Work Text:
“We should have a baby.”
Of all the things Tadashi could have imagined his somewhat erratic master saying in the midst of a long and boring afternoon of preparing for an upcoming meeting, that was one of the few things he would have never expected.
“I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me,” Ainosuke said, stretching his arms and making his shoulders pop in the process, taking a break from work.
He was right. Tadashi had heard him loud and clear, but what he couldn’t comprehend was the reasoning behind such an outrageous request.
Ainosuke got up from his seat, took a few steps to cross the room and ended up right in front of where Tadashi sat at the other end of the table.
“I want a baby,” he repeated, mere inches from his face. “I want to make a baby with you.”
“Why?” was the first question to leave Tadashi's mouth.
Ainosuke looked at him in disbelief, arching up an eyebrow as he sat himself on the table despite the many available chairs.
“Because why bother with a donor agency when I have a perfectly decent alpha here,” he said flatly, rolling his eyes and shaking his head at the stupidity of Tadashi's question. “Because I’m turning thirty-seven in a month. Did you know a pregnancy after age thirty-five is called a geriatric pregnancy? Geriatric, Tadashi. That means elderly. My womb’s shrivelled already, apparently. ”
“Ai-sama… people have babies well into their forties now, it’s no longer that big a concern.” he countered, wondering if this was only a fleeting moment of panic that had to do with Ainosuke’s realisation that his middle age was inching closer.
“I know, but I don’t want to wait any longer,” he said “What are we waiting for? For the old hags to die?”
Tadashi was taken aback by this, looking at him with surprise all over his face.
“What? You know they are the only thing keeping us from being public.”
He sighed, looking at him and reaching across to take his hand and squeeze it gently. After spending all of his twenties rejecting proposals and making any arranged engagements impossible without giving his hand up, Ainosuke was only beginning to enjoy relative freedom on that front - apparently, nobody decent wanted an old omega as a mate, no matter how much money they had in the bank nor how much weight their name held.
He had earned himself a reputation as a hard-to-please omega that would break any engagement on a whim regardless of the ire this might incur on the Shindo matriarchs. He spent years refusing to offer anything in the way of a coherent explanation about it, even though it would be clear to anyone that took a moment to understand Ainosuke that the reason why he was refusing all the engagements was right there, serving them tea and jotting down changes in the busy politician’s planner.
"Just think about it, Tadashi. A puppy with green eyes and blue hair. How cute would that be?" Ainosuke added to his pitch, prompting Tadashi's imagination to run wild.
He could see them in the garden, sat down on the grass with Ainosuke laughing and himself trying to prevent a toddler from putting freshly-picked flowers into their mouth. He could imagine them running around the foyer in the mornings and hosting tiny tea parties for dolls. It was a warm and comforting thought, something he could see himself wanting more than anything in the world, but he couldn't allow his own desires to harm his master and life-long companion.
"What about your career?" he asked as soon as he was able to pull himself out of the warm and sweet thoughts that had taken over just seconds ago.
Ainosuke huffed, not very happy with that question.
"I've had a good run so far," he started "I'm sure I could go back into the game after a while off to have our baby. There’s nothing the government would like more than the good press that comes with supporting motherhood for Omegas in positions of power."
"What about your Aunties?"
"They've been bothering me about an heir to the Shindo name ever since I was sixteen. They wanted a baby, let's give them a baby."
"They want an heir with a strong name, probably not a servant's surname."
"You've got a name fit for an Emperor, Tadashi," Ainosuke said, tenderness dripping off his voice. "And we'll give the baby my name. Problem solved."
"Your name?" Tadashi asked, looking at him.
"Yes. You've never had a problem with Omegas in positions of power and subverting gender norms, I don't expect you to start now."
"Of course not." He said with a light chuckle.
"Marvellous! Then we're all set; I've started taking folic acid this week, and my heat's coming up at the end of the month. We'll try for three heats and if we’ve not been lucky by the end of that, we reach out to a fertility clinic for help. Given our age, I want this to happen as soon as possible.."
Tadashi blinked, taking a second to process all that information and looking over at the man across from him. It was clear that Ainosuke had been thinking about this for a while, and that he wasn’t just talking as a spur of the moment decision. Perhaps it was the right time for them.
“How long have you been thinking about babies?” Tadashi asked, looking over at his omega and gently stroking his knuckles.
“A while. Everyone else has them,” Ainosuke said.
It was true that everyone in their most immediate circles had children of their own already: pretty much all high-calibre politicians had children (both with their families and their mistresses), as expected, but more importantly, ‘S’ was starting to resemble some sort of daddy respite centre with how many of the original members had since stepped down from the spotlight (and the danger that came with it) to skate in a more casual manner and regale the crowds with tales of their cute, little pups and their irrelevant shenanigans. It was the natural progression of life, it seemed.
“We don’t have to have them just because everyone else does, Ai-sama,” Tadashi said, thinking back to his lifelong companion’s teenage anxieties around living up to replicate his father’s mistakes.
“I know that, Tadashi,” he said, scowling slightly and refusing to let him entertain the point any further. “I want a kid. I really do.”
Tadashi smiled, pressing a kiss to his omega’s knuckles before moving his hand up to stroke his cheek.
“What about bonding?” he eventually asked the one natural follow-up question.
“What about it?” Ainosuke said “You’ll bond me with this upcoming heat, of course. It increases the chances of conceiving, right? Let’s make the fact that we’ve waited twenty years come to good use for once.”
Tadashi couldn’t help the warmth that took over his heart, smiling bright for once and looking at his lover with stars in his eyes. They had been holding back on bonding since forever, knowing that the strength of their mutual feelings would tie them together even if they could not physically make it known due to their complicated circumstances.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure!” Ainosuke urged. “It’s easier to hide a bonding mark than a pregnancy or a baby, anyway. Not that I plan on hiding any of it.”
Tadashi couldn’t help himself, getting up from his chair and pulling his omega towards him, pressing a slow kiss to his lips and cupping his cheek.
“We’re having a baby,” he agreed in a whisper.
Tadashi had been prepared for their endeavour to make a baby to take a while; he had had so many talks with himself and with Ainosuke about how it wasn’t likely it would take right away, that it was okay if they needed help, and that they would figure it out one way or another. He studied the ins and outs of in vitro fertilisation, how to prepare themselves for it, and found out who the very best professionals in the field were, ready to contact them as soon as they hit their previously agreed three heat deadline.
Never in a million years had he expected it to take on the very first try.
They barely got any chance to enjoy their first heat as a bonded couple, having it come to an end sooner than expected and leaving them puzzled. They assumed it was to do with the fact that neither of them was a teenager, and therefore it was to be expected for cycles to be more subdued. Little did they know back then that it was the earliest sign of the change that was about to take over their lives.
When the pregnancy test came back positive two weeks later, Tadashi blanched and had to be held up by his now pregnant omega to keep him from hitting the floor.
Now there was no turning back, so they needed to prepare for the earth-shattering changes that would make their way into their daily routine.
The first thing on their list was announcing to the whole world that they were together and expecting a baby; Tadashi wasn’t exactly keen on having their private family matters become tabloid fodder, but he understood the importance of making the pregnancy a thing in the public eye. He knew it would help warm the public up to the upcoming break on Ainosuke’s career, even if he wasn’t entirely sure of how much they would approve of the fact that he had chosen to bond and have a baby with his assistant instead of with any of the many suitable alphas that had tried to court him along the years.
He was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support the media showed towards their announcement; Ainosuke had always been a well-liked figure throughout his career, so it made sense people would be vocally happy for him and his upcoming little one.
Regardless of the public opinion, Tadashi and Ainosuke had been expecting war to break loose within the Shindo Estate the second the news saw the light of day.
They had barely managed to wrap up the little press conference after the announcement before Ainosuke’s phone was flooded with scorching orders to return home immediately and explain himself.
The conversation that was waiting for them at home was exactly what they expected: a tireless berating of them, their love and their choice to be together in public at last. And still, the old matriarchs could do nothing but scream at them until they grew tired of it. The couple felt assured of the fact that they were adults with money, established careers and public support, so whether Ainosuke’s relatives approved of them or not was no longer as important as it could have been much earlier in their lives.
They could hate it as much as they liked, but they could do nothing to change the fact. Especially not now that Ainosuke was emboldened by instinct and ready to protect his baby from anything that might threaten them.
With the public aspect of their new life settled, Tadashi took it upon himself to dedicate his sleepless nights to turning himself into some sort of pregnancy savant, researching everything that he could find about the changes and symptoms expected for his omega at every single step of the pregnancy. He learned about the stages of foetal development, keeping track of how big their pup was likely to be, and how a beautiful clump of cells would start becoming a small person in the course of forty weeks. He educated himself on all sorts of things that could go wrong during a pregnancy, taking on the mission to torture every single one of Ainosuke’s doctors with questions, and demanding them to double check every bit of information gathered about their precious baby during check ups.
He couldn’t help himself, protective of his omega and their baby, even before said baby was much more than a super cute embryo. And Ainosuke made it clear that he loved this new strain of fierce protectiveness, making a fuss of his alpha whenever he went on to explain what he knew about the current pregnancy stage and happy to imagine their baby with him.
As worried as he had been about Ainosuke ever since they decided to try for a baby, Tadashi was pleasantly surprised to learn that his lover seemed to be one of the luckiest omegas alive in regards to pregnancy: all through his first trimester, he experienced basically no morning sickness, minimal fatigue and just a handful of odd cravings, but nothing that was too out of the ordinary or impossible to satisfy. He continued to work and go through life as though his body wasn’t working overtime to create a whole new human, and Tadashi couldn’t help but be in absolute awe at how strong his omega was.
They made the choice to avoid finding out any of the genders of their baby, well aware that a bunch of people would be wondering about it and deciding that they did not want to know. It was clear to them that people would react differently depending on the genders of the pup, and neither of them was willing to have the world be any less enthusiastic about their happy news if the baby happened to be anything other than an alpha boy. They knew they would love their baby no matter what or who they were, so it wasn’t something they worried about.
The second trimester brought them nothing but bliss in the form of clear and tangible reminders that they really were having a baby soon.
First came the subtle change on the omega’s scent, shifting from the rich, spiced dark chocolate scent Tadashi had loved since his teenage years into something softer and sweeter, something designed to soothe babies and broadcast to the whole world that he was carrying a puppy within him.
Then came the announcement that Ainosuke could now feel butterfly tickles inside him, a sign of the baby moving and fluttering about, as any healthy developing pup should. Tadashi cried at the announcement, longing for their baby to be big enough so that he could feel it too.
It wasn’t all that long before Tadashi himself could feel their baby moving too, completely in awe at the sensation and loving the way in which Ainosuke’s body changed slowly but surely into a rounder, softer form that made his heart swell with joy, growing steadily as their baby got bigger and stronger.
And get bigger and stronger, it did.
By the time the third trimester came around, it became a lot more obvious to both of them why a lot of people didn’t enjoy pregnancy very much; even the smallest of tasks became an ordeal with Ainosuke having to consider the fact that his shape and centre of gravity had shifted, on top of the fact that he now had a considerable amount of extra weight to haul around.
As blessed and easy as the pregnancy had been so far, Tadashi couldn’t help but be worried whenever it became clear to him that swollen feet, sore backs and aching hips had become Ainosuke’s new normal, and that things would remain that way until the baby arrived.
He knew there was very little he could do to help other than offer endless back rubs, let Ainosuke have the whole bed to spread out to his heart’s content, and clear out as much of his schedule as physically possible to allow him to rest.
To his credit, Ainosuke was taking every single one of the many pregnancy-related inconveniences like a champion, keeping a straight face even when he realised he couldn't really wear closed shoes anymore and had to force himself to attend important conferences wearing sandals and in a heavily altered maternity suit that might as well be a fancy garbage bag that made him look even bigger than he was.
They did their best to remind each other that it was almost over, that all they had to do was get through a handful of weeks more before they were able to hold their baby in their arms and enjoy the next stage of their lives together as a little family.
Everything started to feel too real all of a sudden the moment Tadashi came back to their shared quarters to find that Ainosuke had outright trashed the room in search for the perfect items to make his baby nest, following the instinct to prepare for the imminent birth of his pup by crafting the most complex nest Tadashi had ever seen.
Ainosuke had never been much of a nester throughout his life, perhaps only making a lazy and quick one for heat if he was feeling particularly needy, so the sight was more than enough to impress (and worry) Tadashi. To him, the shapeless mountain of fabric was a clear sign that their baby could come any moment now.
That baby nest was enough of a sign for Ainosuke to start his leave from work, preparing for the imminent birth of his pup and exposing the pregnant omega to the most free time he had ever had in his life. The boredom combined with the fact that he was too big and too achy to do anything he could enjoy meant that Tadashi would often come home to find a very whiny omega counting down the days to his due date.
When the mystical due date came and went without anything happening, Ainosuke went from being whiny but holding on, to being completely done with being pregnant, making it clear that he felt very cheated by the fact that this baby refused to uphold their part of the deal.
“I’m done, Tadashi. Tell your kid to come out now,” Ainosuke demanded, sitting as close as he could physically get to the air conditioning unit and still dripping sweat. They had failed to consider that being very pregnant in the height of summer would do nothing but add to Ainosuke’s discomfort.
“I’m not sure they’d listen, Ai-sama,” he said, rubbing at his calves and feeling bad for him.
“Well, try! Alpha command them or something!”
“As smart as I think our baby is, I don’t think they understand language yet. Much less that they are able to follow complex instructions.”
Tadashi had to dodge a cushion thrown his way for daring to point out a truth Ainosuke didn’t like.
“There must be something we can do,” he sighed out. “I’m so done. This baby’s coming out today, whether they like it or not.”
“Do you want to talk to the doctor about getting labour induced?” Tadashi asked, feeling for his phone on the side and ready to try and fix his lover’s discomfort with one single phone call.
“She won’t do it until I’m past 42 weeks,” he grumbled, displeased.
“You’re three days away from that. I’m sure she would if we ask nicely enough.”
“She said the medicine makes it hurt more.”
Tadashi could do nothing but offer a sympathetic smile, aware that there was very little he could do other than wait things out with him until the time came.
“Pass me my phone.” Ainosuke said, pointing at the mobile that happened to be just out of reach when considering the huge belly that was currently limiting his movement.
He did, shifting to sit by his side as Ainosuke proceeded to type ‘how to induce labour’ onto the search box.
Tadashi knew this wasn’t the first time he had searched that exact phrase in the past couple of weeks; Ainosuke had made them walk laps around the gardens for hours upon reading that walking and exercise could make the baby come, and yet, he got nothing but disappointment and heavily blistered feet with that attempt.
Then came the time when he read that eating certain types of food could help nudge the baby into being born. Every website he visited said different things, so Ainosuke decided that there was no choice but to try them all despite historically having poor tolerance to foods that were different to what he was used to eating.
He ate dates, pineapple slices, ginger, licorice candy, and raspberries. And Tadashi felt like a complete monster for laughing as he watched Ainosuke try to eat a spicy curry before abandoning the endeavour after one single mouthful and a lot of water. Needless to say, after a few days of experimenting he was just as pregnant but now with a rather upset stomach.
Tadashi couldn’t help but wonder what would come next in Ainosuke’s attempt to make their baby come out once and for all.
“I know what we need to do,” Ainosuke announced, triumphant.
“What?” Tadashi asked, already fearing his next sentence.
“We need to have sex. And play with my nipples.”
Tadashi flushed, playing the sentence back in his head and making sure he had heard them right.
“The stimulation and the hormone changes are meant to help. Look.” Ainosuke insisted, turning his phone so that Tadashi could read about the wonders of oxytocin and orgasm and how it could help trigger labour.
“So was the curry, and that did not work out, Ai.” Tadashi pointed out.
“I never eat curry. I don’t like it. I do, however, like to have sex with you.”
Tadashi offered him a shy smile while trying his best to find a delicate-enough way to remind Ainosuke that they hadn’t had sex in a couple of months due to the pregnancy and how physically uncomfortable it made him even when he was a bit smaller than he currently was. To him, Ainosuke had always been gorgeous and the pregnancy had done nothing but add to his innate charms, but there was a line between that and the clear logistical nightmare that was having sex while so impossibly pregnant.
“I’m not sure that’s even possible. Let alone a good idea.” he eventually said.
“Of course it is! I just need to…” he started, trailing off with a light groan as he focused on the complex series of movements that came with sitting up while heavily pregnant. “If I get on my knees and you hold me from behind we can. See, like this?”
Tadashi wanted to point out that the fact that it had taken him a couple of minutes to even assume a kneeling position was more than enough to prove that he was in no condition to consider sex, but he didn’t want to upset his omega with that information.
“What if I hurt you? I really don’t think people are meant to have sex this close to having a baby…”
“Tadashi. You saw the video, right? The one during the antenatal classes, the horrible one,” Ainosuke asked.
Tadashi nodded, wishing that he could forget about the horrors he had witnessed in preparation for their own baby to arrive.
“And you heard the doctor say that the baby is three-and-a-fucking-half kilos in weight right now.”
He nodded again.
“Well, if my body’s meant to deal with that without getting seriously injured, I’m pretty sure taking a simple cock will not hurt me.”
All of a sudden, Tadashi felt like he didn’t have a very solid basis to argue his case anymore.
“Help me out of these clothes and fuck this baby out of me.”
“Please don’t say it like that…” Tadashi said but complied, moving to sit in front of him to encourage Ainosuke to rest his hands on his shoulders for balance as he started to work on getting his lover out of his clothes. If there was one positive side to the comfy yet unstylish maternity clothes the omega wore that late in pregnancy, it had to be the fact that everything was oversized, elasticated and therefore very easy to remove.
Tadashi couldn’t help himself bending down to kiss alongside his lover’s neck and down his collarbones once he had him undressed, amazed by how soft and beautiful his gorgeous omega looked.
A whisper of his name caught his attention, picking up on the soft change in Ainosuke’s scent and looking up at him before kissing his lips.
“You’re perfect, Ai-sama,” he whispered to him.
He could tell that Ainosuke was prepared to try and argue that he wasn’t, that he was now fat and riddled with stretch-marks and that he had not seen his own feet in months. That his skin was dry and a few stray greys had appeared in his hair through the process of growing a whole new person. They’d had that conversation many times before, and Tadashi wasn’t willing to entertain it right then.
“Can you balance without me holding you, love? I need to undress,” he told him, pressing one last kiss to his lips and slowly letting go of him, still ready to catch him if he was taken by surprise by the shift in his centre of gravity.
Once he was certain that Ainosuke wasn’t going to topple over and hurt himself, Tadashi made quick work of taking his clothes off and moving to hold his lover from behind, with strong hands on his hips and letting his lips pepper kisses down his neck, shoulders and upper back.
Tadashi held on to his omega from behind, letting his hands roam down his front and caress every single inch of skin in their wake, finding their way to Ainosuke’s swollen chest and grabbing a tentative handful of him just to see what his lover’s reaction would be. The low moan that escaped him was more than enough to prompt Tadashi to continue, pinching his nipples and rolling the sensitive nubs along the pads of his fingers.
Ainosuke had always been loud during sex - even back then when keeping their relationship hidden was of utmost importance - but it seemed that right then the omega wanted anyone within a couple of miles to hear him. He sounded lewd, loud and breathless as he pressed his bottom back against Tadashi and his chest against his hands.
“Put it in already,” he demanded between breathless pants.
With fire burning in his veins, Tadashi found that he couldn’t say no to him right then, regardless of how the most sentient part of his brain worried about the logistics of everything they were trying to do.
“You’ll tell me if anything feels wrong, right?” he reminded him.
“Yes, yes. Just put it in.”
Tadashi had been envisioning them taking things very slowly and having a ton of foreplay beforehand, but he knew better than to fight him on it right then. It was easier to just give his demanding lover whatever he wanted and see where things went from there.
He pushed into his slick hole with surprising ease, sighing out at the wet warmth that enveloped him and patiently giving Ainosuke time to adjust, keeping an eye on him for any sign of discomfort to confirm that what they were doing wasn't a great idea. He had not expected Ainosuke to bend down, plant his hands on the mattress and start rocking back against him, creating movement between them even despite Tadashi’s hesitance.
Taking that as enough proof that their activity wasn’t hurting his omega, Tadashi started to move with him, with one hand on his hip to keep him stable and the other continuing to grope at his full chest as they found their rhythm together despite Ainosuke’s swollen body and shaky balance.
“Harder, go harder,” Ainosuke moaned, rising himself up onto his knees and pushing his chest out, with his back flush against Tadashi’s chest.
Tadashi was quick to snake a strong arm around his middle - just above his baby bump - to hold him close and accommodate the new position, thrusting his hips a little faster as he peppered kisses and light love bites against the skin of his neck and shoulders.
“Harder.”
Trying to placate his lover’s desire for more without risking hurting him or their baby, Tadashi upped his game with a teasing bite to their bonding mark and a light tug at his nipple while keeping his speed and rhythm constant.
“Fuck me harder,” he insisted.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Tadashi mumbled against his skin.
Ainosuke had always had a penchant for the rougher aspects of intimacy, and Tadashi was generally happy to oblige, but he really did not think going at it with all of his might would be healthy for his omega.
“Please. Fuck. Please. Fuck me hard, alpha,” Ainosuke whined.
The whining hit Tadashi right in the instinct, a soft growl escaping his throat in response. This absolutely was playing dirty, and he could do very little to keep himself from wanting to comply with his lover’s demand.
He told himself that playing a little rougher wouldn’t necessarily hurt neither him nor the baby, that he would absolutely stop if Ainosuke voiced even the slightest discomfort and that his Omega wouldn’t be shy about ending the encounter if it stopped feeling good. And so, he let his omega have it all.
Tadashi snapped his hips forward, causing his omega to moan his name and tip his head back, offering him more room to bite, nuzzle and suck marks all over his perfect skin. It was a matter of moments before he found himself pushing his omega to plant his hands on the mattress, fucking hard into him and keeping his hands on Ainosuke's chest to continue playing with his nipples until he came. Tadashi himself wasn't far behind, releasing inside him and gently guiding him to lay on his side to rest and recover after what they did.
"Good?" Tadashi asked, stroking along the outer edge of his thigh and rubbing soothing circles on the skin.
"Better than the curry," Ainosuke said with a playful smirk, leaning back to kiss his jawline and nuzzle at him.
Whether sex had anything to do with it, nobody knew, but what was certain was that a beautiful, strong, and healthy baby girl was welcomed into the Shindo family just twenty-seven hours after the encounter.
It was twenty-seven terrifying hours of watching his beloved go through the most horrifying biological process known to mankind, but Tadashi was there all through it; holding Ainosuke's hand, rubbing his back, speaking words of encouragement when needed, and remaining quiet whenever him and his stupid cock got cursed out. He had always known that his lover was strong and driven, but getting such a visceral display of said traits was something that would remain burned to the back of his mind for all eternity (for better and for worse).
As taxing as the last few hours had been, time stood still for Tadashi the second he saw his omega - safe and finally at rest - with their little baby girl cuddled up against his chest. He moved to sit next to him, careful to not jolt the bed too much and unable to keep the smile off his face: she was right there, perfect in ways that Tadashi had never even begun to imagine before. And she was theirs.
They were both his.