch to see him, though.”

Interesting. Suguru files that away for later processing. Now, he’s just happy to be reunited with his son.

He chats with Megumi the entire walk home, pointing out different things on their walk. Megumi is very observant. He’s mostly a quiet kid, but he’s always taking everything in. His brain is like a little sponge, learning every second of every day. 

Megumi tells him about everything he’s missed this week, while he was away on his mission.  Best of all, he buries his face against Suguru’s scentmark and says he missed him very much. Suguru asks how Satoru was, out of his own quiet concern. He hates being apart from his mate, the addition of Megumi made it all the more worse. 

Megumi scrunches up his nose, “Daddy, was acting weird without you.”  

Suguru laughs, rubbing his cheek against his son’s, “Weird, how?” 

Megumi thinks about it for a moment, but ultimately he just shrugs, “He missed you, too.”

Suguru hates taking long missions. He wasn’t sure he should’ve taken this one, because Satoru’s migraines have been terrible recently. He’s been exhausted by it all. He says it’s probably a hormonal thing, as opposed to Six Eye related. The Six Eyes are more than fine, now. But after having Megumi, he hasn’t been able to get all of the hormonal stuff quite back to the way it was before. 

Whatever it is, Suguru was sure the last thing he probably needed was to be juggling a three-year-old on top of all of his other responsibilities. Regardless, Satoru told him to take the mission, said he’d be just fine.

“Hey, Satoru – we’re home,” Suguru calls out. There’s no response, but he knows Satoru’s home. His shoes are in the foyer and he can smell him close by. 

“Satoru?” he calls out again, with no answer. He gives Megumi a look and Megumi blinks back at him, pouting. 

Suguru places Megumi on the couch and pats his head, turning on one of his shows. “I’ll be right back, ‘Gumi.” 

He makes his way into their bedroom to find Satoru facedown in a pile of blankets and pillows atop their bed. The room smells very strongly of Satoru and Megumi. He probably let Megumi sleep with him in the nest all week. Recently, they’ve been trying to get him to sleep in his own room and Suguru has half a mind to be annoyed with Satoru offsetting their progress as he shakes him awake. 

Instead, Satoru’s whole body tenses as he shoots awake. 

“Huh, Suguru?” He mutters sleepily, rubbing at his eyes. Then, awareness washes over him all at once and he wraps his entire body around Suguru, pulling him into his arms. “Suguru!”

Satoru buries his face against Suguru’s bondmark, scenting him. “I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you,” Suguru laughs. “Were you sleeping?” 

“No,” Satoru lies. “I just got back and laid down for a second. Resting my eyes.” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, but he kisses Satoru’s forehead. “I missed you, too.”

Satoru makes a happy noise as he holds Suguru closer, but he freezes again. “What time is it? I have to get Megumi from Haibara’s.”

Suguru rubs a hand up and down the small of Satoru’s back. “He’s here. I picked him up. Remember you texted me?” 

“Oh, hah,” Satoru laughs, but he wriggles out from underneath Suguru, probably to go see their kid. 

Suguru follows Satoru into the living room where Megumi is sitting on the couch watching one of the shows they only allow him to watch when they really need a moment. Suguru doesn’t want to raise an iPad baby.

“‘Gumi!” Satoru shouts and scoops Megumi into his arms. He cuddles the kid into his arms and scents him heavily, as if Megumi isn’t already dripping in his scent. 

It’s not unusual – per se. Satoru and Megumi have a very special bond. Satoru is the one that carried Megumi and birthed him, it will always be a unique relationship between them. This is the typical scene after Satoru’s been on a long mission. This is more than usual, given they’ve spent the week together, just the two of them.

Megumi loves them both, of course he does. But Suguru’s the one with the schedule that allows him to be home with Megumi more. So, Satoru’s become a sort of commodity to him. Suguru read about it on parenting blogs. He remembered feeling similarly about his alpha mother when she worked long hours. 

When Megumi was a baby, he'd always wail mournfully whenever Satoru left, then he would cry angrily and grumpily when he came back, but his scent was always happy and relieved. 

Megumi makes grabby hands at Suguru, so he joins them on the corner of the couch. Suguru loves his little family so much. 

Eventually, Megumi complains about being hungry. But they have no food in the house. Suguru can’t blame Satoru, he’s had enough to deal with this week, and Suguru’s usually the one who takes Megumi grocery shopping or to the weekend markets. So, they decide to order in. 

Megumi pleads for fried chicken. Which is a good sign that Satoru fed him real food over the week, not that Suguru doubted him, of course. He can’t judge, really. He’s been guilty of feeding Megumi too much take-out on the weeks when Satoru’s been gone. It’s hard to have a job and a kid when you’re a one-man show. 

They order delivery and eat KFC while finishing up another episode of Megumi’s show. Suguru gives Megumi a bath, helps him brush his teeth, and dresses him in his pajamas. He reads Megumi a story and the kid drifts to sleep in the pup nest Satoru built for him in his bed.

Then, Suguru takes a shower and gets ready for bed. After his skincare routine, he deems himself ready to join Satoru in their nest. Satoru is laying underneath the blankets, half looking at his phone, half dozing off. Suguru curls up against Satoru’s sleeping form and kisses Satoru’s forehead. 

Satoru shifts, blinking awake and tossing his phone on the bedside table. He turns toward Suguru. “Hi, baby. Was Megumi okay going to bed?”

“Yeah, he was fine. How are you? You seem sleepy. Are your migraines still bad?” 

“I’m fine, I just missed you,” Satoru pouts, pressing his weight against Suguru. 

“I missed you, too. My mission was so boring,” Suguru whines.

Satoru laughs, “What’d you have to do?” 

“Took in a first grade, some other lower grade curses that spawned. Then I just interviewed a lot of locals, it was interesting. But, I wanted to be with you.” 

Satoru smiles, wrapping his arms around Suguru’s neck to try to go to sleep again. 

“Hey, there’s something I need to tell you,” Satoru says, quietly. 

“What is it?” Suguru asks, anxiety coiling in his stomach. 

Satoru goes to speak, but a little figure appears in their doorframe, taking both of their attention. It’s Megumi, holding one of his stuffed animals.

Megumi’s journey of sleeping independently is surely ruined.

“What’s wrong, Megumi?” Suguru asks.

“I wanna sleep in the nest,” Megumi whines, sounding very tearful.

Satoru rubs a hand over his face, exhausted. Suguru sighs, “Daddy made you a very nice nest in your bed.” 

Megumi stomps his foot with a frown, ever the image of Satoru. “No, I want to sleep in your nest.”

Really, Suguru should scoop him into his arms and take him back to his bed, lay with him until he falls asleep. But Suguru is very tired and he also wants to stay in Satoru’s nest. And, it’s impossible to deny Megumi when he’s looking and sounding so cute and pitiful. So, instead he beckons Megumi over. 

Megumi takes the invitation and sprints over, crawling onto the bed. Suguru expects him to crawl in between them, like he usually does. But, he makes a beeline for Satoru’s prone form and crawls under his shirt. The tuft of his black hair peaks out of the top of Satoru’s shirt. Satoru looks at Suguru with a tired pout. 

“He’s obsessed with me,” Satoru sighs, patting Megumi’s back through his t-shirt. 

“Well, you breastfeed him until he was two, so can you blame him?” Suguru teases. 

Satoru blanches, “Hey, you were for that!” 

Satoru was unsure about breastfeeding at first, but he always said he liked that it was a way to bond with Megumi that was unique to the two of them. And then, Satoru just kept going as a way to soothe Megumi. Suguru did support the connection between the two of them, when Satoru felt a little unsure about it, yes he was supportive.

Suguru reaches over and places his hand over Megumi's back. Megumi twists his head and  leans against Satoru’s chest. Satoru winces, slightly, sucking in a breath, bringing a hand to hover over his chest.

It’s – 

Suddenly, everything clicks in Suguru’s brain. 

Satoru’s migraines. The way he drenched Megumi in his scent. Satoru napping in the middle of the day. Their nest with all the blankets and pillows. Megumi being so attached to Satoru, and Satoru in return.

Satoru’s pregnant again. He has to be. Suguru is sure of it. 

“Satoru –” he starts to say. 

Satoru hums in acknowledgment. 

It’s – how can he broach the subject now? It doesn’t feel like the right time. To discuss this, with Megumi in between them.

“Nothing, just love you.” 

Satoru smiles, “Love you, too. We'll talk tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Suguru whispers back.

The next morning, it’s Friday – Satoru and Suguru both have the day off. Megumi goes to preschool. So, it’s the perfect time to bring it up – his revelation. 

Satoru’s still asleep when it’s time to get Megumi up, which is suspicious. Suguru walks the kid through his usual routine. Breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, pack Megumi’s bento box. 

Megumi’s school isn’t too far from campus, and they get to walk together. Megumi goes to the same preschool as Yuji, they’re in the same age cohort. So they meet up with Haibara and Yuji to walk the rest of the way. Since it’s Nanami’s day to take Tsumiki, their older daughter, to her school. 

Yuji and Megumi love going to school together. Suguru kisses Megumi goodbye, then helps him out of his jacket and switches to his indoor shoes. 

Suguru walks back to campus with Haibara. 

“How’s Gojo-senpai?” Haibara asks, at some point on their walk.

Suguru shakes his head, “How many times do we have to tell you? He’s just Satoru.” 

Haibara laughs. “It makes me feel nostalgic.”

Suguru gets it, a lot has changed in the last few years. It’s nice to have some things stay the same, Haibara’s manners and formalities included. 

“He’s fine. Why do you ask?” 

“I don’t know,” Haibara shrugs. “He seemed a little – I guess – twitchy this week.” 

Suguru shrugs, even as his own theories twist in his gut, “You know how he is sometimes, yeah?

Haibara just gives him a look, but laughs all the same. 

When Suguru makes it back to their apartment, Satoru is sitting at the kotatsu. They bought it a few years ago, during one particularly cold winter. Megumi loved it immediately, and liked crawling under the blanket to get all warm and cozy. Satoru loved it even more. He still likes it, even now, as winter is starting to turn to spring. 

“Hi,” Suguru smiles, as he toes off his shoes and comes to join Satoru, tucking his feet under the warm blanket, intertwining their legs together. 

“Hi,” Satoru has a cup of tea that he twists on the table. “How was drop off?” 

Suguru smiles, “It was good, you know Megumi likes school.” 

“Good, I’m glad he likes it.” 

“Me too, I didn’t like school as a kid.” 

Satoru laughs, nodding. 

“Yeah, I’m glad he has Yuji. Other people like him.” 

Suguru hums in agreement. It’s a half-truth. Satoru told him before, in the quiet of their bedroom when it was just the two of them, that neither Tsumiki or Yuji have cursed energy. It’s not entirely uncommon. But, Yuji has the markings of something like a Heavenly Restriction. One like Fushiguro Toji. Nanami has probably realized it already, but Tsumiki is getting to the age where cursed techniques manifest, and it will soon become obvious to everyone.

Suguru tries to think about what that would be like – to have a child without a cursed technique. In truth, he’s never considered it. Always just assumed the combination of him and Satoru would produce a child like them. 

But he’s heard of it happening, one of the Zen’in wives gave birth to identical twins a little before Satoru got pregnant, and one was born without a lick of cursed energy. 

He never even thought of the possibility, when Satoru was pregnant with Megumi. And now – he’s thinking of other possibilities, despite himself. 

They’re making small talk, but Suguru knows he has to bring up what he’s been thinking about

“Satoru –” 

But coincidentally, at the same time, Satoru says, “Suguru –” 

They both laugh, at their joint misstep. 

“You first,” Suguru says. 

“No, you,” Satoru insists.

But a beat passes and neither says anything. Then, they’re both speaking at the same time. 

“Are you pregnant?” 

“I’m pregnant.” 

Suguru freezes. Satoru blanches back at him. 

“How did you know?” Satoru asks, shaking his head. 

“I – your migraines, Megumi being so attached to you, your chest was – ah sensitive?” 

Satoru gives him a look, “Suguru, you were thinking about me getting tits again, were you?”

Suguru groans, “No! Megumi was lying on your chest and you were looking all in pain.” 

“Ahh, caught that, did you?” Satoru smiles.

Suguru frowns, “How long have you known?” 

He feels a little hurt that Satoru didn’t find a way to tell him immediately. 

Satoru makes a face, “I started to figure it out while you were gone. Because I felt like I was going insane without you. But Suguru there’s something else –”

All previous anxieties that were soothed suddenly return.

“What is?” Suguru asks, cupping Satoru’s face in his hands.

Satoru worries at his lip, “I – I think there’s two of them. I saw –”

“You saw it?” Of course, he did. He’s Satoru. He saw Megumi too. 

Satoru shakes his head, biting his lip. He grabs Suguru’s hand and drags it to his belly. 

“No, I saw them.” 

Suguru repeats, “Them?” 

Satoru looks at him and nods, “Yeah, them.”

Suguru feels dizzy.

“Them?” 

“You heard me, two of them. Them.”

Suguru feels dizzy. 

“You’re sure?” 

Satoru nods, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. I mean you know what they say about twins? The Zen’in –”

Identical twins were born to the Zen’in clan several months before Megumi was born. It was a spectacle of shame on the jujutsu world, because one was born without cursed energy. Satoru’s sire talked about it constantly, the shame of it all. 

Suguru shakes his head again, “Satoru – I don’t care about that. Cursed energy. I just – twins – that’s a lot. More than we planned for, is that something you’re okay with?”

Suguru feels like he has to say it. He really has to, even though it’s a hard thing to discuss. They had talked about having another child. 

A few months ago, before his heat, Satoru had brought the topic up. They’d both grown up in their families as only children. Satoru said he wished differently for Megumi, their child. He didn’t want him to be alone. Suguru did, too. He had felt so alone as a kid, especially with his cursed technique.

So, they decided to try for another baby during Satoru’s heat. 

Satoru laughs, “I’ll be okay.”

Suguru frowns, “That’s not what I asked.” 

Satoru’s face crumbles, “I’m scared. It’s – different. Two babies. That’s – 

Suguru fills in the blanks, “It’s really scary.”

Pregnancy was so much with Megumi, Suguru’s mind is running through all those memories multiplied. 

“Yeah,” Satoru shakes his head, “I’m scared. But we’ll figure it out, won’t we?”

Suguru has to kiss Satoru, it feels impossible not to. “Of course we will. We will, baby.”

They tell Shoko first, because Suguru wants Satoru to get checked out, and make sure everything is okay. Naturally, they’d tell her first – again – anyways.

They show up to her office after hours. She seems to know why they’re there as soon as she lays eyes on them. 

“You both look guilty as fuck,” Shoko sighs. “Let me guess, a new addition to the family?” 

Satoru cackles, laying down on the examination table. “How’d you guess?”

Shoko just gives him a look. “I don’t know, when’s the last time you two visited me like this? Or maybe last week when you asked me to pick Megumi up from school and he was smelling like Satoru Jr.” 

She pulls the ultrasound machine out of the corner of the office where it’s made itself a home over the last four or five years, when they all started having kids. “You being a complete mess with Suguru gone was another tell.”  

“Yeah, I’m only now fully realizing how obvious it all was. Embarrassing.”

Shoko just rolls her eyes and squirts the ultrasound gel on his belly, not bothering to warm it up. Satoru shrieks. Naturally, Shoko ignores him and starts moving the probe around his abdomen. She’s quiet, they’re all quiet, for a few minutes. But, then Shoko freezes and squints at the screen, taps around on the keyboard, zooming in and out.  

Then, she laughs.

“You’re kidding. Twins, really, Satoru? Uta’s going to be pissed. You’re stealing her thunder,” Shoko teases, as she prints off the ultrasound of the twins. 

So, it’s confirmed – Satoru was right. Well, of course he was. But still, to hear it confirmed – there’s two of them. Twins. 

“Nonsense,” Satoru rolls his eyes, underreacting in the presence of Shoko, pulling his shirt down. 

“Nah, first babies are always exciting. She’s got nothing to be worried about.” 

Utahime’s pregnant with her and Shoko’s first baby. It was a long road to get pregnant, for them. So, even Satoru has enough tact to be careful about this. 

“Is everything looking okay?” Suguru asks, anxious. 

Shoko smiles at him. “Yes, it’s the best possible outcome for twins. Two amniotic sacks. Two placentas. As long as this one,” she jabs a thumb in Satoru’s direction, “takes it easy. It should all be okay. But, we’ll take it day by day.”

“Thank you,” Suguru says, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. 

“Of course,” Shoko shrugs. 

“When is Uta due, again?” Satoru asks. 

“Within the next few weeks, she’s on bed rest if you guys feel like visiting. She’s very bored, so she might even be happy to see you.” 

“Perfect,” Satoru laughs. “Either way, you better tell us as soon as that baby is born.” 

“Duh,” Shoko flicks his forehead.

They walk back to their apartment. Satoru tangles their hands together. 

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Suguru.” 

Suguru shakes his head, “I’m scared, Satoru.”

Satoru hums, “I’m really scared too.” 

“Really?” Suguru stops. 

Satoru laughs, the dredges of anxiety evident in the sound. “Yeah, it’s – It’s insane. Two babies. We’re gonna have three kids. Three. Like, that’s intense.”

Satoru’s still laughing, so Suguru’s frozen in place, confused. 

Satoru crowds into Suguru’s space, leaning his head on his shoulder. “I’m so scared. But, I’m also kind of excited.” 

Suguru’s lips tug at a smile, “Excited?” 

“Yeah, it’s scary – but like it feels like we’re leveling up as a family. Like, we’re like really, really a family now. Yeah? We might have to get a mini Van now or something.” 

“No way,” Suguru is fully laughing now. His silly, silly mate. He pulls Satoru into his arms and buries his face against his neck, breathing his scent in. 

After the initial all clear, the next exciting – or rather, terrifying – part comes next. They have to tell Megumi. 

Megumi is almost four, but he can be a little scary sometimes. And he’s been the sole center of their universe for the last few years and counting. They have no idea how he’ll take the news. He’s never made any indication that he’s wanted a sibling, or that he even considered the possibility. 

So, they make a day of it. 

They take Megumi to the Museum of Science and Nature, because he’s obsessed with animals and dinosaurs and bugs and the like. He’s ecstatic, moving from exhibit to exhibit. He makes Suguru read all of the information signs to him and makes Satoru take his picture next to all the replicas and fossils. 

And, naturally, they have to buy Megumi a souvenir. To commemorate the day of course. He decides on a replica of Futabasaurus suzukii, which is kind of horrifying, but the little boy is enthralled by it. 

They finish the day with dinner at their favorite restaurant. The one just off campus, where they’ve become regulars after years of patronage. Suguru can’t help but feel a little fond at the fact this is the same place where they told Shoko the news that Satoru was pregnant with Megumi. Once the food comes, Suguru decides it’s time to broach the subject. 

“Megumi,” Suguru starts and the kid blinks up at him.

“What?” He looks so much like Satoru sometimes, it makes Suguru’s heart ache. He’s something so precious they managed to make together. And in a year's time, they’ll have two more people that they made together. It’s insane and wonderful. 

“We have something important to tell you. Something sort of grown up.” 

Megumi glances between the two of them. Satoru is cowering next to Suguru, he’s been very anxious to tell Megumi about the babies. 

“So, you know how Tsumiki is Yuji’s big sister. They’re siblings.” 

Megumi nods, “Yeah?” 

“Tsumiki takes care of Yuji, and Yuji takes care of her, too. Right? They’ve got each other’s backs.” 

Megumi gives him a look. 

“Well, me and Daddy were thinking. We decided that we wanted you to have a sibling, too. But Daddy’s an overachiever, and instead – you’re going to have two new siblings. Because Daddy has two babies in his belly, like how you grew in there. Remember we showed you the pictures?” 

Megumi just looks at him for a second. But then he goes back to eating his dinner. 

“Megumi,” Suguru says again. “What do you think about that?” 

Megumi shrugs, “No, I’m okay. I don’t need a sibling.” 

Satoru blanches. “Well, Megumi – that’s the thing. You know how Utahime is pregnant, how there’s a baby in her belly?” 

Megumi side-eyes him, like how is this relevant. “Yeah?” 

“Remember, how I explained it to you? That Utahime’s baby will be born soon, and then it will be a new little person for you, Tsumiki, and Yuji to play with. Now, I have two babies in my belly, and they’re going to be your siblings.”

Megumi frowns, he peers over the table to inspect Satoru. “You don’t look like Utahime. Her belly is big. Are you sure there are babies in there? Can you send them back?” 

It’s a testament to how stressed by this situation Satoru must be, because he doesn’t even laugh at the jab Megumi accidentally makes towards Utahime. Instead, Satoru pulls Megumi into his lap. 

“No, baby. The babies are tiny right now. But, they’ll get bigger. And I’m sure, they’re really excited to meet you, though. You’ll like being a big brother. Just like how Tsumiki is Yuji’s big sister.” 

Something shifts and Megumi’s scent sours. Megumi is beyond reason, now, though. He twists in Satoru’s hold, kicking his little legs. He pouts, “No! I don’t want babies! Send them back.”

“Megumi –” Satoru tries again, but it’s no use, because Megumi divulges into a pure-toddler tantrum and just starts crying. Satoru looks at Suguru in confusion, eyes starting to get a little watery around the edges.

Suguru gestures for the kid, taking Megumi into his arms as he kicks and wails. Satoru blinks at Suguru, looking devastated. Suguru rubs a hand around his shoulders and calls for the bill. 

They walk back to the apartment in a sad state, Megumi pouting against Suguru’s shoulders. 

He’s exhausted himself by the time they make it back. So, Suguru just gets him ready and tucks him into his bed. 

Satoru is sitting on the couch, chewing on his nails. Satoru’s always been so sure of himself. But fatherhood has brought out an anxiety in him. It’s natural, Suguru thinks, but it makes him anxious in return.

When he hears Suguru enter the room, he twists around on the couch. At the sight of Suguru, Satoru crumbles, fat tears streaming down his cheeks. So unlike Satoru, the pregnancy hormones must be starting early, he thinks. Then, he wonders if the twins have anything to do with it. Either way, Suguru rushes over to him and pulls him into his arms.

“Hey, ‘Toru,” Suguru whispers, wiping away tears from his mate’s cheeks. “It’s okay. Megumi is fine.” 

Satoru sniffles, rubbing his face against Suguru’s t-shirt. “Did we make a mistake?”

Suguru frowns, “Of course, not! He’ll get used to it. Having a sibling is a blessing he doesn’t understand yet, yeah?” 

Satoru doesn’t seem convinced. Suguru sighs.

“Remember how Tsumiki was when Yuji was born? All distraught and pouty. We had to take her for a day or two, just so Yu could bond with the baby. Now look at her? She’s obsessed with Yuji. It just takes time.”

Satoru nods, “Yeah, that’s true.” 

Suguru kisses his forehead, “It’ll just take time. But it’ll be worth it.” 

After a day or two, Megumi warms up to the news of the impending arrival of his twin siblings. It helps that Suguru and Satoru both have a few rare days off work, with a lapse in significant cases and the start of the new school year. So, they dedicate the time to just spending with him.

They build a nest in the living room and watch movies for an entire day and order take-out. The next day, they orchestrate a nature scavenger hunt and show Megumi the path they took while they were waiting for him to be born. Sure, they showed him when he was a baby, but it carries more meaning now that he can understand a little better. 

While they lay in Satoru’s new living room nest, Suguru shows the boy pictures on his phone of Satoru when he was heavy and pregnant with Megumi, then the ones of Megumi as a fresh newborn. 

Megumi laughs and says Satoru looks fat in the pictures, which Suguru intends to unpack later. Satoru tells him it’s because Megumi was a very fat baby, referencing a picture Suguru took of Megumi laying on the bathroom counter where he looks like a blob, and the boy amends his earlier statements. Says Daddy was actually very beautiful. 

The following day, they take Megumi to visit Utahime while she’s on bed rest. She lets the little boy press his hands against her belly, so he can feel her baby kicking, and he’s enthralled. He has a million questions about the phenomenon. She doesn’t appear to be in the mood for answering questions of a three-year-old, so Suguru takes him outside to field all inquiries while Satoru stays inside with her, probably commiserating. 

“Is Daddy’s belly gonna be huge like that?” Megumi asks, sneaker-clad feet kicking against the porch, as he leans against Suguru.

“Probably bigger. He’s growing two babies right now.”

“Two is bigger than one,” Megumi says sagely, holding up his fingers.

“Yep,” Suguru agrees.

“Did I like it when I was in Daddy’s belly?” Megumi asks. 

“Yeah, you didn’t want to come out. You were almost two weeks late,” Suguru leans his cheek against his son’s head. “Everyday we’d go on walks and say, ‘Megumi please come out, it’s nice out here.’”

“Did I listen?” 

You’re here aren’t you, Suguru thinks, smiling to himself. Instead he says, “Eventually, yeah. But you think it’s okay out here now, don’t you?” 

Megumi thinks about it for a second, “Yeah, you buy me Pokemon cards.” 

Suguru can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, we do. And I like that out here you can talk to us. I used to talk to you while you were in Daddy’s belly and you didn’t say a thing! How rude, ‘Gumi.” 

Megumi laughs now, too. “I remember, Papa. I tried to talk back to you. But you couldn’t hear me.” 

Suguru almost believes him. Satoru joins them on the porch a few minutes later. He smiles at Suguru and Megumi all curled together on the porch.

“Are you two having fun?” Satoru asks. 

Megumi jumps up and wraps his arms around Satoru’s waist. “Papa said your belly’s going to be even bigger than Utahime’s!” 

Satoru narrows his eyes at Suguru. Suguru stammers, “I did not say that – not offensively! Just, objectively! Two babies is more than one.” 

Satoru gives him a look. Megumi rubs his face against Satoru’s belly. “He did, Daddy. I have a good memory.” 

The unfortunate thing is that Megumi really does have a good memory. 

Like the rest of them, Shoko and Utahime live on campus, so they walk back to their apartment. Megumi trails ahead of them, kicking at rocks along the path, stopping to look at things along the way. 

Now that Suguru’s thinking about it, their apartment is a three bedroom. Megumi’s room was a guest room before. They’ve still got the office. That can be the twins’ room. But, then they’d lose all the storage in the office. And they store a lot of junk there. 

Oh, fuck – Suguru’s getting anxious just thinking about going through all that stuff. 

“Do you think we should move?” Suguru asks, intertwining their hands together. 

Satoru pauses for a second, giving him a strange look. 

“What? Why are you thinking about that?” 

Suguru shrugs, “I don’t know. Do you think we have enough bedrooms?” 

Satoru laughs, “Yeah, I think we’re okay for now. If it makes you feel better, I’ll help you go through all the shit in the office.” 

It really does make Suguru feel better. So, he decides to change the subject.

“How was Utahime?” 

Satoru purses his lips, shrugging, “She’s ready for the baby to be born. But, it’s been hard. She wants her baby so badly, she feels like she can’t complain about the bed rest and how terrible she feels.” 

Suguru frowns, snaking a hand around Satoru’s waist. “That sounds very hard. I can’t imagine what that’s like.” 

“Yeah, being pregnant is hard,” Satoru sighs dramatically. 

“You wear it well,” Suguru smiles. 

“Why thank you, I don’t know if we’ll both still be feeling that way in – let’s say six months or so?”

“Only time will tell,” Suguru whispers, pressing a kiss against Satoru’s cheek.

Megumi turns around after realizing they’ve stopped a little too far behind him. He stomps his foot and pouts, “You guys are going tooooo slow!” 

Suguru wraps his arms around Satoru, “Hey, don’t be mean. Daddy is carrying babies and has to walk slowly!” 

Satoru shoves him off, “Stop, I’m not helpless.” 

Megumi doesn’t seem to be of the same mindset, because he looks between his two parents and jabs a finger in Suguru’s direction. 

“You need to carry him! He’s tired and carrying babies!” 

Satoru rolls his eyes, “Megumi, that’s really not –” 

“Papa! Carry him!” Megumi demands, ignoring Satoru completely. And well, who is Suguru to deny his only son. He crouches in front of Satoru.

“Come on, hop on.” 

Satoru makes a scene about it, but Megumi gestures wildly, so Satoru has no choice but to hop on Suguru’s back. 

“Thank god it’s dark outside,” Satoru groans, a few minutes into their walk. 

Suguru just laughs. But, Megumi is very much content by the arrangement he’s orchestrated. 

Shoko warned Satoru that the pregnancy symptoms could possibly be worse now that he’s carrying twins, but the reality of it is much different. 

It starts early one morning. One of their alarms goes off. Satoru has his limbs wrapped around Suguru’s body. Suguru is just waking up, blinking away the remnants of sleep. He feels Satoru shifting awake behind him. He pats the hand Satoru’s got resting on his stomach.

“Morning, baby.” 

Satoru makes a sleepy sound of acknowledgement from behind him as he stretches, but then he freezes suddenly. 

Suguru turns back to ask, “Are you okay?”

But it appears to be a moot point, because Satoru is already jumping from the bed and sprinting towards the bathroom. It all happens so fast, but Suguru hears him vomiting. He scrambles to the ensuite and curls around Satoru, patting his back and pushing his hair off his forehead. Satoru heaves, leaning back against Suguru’s chest.

“This is terrible,” he moans. 

Suguru sits him on the lip of the tub. Then he wet a toothbrush and grabs a cup of water to help him wash out his mouth. 

“Fuck, that was awful,” Satoru moans.

Suguru helps him lay down in the nest. Satoru says he’ll be ready to get up in a little bit. But instead, Satoru falls back to sleep. So, Suguru gets Megumi ready for preschool and feeds him breakfast, and takes him to school. When he returns home from the drop off, Satoru’s still asleep. 

Suguru takes Satoru’s iPad and inspects the details of the mission he was meant to take today. It’s a First Grade, and it’s in Japan, so it’s nothing Suguru can’t handle. So he sends the details to his phone. 

Altogether, it’s a fairly easy mission for Suguru. The curse paired well with his technique. He makes it back to their apartment just after lunchtime. Satoru is still wrapped up in his nest, hidden under layers of blankets in his nest.

Suguru runs his fingers through the tuft of hair that’s sticking out above all the blankets. Satoru makes a sound of acknowledgement, slowly weasling his way out into the light of day. 

“What timeisit?” he asks, sounding all sleepy and exhausted. 

“It’s almost two,” Suguru says and Satoru blanches, scrambling into a seated position against the headboard. 

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Satoru shakes his head. “My mission–”

“I took care of it,” Suguru runs a hand through Satoru’s hair. “Are you okay? Did you just sleep today?

Satoru shakes his head, “No, I’ve been sick as fuck. Throwing up all day. But I thought I was still on time.” 

“I’m sorry,” Suguru admits. “I should’ve told you.” 

Satoru looks at him for a second, but he covers his mouth, and runs toward the bathroom. Suguru follows him and hangs at the doorway, because Satoru likes to deal with his morning sickness by himself.

Satoru eventually finishes emptying his stomach. He gestures towards Suguru. So, Suguru moves into the bathroom. He wets a wash cloth to clean off Satoru's face. 

"Ew, I feel disgusting," Satoru whines.

"You look beautiful," Suguru says.

"Thanks," Satoru laughs, letting his face be washed. "Wake me up at least, next time. Yeah?"

"I will, I'm sorry," Suguru laughs, with a promise.

Unfortunately, it continues like that for a few weeks. Satoru is sick as a dog. He spends half of his days miserable in the bathroom. Sometimes he manages to pull himself together to take his missions. But more often than not, he’s passing them off to Suguru.

“I’m so sorry, Suguru,” Satoru groans one day, as he’s crawling back under the cowers. 

“Huh? Why?” Suguru asks, as he’s situating the pillows around Satoru and placing his water bottle on the bedside table.

Satoru scowls, “I feel terrible, that you have to cover for my ass.”

Megumi's fourth birthday falls on a Wednesday. Their friends are willing enough to celebrate the kid's birthday on the exact day.

Satoru is 16 weeks pregnant with twins. He's still able to hide it under baggy clothes, but there's definitely a bump. Besides, he really doesn't want to take attention away from Megumi.

Satoru leads the musical chairs for Megumi and his friends.

When the song ends, Megumi is smiling and is winning the game with Yuji. So, they decide to switch gears and offer up the birthday cake.

Suguru kisses Satoru’s cheek as their kid blows out his birthday candles and whispers in his ear. “Hard to believe it’s been four years, yeah?” 

“Very hard,” Satoru sniffles. “But it’s been fun, hasn’t it?”

Suguru laughs, “Definietly.”

It goes without saying, as Satoru drags Suguru’s hand to the subtle swell of his stomach. They both can’t wait for what the next year brings, as well. 

Satoru’s eighteen weeks and a few days pregnant with the twins and trying his best to keep up with his scheduled appointments. They both are. Suguru’s schedule is getting busier too. 

Today, after Satoru’s most recent appointment, which was re-scheduled once or twice, Shoko takes him aside and chews him out. Later Suguru will hear about how she told him how important it is to be safe and by the books with a pregnancy with multiples. 

Suguru knew it was probably bad when Satoru came out of that talk looking pale, scared, and stressed. Shoko’s a new mom, she’s probably doubling down on a lot of things. They both feel bad taking her away from Utahime and baby Nobara. 

Suguru doesn’t ask him about it, initially, because Satoru doesn’t seem up for much conversation. Instead, they just walk quietly together. They pick Megumi up from Haibara and Nanami’s. The pup is – of course, happy to see them, but he’s a little grumpy. Haibara says he had a hard afternoon, after he woke up a little upset after his nap. 

Megumi wraps his arms around Suguru’s neck and buries his face against his scent gland, where his bondmark from Satoru sits. He grumbles something unintelligible. 

“What’d you say?” Suguru asks as the three of them walk back to their apartment together. 

Satoru is trailing a little behind him. He’s rubbing at his bump, hand covertly snuck under his jacket, touching the swollen skin.

Megumi lifts his head from Suguru’s shoulder, “I said – you’re late!”

Late? Suguru doesn’t recall that a time was set to pick up the boy. Satoru looks just as confused. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Suguru asks.

Megumi pouts at Suguru, looking so much like Satoru when he’s upset, “You said it would be a short appointment, but I fell asleep. So that’s long!” 

“Aww, I’m sorry baby, it took a little longer than we thought. But Yu said you were only asleep for a little bit. That’s probably why you’re feeling not-so-good.” 

Megumi grimaces at him, and it’s rare for Suguru to see his own face reflected in his son's features, but it does happen – now is one of those times. 

“I’m sorry it felt that way, buddy. How can we make it up to you? 

“I need spicy ramen,” Megumi grumbles before he buries his face back against Suguru’s neck. 

Suguru laughs and looks back over his shoulder at Satoru, “Aww, he remembers Buldak noodles fondly from the womb.”

He means it to be a joke to break up the tense aura of the last twenty minutes, but Satoru doesn’t laugh like he expected. Instead, he says nothing – but he frowns and looks down at the sidewalk. Which really wasn’t what Suguru had intended, but he’s not really sure of what to say to bridge that gap. 

When they’re back at the apartment, Suguru sends Satoru off to get ready for bed. Satoru just nods and doesn’t even put up a fight, which is slightly concerning, but Suguru will deal with that later. 

For now, he makes Megumi his instant ramen. Then, he helps brush his teeth and puts him in his pajamas. They read their nightly story. It’s still early, honestly – earlier than he usually puts the kid to bed. So he dims the bedroom lights and puts a movie on for Megumi, since it’s Friday, and turns on the baby monitor they still use from time-to-time, for nights like these. 

Suguru cleans up the kitchen, then places a delivery order on his phone, because it’s still early and Satoru will probably be hungry soon enough. He takes a deep breath and decides it’s time to face Satoru.

He finds Satoru in their nest, of course. He’s bundled under layers of blankets, tuft of white hair peaking out at the top. 

Suguru sits on the side of the bed and runs his fingers through Satoru’s hair. “Hey, you. Talk to me, what’s going on?”

It takes a second, but eventually, Satoru crawls out from his cocoon and sits against the headboard. 

“Do you think I fucked Megumi up?” 

His words catch Suguru off-guard and he freezes. “What are you talking about?”

Satoru bites his lip. “I don’t know, like – when I was pregnant with him – I was sad. And I went on intense missions, do you think that maybe impacted him? I just worry when he’s so emotional. Like maybe he subconsciously remembers.” 

When Satoru took missions while he was pregnant, Suguru only worried that he might get hurt, and in turn, the baby would be hurt. He never thought about residuals of curses impacting their unborn child. 

Megumi is grumpy a lot of the time, but he’s cheerful the rest of the time, especially when it’s just the three of them. Not so much out of what might be expected for the typical child with a dramatic flair. Suguru’s honestly, mostly blamed himself for Megumi’s emo-streak. 

He’s never thought to turn the blame towards Satoru. Not that there’s any blame to turn. Megumi is just Megumi, and he’s perfect. 

But, he knows Satoru worries, even if he pretends he doesn’t. Satoru worries about what’s most important to him.

Suguru shakes his head, “Satoru, no. I don’t think so. I think he’s just our kid. I was the same when I was young. He’s just dramatic.” 

Satoru smiles a little, but he bites his lip and schools his features. “I’m being serious, Suguru. This is something I worry about.” 

Suguru sighs, considering if he should tell Satoru this at all. If it will be helpful. He decides to be honest, because Satoru is being very honest right now. 

“When you were pregnant with Megumi. I was so anxious, thinking that all my depressed and anxious genes and my curse technique were somehow impacting you, making it worse for you. I felt so guilty. And, I know it was hard – on top of all of that.” 

Satoru looks at him for a second, really looks at him. But his expression softens and there’s only fondness reflected back at Suguru. “Did you really think that?” 

Suguru nods, “Yeah, I mean you’re so happy most of the time. All I could think was the only difference was you were carrying around half my DNA. And now, you’re doing that two times over.” 

Satoru rolls his eyes, but he hugs Suguru, “I think it’s mostly just being pregnant is really terrible a lot of the time.” 

“Yeah,” Suguru concedes. “But back to Megumi –” 

Suguru kisses his cheek. “I really think he’s got my pessimism and your spunk. A perfect combination of the two of us. I think he’d be like this no matter what. I think he’s just Megumi. And he’s pretty great, yeah?

Satoru seems to think about it for a minute, but he nods, “Yeah, he’s great. He’s the best.”

Satoru is still rubbing his hands up and down his belly. Suguru puts his hand against Satoru’s bump. 

“Why are you thinking about this?” Suguru asks. 

Satoru makes a face, “Shoko was just telling me all this stuff about babies being exposed to things in the womb. How I should be extra careful with the twins. Stuff I didn’t think about with Megumi. I guess, I just felt guilty. Like I did something to mess him up.” Satoru pauses for a moment, “I’d never forgive myself, Suguru.”

Suguru wraps his arms around Satoru, and whispers in his ear, “Megumi is perfect. You made him perfectly. I promise. You’re making the twins perfectly, too.” 

“You mean that?” 

“Have I ever lied to you, Satoru?” Suguru asks, honestly.

Satoru pretends to think about it for another moment, but eventually he just kisses Suguru. 

“No, you haven’t.” 

After, Suguru goes to check on Megumi and he’s passed out with his movie playing in the background. He returns to their room and wraps his arms around Satoru’s body.

Satoru groans, “Ugh, I hate being the little spoon.” 

Suguru laughs, “Really? I like to smell your hair all night. When’s the last time you showered?” He teases.

Satoru ignores him, “Come on, I know you like being the little spoon.”

Suguru kisses the crown of his head, “Yeah, I really do. But this is nice too, don't you think?”

Satoru stops squirming and relaxes in Suguru’s arm. “Yeah, it’s not so bad.” 

As punishment for his insolence, Suguru nips the skin at the back of Satoru’s neck to hear him yelp. As an apology, he kisses the same spot and Satoru laughs. It’s been a hard day, so they eat their take out in bed. Suguru is usually against it, but he’s willing to make exceptions for Satoru, always.

Based on his previous run-in with Shoko, it’s not unsurprising when two weeks later Satoru declares they must visit Shoko for his twenty-week scan, very promptly on the exact day his app declares the weeks have changed over. 

Suguru is always more than happy to join him. Megumi gets to join, too, which makes him happy, as well.

Satoru lays down on the examination bed and Shoko takes the probe over his belly. She squints at the screen for a very long time.

“Shoko, just tell us,” Satoru groans, exasperated. 

“I want to be sure!” Shoko defends herself. Which is fair, given she got Megumi very wrong the first time around.

But eventually, she speaks her mind.

“I’ve had years to strengthen my craft,” Shoko declares, “I’ve read countless books and attended several seminars.” 

Suguru rolls his eyes, “Just tell us. We’ll find out if you’re right soon enough.” 

Shoko scoffs, “Well, I’ve determined that Satoru probably – defensible in a court of law – is carrying two girls. Maybe, even I'd say, an omega girl and an alpha girl.”

Suguru slaps a hand over his mouth, already feeling tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. He grabs Satoru’s hand, but he’s frozen, eying Shoko carefully. 

“Shoko,” Satoru says, cautiously. “Are you sure?” 

Shoko rolls her eyes as she’s printing out ultrasound pictures for them. “Yes, like 90% sure.” 

Satoru squawks, “What about the other 10%?! And the last time!” 

Shoko groans, “Last time was – a miscalculation. Forgive me. For the thousandth time! You’re having two healthy babies who are probably, most likely girls.” 

Suguru doesn’t wait for Satoru to make another comment. He leans over the examination table and kisses Satoru. Then he scoops Megumi into his arms, shakes him around a little to get him to laugh. 

“Gumi is gonna have sisters!” Suguru cheers, kissing Megumi’s cheek. Megumi’s little grumpy face blooms into a smile.

Last year, in the spring, Satoru’s alpha mother passed away. It was unexpected, she was young, barely sixty so it took everyone by surprise. They got the call late one night. Driven by some form of duty, Satoru went to join his omega mother in the funeral proceedings, with Suguru and Megumi in tow, of course.

Satoru always had a surface-level relationship with his sire, maybe worse than that – a rather tense relationship with little foundation to aid any contention. But he was still upset by her untimely death. More so, because his dame was beside herself. She’d only known her alpha, since she had barely passed being a teenager. The maids called and said they couldn’t get her out of bed.

So, Satoru did the hard thing and supported his dame as she handled the clan dealings, all the ceremonies. Stood by his mother, with Suguru and Megumi behind him, and addressed the clans of the jujutsu world.

After the funeral, both Suguru and Satoru tried their best to make sure Satoru’s dame would be okay. They offered to bring her back to Tokyo to stay for awhile, thinking time with the grandson she so adored would be helpful, but she refused. Said she wanted to stay at the Gojo Compound.

Suguru thinks Satoru might’ve liked to stay, to some degree. But he was also desperate to get back to a sense of their well-established normalcy. He wanted to sleep in his nest and go to work and do all of their usual routines. Read Megumi a story and put him to sleep in his pup nest. Suguru told him, his mother would be fine. She had lots of maids and other Gojo clan grannies to support her.

But almost as soon as they’d settled back into their normal routine in Tokyo, they received another call. That Satoru’s dame had passed. It was common, the clan’s doctor said, for long-bonded alpha and omega to pass in close proximity. 

There was nothing anyone could’ve done, they said. But words are just words, and Suguru could tell Satoru still felt some level of guilt for how things played out.

Either way, they couldn’t go back, and Satoru was thrust into the position of Gojo Clan Head. Not that it really meant much, the Gojo clan barely extended past Satoru and his mothers. Sure, there were some old aunties and uncles, a hoard of cousins, but all of them paled in comparison to Satoru, of course. 

So, the routines of their little nuclear family really didn’t change much. Except for the part where Satoru had to take meetings with the remaining members of his clan every so often. It shakes out to be every three months. Really, Satoru just gets chewed out by his clan elders for a few hours and then they all eat and drink. 

Still, even after months of getting used to it, Satoru hates having to don his formal garbs. It’s difficult to get Satoru into real pants on a regular day, honestly. 

It’s worse now that he’s pregnant with twins, his bump is bigger much earlier than last time, when he could still hide it at this point under his baggy clothes. Suguru tries to help him with trying on his hoari the night before the meeting. He thinks Satoru looks good, very handsome. 

But Satoru’s fusing with the undergarments, pulling at the fabric around his waist. 

“Does it look obvious?” Satoru asks, adjusting the fabric, trying to make it sit right against his bump. 

“What?” Suguru asks.

Satoru makes a frustrated noise and gestures to himself.

“Everyone knows you’re pregnant,” Suguru tries to appease his mate, but that appears to be the wrong thing to say because Satoru gives him a dirty look. 

“Well, yeah – obviously,” he sighs. “But does it look fine?” 

“Yeah,” Suguru nods. “You look great.” 

Satoru regards him carefully and then sighs, dramatically, before he storms off to the bathroom, probably to further inspect himself in the mirror.

He comes out a few minutes later, sighing again. “Do I look okay?” 

Suguru nods, “Yes, you look wonderful.” 

Satoru groans. “Do I look like – pregnant?” 

In truth, Satoru really doesn’t, unless you know what to look for. On the surface, from first glance, he just looks normal, all signs of his gravid state are hidden under all of the layers he’s wearing. This meeting is a little more intense than the typical ones, several of the other clans are being hosted by the Gojo Clan. Which probably explains Satoru’s current behavior. 

“No, you look normal.” 

“Good,” Satoru relaxes. “You don’t know how these people are. They’ll take me less seriously if I look weak, even if they know I’m pregnant. Seeing it is another thing.” 

Suguru frowns, “Do you want me to go with you?” 

Satoru shakes his head, “No, I wish you could, but that will only make it worse.”

Suguru thinks about it for a moment, “I mean, not to the meeting. But maybe if me and Megumi just came with you. We could make a weekend out of it. You wouldn't have to travel back to be with us after. What do you think? We’d just stay in your room at the compound.”

Satoru pauses, “Oh, well – yeah, I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” 

They drive to Kyoto. Satoru insists on driving, because he’s proud like that and he likes to feel useful. Suguru doesn’t even bother arguing, mostly because he’s learned that Satoru likes to know that Suguru still views him as an equal when he’s pregnant. It makes him feel weird to be babied, even if Suguru would like to do nothing but that. 

Megumi’s old enough to be fine with long car rides, for the most part. Content to play with his car toys, look at books, or sometimes watch a movie on one of their phones. 

Today, he’s quiet and he eventually doses off, head lulling against the side of his carseat. 

Around the same time, about two hours into the drive, Suguru notices Satoru getting antsy, his non-driving leg is bouncy. Suguru waits five more minutes without Satoru saying anything. He knows there’s a konbini a little ways ahead, from driving this route before. 

So, Suguru makes his move. He yawns dramatically, stretching his arms and smoothly slinking one around Satoru’s shoulders. Satoru looks over at him and smiles, Suguru smiles back.

“Hey, do you think we could stop? I have to piss and I’m thirsty.” 

Satoru rolls his eyes, “Really, Suguru – you can’t make it?” 

Suguru laughs to himself. “Another three hours? We’re about to be in the sticks anyways, we should stop while we can.” 

Satoru chews on his lower lip, glancing up at the rearview to see Megumi sleeping. “He just fell asleep, he’ll be all grumpy.” 

“We can take turns,” Suguru supplies a solution. “Besides, it’s fine if he wakes up. He’ll never sleep through the night if he naps the rest of the way.”

Satoru sighs, “Ugh, I guess so,” but he’s already putting on his turn signal to turn into the konbini’s parking lot. 

Satoru insists that Suguru goes in first, opting to pump gas. Suguru feels a little weird about leaving his pregnant mate to do so in the early evening, but obliges. Satoru can handle his own, anyways. It’s hard to remember when he looks all soft and round, tugging at all of the alpha instincts Suguru usually tries to ignore. 

He buys an armful of candy, snacks, water, and a Sugar-Free Redbull for himself, just to be safe. He tries to be quick about his purchases, but Satoru looks like he’s about to piss himself when Suguru makes his way back to the car. Satoru barely pays him any mind before he’s half-running towards the convenience store. Suguru shakes his head, depositing the goodies into the car. 

Megumi is unfortunately – or maybe fortunately – stirring awake in the backseat. He rubs a hand over his eyes. 

“Are we at Daddy’s house?” he asks, and thank goodness Satoru isn’t here to hear that. He’d probably lose his mind. 

“No, not yet!” Suguru says, cheerily. He’s found that – post-nap – sometimes taking that cadence confuses Megumi and he finds he has no choice but to comply with the common theme. It’s worked when he’s woken up from untimely naps before. 

Megumi blinks at him confused. 

So, Suguru continues. “Hey, do you wanna get out and walk around?”

Megumi blinks at him dumbly, his little mind probably trying to reorient itself, but eventually, he nods. Suguru pulls him out of his seat and lets him out. 

Together, they go read one of the signs at the gas station together, warning patrons to turn their vehicles off before pumping gas. Megumi has a million questions about what that means, and Suguru is all too happy to oblige with the information, if only have something to do. Anything that will keep the kid from falling into the REM cycle before it’s too early. Then, he shows Megumi that it’s free to clean the car windows and the kid has an absolute ball washing the windshield. 

Satoru comes out of the store and sees the kid very much awake and shakes his head at Suguru. Suguru shrugs, honestly it’s not like Satoru will have to deal with an overtired kid once they’re at the Gojo Compound, but he understands the principle. 

Megumi spots Satoru and runs to wrap his arms around his waist. Satoru pats the kid's head, smiling down at him, despite probably being a little annoyed.

Suguru walks over, wrapping his arms around Satoru’s shoulder, squishing Megumi in between them. “Hey, I got you some snacks.” 

Satoru smiles but shakes his head, “You know me, I’m too distractible to eat and drive.”

Suguru shrugs, “So what, I can drive. I’m too wired to just be a passenger princess right now.”

Satoru thinks about it for a minute, chewing at his lower lip. His lips are so chapped, Suguru sneaks a hand up to press his thumb between Satoru’s mouth. Satoru squirms. 

“You really don’t mind?” Satoru asks. 

“Nah, I’m fine to drive,” Suguru says, trying his best to appear nonchalant, and not like he has an alternative motive to want Satoru to rest before he has to spend hours in front of the clans.

Satoru sighs, “Well, if you insist, I am a little hungry.” 

“Then it’s settled,” Suguru presses a kiss against his cheek. 

Satoru takes his place in the passenger seat, leaning the chair back so he has more room. Suguru wrestles Megumi back into his carseat and shoves a few of his car toys into his hands, hoping to shock him into some form of entertainment. Sometimes it works, honestly. Today seems to be one of those days, because Megumi starts playing with a fidget quietly. Win for Suguru. 

Suguru pulls back onto the road and Satoru reclines the passenger seat. 

“Did you see what I got?” Suguru gestures towards the bag on the car floor.

“Oh, yeah?” Satoru leans down and picks up the bag, inspecting his findings. He pulls out a bag of sour gummy worms first.

“Suguru,” Satoru sighs, tearing open the bag. “I could just marry you.” 

Suguru laughs, “Well, it’s good that you already did. Keep looking.” 

Satoru finds the bag of salt and seaweed chips. 

“How did you know?” Satoru practically weeps, ripping the bag open. It’s been a recent craving of his.

“I want to try,” Megumi whines from the backseat. 

“I got him a bag, too,” Suguru whispers. 

Satoru finds it and hands it to the kid, before opening his own. 

“Bless you, Suguru,” Satoru says sagely. 

Suguru just laughs. “Can you find me my Redbull?” 

Satoru freezes, looking betrayed. “Suguru – how dare you?” 

Suguru chances a look over at him, “What?” 

“You’re going to drink a Redbull, in front of me? Your pregnant husband?” Satoru asks, shocked. 

Suguru holds his hand out in the darkness of the car, trying to feel for the Redbull. 

Satoru gasps, but he places the Redbull in the cupholder and opens it for Suguru. "You’re shameless.”

Suguru reaches down to take a sip of the energy drink and he smiles at Satoru, “Guess you’d better work harder to get me pregnant next time.” 

Satoru groans and flicks at the side of Suguru’s neck. 

“At least let me smell it?” 

Suguru laughs, “Really?” 

“Yes, really,” Satoru pleads, as he mournfully sniffs Suguru’s can. What a weirdo. 

After, the rest of the drive passes in silence. Megumi passes out again and so does Satoru. It makes Suguru a little relieved, even if the trade off for his mate getting rest is the possibility that Megumi doesn’t sleep at all tonight, or wakes up at 4AM. It’s give and take, these little victories. 

They arrive at the Gojo Manor right on time, clan meetings don’t happen until late into the evening. It’s only 6PM, but it feels later in the winter evenings. The Gojo Maids greet them at the door ready to take their luggage to Satoru’s bedroom. Megumi is slightly discombobulated, but Satoru takes him from his car seat, which certainly helps the transition.

The maids insist that they sleep in the master bedroom. It’s been fully reconverted since the passing of Satoru’s mothers, but it still feels a little strange, even though the room is fully fitted with new furniture. All of Satoru’s clothing from youth has been moved to one of the room’s closets to use for Megumi, as well as all the new clothes set out for all of them. There’s even a little cot beside the king-sized bed, for Megumi to sleep, as if he’d ever dream of that. 

Still, Satoru deposits a sleeping Megumi into the pup cot, since the kid is none the wiser right now. Then, he digs his clan head clothes out of his suitcase. Suguru helps him dress. Again, like the night before, when Satoru tried on the dressings, he doesn’t look as pregnant as he is. Maybe a little softer than his usual self, but he still looks like Gojo Satoru.

“You’re sure I look okay?” Satoru asks. It’s rare to see Satoru so unsure of himself, it’s still something that’s so unfamiliar and new – Suguru is still finding the best way to help him through it. It’s different this time. 

“You look better than okay,” Suguru assures him. Satoru’s cheeks color a little, but he kisses Suguru before he heads out for his meeting. 

It isn’t that late and honestly Suguru should wake Megumi before too much damage is done. So, he flags one of the Gojo maids down in the hallway and politely asks if she can bring them some food from the kitchen. She’s more than happy to oblige, the maids have always liked Suguru whenever he’s visited. 

He likes to think it’s because he’s polite and knows the maids by name, and not because he’s the Clan Head’s Husband. The alpha who married their unruly omega, he’s heard the unfortunate whispers, as he’s had to be around these people more over the last few months. 

The same maid brings a cart of food to the suite a few minutes later. Suguru bows and thanks her. He sets the food up on the coffee table in front of the couch on the side of the room. He gently shakes Megumi awake. 

“Hey, buddy,” he says quietly, kissing his son’s forehead. 

Megumi blinks up at him with a grumpy pout. 

“Wake up. It’s time to eat.” 

Megumi perks up, pushing himself up on the cot. He rubs his eyes, confused. 

“Where is my daddy?”

It’s something he’s started since Satoru got pregnant. My daddy – my papa. It’s making Suguru a little anxious. Satoru says it’s probably fine. Satoru’s twenty-three weeks pregnant, he says they’ve got time to investigate and deal with the now non-issue.

“He’s at his meeting, remember?” 

Megumi’s frown deepens. 

“He’ll be back soon,” Suguru rubs his cheek. “Come on, let’s eat. Wanna watch a show? Look at how big the TV is here.” 

Megumi scrambles to follow Suguru to the coffee table. Suguru serves him up a plate, before grabbing some food for himself. 

“What should we watch?” 

Megumi thinks about it for a second, before he decides on a show. Afterwards, Suguru piles up their dishes and cleans the table, moving the food cart back to the hallway, even though he feels a little guilty about it, but he’d feel even worse leaving Megumi alone in the huge mansion. It always makes him think about little Satoru and what it was like for him, whenever they bring Megumi here.

He supervises as Megumi takes a shower, because they’ve been trying to help him learn some more independence with his adaptive skills, especially with the impending arrival of the twins. Suguru’s still practically halfway in the shower, so it doesn’t really seem to count, but still – little progress, baby steps. Megumi needs help washing his hair and brushing his teeth. Then, he helps Megumi into his pajamas. He leaves it open for Megumi to make the decision of where he’ll sleep – the cot or the bed.

Naturally, Megumi curls up in the middle of the king-sized bed. Suguru figured that might happen. Megumi asks him to sit with him until he falls asleep. How can Suguru disagree? So, he lays next to the kid, runs a hand through his hair and scents him until he drifts to sleep.

Not long after Megumi falls asleep does Satoru return to their suite. He has half-a-mind to push the door open carefully, peering around the doorframe and mouthing – “Asleep?” 

Suguru nods and Satoru slowly shuffles in, kicking his okobo off. Suguru finds him in the dark, wrapping his hands around his waist, rubbing one of his hands over his bump. He can feel the twins kicking from the outside, it seems earlier than he could with Megumi. One of them kicks against his palm. 

“You want to take a shower?” Suguru asks, rubbing the offending spot. Satoru nods, so Suguru moves them towards the ensuite where the bathroom is still lit. He locks the door and Suguru quirks a brow. 

Suguru helps Satoru out of his traditional garb and shucks off his day clothes as well. Kicks them into the corner to deal with later. Satoru turns on the shower head, cutting a stunning profile as he stands in front of the walk-in shower. His belly has well and truly swollen into a full bump, but the rest of him is still lean and strong. Satoru works out so much, it would be hard to get rid of that, but Suguru can see him softening at the edges. He looks like something out of Suguru’s wet dreams, honestly. 

So, Suguru can’t help himself from wrapping his arms around Satoru’s body, hands cupping the underside of his belly. 

Suguru presses a kiss against Satoru’s neck, his bondmark, and he whispers, “You look so good like this.”

Satoru wriggles out of his grasps and steps into the shower. He looks over his shoulder, body hidden from Suguru and pouts, “Stopppp. You’re being mean.” 

Suguru makes a face and steps into the shower. “What! I’m being serious.” 

“Suguru –”

“Satoru,” Suguru teases back, cutting him off from any nonsense he might spew. 

Then, suddenly, Satoru is kissing him. Hard and heavy, pushing Suguru against the tile wall. Satoru’s belly presses into him. Suguru just won’t let him get away with that. He wants Satoru to feel good, so he slinks his way down the wall a little and presses his lips around Satoru’s nipple. Satoru sucks in a deep breath, sensitive.

Suguru works at Satoru’s chest, listening to the glorious sounds he’s making and gets lost in it. So much so that he misses the way Satoru’s worked his fingers into the cleft of Suguru’s ass and presses two wet fingers around his rim, pressing in. Suguru keens, head knocking back against the titles, as Satoru works his way in. 

“Feels good?” Satoru asks.

Suguru can barely manage a nod. Satoru takes that as permission to add another finger, then he’s pressing against that spot inside of Suguru. His other hand sneaks around his back to trail down his body and comes down to cradle his balls then wrap his hand around Suguru’s cock. 

Embarrassingly, Suguru feels like he might come from this alone, so he presses his hand against Satoru’s chest, whining. Honestly, it has been awhile since they’ve had time to be together like this.

Satoru makes a soft sound, pushing Suguru’s wet hair off his forehead, then pressing a kiss in the same spot. 

“My poor little wife,” Satoru frowns. “I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I? Almost ready to come from just this.”

Suguru pouts, “Yes, the Gojo Clan Head is so busy. He’s been neglecting his duties as a husband.” 

Satoru tsks, cups Suguru’s face, “Now that just won’t do, will it? I’m sorry, I’ve left my poor baby to fend for himself.”

Suguru plays along, “It’s true. I’ve just been left to raise the children. Just waiting for my husband to get home from all his meetings and missions.” 

Satoru turns Suguru around so his chest is pressed against the tile wall of the shower, Satoru crowds behind him, pushing his legs apart and moving into the space he’s made. Satoru presses his cock in, slow and steady. Suguru presses his forehead against the wall and makes a sound. Satoru shushes him and kisses the back of his neck. It takes a moment for Satoru to fully press in and he grinds his hips against Suguru’s. 

It takes Satoru a minute to work up his pace, but the build up is driving Suguru crazy. Making him want more and more. He tries to fight his hips back against Satoru’s, but he holds him in place. The payoff is worth it, because when Satoru starts pounding into him at a more brutal pace, Suguru is barely hanging on, trying to grasp at anything to hold on – the tile wall, any part of Satoru’s body, his own arms. Anything. 

Satoru thrusts into him at just the right pace and angle and Suguru absolutely falls apart, coming around his mate’s cock, a choked-off groan rumbling in his throat. He has to bite his forearm to keep quiet. Satoru doesn’t seem to be doing much better because after Suguru’s orgasm passes, he only manages a few more thrusts, before he’s coming inside of Suguru holding their hips as close together as he can manage with his belly an obstacle between them. 

They hold each other close, pressed against the shower wall as they catch their breath. Satoru kisses Suguru’s cheek. “Are you okay?”

Suguru nods, finding his voice, “Yeah, are you?” 

Satoru laughs, “Yeah. More than okay.” 

“Good,” Suguru sighs, smiling to himself. 

They finish showering together. Satoru likes washing Suguru’s hair. Suguru likes feeling Satoru’s belly, the slow movement of the twins underneath his skin. He pokes his belly, then strokes one of the old stretchmarks, from Megumi. Forever left his mark on Satoru.  

Satoru scowls, playfully pushing Suguru’s hand away, but draws it back to another spot where more movement is happening. 

“Is my wife satisfied?” Satoru asks, playing with Suguru’s wet hair as it trails down to the small of his back. 

“Very much so,” Suguru smiles, rubbing circles on Satoru’s belly. 

“Hey, do you think in another universe you’re pregnant with my babies right now?”

Suguru rolls his eyes, tone dripping in sarcasm, Satoru always does this. It’s a familiar fantasy he likes to toy with.

“Oh, most definitely. I’m sure you can’t get off of me in all timelines.” 

Satoru nods and he gets a playful glint in his eyes. “I’ve told you, you have ten of my babies, as karma for this life.” 

Suguru sighs, “You and those ten kids of yours. Three is more than enough.” 

Honestly, Suguru’s been thinking about that, quietly to himself. He’s googled vasectomies more in the last few months than ever before, every time Satoru wakes up to vomit in the night, or complains about round ligament pain. 

Satoru snickers, “Well, if you could carry our babies, you’d probably be able to have ten. Not like me.” 

It sounds like a joke, but Suguru hears the subtle honesty, vulnerability, and hurt, lingering underneath his words. 

Suguru’s tone softens, frowning, “Satoru…”

Satoru shakes his head as he’s toweling himself off, “I’m just kidding.” 

Before Suguru can say anything else, he moves away from him and starts putting on the pajamas that Suguru left for him on the bathroom sink earlier. He’s avoiding eye contact, which confirms Suguru’s suspicions that he’s very much not kidding. 

Suguru could probably push a little more and get the full, aching truth out of him. Uncover all of the insecurities his mate is probably feeling. But, he’s not sure a long, drawn out conversation is what’s needed, not now. Sometimes that’s not the best way to show someone you love and care about them.

Alphas, Omegas, Betas. Jujutsu Techniques and Traditions and Expectations. The combination of them all, weighing down and tugging at each other, somehow both at odds and symbiotic with each other, like a ball of yarn that’s knotted in a way that’s too far gone to try to untangle. 

It’s kind of like having an old scab that just won’t heal right, Suguru thinks, Satoru’s feelings about being an omega and being pregnant and being the strongest. Suguru feels that way about being an alpha, too, to some degree. Their places in this life they’ve chosen to create together. It’s a scab that almost just heals, but a tug or a brush too hard against the spot opens it right back up, and it’s bleeding again. 

For Satoru, his mate, the love of his life, father of his children – Suguru could poke and prod at it, and try to get at the root of the infection. Or, he could make the choice to put a salve on it that will work just as well. 

So, he makes his decision. 

He walks over to Satoru and worms his way into his arms, so Satoru’s forced to hug him back. But, Satoru doesn’t seem to mind all that much, because he’s still looking all sour but his mouth tugs into a half-smile of sorts. Suguru kisses him chastely. 

“Hey,” he whispers.

“What?” Satoru says, eyeing him cautiously. 

“Either way, we’re in this life. And, I’m glad it’s you. There’s no one I’d trust more than you.” 

Satoru closes his eyes and scrunches up his nose, but he leans forward and rests his head on Suguru’s shoulder. 

“It’s always you,” Satoru croaks out.

Suguru kisses his forehead and squeezes him tight, echoing those same words. “And for me, it’s always you. No matter what.”

The weeks continue to pass by, and in turn, Satoru’s pregnancy progresses. It becomes more evident that it’s getting harder and harder for him, and that it’s more difficult this time around. He’s 28 weeks pregnant with twins. The latest round of ultrasounds show that the twins are using Satoru’s ribs as a personal kicking bag. 

Of course, Satoru doesn’t need an ultrasound to know what’s going on inside of his body. 

Satoru is still taking missions, but he’s staying closer to Tokyo. No more days-long missions or ones overseas. He’s usually home before Suguru, tucked in the nest and napping. Or, his hips are aching and he’s snoozing in the bathtub, or standing under the shower with his head pressed against the tiles. Thankfully, the vomiting has petered out, and Satoru can keep food down. 

For what it’s worth, Satoru seems to be more open about his suffering with this pregnancy. He doesn’t hide it from Suguru anymore and he’s more willing to ask for help. He’ll text Suguru everything he’s craving to send him to pick up food from different restaurants for dinner, or he’ll come find him on campus to dig his hands into his lower back when Suguru’s classes are on break, or ask for a hug if he’s missing his scent. 

On one hand, Suguru’s glad to hear exactly what he’s going through, so he can at least try to help a little. On the other, he simply feels terrible for his mate. He wonders if their conversation at the Gojo Clan has anything to do with this new sense of vulnerability, or if Satoru’s realizing his experiences are much worse this time around. 

Either way, Satoru is miserable. Suguru knows it’s true, not that he’d ever doubt Satoru’s words. 

Especially when it comes to feeling terrible. Satoru rarely feels terrible, let alone enough to express it. So when he does, Satoru isn’t one to sugarcoat that, at least not to Suguru. It’s getting more and more obvious that Satoru cannot continue going on missions. He tells Suguru that his technique is taking more and more energy to keep steady. 

Satoru’s the one who brings it up one night. After they put Megumi to bed, they crawl into bed together. Satoru sits against the headboard, Suguru is quick to pile pillows and blankets around him, since he’s been in a lot of pain the last few weeks. Suguru kneels in front of him and waits. 

Satoru sighs and places a hand on the crest of belly. He smiles at Suguru, looking all soft and sweet.

“Suguru,” Satoru starts. “What I’m about to say is going to be very hard for me. So, I’m asking that you just listen. Please? I know you’ll want to help but. Just listen, for a second.” 

Suguru nods but it feels like there’s a lump forming in his throat, the anticipation of what Satoru might say next. 

Satoru sighs, squeezing Suguru’s hand in his own. “I don’t think I can keep going on missions for much longer. Or, any longer, really. Until I have the babies, that is. I’m exhausted and sore and everything hurts. My technique is all out of whack. And honestly, I hate saying this but, I just want to stay home.” 

Suguru gives him a moment, but after he doesn’t say anything else, he feels like he can say something. Satoru looks defeated, shoulders slumping forward. 

“Satoru, that’s okay. That’s really –” He wants to say that it’s brave of Satoru to say that, that he’s so grateful he can be honest with him. He knows how hard it is, sometimes. But, he settles on squeezing Satoru’s hand and smiles. “You deserve to have time to rest before the babies come.”

Satoru pouts, “But, it’s not fair. Who will cover my missions?”

Suguru thinks about it for a moment, trying to decide the right thing to say. “Well, no one else is Gojo Satoru. But the student teams are getting stronger each day, and I’ll help Yaga put together teams of other sorcerers, and supervise if needed.” 

“What about the stronger curses? The more involved ones? The ones overseas?”

“I’ll handle them. Or Yuki will, she owes me a favor, and she mentioned she’s trying to train her protege.” 

Satoru doesn’t look convinced, “That’s still not fair to you. You still have your classes to teach and Megumi!”

Suguru shrugs, “I don’t mind! It’s just a little extra work.”

Satoru groans, “No, it’s not right. It’s not what I want to happen. How about this? I’ve been thinking about it.” 

Suguru nods, “Okay, tell me.” 

“Well, the days Megumi isn’t at preschool, he could stay home with me. So, we’re not relying on Yu too much. I could even make dinner and shit.”

“Really? Are you sure?” 

Satoru frowns, “You don’t think I can? I know how to cook.” 

“No, stop, it’s not that,” Suguru shakes his head. “It’s just, you’re pregnant – with twins. I don’t want to put too much on you. Especially as it gets closer to the end.”

Satoru rolls his eyes, “It’ll be fine. By then, you’ll probably be home more, right? You can take time off to stay home with your pregnant omega. You deserve it too, don’t you? To rest?” 

Suguru thinks about it for a moment, and he finds that he would be hypocritical to think otherwise. If he sees Satoru as his equal, then they should be equal in all things – regardless. 

“You’re right, I’ll take time off then, and help you get ready for the birth.” 

Satoru smiles and wraps his arms around Suguru’s shoulders, drawing him in for a kiss, and then it’s settled. 

From there, their new routine starts.

Suguru helps Yaga update the cursed Excel Sheet he started back when Megumi was in utero. He updates the needs and strengths of the new sorcerers and students on the docket, and helps put it into practice. Suguru’s working more than he has in a while, both with training his students, finishing reports and lesson plans, and supervising the implementation of the teams to cover Satoru’s leave.

He’s lived with Satoru for so long and seen the most human parts of him. Not even really the big things, like how he watched Satoru give birth to their child. More so, the moments where he forgets to put a new roll of toilet paper out, or when he doesn’t put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. 

Satoru is so human to him, sometimes he forgets that he really is other worldly to others. The Gojo Satoru, wielder of Infinity and the Six Eyes. The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the Modern Age.

He remembers when he’s trying to scramble to help assemble a team of sorcerers to cover a mission that could’ve easily just gone to Satoru to handle. Or when he has to ward off calls from the Gojo Clan Elders that want to know about Satoru’s status, and why he can’t make it to the stupid meeting they’ve called for no apparent reason. 

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who GojoSatoru is to other people. Because, at home he’s just Satoru. 

And tonight, when Suguru comes home late and Megumi’s already asleep in his bed, just Satoru is waiting for him in their nest. Suguru’s heart swells at the sight of him. He’s leaning against their headboard, lots of blankets and pillows stacked around him, and looking at his iPad. 

Suguru strips out of his day clothes and tosses them into their hamper. He crawls onto their bed, stopping in front of Satoru on his hands and knees. 

“What are you reading?” He asks. 

Satoru flushes, embarrassed, which really only serves to pique Suguru’s interest and he leans forward to try to see Satoru’s screen. But, he angles it away from him and closer to himself. 

“I’m not reading.” Satoru admits, “I’m playing Candy Crush.”

It’s so – Satoru. And Suguru’s heart soars. He leans forward to kiss the sliver of skin that peaks out of Satoru’s stretched out t-shirt. Well, it’s actually Suguru’s t-shirt, because he likes wearing his clothes this late into pregnancy, because he likes to have his scent close by, even though his nest is really just mostly Suguru’s dirty laundry.

Suguru honestly can’t help himself, Satoru just smells so good. He smells so fertile and so much like himself and so much like Suguru as well, it doesn’t make sense, to a logical brain. But it’s perfect. He starts sucking on Satoru’s scent gland, biting the scarred skin there. 

Satoru drops his iPad into his lap and wraps his arms around Suguru’s shoulder, moaning at the feeling. Suguru works his hands under the hem of Satoru’s shirt, pressing his fingers against his warm skin. 

“Suguru,” Satoru breathes out, digging his fingers into Suguru’s shoulders. “Wait –” 

Suguru freezes, “What is it?” 

Satoru looks embarrassed, his cheeks are flushed. He throws himself back on the pillow and groans. 

Suguru leans back, “Hey, it’s okay. You can tell me anything.” 

“It’s just,” Satoru groans, throwing his head back against the headboard. “I’m so fucking horny, but I’m so tired.” 

He says it so fast, it takes Suguru a second to take it all in. 

He stops, sounding stupid as fuck, “Oh, ahh – I mean. Well, we could just see what happens? If you want?” 

Satoru thinks about it for a second, face scrunched up, but then he nods. 

“Yeah, that’s fine. Just – want to be close to you.”

"Okay, that's okay," Suguru nods. 

Suguru tries to make a game plan. He gently places pillows under Satoru so he's not laying flat on his back, he's too pregnant to do that. When Suguru's pleased with his work, he straddles Satoru's waist. He doesn't put his weight on Satoru, keeps his weight on his knees pressed into the mattress. 

He's hovering over Satoru, looking down at his gorgeous mate. Satoru spread out beneath him, presented like some god of fertility. He's shucked his t-shirt up his body, biting the hem of it between his teeth. His belly is round and smooth, and his tits are bared for Suguru. 

He looks – like something out of a dream. Satoru's eyes are so blue and looking up at Suguru, waiting. 

Suguru takes both of their cocks, sticky with shared, mounting excitement, and starts stroking them together to bring them both to climax. It's been a minute, so it doesn't take long before they're both teetering on the edge of falling apart in Suguru's grasp. Satoru comes first, head tilting back, and Suguru is quick to move and wraps his lips around the tip of Satoru's cock, swallowing his spend. Greedy for it. 

Suguru lifts his head and takes Satoru in his hand, and finds that his mate is still hard. Satoru wiggles his hips up against Suguru's. 

"Please, Suguru – I need more." Satoru sounds as desperate as Suguru feels.

"What do you mean?" Suguru manages to ask.

Satoru presses a hand over his face, embarrassed, "I guess, maybe you – inside?"

It’s been a long time since they’ve had each other like that. Probably since the twins were conceived. Honestly, it’s just different than what they’re used to, after all these years of being together. 

"Yeah, I – sure," Suguru feels out of his depth as he pants, “What’s – what will feel good for you?” 

Satoru squints and shakes his head, “I think, on my side, probably?” 

“Probably?” Suguru shakes his head. 

Satoru groans, trying to pull Suguru closer to him, “I mean yeah – I think. I’ll tell you if I’m wrong. Just, please.” 

How can Suguru argue? 

So, he gently turns Satoru onto his side, situating pillows around him to make sure he’s comfortable.

Then, he licks two of his fingers and presses them between Satoru’s thighs. His cunt is already wet and sopping, but it’s been a long time, so Suguru needs to be gentle. He presses in slowly before he starts scissoring his fingers inside of Satoru, eying his expression for any signs of discomfort. But, Satoru is clinging onto his forearm and whining, so he must be on the right track. 

He keeps ​​at it for a while, just opening Satoru up. But eventually, Satoru digs his fingers into the palm of Suguru’s hand and moans.

“Stop playing and just get inside of me.” 

Suguru laughs, taking the slick that’s soaked his fingers and hands and rubbing on his cock. He rubs it in between Satoru’s legs, before he takes Satoru’s thigh and throws it over his hipbone. He’s slow and gentle as he presses inside of Satoru. It feels like it always does, overwhelming and just on the edge of too much. 

It takes a minute, before he’s fully seated inside of his mate. But when he is, Satoru starts wailing, begging for more. And how can Suguru deny him? So, he doesn’t and he presses into Satoru with a pace that feels right. 

They're both feeling so sensitive. It's been awhile since they've been together like this. And with the added layer of pregnancy hormones, it's no wonder Satoru is the first to start pleading.

“Ah, Suguru, you should knot me. You have to knot me.” 

Figures Satoru would ask for that, since it’s what typically happens when they fuck like this. But, Suguru isn’t so sure it’ll happen. Because well, Satoru is Suguru’s mate and he’s already full and pregnant with his baby – no, babies. So, there’s no biological reason to knot him, since he’s already done the deed. 

Suguru grunts, “Ah, I know if  I can –” 

It’s not unusual, it’s hard for alphas to pop a knot when they’ve already mated and bred their mate. It’s rare. Especially when their mate is as pregnant and bred as Satoru is. 

Satoru groans and pants, knocking his hips back against Suguru’s. “You can, please I know you can.” 

And Satoru is dirty and cruel, because he takes Suguru’s wrist and he digs his omega canines into Suguru’s scent gland there and bites down hard. Suguru falters, groaning as he curls forward to bury his face against Satoru’s scent gland on his neck and he bites. In turn, when Satoru comes around his cock, Suguru knots him – despite all odds. 

Suguru feels like he’s been carved from the inside out as he collapses against Satoru’s back. Satoru turns his head and nips at Suguru’s chin as they’re tied together. “Ha, knew you could do it.” 

Suguru is too tired to put up a fight and just sighs as he nuzzles against his mate. 

A beat passes and Suguru has to ask, he’s feeling too anxious not to.

“Are you okay? Are you in pain?” 

Satoru chuckles, “I’m fine, Suguru. More than fine.” 

Suguru sighs, sleepy, “Good, was it good for you?”

Satoru kisses where he mauled Suguru’s wrist gland, “Yeah, it was good. But not as good as me fucking you.” 

Suguru groans, nuzzling against Satoru’s neck because he’s so mean but he also loves him so much. Satoru just laughs again. 

Satoru’s staying home, full time. But, he can't help himself, so he's still consulting on cases and helping with reports and such. It makes him happy, so it makes Suguru happy, too. Megumi still goes to preschool part-time. Suguru insists on taking him, partly because Satoru's so exhausted and needs all the rest he can get, but mostly because he loves taking Megumi to school. Satoru picks him up now and stays home with Megumi the rest of the time. Suguru's working less too, when he can. Trying to come home at 5PM on the dot, or earlier.

There's a honeymoon period, for sure. For the first few weeks, most nights Suguru comes home to Satoru and Megumi curled together in the couch nest laughing and snuggling, or playing on the carpet. Sometimes Satoru's got dinner ready, or he's at least got it started for Suguru.

One night, while they're in bed, Suguru asks him about it. 

"How is it going? Being home." 

Satoru shrugs, as he's rearranging the blankets around Suguru and making him scent them. "It's been good. It's hard being home and bored, but I'm also exhausted, so it's not that bad."

Suguru isn't exactly fully comforted by the answer, but at least Satoru's being honest. So, Suguru takes his word for it.

The following week is more difficult, it's inching towards summer. The busy season for sorcerers, so Suguru is needed on campus. He's supervising missions and helping to train the students. When he's not in the field, he's pouring over mission reports and putting together teams. Altogether, it's terrible, and Suguru's exhausted by the time he makes it home.

He also notices minute changes in Satoru's behaviors. Nothing major, or really concerning. But little things. For example, he comes home and Satoru has ordered take-away, or he's watching a movie with Megumi. Which he chalks up to being understandable. Satoru's thirty-two weeks pregnant and feeling it more every day. 

Suguru feels like he should be checking in more, or asking more questions. And, he really means too, but he's just so busy. It's hard to keep everything in order. Both at work and at home. So, some things just – slip through the cracks. 

He comes home one afternoon after a particularly taxing mission to find the common space of the apartment empty, which he's come to know as very unusual, as per the past few weeks of Satoru’s sabbatical. Suguru drops his bag and kicks off his shoes, taking in the scent of the apartment. What he finds is putrid, the mix of a very upset omega and a mournful pup. He knows the scents to be Megumi and Satoru's, but they're so unfamiliar from what he's used to. He feels a sense of dread as he moves into the apartment.

He stops by Megumi's room first. Megumi is curled up on his bed, underneath the layers of the pup nest Satoru made for him. Suguru sits on the edge of the bed and runs his fingers through his son's hair, peeking out under all the sheets and blankets.

Megumi startles out of sleep and scowls up at Suguru, hissing in the way that only pups can. It's almost cute and it makes Suguru want to laugh, but he knows something is amiss. 

Suguru shushes his pup, "Hey, none of that – what's going on?" 

Megumi makes a face, and manages another little hiss, "Daddy is mean."

Suguru almost laughs, but suppresses it, "Mean? What did he do?"

Megumi grabs Suguru's wrist and scents him, which means his tough act is mostly a front and he's actually just desperate for comfort. 

Satoru and Megumi have their spats, like any family. They're too alike for their own good – even if only Suguru seems to realize it. But it's never been quite like this before.

Megumi doesn't provide any further insight and just burrows further underneath his blankets with Suguru's wrist still in a death grip.

"Okay, let's talk about it, want to tell me what happened," Suguru tries.

Megumi reels back and hisses, "I'm not ready!"

Okay, that's fair. That's valid, Suguru often doesn't feel ready to talk about what set him off when he's dysregulated and pissed off. It's unfair to ask a four-year-old to do what he can't in his thirties. That's what they taught Megumi to do when he's dealing with big, unwieldy feelings, it's hard not to demand all the answers at once, to try to fix what's wrong.

"Hey, that's okay," Suguru changes his plan of action and runs a hand through Megumi's spikey hair. “How can I help you?"

Megumi frowns, thinking about it for a second, before he puts his arms out to be held. Suguru certainly hasn't gathered all the necessary evidence to make a firm stand, but he's learned that isn't always the best course of action. So, he takes his kid into his arms, scenting his son. 

Megumi calms instantly against him. Tense little body giving way to a purring little cub, falling asleep in Suguru's arms, giving up the fight. He's asleep in minutes, ready for Suguru to tuck him under the blankets. 

That's only half the battle though, he still has to face Satoru. And he can still smell Satoru's rancid, wounded scent.

Suguru makes his way down the hallway and pushes into their bedroom. As he expected, Satoru is underneath the blankets of the nest. For one, the Satoru shaped lump is a good initial clue, but the tuft of white hair sticking out at the top of the blankets solidifies his investigation.

He moves closer and sits beside his mate, tugging at the exposed white strands of hair. He knows Satoru isn't asleep, at least not now, because he can feel his cursed energy and the twins' cursed energy, like a livewire in the room.

"Hey, you," Suguru whispers, soft.

Satoru mumbles something unintelligible.

"I can't hear you, babe." 

A few beats pass, but eventually Satoru emerges from the blankets, with a frown on his face and looking completely dejected.

"What's wrong?" Suguru asks.

"I'm a terrible father," Satoru says, mournfully. 

"Huh? What are you talking about?" 

"Today was very bad," Satoru says very softly, like he's ashamed.

"Tell me," Suguru whispers, kissing Satoru's cheek. "It's okay. I won’t judge, I know how Megumi can be sometimes."

Satoru shakes his head, grimacing. 

"It’s not – it started fine, I made Megumi breakfast. We watched a show. We went for a walk and he played at the park for a while."

"Hey, that's good," Suguru tries to be comforting. Satoru just gives him a look, but sighs and keeps speaking.

"Yeah, we had a great time. We played for a long time, just the two of us. He's obsessed with those Calico Critters that Shoko and Utahime bought him, but his stories are so – insane," Satoru manages a small, wet laugh. "We got back to the apartment and had a snack and everything. I put on a show for him because I was exhausted." 

"That's – Satoru – that's fine." 

"I know," Satoru whines, frustrated. "But after lunch, I started getting bad fake contractions –" 

Alarm bells ring in Suguru's brain, but he tries to push it down in the interest of listening.

Satoru continues, unaware of Suguru's inner turmoil, "And Megumi was trying to cuddle with me and it was just so much. His boney elbows were digging into my tits. And I tried to use Infinity to cushion the pain, but it wouldn't last long because my technique is all weird, and he was still just on me. And Suguru, I was so mean."

Satoru bows his head, rubbing a hand over his eyes, "Fuck, Suguru – he just wanted to cuddle and he tried to crawl under my shirt, but my chest fucking hurts, and I said no. Then, he got all sad and tried to play alone for a while. I tried to nap, but then he came back and asked me to build a Lego with him – and I just – said no. Then, he started throwing a tantrum. I just couldn't handle it in a good way, so I told him to go play in his room. And he told me I was – mean."

Satoru crumbles, "I love him more than anything. I'd fucking kill for the kid, of course. But, sometimes, god – I feel like he brings out the worst in me. I see so much of myself in him and it makes me so – ahhh. I don't know, it's all fucking terrible to say."

Satoru is curled over his round belly, weeping. Suguru runs a hand through Satoru's hair, scratching at his undercut. 

"Hey, stop this, you didn't do anything wrong. Honestly, if I were you, I'd've probably left the kid on the corner with a For Sale sign. You did the best you could, given the circumstances. He's probably feeling everything we are too – all the changes. But, Megumi will forgive you, he always does. He's like you in that way, always seeing the good in people, yeah?"

Satoru wipes his eyes and looks up at Suguru through his lashes, "You mean that?"

"Of course I do, I know you two, better than anyone," Suguru says and he means it.

"So, you think – he'll forgive me?" 

"I'm sure of it," Suguru nods. "Next time, please just call me. Or anyone."

"You were busy," Satoru shakes his head. 

"I'm never too busy for you. You'd do the same for me, yeah?" Suguru asks.

Satoru nods. Suguru holds him close, until he feels Satoru calm down, and his scent turns more normal. When it feels safe, Suguru has to ask. 

"Are you still having contractions? Be honest. How long and how many?" 

Satoru cowers, "Off and on all day. There's not really a pattern, though."

Suguru purses his lips, "I'd still like to call Shoko, okay?" 

Satoru sighs, defeated, "Yeah, that's fine." 

So, Suguru calls Shoko and helps Satoru get situated in the nest, pillows underneath him and all around him. When he's pleased with his work, he presses a kiss against Satoru's lips.

"Hey, I love you. Thank you for doing this for us."

Satoru's cheeks color a little, which is both rare and completely expected, but a treat all the same. "I love you, too. And it's nothing."

"Well, you're the strongest," Suguru reaffirms, a hint of teasing in his voice, but he means it, truthfully. Satoru knows it, too. Even if he pushes at Suguru's chest.

Shoko sounds exhausted and pissed off on the phone, but she gets to their apartment quickly and the concern is evident on her face. Suguru ushers her into their room, where Satoru is waiting. He must look pitiful enough that Shoko doesn't even bother with a lecture, and just starts with her examination. Suguru holds his hand through it all, even as Satoru squeezes his digits very tightly as Shoko works between his legs. 

After what feels like forever, Shoko takes off her gloves and pushes her bangs out of her face. She smiles at them, which is rare for her, so they really must look like a sorry pair. 

"It's okay, you're not in early labor. Just practice contractions. It's earlier, because the babies are taking up more space. But, you're fine."

Satoru lets out a breath of relief. 

She assures them that Satoru is still low risk and the babies are very healthy. Shoko gives Satoru an oral pill to take just to be safe to help with any possible contractions along with a dose of magnesium, just to help the babies and their lung development.

She tells him to be sure to stay hydrated and sends Suguru to go fill up the huge water bottle Satoru’s been lugging around, that he admits he's been a little forgetful with staying on top of drinking. Suguru dutifully fills Satoru's bottle and takes it back to the room, but he's stopped in his tracks at the door to their bedroom.

Because Megumi is crouched in the space behind where their door is half ajar, just peeking around the hinge watching as Shoko talks to Satoru. Megumi freezes, blanket and stuffed animal in hand, and looks up at Suguru – caught red-handed, in a way. 

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Suguru asks, looking down at his son. 

Megumi blinks up at him, a million emotions crossing his face, before he bursts into tears, curling in on himself. He's had a long, busy day, it's no wonder he's exhausted and dealing with a lot of feelings. 

"Is Daddy okay?" Megumi asks, with a small voice. 

"Huh? Yeah, Daddy's okay, baby." 

"Then why is he with Shoko?" Megumi stammers, shrinking further back behind the shield of the door.

Suguru crouches down so he's eye-level with Megumi, "The babies were just giving him a hard time today. Shoko just came to make sure he was okay. But he's fine." 

It doesn't seem to help because Megumi still looks upset, "I was so mean to him all day! And I didn't know that the babies were being mean, too!"

Suguru's heart aches, their sweet son. He's a little feisty sometimes, but he's got such a big heart.

Satoru and Shoko stop their conversation and seem to realize what's going on. Satoru leans forward and asks, "What's going on out there?" 

"Can I tell him?" Suguru asks his son quietly, Megumi thinks about it for a second and nods. 

"Megumi is feeling a little sad, because he says he was being mean when Daddy was feeling bad because of the baby. So, he's very worried." 

"Thank you for telling me," Satoru sighs. "But, I would just like to really see my Megumi."

Their kid looks up at Suguru and he ushers him along. Megumi runs towards the bed and scrambles up the edge to crawl into the nest. Satoru helps him up the rest of the way and pulls him up into his arms. Once Megumi realizes he's in his daddy's arms, his little face crumbles and he curls into Satoru's chest.

"I'm sorry I was mean, Daddy." Megumi wails. "I didn't listen when you asked me to be gentle." 

Ah, there's some of the other side of the story, Suguru thinks to himself. Satoru doesn't seem to care and curls Megumi closer to him and shushes his cries, wiping at his cheeks. 

"Hey, it's okay, everyone’s okay," Satoru whispers, kissing Megumi's head. "I'm sorry, I wasn't very nice, either. The twins were making me feel bad, but I shouldn’t have been so short with you. You mean too much to me, buddy."

Megumi makes a whimpering sound and slumps against Satoru. He buries his face against Satoru’s scent gland. 

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Megumi mumbles.

“Shhh, thank you,” Satoru whispers, softer than he is with anyone else. “I’m sorry, too.” 

Megumi relaxes against Satoru and starts dozing off again. A testament to how exhausted he must be. Suguru chats with Shoko for a bit and she gives him instructions on things to look out for and ways to help Satoru. 

“Do you think you can write a note for Yaga, so I can stay home a little more?” Suguru asks.

Shoko laughs, already lighting a cigarette probably to enjoy on her walk home. “Do you think he won’t let you?”

It gives Suguru pause, her words and tone. “What do you mean?” 

Shoko rolls her eyes, “Yaga would probably do anything for the two of you. But sure, I’ll write the note. Take care of them, Suguru.”

She goes to turn around, but Suguru grabs her forearm. “Hey, wait – Shoko, you’re my friend. Tell me what you mean?” 

Shoko shakes her head, “I don’t mean to be a bitch. But you and Satoru aren’t the only ones of us having kids. You’re not the only ones making sacrifices for your family. It’s different for Satoru, of course it is. You think Yaga has it out for you, but everyone is behind you guys. Like, please, we all care about you guys. It sucks you don’t see that.” 

“Shoko –” Suguru tries to say anything, but he feels frozen. Shoko cuts him off. 

She presses a hand to his face. “I’m seriously not being mean. Beyond cursed techniques, you guys do so much for the rest of us. You guys visited Uta when she was on bedrest and Satoru texted her all the time until the baby was born. Then,  you bought us all those baby clothes and made us a freezer-full of pre-made meals. You guys helped when Uta and I were on leave. You covered leave for Nanami when Yu was pregnant and postpartum, too. I just want you to recognize it. Because we all want to do the same for you.” 

Suguru feels dumbfounded and shocked, but he manages a nod, “Thank you, Shoko.” 

“Of course,” Shoko nods, “Just remember it. We’re all here for you. We may not be Special Grades, but we care for your family, too.” 

Shoko finally lights her cigarette and turns away from him, leaving Suguru reeling and thinking about everything Shoko said. 

And well, she’s right. It’s unfair to assume that others aren’t as willing to give back what Satoru – and Suguru and Megumi, too – have given in return. Their friends are so good, it would be cruel to suggest otherwise. But, honestly Suguru hasn’t thought of it like that. He takes a deep breath and turns back into their apartment. 

Satoru is snoozing in their nest with Megumi curled against his chest. Suguru changes into his pajamas and lays down next to Satoru. Satoru stirs a little, cupping Megumi’s head to keep him from waking. 

“Hey,” Satoru yawns. “Everything okay?”

Suguru nods, gently pushing Satoru back toward his pillow, “Yeah, all is well. Are you feeling okay?” 

Satoru smiles softly, “Yeah, I’m okay. No more contractions.” He gestures toward Megumi sleeping between him. “Should we put him in his own bed?”

Suguru shakes his head, “Nah, he’s okay here. I like having him close by.”

Satoru rests against his pillow and strokes his hands through Megumi’s hair. “Yeah, I like having him here too. Just the three of us.” 

Suguru smiles, “Just the three of us.”

After the first labor scare, things improve a little bit. At least, where their little family is concerned. Satoru is staying home, of course. But he’s asking for help when he needs it. Not that he needs a lot of help, honestly he really has managed to get the art of taking care of Megumi while heavily pregnant with twins down to a science. Still, he invites Yu over for playdates, and doesn’t even put up a fight with Yu cleans the kitchen or meal preps. 

Suguru’s able to be home more too, despite his seemingly growing responsibilities on campus. It’s not without work, though. But it’s worth it, to be home for lunch with Megumi and Satoru. And to be there to put Megumi to bed each night. Even better, it’s nice to curl up with Satoru on their couch nest and talk while some dumb show or movie plays in the background, and he gets to feel the twins moving under Satoru’s taut skin. 

As for the work. It starts with Suguru taking Shoko’s words to heart and thinking over them, after Satoru’s labor scare. First, he arranges to meet up with Shoko. He takes her to lunch one day when they’re both free, which is rare.

“I must admit,” Shoko says, taking her cup of black coffee in her hands and leaning back in her chair. They decided to sit outside, because Shoko likes it, despite choosing to spend most of her days cooped up in the morgue. “I’m a little suspicious.” 

Suguru smirks, trying to mask the anxious ache coiling in his gust with a joke, “Suspicious? You wound me.” 

Shoko rolls her eyes, “Well, it’s not every day one of the Special Grades invites me out. At least, not unless one of them needs something from me.” 

She plays it off, the evident hurt behind her words, by sipping from her drink. 

“Shoko, that’s part of why I asked you to meet with me –” Shoko’s face shifts into a grimace and Suguru quickly amends his former statement. “Not because I have something to ask of you, but because what you said the other day really stuck with me. And I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”

Shoko pauses, like she wasn’t expecting him to say that. “Suguru, I – what I said the other day. I’m sorry – it wasn’t. I’m just being a bitch –”

Suguru shakes his head. “No, you were right. I’ve been acting selfishly, whether I meant to be or not. The past few years, and especially in the last few months, I’ve really only been thinking of Satoru and myself – and our family. How we’re impacted by all the changes. And things have been so unfair for Satoru, sometimes I get tunnel vision with wanting to protect him. That I forget the whole system is corrupt.”

Suguru sighs, and he reaches forward to take Shoko’s hand. “And mostly, I’m just upset that I’ve been a bad friend. That I haven’t shown you the gratitude you deserve. For all you’ve done for me and my family. I’ve taken you for granted and I hope you can forgive me.” 

Suguru squeezes his eyes shut, partly because he’s a coward, but also because he feels like he might cry. Just thinking about all Shoko has done for his family and he doesn’t want to seem emotionally manipulative. But after a pause, Shoko doesn’t say anything, and Suguru is forced to crack an eye open.

He finds that Shoko is the one holding back tears, whipping feebly at her eyes. “Suguru, what I said the other night – it’s – I was being cruel.” 

“You weren’t – honestly. You made me take a good look at myself –” 

Shoko stops him, “No, sure, yeah – I meant a lot of what I said. But, I shouldn’t have said that, not then. When you called, Uta had been home with the baby all day, and she was colicky. I took over and I’d finally gotten down for the night and I was ready to relax – and I just felt – so much. I don’t know, anger. You and Satoru are my best friends, I want to help you more than anyone. But, work and everything have been so busy. I just felt so much, misplaced resentment and I took it out on you. And I’m so sorry.” 

Suguru shakes his head, “Shoko, thank you, but still – a lot of what you said was true. I have mistaken my place in all of this. You and Utahime have sacrificed a lot. Nanami and Haibara have sacrificed a lot as well. We all have, but the core of it remains – we deserve to have the lives we choose. Our families. We shouldn’t have to make the sacrifices we’ve been making to have them. Because it’s been too much, yeah?” 

Shoko sniffles and nods.

“So, we need to demand better.”

Shoko sighs, “It’s not that easy, though.” 

Suguru shrugs, “Says who? You were right, the Elders are nothing without us, that’s true?” 

Shoko gives him a wary look, “I mean – sure. But –” 

“If you were to stop healing all wounded sorcerers. Or if I were to stop taking missions. If Utahime decided to stop teaching. Same for Nanami. What would they do?” 

“Find someone else to replace us?” 

“But who would?” Suguru laughs, despite himself. It’s scary, almost, to hear the words coming from his mouth. He feels a little crazy, but he knows he’s right. Shoko knows he’s right, too, because she laughs, too. 

“So, let’s finally make good on what we set out to do all those years ago. When we were teenagers,” he holds out his pinky toward Shoko.

She regards him carefully, all tears dried and just smiling coyly at him. “And what’s that?”

Suguru smiles, “Let’s build a better world for all sorcerers that come after us. For our children, that they’re better and stronger than us.”

Shoko grimaces, “Do you really think that’s possible?” 

Suguru shrugs, “Does it hurt to try?” 

“Guess not,” Shoko concedes, tying their pinkies together.

“Wait, did you tell Satoru what I said?” Shoko whines, looking guilty.

Suguru rolls his eyes, “No, I didn’t think he was in the place to hear it. But maybe you should talk to him about it.” 

“Ugh, really? You’d make me do that?”

“He’d probably take it better coming from you. Don’t you think so?” 

“Fine.” 

The hard part comes next. Suguru has to talk to Yaga and Shoko has to talk to Satoru. Shoko does end up writing Suguru a half-hearted doctor’s note, detailing that Satoru is at risk of early labor and needs his mate on call. Suguru delivers it to Yaga and waits anxiously as he reads it. 

Yaga finishes reading the note and sets it down on his desk. He takes off his glasses and rubs a hand over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Suguru expects the worst, so he braces himself for it. Waiting for Yaga’s wrath, much like he faced as a student, when he and Satoru were acting up. Instead, Yaga just regards him with a somber look, appearing to age years before Suguru’s eyes. 

“Sensei –” Suguru starts, but Yaga holds up a hand to stop his words and gestures for Suguru to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Suguru listens, but he’s still fearing the worst. 

Yaga takes a deep breath, “Suguru, I feel like I should apologize.”

Suguru played this conversation out a thousand times in his head, but no version ever anticipated this. He freezes, “What –?”

Yaga cuts him off again, “With Megumi – I was overwhelmed and being hounded by the Higher Ups. I wasn’t thinking of everything you and Satoru have done. I was thinking of you both as sorcerers. I wasn’t thinking of you as – well, my students.”

Suguru doesn’t even know what to say. He swallows hard, trying to find words. But nothing comes.

“I’ve been under more fire from the Higher Ups. You know that – since Panda was born.” 

Panda, Yaga’s son, for lack of a better description. No, it’s a good description, Suguru thinks. 

“But, it’s made me realize the corruption, and I know I’ve done a bad job of protecting you all from it. And Suguru – I hope you know how sorry I am.”

Suguru blinks at him, “It’s okay – sensei.” 

Yaga shakes his head, “It’s not. But, we can only go forward. So, take as much time as you need. We’ll figure something out. We did it before Satoru was born. We’ll do it again. Yeah?”

Suguru nods. Still feeling incapable of saying anything else. He really owes Shoko an apology, because she was also right. 

“Thank you, sensei,” Suguru finally manages.

Yaga shakes his head, “Don’t mention it. Just bring Megumi around next time. I think he’d like Panda.” 

Suguru nods, “Yeah, he really would.”

From there, they make a plan – another plan. A better plan – of how to handle Satoru’s time off, and Suguru’s as well. A time existed before both of them, and a time will exist after them as well. 

Suguru spent longer than he intended speaking with Yaga, so it’s late by the time he makes it back to the apartment. He checks on Megumi and finds him fast asleep in his bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets all drenched in Satoru’s scent. From there, Suguru makes his way into their bedroom, where he finds Satoru and Shoko laying in their nest and chatting. 

Suguru stops in the doorframe. “Hey, what are you two talking about?” 

“You,” Shoko teases, and the two of them divulge into laughter. 

Suguru pouts, wounded. 

Satoru shakes his head and beckons Suguru over, “No, we weren’t. Shoko and I were just having a heart to heart, like old friends. But she needs to get back to her own family.” 

“Wow, kicking me out, just like that?” Shoko shakes her head, “You’re cruel, Satoru.”

“Crueler words have surely been said about me, I’ll live,” Satoru smiles, pushing Shoko out of his nest. 

“I’ll talk to you later,” Shoko grins. “Take care of yourself, and those babies.” She pats Satoru’s belly, before she gathers her things and scoots out the door. Not before she wraps her arms around Suguru where he’s standing in the doorway. She winks at him, as if to say – all is well. 

Suguru only has one thing on his mind, honestly. He wants to be close to his mate. So, he shucks off his day clothes and scrambles into Satoru’s nest. Satoru is waiting for him with open arms and Suguru collapses against him, scenting him deeply after being apart for far too long. 

“How did your talk with Yaga go?” Satoru asks as he squeezes his arms around Suguru’s shoulders.

Suguru deflates, burying his nose against Satoru’s scent gland. “Shoko snitched on me, didn’t she?”

Satoru laughs, hugging him closer. “Sort of, she told me what you two had been talking about. The Yaga stuff came up after.” 

Suguru pulls back, regarding Satoru carefully. “Are you mad? That I kept it from you?” 

Satoru shakes his head, “No, I guess not. It helped to hear it from Shoko’s perspective, honestly. I just – I feel bad, really. When I was pregnant with Megumi, I thought I was shouldering it all, from you – from our friends. It never occurred to me that I was maybe perpetuating the problem. And now –”  

“Satoru – it’s not like that. Shoko and I came to the same realization, we’re all impacted by the same things. It’s no one’s fault. We can only do better.” 

Satoru nods, “Yeah, I know. But, I guess I still feel a little bad. Does that make sense?”

Suguru thinks about it for a moment, but eventually he comes to the same conclusion.

“Yeah, it does,” he sighs. “I still feel bad about it all. Even if I know I shouldn’t. But, Satoru – I hope you know what it all means in the end.” 

“What is that?” 

Suguru shakes his head, “It means that you’re just as entitled to rest and peace, the life you want to live with your family and children. Whether you want to take missions or just stay at home. It’s what you want. The same as the rest of us. Do you know that? Tell me.”

Satoru takes Suguru’s face in his palm and looks at him, “Yes, of course, I know that.” 

Then, he pulls Suguru closer and kisses him, solidifying it all. It might as well be a Binding Vow, as far as Suguru is concerned.

The remainder of Satoru’s second pregnancy is similar to the last few weeks of his first with Megumi. 

Around 35 weeks, Satoru decides he’s unfit for company and banishes all thoughts of visitors away. Yu still insists on texting Satoru all hours of the day, and Utahime sends meal-deliveries that wait for them on their porch. 

Satoru is being a good sport about it, but he really has grown very round, pregnant with the twins. Megumi says he looks silly. Satoru says he’s insolent and a brat. 

But, in Megumi’s defense, Satoru’s belly has swollen to an unprecedented size, looking like he shoved a ripe watermelon under his shirt. And the summer heat is starting to feel cloying, so he spends most of his days just wearing insanely large t-shirts that Shoko procured for him from the thrift store, often sporting odd phrases or images.

Today, he’s rocking one with a picture of a cat holding onto a branch, fit with the message: Hang In There. It makes Megumi laugh, so Satoru doesn’t seem to mind being teased. Suguru thinks the shirt probably describes how he’s feeling right now, as well.

They spend most of their days, just the three of them. Satoru, Suguru, and Megumi.

They watch movies and cuddle together in Satoru’s nest. Megumi likes talking to the babies and pressing his face against Satoru’s belly to feel the twins kick against his cheek. It’s nice to be all cozy and domestic together, but when Megumi’s sleeping, Satoru is in full nesting mode. 

It’s like he’s possessed, almost. He waddles around the apartment, moving piles of things he’s deemed unnecessary from place to place, until the chosen ones meet their fate of joining the rest of the donation pile in the gengkan, just waiting for Suguru to take them to the thrift store or recycling center. 

When Satoru’s not getting rid of shit, he’s scrubbing the place from top to bottom. Suguru wants to chastise him for it, since he should be resting. But, instead of causing an inevitable argument, Suguru falls in line and helps with scrubbing the floors and baseboards. Hell, he spends an evening taking all their books and movies off the shelves and wiping them down with great care. Satoru’s very pleased, so it’s worth it. 

In the midst of Satoru’s nesting frenzy, they’ve officially fully cleaned out the guest room, having gotten rid of all the junk, and stored the rest of the room’s contents in storage boxes under their bed or in their spare closets. What remains in the room is two cribs and a dresser fitted with a changing pad and stocked with the hand-me-downs from Megumi along with the new baby outfits they’ve purchased.

In the evenings, similar to the days they spent before Megumi’s arrival, they take a walk around the campus grounds.

It’s different this time – the setting being the early days of summer as opposed to the bitter cold winter evenings. But, the awaiting excitement remains the same. 

As they stop along the path and this time Megumi gets to tell the twins how excited they are for them to join the family and offer up prayers for a safe delivery at the shrines they pass. It’s full circle, and it’s sweet. A nice memory for their family.

Satoru’s second labor starts, similar to how it did with Megumi, in the late hours of the evening. 

Suguru is curled around Satoru in their nest, when his mate wakes with a start and slowly waddles his way to the bathroom. He gives him a few moments to himself. But this time, Suguru can’t bear to let him shoulder the burden alone and eventually makes his way into their ensuite. Satoru is sitting on the lip of the bathtub and he’s cradling his heavy belly in his hands. 

“So, it’s happening. I’m pretty sure.” 

“What do you need me to do?” Suguru asks, unsure of what else to say. 

Satoru just laughs. “Just be here with me.” 

“Of course.” 

Satoru labors through the night. Staying strong through it all. He paces around their bedroom, sometimes leaning on Suguru through his contractions, asking him to press his thumbs into his lower back. Most of the time, he just breathes through the pain. 

During one of Satoru’s laps, he freezes, pressing his weight against the wall when his water breaks. 

Suguru calls Shoko immediately. It’s a good thing too, because Satoru’s labor shifts quickly. Moving from silent suffering, to full-blown active labor within a half-hour or so. By the time Shoko makes it to their apartment, Satoru is on his hands and knees and panting in the middle of their nest. 

“Hey, woah, am I late?” Shoko asks, donning her gloves and moving to help Satoru out of his pajama pants. 

“Well, you don’t see any babies around here, do you?” Suguru makes an attempt at a joke. 

But all humor falls flat, because Satoru is just making these deep, wounded noises. He moves forward on his elbows and groans. 

“Suguru,” Satoru grounds out, gripping their hands together with his eyes squeezed shut, probably fighting off the overstimulation of both the physical pain and cursed energy thrumming in the air. “I – are you here?”

“I’m here, Satoru – of course, I’m here. Always.” 

Shoko manages to check Satoru’s dilation through his sorrow and she deems him ready to push, as if that was even a question, based on his current state. 

Shoko takes a deep breath, “Okay, Satoru, with your next contraction, push. Give it your all.” 

Suguru is nearly unprepared for how fast it happens. The birth of his twin daughters. 

But at 4:00 in the morning his first daughter is thrust into his arms, whimpering quietly, like she was also unprepared for this untimely entrance into the world. She has a dark head of hair, like Megumi, and round, chubby cheeks. Shoko ties off her umbilical cord and hands her to Suguru. 

“Mimiko,” he whispers the name Satoru chose for her, holding her to his chest. His beautiful girl, true to her name.  

Satoru is still kneeling between his legs, hands gripping Suguru’s thighs. His chest is heaving and blows his bangs out of his eyes to look at their baby. He leans forward to press his forehead against Suguru’s clavicle. 

“Ha, oh my god,” Satoru wheezes, “She’s so fat. Look at her cheeks. How is she so fat, Suguru? Ahh – fuck.” 

Satoru is laughing and seems half out of his mind, before he’s taken by another, gripping contraction and he bows forward. Suguru grips his shoulder, helping his mate through the pain. It seems almost too fast, but their second daughter is born quickly. As if she couldn’t bear to share the spotlight with her twin. 

Suguru helps Shoko turn Satoru on his back so he’s resting against Suguru, braced between his thighs. Shoko presses the second baby against Satoru’s breast. Their second daughter – Nanako – seems to be angry at being born. She’s loud – wailing loudly against Satoru’s chest, like she can hardly believe her thunder was stolen and she was born second.

“Hi Nanako,” Satoru whispers, pressing his lips against her head. “Shh, quiet – lucky girl. You’ve got our attention.” 

Shoko leans back, “Fuck, Satoru – that was fast.”

It really was fast and a sense of dread courses over Suguru, fearing for his mate. “Did he tear? Is he okay?”

“Not too bad,” Shoko shakes her head. “He should be fine with some RCT and rest.” 

Suguru laughs, more than relieved, just focusing on the positive. He leans over his mate, mindful of the babies in both of their arms. But he has to kiss Satoru, he really has too. So, he presses their lips together.

“Thank you, baby,” Suguru kisses him again. “Thank you for doing this for us.” 

“It was nothing,” Satoru laughs. 

–

Satoru sleeps through the rest of the first night. He’s absolutely exhausted and he’s earned his rest. 

Suguru stays up with the babies. Shoko helps him, too. It’s easy, honestly. The girls haven’t realized they’re alive just yet, so they’re content to just be held. Shoko weighs them and takes their vitals. Mimiko is 3 kilos and Nanako beats her at 3.4 kilos, naturally. They’re big for twins, Shoko says. Poor Satoru was lugging around the equivalent of a small dog, and then some, based on the breadth of his waters.

Later the same morning, they get to introduce Megumi to his sisters. Shoko leaves around 6AM and Suguru manages to sleep for a few hours or so. Thankfully, Megumi decides today is the day to sleep in until 9AM.

He stumbles into their room bleary eyed and confused. Suguru’s barely half-awake as he blinks at his son staring at him at the side of the mattress. Satoru took both of the babies around 7AM, so Megumi is none the wiser. He holds his arms out towards Suguru, asking to be held and dragged into the nest.

“Papa,” Megumi whines, making grabby hands at Suguru. Definitely irritated at how long it’s taking him to bend to his will. 

“Hey, ‘Gumi,” Suguru pulls Megumi into his arms and scents him. Megumi curls into him, drinking in his scent in return. “Something happened last night.” 

Megumi pulls back and gives him a look. “What?” 

Suguru chuckles, “Well why don’t you have a look for yourself, buddy.” 

He twists Megumi so he’s flush against his chest and is able to get a good view of Satoru laying in the nest with the twins against his chest.

Megumi blanches and he points at Satorus’s chest, “Are those – the babies?” 

Suguru laughs, “You bet, buddy. Can you believe it?” 

Megumi wraps his arms around Suguru, then he pulls back and frowns pitifully, “I want my daddy.” 

“Oh,” Suguru says, feeling a little disarmed. 

Satoru seems to feel the same, because he immediately shifts and tries to hand the twins to Suguru. Suguru quickly adapts and takes the babies and passes Megumi into Satoru’s arms. It’s easy, honestly.​​ The twins are little enough to settle easily against Suguru’s chest, probably used to his voice. Satoru gathers Megumi into his arms and shushes him. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Satoru says, pressing a kiss against Megumi’s head. “You’re still my baby. But I want you to meet your sisters, yeah?”

Megumi makes a little sound. 

Satoru chuckles, “You want to meet them, Gumi?”

Megumi nods against him.

“Okay,” Satoru whispers, jostling their kid a little. “Look up at your papa.” 

Megumi lifts his head up from Satoru’s shoulder and peaks an eye open.

“You see them?” Satoru asks gently. “Those are your baby sisters, Megumi.” 

Megumi is quiet, so Satoru keeps talking. He gestures toward Suguru’s left shoulder, “You see the one with the light hair, that’s Nanako. She’s loud. And then –” he points toward Suguru’s right shoulder. “The one with the black hair, she looks just like you did as a baby, Megumi. That’s Mimiko. What do you think, baby? Your little sisters.”

Megumi sniffles, “You did good, daddy. They’re cute.”

Satoru laughs, “Why thank you, Megumi. I think the three of you are going to have fun together. What do you think?”

Megumi nods, “Yeah, I think so.”

Suguru laughs, as he soaks in the sight of his family, and agrees with Megumi and Satoru. Satoru is right, the five of them will have fun. Whatever that means. No matter what life brings.