intertwined. part three
#3 of Danganronpa Wereverse
Peko has never believed the vast majority of the resources she's read that say labor tends to intensify and move quickly after the waters break until right now. Holding Fuyuhiko in her arms in the nest while he labors and breathes through his contractions makes her wonder why she didn't believe it before. She supposes she just assumed that they were written from an outsider's point of view, and that when one was in the middle of it, things would be different. It would feel slower, more like the hours it actually takes rather than the minutes the books say it feels like.
She was wrong. So very, very wrong.
After his waters break and Peko calls for Mikan, everything seems to happen so fast. At first, Fuyuhiko's just in some general discomfort, needing his hand held and back rubbed as the contractions get closer and stronger. But as things start to pick up, Peko feels like they barely have time to prepare. Mikan arrives at six thirty P.M that night, and then it feels as though there's only thirty minutes that pass before Fuyuhiko's occasional groans grow into soft moans, and then louder cries, and then heart-wrenching wails. But when Peko turns her head to check the time, it's been nearly five hours.
Fuyuhiko's been in active labor for five hours. He was only three centimeters dilated when Mikan arrived, and now he's nearing eight.
"You're eight centimeters," Mikan tells Fuyuhiko after checking him once more. "The last two centimeters will dilate quite rapidly, okay? Thirty minutes is the norm. Just keep focusing on breathing, and listen to what your body tells you. You'll be able to push soon, and then you'll meet your cubs."
He's shaking in Peko's arms even as he nods, sitting on his knees in the nest with his head on Peko's chest. Fuyuhiko turns his chin up to look at Peko, and there's tears in his golden eyes. Peko can feel her heart break, but she brushes her thumb across his cheek without showing it, staying strong for him now when he's been strong for her so many times before. This is the man she loves, the man she married only a few short months before, the evidence of their union in two golden rings on their fingers and in the cubs he's about to have.
"Peko," Fuyuhiko forces out between the contractions. They're only going to get worse when he has to start pushing, and the unspoken fear of what if it's too much echoes through both of their minds. "I gotta -- gotta stand up. I want -- wanna walk, move around."
"Okay." Peko obeys him unflinchingly, listening to every word from his mouth and every cue from his body. Carefully, she wraps her arm around his side, and suddenly he seems so small as she helps him to his feet. She looks at Mikan, who nods her approval and stays close, but not too close that she invades their privacy. This is one of the last moments Fuyuhiko and Peko will spend alone, after all. Fuyuhiko uses his tail and his wife to balance, his ears pressed flat against his head as he squeezes his eyes shut when another contraction pulses through him.
Resisting the urge to fall back to his knees, Fuyuhiko instead puts his hand that isn't holding Peko on his thigh, nails digging into his skin as he holds back a cry. Peko gently rubs his knuckles with her thumb and looks at him with a gentle, loving expression. There's no pity, because Fuyuhiko doesn't want pity and frankly doesn't need it. She knows that. Instead, she speaks from a place of love rather than pity or sorrow.
"It's okay," she starts to say. "If you need to make noise, do it. It's just us. You can be as loud as you want."
Fuyuhiko gives an affirmative grunt and a nod, then his grip tightens on Peko as he cries through another contraction. This one peaks twice -- Peko can tell because his voice breaks twice as well -- and when it's over, he tries to breathe deeply and struggles.
"I can't," Fuyuhiko says, sweat dripping from his face. His hair clings to his forehead and neck, longer now since he hasn't cut it in a few months, and Peko gently wipes his bangs from his forehead to kiss him. "Can't keep this up, Peko."
"Yes you can," Peko says strongly, squeezing his hand to reassure him. "You're yakuza. The Ultimate Yakuza. You can do this, you can do anything. If I can believe that, so can you."
Fuyuhiko pauses for a moment, blowing air in and out through his lips before he nods. "You're right. 'm not a fucking pussy."
Peko snorts at that. "Of course not. You're very strong just for doing this."
He lets out a breathy laugh. "Really? I don't -- don't feel too strong right now."
"Take it from me, then. You're doing amazing." Peko kisses the top of his head once more, and he purrs a little, leaning into her grip a bit more. "Do you still want to move?"
"Yeah." Fuyuhiko straightens a little, still leaning on Peko as they move. It's slow, but the walking seems to help just a bit, some of the pressure on his back easing up but increasing on his pelvis nonetheless. At one point, he stops, leaning against Peko on one side and the wall on the other at the edge of the nest. The energy in the room changes suddenly -- at least, Peko feels like it does -- as Fuyuhiko gives a soft, low groan from deep within his chest.
"Is something wrong?" Peko asks, looking from Fuyuhiko to Mikan. Mikan doesn't look worried, so Peko forces herself to not look worried as well.
Fuyuhiko shakes his head. "Pressure," he says, taking deep breaths in-between. "Lots of pressure. Feels like -- like I gotta push."
At his words, Peko looks over at Mikan again, and she's there faster than Peko thought she would be, gently checking his progress once more while Peko holds him.
Just a few seconds later come the words they've been waiting hours to hear.
"You're ready," Mikan says. "The first one's head is right there. A couple pushes and you'll be crowning."
For just a second, there's a jolt of panic through Fuyuhiko's body, but that's quickly replaced by the overwhelming urge to get his cubs safely out of him. He manages to ask Peko to move so she's in front of him, holding him with one hand under his arm and the other on his hip to keep him up and steady while he puts his own arms around her, rests his head on her shoulder.
"Ready, Papa Fuyu?" Peko asks him, softly, playfully. Fuyuhiko manages a soft laugh and nods against her neck.
"Yeah. Are you ready, Mama Peko?" He asks in return. She gives her answer without hesitating.
"Absolutely. Let's do it."