Dad Chad(hehe that rhymes)
Cw: premature baby, mild language
Ok so I'm gonna probably have to make a master list of all these fics aren't i? Anyway. First time writing Chad so I hope I did him justice 🥹
Chad is aged up in this, one can assume he's around early 20s here.
Dad Chad
“Shit” you muttered when you saw it– you held that stick in between your fingers and that plus sign stared up at you.
It wasn't supposed to happen like this, you weren't even married yet. You had a life planned out, a life where you got married first, moved in together and THEN had kids.
Apparently you were doing things out of order. You had moved in with Chad so at least that part was ticked.
You told him one evening while he drove you two to Ichigo's house for dinner. You hadn't planned on how you were going to tell him so it just spilled out of your mouth and before you knew it, it was out there. He didn't say anything for a while, just watched the road and the only sound was the hum of the car. Eventually– he parked outside of Ichigo's house and turned to look at you.
“So, you're really pregnant?” He asked low in his throat. You nodded, not able to look at him.
“That's great.” He said which shocked you enough to look at him. He was smiling and he seemed genuinely pleased.
The months that followed were somewhat intimidating to the both of you. He accompanied you to every appointment you went to. He was quiet but such a comfort. The way he held your hand while you got scans done, the way his face lit up when he saw the baby for the first time(it was on a screen but all the same, he was delighted) and the way he gently kissed the top of your head when you found out you would be having a girl.
You tortured him over paint colors after that, agonized over it like it was life or death.
“I don't want to be obvious and do pink, but I also don't like yellow much, or do I? Shit, I don't know!” You had exclaimed with a huff one afternoon after dragging him to the paint store. He took one look at you and decided to help out as best he could. He turned to the wall of paint colors and picked up the soft lavender sample. He held it out to you and just said
“How about this one?”
That ended up being the perfect color.
Your daughter was born at 5:43am on what usual would've been a lazy Sunday morning for the two of you. He had to be at the boxing ring early on Monday so you had been enjoying his company while you had it.
“Well.” You had said to him when you felt an uncomfortable sensation in your stomach accompanied with a somewhat mild contraction..This indicated to you that labor was imminent.
“I don't think you're making it to the gym tomorrow, babe.”
Chad didn't leave your side throughout the entire process except for when you practically begged him to find a doctor because surely you were ready for the epidural by now.
He held your hand through the birth, even when you squeezed so tight he thought his fingers had been crushed.
Your daughter was born a tad premature, she surprised everyone by coming out when she did so once she was born she had to be whisked away into a NICU crib. Chad never once faltered, even when you felt like your heart was going to burst out of your chest. He watched them take her but then his eyes returned to you.
“I'm right here Cariño, not going anywhere.” He said while pushing strands of your sweat drenched hair out of your face. His voice was so sweet, it grounded you immediately.
The first time you got to hold your daughter wasn't until 9am, you were pulling your hair out by this point. They brought the NICU crib into your room and instructed you on the proper way to hold her. She was all cords and tubes but she was still yours.
You did as you were instructed and placed the small baby on your bare chest before sitting down in the arm chair.
“Look at you, you were born to be her mother.” Chad muttered as he came up behind you and gazed over your shoulder.
“She's so little.” You whispered as your daughter slept on you.
“You did such a good job, I love you.” Chad whispered in your ear and you felt a smile spread across your face.
“I love you too, so much…” You replied
When you got to take her home you were shocked by how over protective Chad was of the baby.
When Ichigo and Oriheme came to visit he was on them immediately, making sure they washed their hands.
In the weeks that followed you caught him watching over her crib while she slept. His knuckles were white with how tight he held onto the railing
“Babe?” You asked him in a hushed tone
“It worries me when she's so still.” He admitted
“And you worry me when you won't come to bed.” You responded in a whisper
“Sorry.” He sighed but made no attempt to leave the baby's side.
On your daughter's first birthday he held her tight in his arms while showing her the presents he had gotten her. You loved watching them together, loved how much she looked like him too. She shared his tanned skin color, shared his warm brown eyes and even her hair was the same shade of brown. It was clear that she was his little clone.
“Babe, can you get her dressed? The others will be here soon.” You asked
“What should you wear, hm?” He asked her as she played with one of the buttons on his shirt.
They disappeared into your daughter's bedroom and when they reinmerged you had the biggest smile on your face just seeing them together. He picked out her little pink and white overalls and paired them with a frilly, white shirt underneath.
“Oh, don't you look pretty?” You cooed as he brought her over. Your daughter babbled away as she held onto the material on Chad's floral shirt.
“You know, sometimes I think she forgets I'm here. Look at her, she just loves you so much.” You pointed out with a sly grin on your face.
Chad loved to dress her up as you came to discover. He was constantly buying her outfits for her to wear. You loved it, you'd come home from work and her wearing something different. One evening, you came home and found her wearing a new costume.
You returned to your job on a part time basis so that he could continue fighting because it was something he loved doing. It wasn't uncommon for him to come home late on the days he had fights. You'd long since abandoned the idea of watching his fights, you loved him too much that they became too hard to watch. This worked out well however because it meant you could stay home with your daughter on the nights he had a fight.
One quiet night you had found yourself falling asleep on the floor while you played with your daughter. When he got home he had to laugh at the sight, his wife was sprawled out on the ground with his daughter sleeping on top of her. Neither of them looked particularly comfortable but they also didn't stir when he walked through the door.
Some nights your daughter's cries could be heard throughout the entire house. She would always cry for Chad, without fail the first thing out of her mouth when she woke up was ‘dada’ and he not so secretly loved it.
There were other nights where the two of you would give in and let her sleep in your bed. She would end up in between the two of you, usually her feet would somehow wind up kicking one of you.
You loved those mornings when you would wake up to find her sleeping so peacefully between you.
Once she turned three he loved doing her hair. She’d sit there, occasionally grumbling when he accidentally pulled too hard. Her hair was getting so long but neither of you wanted to get it cut. It was thick, wavy and beautiful although a handful to manage. You'd lost count of the amount of products you'd bought to try and make it easier on both of you.
“Ow!” You'd hear while he pulled her hair into a cute ponytail.
“Sorry, baby.” He'd reply in a soothing voice.
You knew you were in trouble when you woke up three days in a row having to rush off to the bathroom due to nausea. You picked up some pregnancy tests from the pharmacy one night after work and sure enough, you stared at the little plus sign on the stick and your breath hitched.
You waited until your daughter was in bed, this was never an easy task because she always fought you on bed time.
“More water?”
“More stories?”
“Still hungry.”
But eventually she fell asleep after what felt like hours of protesting. Chad sat beside you on the sofa and you both let out an exhausted sigh before you reached into the pocket of your cardigan. You pulled out the stick with the cap now on it.
“Hey, babe…” You said and without uttering another word you forced the pregnancy test into his hand. He stared down at it with his mouth agape
“Hm…” His voice trailed off and you truly weren't sure if he was happy or worried.
“I suppose…We should think about finding a bigger house.” He said after a long pause, you looked at his face and he was smiling.
“Seems that way.” You said
“You okay?” He asked as he leaned towards you.
“Can't believe we're going to have two kids.” You responded and he pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was tentative and left you wanting more. When he pulled away he smiled
“Love you.” He whispered
“I love you too.”
