Hello everyone. Some of you may have noticed that we haven’t been reblogging any additional presents. Unfortunately we have some confirmed and unconfirmed santa dropouts!
While we’ve sent out messages to some people who volunteered as reserve santas, we haven’t received any word back yet. We were wondering if perhaps any more people would like to volunteer as reserves we could get in touch with?
If you’re willing to pitch in for the santas who couldn’t finish their presents, please let us know either through an ask or a chat message! :) A lot of people seem to have had problems with their asks disappearing this year, so using the chat works just fine.
Santa was dumb and late BUT ALAS - Hijikata gift for @abstractcactus ;3 Painting this asshole was so much fun. I hope next year will be good for you <3
Christmas day is over, and many of you have uploaded wonderful presents! :)
Of the Santas remaining who haven’t been able to post their presents yet, we’ve gotten word from most of them about the status of their presents, and have gotten in touch with the rest.
We’ll start reblogging everyone’s presents soon. Thank you so much for participating, and we hope everyone had a nice holiday. Happy new years! :)
Prompt: Some sort of slight AU, perhaps SSL where Heisuke is dealing with Chizuru’s first birth and their young marriage.
Warnings: Childbirth (not with a lot of description, but still), sap.
A.n.: I've never played Sweet School Life so I tried to read up on stuff, but this is also past canon. I also liked to think of Chizuru being more or less good friends with everyone in the main cast, so there is a bit of that. 1678 words.
Happy holidays to @funjoushi, hope you enjoy the story. : )
April's Air
The call comes in the middle of the day, when Heisuke is still at work. He's still staring at the phone in his shaking hands as Hijikata peers out from the classroom, frowning at him. Perhaps he'd been a bit loud?
”It's-- they called-- the baby...!” He manages to explain, and the frown disappears in way of instant determination.
”I'll tell Kondou and get my car,” Hijikata says, steel in his voice.
They set off with Kondou's blessing (”I remember when my wife had our first, I was so nervous I almost fainted!”) in Hijikata's trusty little car, to brave the afternoon traffic. Heisuke can't stay still, drumming his hands against his knees.
”It wasn't supposed to be until in two weeks... do you think that's too early? I mean, she said the nurse said they can't say an exact time but still, two weeks?” he babbles. Hijikata just grunts and then presses viciously on the car horn as a car ahead of them dawdles at the green light.
”Drive you bastard!” he mutters under his breath.
The drive seems interminable, but they reach the hospital eventually, Heisuke jumping out before it even stops moving entirely. He bursts into the foyer of the maternity ward, causing a few waiting patients to jump at his abrupt entrance.
”Chizuru Toudou?!” he enquires a startled looking nurse at the counter, who nods almost immediately, smiling reassuringly.
”She's with Doctor Sen, she said you might be arriving soon. Just wait here a moment.”
She got up, far too slowly as far as Heisuke was concerned, and went through a glass door at her right. Heisuke peered after her anxiously, until the receptionist returned with Doctor Sen in tow.
”It's early right? Is everything allright?!” Heisuke asked her the moment Sen stepped out from the door.
She frowned minutely, and then gave him a small smile.
”Toudou, breathe,” Doctor Sen told him, her voice gentle but firm. ”Two weeks is a bit early, but it's not very early. In any case, we are prepared to deal with any problems that might occur,” she continued, and then as he opened his mouth to say more, ”Heisuke. Follow me.”
He could only nod, and she took him past the door and walked along the hallway until they came to a door. There Doctor Sen stopped and turned to him again, her face serious.
”Do you still want to attend the birth?” she asked.
”Yes! Of course!” Heisuke answered immediately, and Sen nodded.
”Just be prepared it could be tough, for Chizuru,” she warned him. ”You'll need to stay calm for her, whatever happens. Can you do that?”
Heisuke took a deep breath, and then nodded.
”Yes,” he replied determinately.
Sen smiled again, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
”Good. She'll be glad to have you there.”
She gave him some further instructions that he could only half concentrate on, before finally letting him in.
In the room, he found Chizuru, who looked up at him with visible relief from here she was sitting on the side of a bed.
”Heisuke! You're here already... what about your work?” she asked him as he hurried over to take her hand. ”You didn't have to hurry so much, it's barely even started and might be a while yet...”
Heisuke shook his head.
”The school can do without a maintenance worker for half a day, this is more important.”
Chizuru smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.
”I'm glad,” she said, quietly, as if slightly ashamed to admit it. Then she gasped and grimaced, bending over her stomach.
”Contraction?” Heisuke asked, concerned, and Chizuru nodded, her teeth still grit together.
They'd gone to classes together, to prepare for this, but it... really wasn't the same as the real thing after all. He'd known that on some level, but not really.
It was a few more hours before they moved to another room for the actual birth. Sen and the nurse had a brief conversation about putting up a screen, but the Doctor waved that away after confirming with Chizuru whether she wanted one.
”It'd just be in the way,” she said cheerfully after Chizuru shook her head.
The birth seemed to take forever, and it was terrifying to see Chizuru in so much pain for so long. Doctor Sen said she could scream if she needed to, but Chizuru seemed determined to not to. Instead she grasped Heisuke's hand hard enough to hurt. Not that he really noticed.
Through it all, Doctor Sen stayed calm and encouraging, telling them that the equipment showed the baby was doing fine.
And then, finally, there was a wet, tentative cry, causing Chizuru to slump and let out a small cry of her own. She closed her eyes, her lashes wet against flushed and blotchy cheeks, and Heisuke peered anxiously from her to the bundle Doctor Sen and the nurse were handling.
”Chizuru?” he whispered, suddenly terrified she was hurt, that it had been too much for her...
Chizuru opened her eyes and looked toward him tiredly, a smile barely tugging at her lips. She patted at his hand, which was aching from the hold she'd had on it previously.
Sen left the child in the nurse's care while she attended to the afterbirth. Once again, the sight of blood and... other things, forced Heisuke to not look too closely.
He'd never thought he was squemish about blood. Apparently he'd been wrong, at least when it was someone he loved.
Afterwards, Sen turned over to the nurse and asked her to show the baby to Chizuru and Heisuke. Chizuru, despite her exhaustion, had already been craning over trying to catch glimpses of it.
”You have a daughter,” Sen told them with a smile, as they looked at baby in mute wonder.
”She's so small...” Heisuke whispered.
”Everything is in order though. We checked thoroughly,” Sen said confidently.
Chizuru blinked, some more tears leaking out.
”Thank you, Hime...” she whispered, before kissing the child's forehead, causing the small face to wrinkle further. Chizuru giggled. ”She looks just like you,” she said, glancing mischievously at Heisuke.
He just laughed, feeling both exhausted and giddy himself.
”You're right,” Doctor Sen said drily, and then smiled softly at Chizuru. ”Just doing my job. And looking after my best friend. ”Who needs to rest now, I think.”
As tired as she was, Chizuru still seemed slightly reluctant to hand the baby over, looking over her one more time.
Chizuru was wheeled over to a recovery room, and Heisuke was turned away at the door for some reason he didn't quite catch in his befuddled state.
Instead he wandered back the way he'd come to the waiting room.
There, he unexpedtedly found Hijikata and for some reason Saitou as well.
Hijikata grasped him and asked a rapid series of questions, while Heisuke stared at him in mute confusion and Saitou looked blank behind Hijikata.
”Uh... she's fine? The baby too. It's a girl,” Heisuke managed to answer in the end, which seemed to satisfy Hijikata, as he released him and nodded seriously.
”Good,” he said gruffly, calm as if the previous outburst had never happened.
Now he thought about it, Heisuke had completely forgotten that Hijikata had driven him over, and might have wanted to know what was happening with Chizuru... ah well. Chizuru had been more important, anyway.
He gave a slightly puzzled glance at Saitou.
”I heard,” he said shortly, not specifying from who or how. Heisuke shrugged that away mentally. ”She's fine, though?” he asked, with a frown.
”Yes,” Heisuke replied again.
Some barely there tension went out of Saitou's shoulders.
”Good,” he said quietly.
*
It was a few days before Chizuru and the baby were allowed visitors apart from immediate family. Not very surprisingly, there were a few of them there at the earliest possibility.
When Heisuke arrived, he found Saitou already there, talking quietly with Chizuru. Well, more like listening to her talk, but that seemed to be his preferred way of communication, as far as Heisuke could tell.
The rest arrived more or less at the same time. Kondou played the part of the parent of several children, full of advice to the point of being slightly annoying as far as Heisuke was concerned.
Okita made a face and said he hoped the kid got prettier as she aged, which earned him several glares and Hijikata telling him to watch his mouth, goddammit. And that he'd seen Kondou's children too, newborn babies always looked like that!
Harada was eager to hold the baby, and then looked kind of wistful while doing it. Shinpachi was content to hover behind him.
Harada then passed the child over to Hijikata who looked slightly panicked but did a decent job off it after some advice from Chizuru, and then stood for a long moment looking at the child with a particular serious face that meant he was touched but trying not to show it.
Heisuke made them leave a few minutes before visiting hours ended, so he had a chance to spend at least a few moments with just Chizuru and their daughter.
He practically had to push Harada out of the room bodily, but at least Shinpachi followed after him... even if he did tease Heisuke about wanting alone time with his wife. As if that was something to be embarrassed about.
Heisuke rolled his eyes and turned his back on the door, before smiling helplessly at Chizuru.
”Finally!” he breathed out, and Chizuru laughed.
”It wasn't so bad. I liked seeing everyone... and introducing little Ai,” she said.
Heisuke mock-sighed.
”Poor child, with all these annoying uncles...” he muttered.
Chizuru just beamed at him. Heisuke knew their friends were important to her, after what happened with her family...
He sat on the edge of the bed and put an arm around her, feeling protective suddenly.
”You know I'll always be here, right? For you and Aiko.”
Chizuru looked down at where Aiko was dozing against her chest, and then looked up at him, her eyes bright.
”So will I,” she replied. ”And so will Sen, and everyone else, I hope. So she'll never be alone.”
This is my my Hakuoki Secret Santa gift for @amikoroyai! I wanted to make sure I focused on the cuteness of both Saito and Okita together after the war! Pretty much what’s happening is that Saito has become well attached to a kitten he found outside in the cold and he is currently inquiring Okita whether or not they can keep it. So, in response, Okita bumps foreheads with Saito in an affectionate way to reassure him that they could keep the feline. Then in the mist of the close contact, Saito gets shy and blushes. I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions or anything, please contact me anytime! Merry Christmas!
