Chapter Text
Keiji slept through the night, briefly waking up several times because he was uncomfortable. When Shirabu finally woke him up in the morning to change his bandages, he still felt exhausted.
“My shift is over soon and there’s an omega taking my place. I think you’ll like her.” Shirabu said as he dressed Keiji’s wound. “I’ll be back later tonight though and check on you.”
“Thanks,” Keiji smiled at him, appreciating this caring side of the beta. He can only really remember him cold and standoffish, which amused him because he used to act like that, too. “When will I get to eat real food?”
“Hopefully tomorrow since you’re making good progress, maybe tonight if the doctor clears you.” Shirabu checked his chest with a stethoscope. “I know it’ll hurt, but deep breath.”
Keiji grimaced, sitting forward a bit to inhale and exhale deeply. It sure did hurt, his side ached worse than yesterday as the drugs wore off. Luckily, Shirabu upped his dose a bit before leaving, bringing Keiji a bit of relief as the pain numbed.
Koutarou, half asleep in a chair, almost nodded off. He insisted on being awake when Keiji was even though the omega insisted he sleep if he’s tired.
“You should go home and sleep in a bed, baby. You look miserable.”
“I can’t leave you by yourself on your birthday.” The alpha sat forward, elbows on the side of the bed, and ran his hand through Keiji’s hair. “Happy Birthday.”
Keiji motioned him in for a kiss, “Thank you.” He never thought he would spend his 26th birthday in the hospital. When his birthday rolled around, he never wanted much, just to spend time with his family and friends and eat good food or something. Presents weren’t anything he needed, but he did love what the kids came up with. Now he can’t even have those simple things he always looked forward to.
“I wanted to take you and the kids out to celebrate your birthday,” Kou solemnly smiled. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Birthdays don’t have to be celebrated on the actual day.” He shrugged, “We’ll do something some other time.”
Koutarou drooped a bit, but Keiji seemed unbothered. He still wanted to do something fun, considering everything that happened they just needed a break.
“I’m already sick of this hospital bed.” Keiji yawned, the rest of his body aching form laying down so long. “And this IV itches.”
“Well stop picking at it and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.” Kou smiled as Keiji rolled his eyes. “You should sleep, you keep yawning.”
The omega wanted to fight against sleep, but between their bond soothing him and his mate’s chocolate scent lulling him to sleep, he didn’t stand a chance. Keiji’s eyes fluttered closed as he fell asleep.
Kou sighed and really thought about the past few days. He hasn’t been that scared in a long time, not since Hiro was born. Even then Keiji survived the odds, not really okay afterward, but Keiji had time and patience to heal. The alpha admired his mate’s innate ability to pull through some of the most dire situations— another thing to add to the ‘Keiji is amazing’ list.
A few hours passed and Keiji woke up again. Koutarou helped him drink some water and try to find a new comfortable spot on the bed, although it didn’t work the best.
“I’m so hungry,” Keiji mumbled, lip pulling sideways in annoyance.
Hungry Keiji usually meant attitude, Koutarou chuckled, “You want me to go find a nurse and ask about food?”
“No, you don’t have to. I’ll just wait—“
“Okay, I’m going.” The alpha stood up with a smile, wanting to do something nice for him. He walked out of the room, turned the corner, and almost ran smack-dab into Kenma.
Kenma looked just as tired as Koutarou felt. The omega wore baggy clothes, with bags under his eyes, very unappeased look on his face. Koutarou should have been more aware of how their friends were struggling with everything, too. Taking care of the kids isn’t easy.
Kenma took hold of his sleeve and pulled him down the hall. He didn’t want Keiji listening in. “Your kids need you.”
“I can’t leave. What about—“
“Keiji will be fine, but Hiroki is a mess, we can barely communicate with Michio so he’s scared and confused, and Norika won’t stop crying.” Kenma shook his head and sighed. “They need you and they want to see Keiji. So get your sh*t together and bring them back here.”
The alpha’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. He has been so preoccupied with his mate, that he didn’t realize the kids would be this distraught. He should have known. “Let me say bye first.”
“What’s going on?” Keiji asked seeing as he felt the sadness in their bond.
“I need to take care of the kids. Kenma is taking my place while I’m gone.” He leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Anything you want me to bring back?”
“Other than the kids? My phone and computer, please.”
“Keiji,” He said warningly.
“What? I’m going to be here a while so I need something to do.”
“But no work.”
“No promises,” Keiji smirked.
“I’ll be back soon with the kids.”
The thought of seeing the kids instantly hit him with a wave of emotions. He nodded, eager to hug and scent them finally. He hoped they weren’t too traumatized, although that was wishful thinking. It wouldn’t be any better when they saw him, not looking like himself, in a hospital bed. And Hiroki is terrified of the hospital, Keiji wondered if the pup would even want to come inside.
Koutarou stopped on his way out and looked at the other omega, seeing his haphazard appearance. “Kenma…”
“Don’t.” He looked away, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Kenma shoved the car keys into his hands and waited for him to leave.
Keiji gave Kenma a small smile as he walked in. He saw the other omega looked pretty tired and worn out, swimming in one of his mate’s sweatshirts.
“Happy Birthday,” Kenma said as he sat in the chair by his bedside.
“Thanks,” Keiji wanted to sit up and struggled terribly. He hissed in pain and fell back onto the bed.
“Should I get the nurse?” Kenma calmly asked, a refreshing contrast to Koutarou panicking at the smallest mention of pain.
Keiji declined, “It’ll go away in a couple of minutes.” Like his body had to get used to the pain again, or maybe he needed better painkillers.
“How do you feel?” Kenma knew the answer but asked anyway.
“Like I was stabbed.” Keiji joked with a smile, but laughlessly as it pained him to even breathe.
At least he is trying to be lighthearted despite the attack. Kenma favored sarcastic Keiji over the pale and dying one he’s pictured. “Do you need some water?”
“Sure,” Keiji sat up ever so slightly as Kenma helped him get a drink. His throat was parched no matter how much water he drank. Keiji took in a deep breath for a sigh before wincing as the movement made his side ache. Though, he shoved that pain aside when he noticed the scents in the room. There was his semi-unpleasant strawberry scent and the faint smell of apples. Keiji looked to Kenma with wide eyes, “You don’t smell like vanilla anymore.”
Kenma had been holding in his emotions since he got to the hospital. He didn’t want to break down in front of Keiji who was bedridden and in a lot of pain. Tears welled up in his eyes as he couldn’t hide them from one of his best friends.
It pained Keiji to see Kenma go through this again, his heart broke as he saw the sadness in his eyes. He held out his arms and Kenma lightly hugged his good side, letting the omega comfort him. “When did this happen?”
“A couple of days before you were attacked. We were dealing with things before telling people.” Kenma hated breaking the news to family and friends over the years. They would try to comfort him but said things that made him more sad than before. He wanted to hide from everyone after losing a baby, feeling like an incapable omega. Counting the recent one and the first one Keiji witnessed years ago, the omega has had a total of five miscarriages. Up until they had Chikako, each loss was worse, further along, but always seemed more promising than the last. It didn’t stop a gory demise in the end. Not that he didn’t still feel awful this time around, but he was grateful they hadn’t made it to the point of picking out a name and starting a nursery like in the past.
Keiji patted Kenma’s hair as he rubbed small circles on his back. Even when Kenma was hurting, he was there for Keiji, helping him in the hospital and with the kids. The omega probably wanted to curl up in his nest with his mate and daughter to mourn, but he stayed with Keiji instead. “I know it doesn’t get any easier. I’m sorry.”
Kenma sat up, frowning as he looked at the floor. “Chikako is here, and she’s enough for us.” His subtle way of saying they were done trying to have more kids if it was going to be a repeat of last time. Sometimes Kenma was envious of his friend’s three kids, because he wanted a bigger family, too. Keiji had barely any trouble with all three of his pregnancies and Kenma envied him while also being thankful Keiji didn’t suffer like he did.
Keiji grabbed Kenma’s hand and squeezed, “I may be stuck in this hospital bed, but I’ll do whatever it takes to help you feel better.”
“Start by ordering us ice cream from the cafeteria,” Kenma smiled just a tad.
Keiji nodded, already paging the nurse.
~
Before going to Tetsu’s house, Kou stopped at home. Approaching the house felt eerie, and unlocking the door worse— he didn’t even realize he needed Kenma’s spare key until he remembered he didn’t have his own. He fished through Kenma’s keys, noticing the game controller keychain Hiroki gifted the omega so long ago.
The alpha took a deep sighed as the lock clicked and he pushed the door open.
The house reeked of chemicals, and because of that, it looked like nothing happened. Just a regular home where a family lived. The blood on the living room floor was gone, taken care of up by crime scene cleaners. However, he still pictured Keiji lying on the floor, pressing a blanket to his side to stop the bleeding. The blanket was gone, good because he didn’t want to look at it.
He walked away from the living room and into the kitchen for a glass of water. He filled a cup and drank half of it, pouring the other half onto Hiro’s plants. For not being watered the last few days they looked fine. Thankfully, since it wouldn’t help Hiro’s mood if one of his plants died.
“Oh, geez,” He mumbled to himself, Peaches hadn’t been fed in three days. He hightailed it to the fridge, collecting any salvageable greens and going upstairs. How could they forget about the rabbit, there were plenty of people who could have stopped by to take care of her.
Peaches seemed fine, maybe a little annoyed about not being fed for a while. She twitched her ear dramatically when the alpha patted her head. The extra hay piled up in her cage was gone, usually, it was there in case she wanted to munch on something in between feedings. Her water bowl was empty and flipped over, but she had a backup water bottle with a metal spout hanging on the side of her cage. Hiro would be glad to hear Peaches is perfectly fine.
Koutarou fed the rabbit and spent the most time with her than he probably ever had. It’s easier to sit with the rabbit, stroking her soft fur, than worrying about everything going on. After about ten minutes, he decided to leave her be, filling her water dish and stocking up her hay before locking the cage door.
He went around the house and packed a bag of everything they’d possibly need until coming back home. The kids’ rooms were a bit messy from rushing to pack their stuff. Looks like Tetsu did a pretty good job though, as Hiro’s favorite stuffed bunny was gone, along with Michio’s security blanket he kept on his bed. Majority of Norika’s diaper supply was missing as well, and he packed up the rest.
He packed, keeping in mind the kids would probably stay with either his or Keiji’s parents for a few days or so. They already had some clothes and toys at both houses, so he packed somewhat lightly.
With clothes, shoes, toothbrushes, and a couple of other essentials, he moved on. For his bag, he loaded up Keiji’s requested items, clothes, and similar stuff to what he packed for the kids. His keys sat on their dresser, so he snatched them up and put them in his pocket.
Passing by a mirror told him he needed a shower and to freshen up. He looked like hell, and felt like it, too. Although he felt somewhat better after a quick shower and brushing out his hair.
After locking up the house and loading the bags into the car, he made his way to the Kuroo household.
His stomach twisted, tied in knots. He didn’t want to face the kids and see them upset. Although letting them know Keiji is okay and that they can see him should help, but they’ll still be so scared. The boys were a part of this mess, too, they must be having nightmares of the intruder running at them.
He used Kenma’s house key to get inside, then dropped the bags and called out, “Hiro?”
“Pa?” The pup perked up quickly and ran to the alpha.
Koutarou crouched down as Hiro jumped on him, Michio not too far behind. He held both of them for quite some time, having to almost pry them off before explaining what was going on. They were upset about Keiji being hurt but understood he would be okay.
“Can we go see him?” Hiro scratched at his neck, which was red and splotchy.
“In a while,” Kou responded and watched as Hiro went to itch his arms. He must have a stress rash from all of this. “Where’s your uncle?”
“Kitchen.”
Koutarou walked through the house and into the kitchen. “Hey,” he quietly said.
Tetsurou surely didn’t look any better than Kenma. “Hey.”
They were silent, watching food sizzle in the pan.
“When I saw Kenma at the hospital…” Koutarou trailed off. “I’m sorry.
“You’ve got a lot of other stuff to worry about.” He sighed. “We’ll manage.”
“I’m your best friend and I’m still here for you though. Just because I have things going on, doesn’t mean I don’t have time to be there for you.” The sadness hanging in the air didn’t help his already sorrowful mood. “When you want to talk, let me know.”
Tetsu thought maybe, just maybe it would work out this time. He wasn’t ready to talk yet. “The kids barely ate anything the last few days.”
Chikako sat with Norika at the table, watching something on a tablet. Kou smiled at Chika and picked Nori up, kissing her cheek. She instantly brightened and accepted the affection. By the looks of her puffy eyes, she’s been crying a lot, the same as the boys.
Keiji can’t see the aftermath of the kids worrying for three days straight, that would crush him.
“How about a bath and some food first, then we’ll go see your dad,” Kou said, juggling to hold Norika and sign at the same time. The baby kept grabbing onto his ear and hair since he was distracted.
“Why can’t we go now?” Hiro whined, tearing up.
“I promise we will go after. Aren’t you guys hungry?” He set Norika down when he saw Michio also wasn’t appeased with this.
“I want to see Dad now,” Michio demanded, face scrunched up while he signed forcefully.
“Michio—“
“Right now.” He angrily brought his hands together.
“Don’t you want to take a bath and eat something first?” Kou went to pick him up but jumped back.
“No!” Michio shouted, no signing, right from his mouth, screamed. “No! No!”
Koutarou finally picked him up as the pup burst into tears. He rubbed his back and used his scent to soothe him. It was such a shock to actually hear his voice, but even more of a shock to hear how distressed he sounded. He sounded exactly like a toddler in the middle of a tantrum, his voice laced with agitation from screeching.
Once he stopped crying a bit, Koutarou carefully set him down and crouched in front of him. “You’re worried about dad?”
Michio nodded, sniffling.
“He’s worried about you, too. He wouldn’t want to see you like this, it would upset him, like how you’re upset.” Kou rubbed his hands over his arms before resuming, “And you wouldn’t want him to be sad, right?”
Michio shook his head.
It took quite a bit of coaxing, but the pup finally agreed to a bath and food before going to see Keiji. Hiro went more willingly, he had a better understanding of the situation and didn’t have any energy left to argue.
They bathed and put on fresh clothes. Kou sent them downstairs to eat while he took care of Norika. Once everyone refreshed and got some food, tensions eased.
Figuring out the car situation took a minute, the two alphas just not putting two and two together. They wanted to take one car but not everyone fit, so they were going to take both Kenma and Tetsu’s cars, which didn’t make sense. Finally, they figured it out, Koutarou walked back to the house a couple blocks away to get his car, then came back for the kids. Tetsurou and Chikako followed behind in the alpha’s car. Their mates would make fun of them if they knew how long it took them to decide what to do.
The drive to the hospital was filled with excited, nervous bouncing. The kids were so ready to see Keiji, but at the same time worried about him. Hiro wouldn’t believe the omega was okay until he saw it.
“You guys cannot—“ Kou stressed and repeated, “cannot jump on your dad. He’s still really hurt so you have to be gentle. Understand?”
They both nodded, trailing behind the alpha through the hospital.
“I mean it, you two.” Kou stopped them right outside Keiji’s room, “Your dad is already in pain, you have to be careful.”
“We get it,” Hiro hated hospitals but he pushed his fear aside, stepping around Kou to open the door. “Dad!” He ran up to the bed, luckily Keiji’s left side where he wasn’t wounded, and smiled. “I missed you.” He reached out, not jumping on him.
Kenma left the room to join his mate in the hall, giving the family some time together. The alpha handed Chikako to his mate right away. The pup settled in the omega’s arms, hugging him as much as he hugged her.
Keiji was all smiles from seeing his babies and patted the bed next to him. Hiro climbed up and carefully hugged him, heeding Kou’s warnings. A few tears rolled down the omega’s face, causing him to sniffle.
Hiro pulled back, his eyes searching Keiji’s face, “Why are you crying?”
He only smiled wider. “Because I missed you so much.”
Koutarou put his hand on Michio’s back and led him into the room. Seems his warnings to be gentle were a bit too much for the younger. Now Michio feared touching and hurting Keiji.
“Come here, I want a hug,” Keiji quickly signed and held out his arms. He waved him closer and Hiro helped boost him onto the bed.
Michio hugged Keiji around his neck, sniffling and whimpering. While Michio hugged him, Keiji purred. The rumble of the omega’s chest made the pup hold onto him tighter and put his face against his neck. It’s so soothing and he relaxed right away.
The reunion was nothing short of emotional for everyone.
Kou unclipped Norika from her carrier and held her out to his mate. Keiji couldn’t exactly hold her, but he still rubbed their noses together and scented her as best he could.
The strong, pleasant scent of strawberry made everyone a bit woozy, in a good way. The kids loved smelling like Keiji again; being deprived of the omega’s scent never helped when they were scared.
“Why are you here?” Hiro asked, sitting at Keiji’s side. Michio sat next to him, holding his shirt over his nose.
“I was hurt, so I have to stay here until I’m better.”
“Oh. Do you get to come home soon?” Hiro scratched his nails over his neck.
“Not exactly.” Keiji reached his hand up to stop him, seeing how his skin is already red and irritated. On his arms, too. “Doesn’t that hurt?”
“But it’s itchy,” He whined.
“We’ll get something to put on it and make it stop itching.”
Koutarou sat in the chair next to the bed, Norika in his lap. The pup kept staring at Keiji with her big, golden eyes— she wanted the omega’s attention like no other’s.
A few minutes passed and Tetsu and Kenma came back in. They all talked for a while, minding what they said around the kids. They didn’t discuss the break-in, or Keiji almost dying, or anything related to the miscarriage, even though Hiro asked why Kenma smelled like apples again. His question was brushed aside as Kou did what he was good at, entertaining with random conversation.
“Thanks for taking care of them,” Keiji said as he ran a hand through Michio’s hair.
Koutarou nodded vigorously, “Yeah, thanks. I’m sure grandparents will be able to take over from now on, give you guys a break.”
“If you need us again, give us a call,” Tetsu replied. If the kids weren’t around he would have commented how worried he and his mate were, too. Kenma had been absolutely frantic thinking Keiji was going to die. Even though they weren’t at the hospital with Kou while Keiji was in surgery, although they wanted to be, it was more important they took care of the kids.
The room door sat open, so they all could hear the commotion in the hallway.
“Shira-chan, I forgot you worked at the hospital.” A familiar voice echoed down the hall.
“Shh,” The beta responded.
“But no one is around.”
“Shirabu-kun is just nervous about getting in trouble.” Another familiar voice chimed in.
Keiji smiled hearing his friends so close by.
Satori and Tooru entered the room, Shirabu and Rinako behind them. Satori held a small cake he made and Tooru held a few silver helium balloons.
“Happy Birthday.” They said in unison, surprising Keiji.
“This is a nice surprise.”
“We couldn’t let you have a dingy birthday because you’re in the hospital.” Tooru smiled and tied the balloons to a chair arm.
Satori wheeled over the bed tray and set the cake on it, taking off the top to reveal a chocolate frosted, chocolate cake. “I know red velvet is your favorite, but it was short notice. I hope you like chocolate.” He laughed, nudging Koutarou’s side.
“Chocolate is perfect,” Keiji’s smile kept shining.
“There’s too many people in this room, you guys have to be quiet,” Shirabu said, eyeing all of them. “I’ll keep the other nurses away until shift change.”
“Thanks, Shira-chan.”
The beta rolled his eyes at Tooru and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Rin and Hiro found each other for a hug. When she heard Keiji was in the hospital, her thoughts wandered to Hiro, and she worried about him. Seeing as he was not crying and looked fine, she relaxed. They sat together on the couch in the corner, both content now that they knew everything was okay.
“Keiji-san, I was worried about you,” Rin said.
“No need to worry, I’m okay now.” Keiji smiled as the pup did. He keeps saying he’s okay, but his side is killing him, no pun intended.
As more people joined the room, Michio sat closer to Keiji, guarding him. It was a bit claustrophobic on the small bed, but Keiji thought it his protectiveness was cute.
“Hey, guys.” Terushima walked in and stood awkwardly. “Eita sent these.” He held up a bouquet of flowers, a variety of different colored Lillies.
Koushi popped his head around the corner, right after him. “Hello!”
Terushima pointed to Koushi, “Isn’t it crazy how much he and Eita look alike.”
Everyone laughed at that, the room filling with a friendly warmth. Everyone cramped in that small room proved to be a bit much, scents swirled around and mixed, but it was enjoyable.
Koushi had a bear with him, which served as a birthday and get-well-soon gesture, but Norika took interest so he handed it to the pup. “I’m here on behalf of the Karasuno pack. We figured it would be a bit much if we all showed up.” He laughed.
Keiji couldn’t laugh, although he found it amusing, so he smiled wide instead. “Did you all plan this?”
A mini, actually quite large considering the space, birthday party formed before their eyes.
“Not really,” Tooru said. “Satori and I planned to bring you cake and balloons, but we didn’t know about everyone else.”
“So you all just decided to show up on your own.” Keiji shook his head, amused. “It’s flattering, but you didn’t have to. Really.”
“We wanted to show you love on your birthday.” Satori smiled. “We were really scared, Keiji.”
Koushi nodded, “Yeah, and we’re all glad you’re okay.”
“Thank you everyone. I really appreciate it.” He glanced at each of them looking back at him with soft expressions.
Even though he spent his birthday in the hospital, it turned out to be just fine. His friends, whom he loves very much, made him feel loved.
