Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The scent of aged parchment invaded the pair's nostrils as they walked down one of the rows of shelves. Novels were stacked high, nearly to the point neither of them could reach them.

“So what did you need from the library again?” Kaveh asked inquisitively. He paused briefly before adding onto his question. “I couldn’t hear you with how windy it was outside.”

Al Haitham got onto the tip of his toes as he reached up for the book he had wanted. This particular book he had read time and time again. It was from one of his favorite authors as well. He grasped it with the ends of his fingers and dragged it down. Finally, he turned to Kaveh and handed him the book with a small smirk on his face.

Kaveh, sighing, took the book as well as Haitham’s hand as they walked towards the front desk. What about this book drew his husband in?

As they passed by the children’s books section, Al Haitham paused, causing Kaveh to nearly fall over.

The sight the younger man saw was utterly adorable. There was a person reading a picture book to a group of children. The kids were squealing and giggling over a particular page in the book, one where the main character, an elephant, was balancing on a ball that was rolling down a hill!

An exasperated sigh came from Al Haitham’s side, grabbing his attention.

“Come on, love. Let’s go check out.”

The writer took his partner’s hand once more, continuing their walk towards the front desk. A thought entered his head, one he would discuss with the blonde later on.

The check out process was quick, so they were swiftly able to leave the library.

Walking out the doors, they made their way to the minivan. Of course Kaveh opened the door for Haitham, he was pregnant with their third, so why wouldn’t he help out when he could?

“Kaveh, you know I could’ve gotten the door, I wouldn’t be straining myself. But thank you.” Al Haitham chided softly, climbing inside the vehicle with a bit of effort before the door shut behind him.

Kaveh walked around to the driver's side and climbed in. He took a moment to buckle himself in before he responded. “I know, I know. I just want to help out where I can. I just worry something might happen if you over-exert yourself.”

“I’m aware of my limitations. Please… just trust my judgment.” He sighed, buckling his seatbelt. “Let’s get home. We need to get these groceries sorted and to pay the babysitter.”

The blonde man relaxed slightly. He knew he was overthinking and only thinking of the worst possibilities. He just had to distract himself. When they’d get home, maybe he’d focus on taking care of their young ones and household chores. That would help.

After gathering himself, he put the key in the ignition and drove them back home. On their way back, Haitham was reclining in the passenger seat, a peaceful expression on his face as he rested his eyes.

Kaveh looked over, just for a moment, only to see the serene scene before him. He turned his attention back to the road, but moved one hand from the wheel to his husband’s thigh, gently squeezing as a way to show his affection.

Soon, they arrived home, pulling their vehicle next to the babysitter’s.

“You can go inside with your book, I’ll bring the groceries in.” The older man insisted, tossing the keys to Al Haitham, of which he promptly caught.

The writer got out of the car with his book, making his way over to the front door. He could already hear the snorts and giggles from inside before he even opened the door. Smiling softly, he turned the knob and pushed it open.

Almost immediately, his four year old, Delara, came flying towards Haitham with a somewhat crumpled piece of paper in her hand. “Mama! I drew a picture of my family!” She squealed, presenting the drawing to him.

Kneeling down slightly, he gently took the paper from her and inspected it. Before him was a drawing of the four of them, except she had drawn him with a big belly. He raised an eyebrow, chuckled softly, and gathered her in his arms, balancing her on the side of his hip. He made sure to place down the paper and book, grabbing his phone from his pocket as he approached the babysitter.

The babysitter greeted him, informing him of what all had happened and what activities they and the children participated in. After all that was explained, Al Haitham did a bank transfer and paid them. Once that was done, the sitter was on their way and he could go help Kaveh, as Naima was down for a nap, and perhaps Delara could help with putting things away.

“Want to go help Papa with groceries?”

“Mhm!”

With that, he brought her outside and placed her down, leaving the door open for easier transport for when they brought the groceries in.

He passed a few light items to his daughter, such as bread and small containers of yogurt. That’s when he got the bright idea.

With a mischievous expression on his face, he passed her a bottle of diet soda. A LARGE bottle. Of course, Delara spoke out about this injustice!

“Baba! This is too heavy! My arms are going to fall off!” She complained, dropping the bottle, causing it to fizz up and… well… explode.

The two of them were covered, Kaveh managing to have escaped as he was grabbing groceries from the side door instead of the trunk. He came running to the back of the minivan, only to see them soaked next to the bust open bottle of diet soda.

The blonde man paused for a moment before descending into a short fit of laughter. “Oh my gosh, what did you two do? I was only looking away for a second.”

Al Haitham snickered quietly to himself before responding, “I think… we’ll let you finish up with bringing everything in.” He then offered Delara his hand to walk back inside so he could help her bathe and change into fresh clothes.

The young girl, looking a bit disgruntled, took her father’s hand and wandered back inside the house.

It took only a short bit to help her bathe and dress, and by the time he completed those tasks, it was time for dinner, so he sent her off to her room to go draw or play on her own as he went back out front.

Kaveh was just bringing the last of the groceries, a bit of perspiration and slightly flush on his face with the heavier items he was carrying. He gave a weak smile to Haitham as he brought them in. As he walked inside, he asked, “Mind closing the doors and trunk? I’ll be inside putting things in the fridge and pantry.”

With a simple nod of the head, he grabbed the keys from the table, went outside, and shut and locked the doors.

Walking back inside, he placed the keys in their respective area and made his way to the kitchen. He really needed to get dinner started for the four of them.

The writer met his husband there, interrupting his organization by giving him a kiss on the lips. “You work quickly.” He stated. “Would you like to help me with dinner once you’re done?”

“Of course, eshgham.” The blonde replied sweetly, quickly putting away the last of the groceries. “What were your ideas for dinner tonight? Any particular cravings?”

“Stir fry with brown rice?”

“Hm… I’m not entirely sure if the kids will like it considering we haven’t made that for them yet.”

“It’s best we expand on their palette at a young age. We do know that Naima is a picky eater too, so I’ll make some penne pasta in case she doesn’t like it.”

“I’ll manage the main dish then.”

Everything all set, they began to cook in their respective areas on the stovetop. The pasta was done a bit before the stir fry, so he just left the pasta in the strainer on top of the pot while the other dish finished up.

Al Haitham took this short break to bring up what he wanted to talk about earlier. He leaned against the counter, opening his lips, “I saw something utterly captivating earlier, but you were so focused on getting back home, you didn’t see.” He stopped, gathering his thoughts before speaking once more, “You know that I’ve made many successful books in the past, and it’s been quite some time since we collaborated. So I’ll ask this upfront. What do you think about creating a picture book?”

Kaveh paused the stirring motion in the wok. Had he heard him correctly? He wanted… to collaborate? The last time they had, their relationship was in ruins, but then again, those were their school days. Things are better now. They made up, they got married, even had kids, so what was making him so apprehensive?

“I think I need to think about that, Haitham. You know I get a bit hesitant taking on new projects, mostly because I—”

“You need some time to plan? You’re dealing with a new client? Or are you hesitant due to our history?”

Damn. He read him like a book.

“Let’s just talk about this before bed…”

Haitham nodded as the blonde man finished up the stir fry and plated it.

“I’ll go grab Delara.” Kaveh mumbled, subtly implying that he wanted his partner to go wake Naima.

The younger man understood his husband’s nonverbal prompt, walking over to their youngest’s bedroom. Once he opened the door, he noted that he’d definitely need to clean the room later on, perhaps the next day when Naima was out playing elsewhere. Carefully, he stepped over the toys and made his way over to the bed. When there, he gently shook her awake.

“Mama…?”

“Yes, it’s me, sweetheart.” He murmured softly as he picked her up. It was the cutest thing how she rested her head on his shoulder. Carrying her out to the kitchen, he placed her down on one of the chairs.

“Papa made us a new dish for you to try.” Haitham explained softly, placing a small dish in front of her.

“What this?” The toddler questioned, picking at it with her utensils.

“Yea ma, what’s this?” Delara chimed in.

“It’s a dish called stir fry. It’s a mix of meat and vegetables, and it comes with brown rice.”

“Ohh…” The two children responded in unison.

Kaveh brought over a plate for Delara and Al Haitham, eventually grabbing his own plate and sitting down with everyone.

Things were going well, until Naima tried her food. Almost immediately, she spat it out and pushed the dish away from her with a whine.

Sighing, the writer went to grab her dish, disposing of it as she had spat in it, so it was no longer able to be saved for later consumption. He went to prepare a bowl of penne pasta instead, giving her a good portion to eat.

Placing a dish back in front of her, he went to sit back down and finish own bowl.

The family ate in relative silence with the occasional mumble of approval from Naima. She seemed to be really enjoying the pasta.

At the end of their meal, Delara offered to help her fathers with putting the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, meanwhile the toddler went off to the play room.

“I suppose we could teach you, but know you aren’t forced to help around the house, alright?” Kaveh explained, kneeling down to her level as he opened his arms for a hug.

The young girl of course gave him a hug back, eventually pulling away and watching as her father opened the dishwasher. Many times she had wondered to herself what it was and what it did.

“This is a dishwasher. Just like the name entails, it cleans our dishes. To get this started, we put in this dishwasher detergent—” The blonde man rambled on about how the appliance worked to their young one, as if she was truly going to remember all this information for her adult years. “But sometimes, we wash dishes by hand, the dishes that are tougher to clean like certain mugs…” He dragged the last word of his sentence, slowly turning to Haitham for dramatic effect.

“Hmph… In my defense those mugs hold a certain whimsy with their design.”

“Can we put the dirty stuff inside the thingy now?” Delara complained, a dramatic pout on her face.

“Yes, yes. Just remember what I told you, put the dishes where they fit.” Kaveh instructed. Moments later, feeling Al Haitham’s eyes boring into the back of his head, he told the younger man to go wind down for the night but to get Naima in bed before he did so.

With all that said, the writer traversed over to the playroom, finding Naima playing with a child-size piano. She seemed to just be smashing the keys and giggling about the sounds they made.

A smirk painted on his face, Haitham stepped forward and kneeled down next to her, watching as she put all her might into playing those keys. After a few minutes of watching this cacophonous concert, he tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey Naima, want to read a story in bed?”

She turned to him, a bit confused but interested in what he was saying. “Book?”

“Yes, book.”

Naima gave the biggest grin and pushed the piano off her lap, running off to her room at insane speeds! That’s what she thought though. In reality, she was stumbling every few steps with how fast she tried to run.

He picked up and placed the piano in its original spot before making his way over to her bedroom. He picked a picture book off the small shelf in her room, her favorite book by far, and sat down next to her as she crawled into bed.

This book in particular was about a lioness who felt abandoned by her pride. In the beginning of the story, she left her pride in the cover of nightfall, feeling alone until she found another. Someone who appreciated her, someone who accepted her, someone who understood her. In the end of the story, she finally felt found.

During the reciting of the book, the toddler fell asleep. Just as planned.

Getting back up on his feet, he put the picture book away. Al Haitham turned back to her, approaching her one last time to adjust the covers and kiss her forehead. He then flicked off the main light, shrouding the room in darkness beside the small night light on the wall. Finally, he exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

Making his way towards the living room, he could hear Kaveh and Delara in the kitchen from where he was. By the sound of it, they were getting the dishes put away. Upon reaching the room, he searched around the room to see where he had last placed the book. Finding it on the coffee table, he took it and left for the bedroom to get settled.

Back in the kitchen, the father daughter pair had finally finished up putting the dishes in the appliance.

“And that’s… how you load a dishwasher. Good job, Delara!” The blonde man exclaimed, giving his daughter a high five.

“Does this mean it’s bedtime…?” Delara mumbled, looking down at her feet.

“Unfortunately, yes. I assume you want hugs and kisses before bed?”

“Yeah…”

“Come on, pa’s got you.” Kaveh said in a soft tone, picking her up and carrying her off to her room. He hummed a gentle tune as he brought her through the door, placing her down in bed and tucking her in. Finishing tucking her in, he turned off the light and left the room, leaving for the washroom.

He quickly did his nightly routine and made his way to their shared bedroom. That’s where he found Al Haitham, almost asleep with his book slipping off his belly, though he did stir when he felt his husband near.

“What is it, baby…?” The writer murmured, blinking back his exhaustion.

“Delara should be drifting to sleep now, and I assume you got Naima to sleep quite easily? She seems much calmer with you.”

“Mmh… Yeah, she’s asleep. Come here… I want to cuddle.”

Chuckling softly, Kaveh made his way into bed, getting in bed behind the other man and spooning him.

“Such a long day,” Haitham muttered, “I can’t wait to sleep…”

“Then get some rest, love. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Love you…”

“Love you too.”

 

Early the next morning, Kaveh awoke. Al Haitham was still asleep at this point in time, and being the heavy sleeper that he was, he wouldn’t wake until his body decided to.

He debated on getting out of bed, but he did tell his husband he’d be there when he’d wake, so he couldn’t break that promise. Thinking and thinking, he eventually just decided to carry him to the living room. At least his previous exercises proved helpful in this endeavor.

Slipping one arm under his legs and one under his back, he carried his love out to the living area, placing him down on the couch. After that, he went to quickly make breakfast, rushing quite a bit and making a mess of the kitchen. No issue, he’d clean after Haitham woke up.

Plating the food, he went to wake their kids, bringing them to the table to eat. They both seemed rather upset being woken up so early, and he hoped the dish he made made up for that. It was a simple dish, and surprisingly one both of their children liked. He just hoped he hadn’t made it poorly.

Kaveh placed himself in the doorway separating the living room from the kitchen, just so he could watch everyone.

He was zoning out as he just stood there. Eventually, his mind drifted back to the short conversation they had yesterday. The book. He contemplated it while he was falling asleep, wondering if he should help with the book. If this is what his husband wanted, then who was he to deny him such a heartfelt desire?

That’s when he finally made his decision. He’d help him with this book. And who knows? Maybe this little project would grow on him.

Eventually, the kids finished breakfast, seemingly satisfied with the dish he had prepared. He sent them off to play together before returning to his love. As he went back to his side, he kneeled down on the floor next to him, just watching him for some time, admiring the man he married.

After some time, he did awake, looking confused as ever to how he landed up on the couch. That is until he saw Kaveh, practically gawking at him. Immediately, he pieced it together. “You brought me here. Why?”

“I told you I would be there when you woke up, didn’t I?”

“I suppose I do recall that.”

“Want help with your bath? After that, we can get you dressed and slip on your compression socks. Then, of course, breakfast.”

“Could you grab me some water before we do that? I’m feeling a bit parched.”

Humming in affirmation, Kaveh went to quickly grab him a glass of water, returning moments later with the object of his needs.

Taking the cup from his partner, Al Haitham took a long sip and laid there for some time. Once he felt ready, he tried to get back up on his feet.

Kaveh, seeing this, aided Haitham. He supported his waist by wrapping his arms around him, steadying him.

“I’ve got you.” He affectionately reassured.

“Ah…”

“Let’s make our way over there slowly.”

And just like that, he walked with him to the bathroom.

Once in there, the blonde man sat him on the toilet lid as he went to prepare the bath. A bit of epsom salt here, a touch of essential oil there for scent. He wanted this to be an environment where Haitham could relax, to be free of responsibility, if only for just a bit.

Instructing him to undress and come over to the tub, he helped him lower into the tub. As he did so, he admired his pregnant husband’s body.

It was a beautiful sight, the way his skin curved on his belly, the blush upon his skin, the softness of his figure. He was going to get cuteness aggression if he kept looking at him like this.

“Would you like me to begin with your hair, or do you want to rest here for a bit?” Kaveh questioned, standing up as he looked at the shower head.

“I wouldn’t want to keep the children waiting too long. Let’s just get this done as soon as we can.”

A tad disappointed, he grabbed the shower head and double checked the temperature. 38°C, just how Haitham preferred it. He positioned it slightly behind his head and turned on the water.

It was cold for the briefest of moments, but thanks to the lower faucet already having run warm water, it switched over quickly.

Wetting his partner’s hair, he made sure he covered every inch of hair before flicking the water off. Taking the shampoo bottle in hand, he poured a generous amount into his hand and lathered it slightly before spreading it around his scalp. He made sure he covered every bit as he began to massage his scalp.

“Aah…” The writer sighed, leaning into the alluring sensation.

“Feels good?”

“Yes… I kind of want more.”

“Oh? Do you now?” Kaveh said, suddenly pressing his lips against Al Haitham’s ear.

Like clockwork, the younger man flushed a deep hue. He liked messing with Haitham like this, as he could get away with his teasing with little consequence when his husband was in this way.

“Sly bastard…”

“Guilty as charged.”

He let the shampoo sit a little longer before he washed it out and replaced it with conditioner, repeating the process again and washing it out once more.

Washing Haitham’s body would be a bit more difficult, but they managed in the end.

Once the other man was fully clean, Kaveh helped him dry off and quickly brought him to the bedroom, passing by the playroom as they tried to avoid the inevitable.

But of course, Delara saw this and screamed, “Mamas butt naked!” and giggled loudly.

Naima just babbled to herself, distracted by the dress up they were playing together.

At least this time, they weren’t chased down.

Shutting the door behind them, Kaveh stifled a laugh. “That’s a new phrase.”

Smirking, Haitham could help but laugh. A deep, hearty laugh.

“Help me choose what to wear?”

“Of course.”

Selecting some of his husband’s favorite pajamas, he laid them out on the bed to select. He also laid out several types of underwear.

“Your choice, dear.” The older man explained.

Lost in his head with decisions, the writer eventually chose the lightweight and flowing thobe along with some stretchy briefs. He was able to quickly dress despite his condition. During this period, Kaveh gave Al Haitham some space to dress on his own. Of course, he needed to let him be independent sometimes.

“Would you mind playing with the kids for a bit while I make the two of us some breakfast? Hopefully, if you accept, they won’t hassle you too much.” Kaveh suggested.

“Why would I mind?”

“Just with your mood swings. They’re quite sudden at times.”

“You’re not wrong, but I can regulate myself. Trust me.”

“I really appreciate it. I’ll bring over the food once it’s done.”

They went their separate ways, Haitham going to the playroom, while Kaveh went back to the kitchen.

Upon entering the playroom, he sat down beside his daughters watching them play fairy princesses. They were talking about random things, like who owned their favorite colors and animals, because OBVIOUSLY they needed to split up who got what as a fairy princess.

“Maaa! Naima doesn’t want to give the unicorns to me!”

“Perhaps she just doesn’t understand how much the unicorns mean to you. Explain that to her and maybe she’ll give them to you.”

“Okay…”

Delara patently asked Naima for the unicorns. And the answer was — a resounding no.

Almost immediately she began to bawl and ran over to Al Haitham. “Baba…! I want the unicorns!” she whined while hugging him.

“Sometimes we don’t always get what we want, Delara. It’s a lesson you’ll have to learn in life. Especially with money. We won’t always be here to support your whims, but let’s save that conversation for when you’re older.”

The four year old continued to cry for some time, eventually feeling sleepy with how much she cried. With that said, she did inevitably fall asleep there, hugging her mama.

Around that time, Kaveh arrived with their breakfast.

He sat his plate at the table near the entrance of the room, meanwhile he brought Haitham his plate, as he saw he’d need assistance to eat. He couldn’t eat if he was holding Delara, clearly.

Naima decided to play with something else during this time, giving the parents an opportunity to talk without interruption,

“So, I did give your proposal some thought… and I think I want to collaborate with you. I know it’d make you happy, and I don’t want to drag down your hopes, so…”

“That’s lovely to hear. I did have a few suggestions for plot lines, but we can discuss that another time.”

“Another time… yes. Oh! The food. Wouldn’t want it to get cold.” Kaveh murmured to himself as he began to feed his partner.

Haitham was trying his best not to spill the food, but it was difficult when he had no control over the utensil. At some point, he just began to giggle with how hard they were trying to make this work. And alas, Kaveh laughed with him at the silliness of it all.

The rest of that morning was spent quite happily as they shared that period surrounded by each other.

Chapter Text

It had been a few busy weeks before Al Haitham was even able to formulate ideas for the children’s book. With prenatal appointments, taking care of their children, and doing the final touches on the nursery, the schedule was quite packed.

But when he had a second, when he and Kaveh were out on a picnic date, he wrote down some ideas. The kids were away at home with their usual babysitter, so he did have some free time.

As of the moment, he was laying his head upon Kaveh’s shoulder, hand holding a journal, and writing with a pen with the other. Several ideas came to mind;

#1. A giraffe that felt insecure about the way it looked.
#2. An elephant who had become human.
#3. A kitten that lost its way from home.

He expanded on the ideas with little summaries of what would happen in the stories beneath them. Too absorbed in his work, he didn’t notice that Kaveh was talking to him.

“Azizam, your food is going to get stale if you just sit there. Just a gentle reminder.”

“Huh…? Oh. I was just finishing up with these ideas.”

“You’re starting to convince me you’re a budding workaholic with how long you spent on those summaries.”

“Hypocritical, are we?”

“I jest, I jest. But you did spend an hour on all those ‘short’ summaries you said you’d write.”

“It’s been an hour? Gods, I didn’t notice…” Haitham said this with a hint of sadness. Sadness at the fact he had spent this precious date absorbed in work. But then again, what other time could he have gotten this done at?

“You’re alright, we still have another hour before we have to leave.”

“Then I’ll spend that hour with you.”

A soft flush covered the older man’s cheeks at this heartfelt statement. Heavens, he was lucky to have this man in his life. He took this moment to lean over and steal a kiss from the younger man, though, once the kiss was done, he didn’t pull away. Instead, he nuzzled their foreheads together, eyes closed.

Al Haitham couldn’t help blushing alongside his lover. He loved times like this, where his partner and him could show their affection without someone judging them; namely, their children.

After a bit of staying like this, Kaveh opened his eyes to see Haitham just staring at him. He couldn’t help but giggle with how close they were, giving him one last kiss before pulling back. “Come on, let’s eat, shall we?” he suggested.

Nodding, the writer placed down his journal along with his pen and began to sample each dish. He liked most of them, but his favorite by far was the mozzarella & tomato sandwiches. By the time he was full, the plate of those sandwiches were gone.

His only excuse was that, quote, “they were bite sized.”

Once they were finished eating, they packed up the leftovers and laid down on the blanket. They cuddled up against one another, facing each other. During this time, they just spoke about what they’d do when they got home.

That’s when Al Haitham felt a few kicks from within his body. Luckily, they weren’t directed at his ribs. Visibly, the pair could see the slight movements from his belly. He was in his final trimester, so the fact the baby was still this active despite the lack of room was surprising.

“May… I?” Kaveh asked hesitantly.

“You may.”

Slowly, the blonde man reached down to touch his husband’s stomach. There was little movement… until… a sudden kick was directed to his hand, spooking the man quite a bit and causing him to move his hand away.

At this event, Haitham couldn’t help but laugh. “I didn’t expect that, but clearly, neither did you. She’s a feisty one, surely.”

They just laid there for some watching the movements until they eventually calmed down, and by that time, it was time for them to head back home.

“I’ll get the bag—”

“Not so fast, Haitham. You’re almost nine months along. Like I said, don’t over-exert yourself.”

“Ah… okay.”

Kaveh took the bag in hand and slung the blanket over his shoulder, using his free hand to grab Al Haitham’s own. With some effort, he helped him stand up.

“It should be about a five minute walk back. Though, we can take our time getting back if we need to.”

“I might need it.” Haitham sighed heavily. Getting up was already enough of a task, and the walk here… was too much. Maybe coming on this date was a poor decision, but he truly wanted this. They had this date planned for some time, just unsure of when they could go through with it until recently. Even if it was a poor decision, he didn’t regret the time they shared today.

Slowly, they began to walk home. Haitham was feeling a bit— off. He knew he had been feeling a dull cramping in the last few weeks, but he played off as just regular pregnancy sensations. Despite having done extensive research before his pregnancies, maybe something slipped his mind.

After around twelve minutes, they arrived home, paid the babysitter, and got settled. Instead of socializing or starting dinner, Al Haitham just went to bed, cuddling up against his pregnancy pillow.

This feeling of oddness only got worse as time went on, but he was able to fall asleep despite this.

Kaveh, on the other hand, was tasked with dealing with the kids. Naima was fussy because she wanted her mama, and he struggled to communicate to their two year old why she wasn’t allowed to see him.

“Naima, please. Mama isn’t feeling well.” He explained once more as he rocked her in his arms.

“I wan mama! Mama!” She cried, flailing around in his grasp.

This was getting a bit out of his control at this point, so he resorted to the last thing he could think of. The sensory area.

In truth, it was just a walk-in closet transformed into a small sensory room, usually meant for Al Haitham when he was overstimulated, and Delara when she had meltdowns.

He quickly carried her over there, looking around at what he could distract her with. Out of everything he saw, he decided the hammock would be best.

Making his way over to the corner of the closet, he placed her down into it and began to gently swing the hammock. Kaveh just prayed this would calm her down.

Slowly, but surely, Naima did calm down. Surprisingly, she even fell asleep.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he kept up the motion of swinging the hammock for a bit longer, just to make sure she wasn’t going to wake back up immediately before he took her out.

Cradling her in his arms, he brought his daughter to her room to put her down to rest for a bit. Once done, he left to go see what Delara needed.

Back in the master bedroom, Al Haitham was progressively getting worse. He had woken up. The slight cramping had gotten worse, turning into painful contractions. The only good thing about this was at least they seemed to be far apart, as he hadn’t woken up until now. He still had time.

Stumbling out of bed, he made his way over to the door, opening it as he called out to his partner. “Kaveh…!”

…Silence.

“Kaveh!” He yelled louder.

Still, no response. Curse them both for buying such a house with such a poor layout for sound to get through anywhere.

Where was his phone anyway? He didn’t bring it to the bedroom as he was in such a rush to just lay down and rest. Thinking back to where he could’ve put it, he remembered it was on the couch.

Waddling towards the living room, he felt a trickle of fluid spreading down his legs. Did things just have to keep getting worse? No worries, he’d keep going unless things worsened more.

Haitham was acting as if this were just a minor inconvenience. It felt like it was. He had gone through this twice before. What was one more time?

He continued his trek to the couch, and once there, he saw his phone. Taking a closer look, it had smudge marks all over it from one of his children. Clearly it had been used to play on while he was away. Gross, but he was desperate and needed to call emergency services.

Quickly, he flicked it to life and called emergency services. That’s when Kaveh finally came out to the living room, not having noticed the trail of fluid following Al Haitham. He just looked too drained to notice any of the major clues something was wrong.

That was until he heard what his husband was discussing over the phone. That’s when he FINALLY noticed.

“You’re in labor?!”

The younger man simply ignored him, continuing his conversation on the phone until he was sure that the ambulance was coming.

“Hm?”

“You didn’t tell me?!”

“Tell you that I’m in labor? I tried to, but you were elsewhere, clearly.”

“Come on, let’s pack your hospital bag and get in the ca—”

“No thanks. Remember your driving with our second born? You were driving those roads as if you were playing Mario Kart just because our scheduling for the birth was off by a week. That’s why I called for an ambulance..”

“Alright, I get it. I’ll still help with your hospital bag though.”

With everything communicated, Haitham laid down on the couch as Kaveh went off to pack the hospital bag. The younger man could feel the beginnings of the contractions, though he knew they would be far apart for the next couple of hours. Nonetheless, it was still uncomfortable.

Soon, the blonde man was back, bag in hand. He seemed a bit out of breath as he had been rushing to grab everything they needed before the ambulance arrived, whenever that’d be.

Luckily, things were seemingly going to plan, with the exception of going into labor prematurely. Their transportation arrived, or so Kaveh thought.

He wasn’t allowed into the back of the ambulance. The medical staff aboard the vehicle told him he’d need to take his own transportation.

Sighing, he watched as the ambulance took off, lights flashing and siren blaring. That’s when he realized he was missing something. He had nearly forgotten to call someone to take care of the kids!

Quickly, he dialed their usual sitter.

No response.

Fuck.

Should he bring them to the hospital? He contemplated this for some time before deciding…

he would.

Kaveh shuffled towards his firstborn’s room, peering through the cracked door before entering. He approached her bed, gently nudging her awake.

“Mm… Pa? Why are you here? My eyes hurt…”

“Ba is in need of our support, so I need you to pack a bag of stuff you’d like to bring to keep you happy while you’re there.”

“He’s where?”

“The hospital. I’ll explain later.”

“He okay?”

“Yes, sweetie, but like I told you, I’ll explain later.”

“Okay…”

Delara crawled out of bed and began to choose a few stuffies from bed to take with her. While she did that, Kaveh went off to wake Naima, their second born.

Making his way to her room, he slowly opened the door and began to pack some items he knew Naima would like to play with while at the hospital. He did his best to not wake her, and was luckily able to pack while she slept.

Eventually, Delara silently walked into the room with her small backpack of toys and stuffies. She quietly asked, “Can we go now? I wanna check on mama.”

“Yes, yes. Just let me get your sister.”

With that said, he gently took Naima out of bed and carried her through the house and to the front door, Delara following closely behind. He struggled, but managed to get the door open on his own, same with the van.

He situated the kids into the car seats before checking if the baby seat was in the vehicle. He looked and looked… inevitably finding it in the trunk. Sighing, Kaveh took it out and set it up quickly.

It had now been an hour since Al Haitham was taken away by the ambulance. He knew it was time to get going now.

Climbing in the driver’s seat, he put the keys in the ignition, pushed it into gear, and drove out the driveway and onto the street.

He focused on the road ahead, not to the stirring sounds of Naima behind him. Even as she began to start up the waterworks from being woken up like this, the problem was quickly solved as Delara handed over one of her toys to distract her sister.

Driving down the streets, he got onto the main road, doing his best to drive as safely as he could despite the rising tension within him. His heart was beginning to pound, faster and faster as he drove. Distracted by the intense beating of his chest, he didn’t notice when he ran a red light.

Kaveh only noticed that he had done something wrong when he saw the flashing lights behind him. Despite this, he didn’t stop immediately, gradually slowing down the car instead so as to not panic his children.

Rolling down the window, the blonde man braced himself for the inevitable fine he was going to get. Turning his head back to the seats behind, he instructed softly, “Just hug your stuffies, everything will be fine.”

The officer approached his vehicle, asking if he knew why he pulled him over, and Kaveh answered earnestly.

“I must’ve run a light…”

“That you did…” The officer drawled, turning his attention to the kids in the backseat. “You were driving recklessly while you had children aboard. Do you understand what could’ve happened if it wasn’t so late, that vehicles were on the road?”

Kaveh’s hands tightened around the steering wheel in a clear show of distress. Yes, what if someone actually was at the intersection, and he ran that light? The kids… No… no, he couldn’t think of the aftermath. If he was honest with himself, he was on the verge of a panic attack.

“I’m sorry… I just… I need to get to the hospital.”

“Any particular reason?”

“My hus—partner is giving birth. Please, just let me off with a fine or something similar. I need to be there…” He explained, hands shaking as he handed over his information.

“I’ll let you go, but you will be fined. Stay put, I’ll be back.”

As the officer walked back to his car, Kaveh was left there, shaken up. He couldn’t control his breathing, his tremors were getting worse, he genuinely felt as if he were going to pass out.

“Pa… are you okay?” Delara mumbled from the backseat, offering him her stuffie.

“I…I’m fine, pa is just… a bit upset.” He muttered to no one in particular. Kaveh felt himself salivating excessively, and he knew what was coming.

He opened the car door and climbed out just as the officer was walking back, holding the side of the van as he retched, bile flying from his mouth onto the asphalt below. How could things get any worse?

“I didn’t tell you you could get out of your vehicle.”

Kaveh couldn’t help but stress even more over this single sentence. Was he seriously about to be arrested over this? In front of his kids? His heart was about to tear itself out of his chest as dread shot through him.

“Let’s get you back to your van, ehh… Kaveh.” He offered, handing the identification and fine back over to Kaveh once he was done vomiting, making sure to avoid the puddle of it.

“T…Thank you.” The blonde man said appreciatively but hoarsely.

With the officer’s assistance, he was able to get back into the van and was sent on his way, though he wasn’t able to drive immediately. Kaveh needed a moment to collect himself.

He just sat there for some time, at least ten minutes before he said anything.

“Delara, do we have any water back there?”

“Uhmmm… There's a sippy cup!”

“Alright, I’ll take it!” He replied in a more cheery and playful tone, hoping to help the two young ones stay distracted from what just happened moments ago.

Delara giggled at the sight of her father doing something so silly and childish, meanwhile Naima was falling back asleep holding her stuffie.

“Okay… just put the van in drive. I’ve got this…” Kaveh told himself. He had been sitting on the side of the road too long anyway.

Turning the engine back on, he switched gears and pressed on the gas. The van roared to life, smoothly traversing down main street with ease. His hands were still shaking, but less intensely now.

Nausea lingered in his stomach. He knew he’d probably throw up again, just hopefully not during the delivery of their third daughter.

Kaveh made sure to pay attention to the road more carefully this time around, attempting not to get another infraction. Luckily, his efforts paid off as they soon arrived at the hospital. Where to park though…? Maybe around the back of the hospital, he was sure that was where he could situate the van. He wasn’t a patient, but maybe the van was considered for that parking.

He pulled the vehicle into a parking space with precision, putting it in park before turning off the engine. Removing the key, he then unlocked the doors and got out, going around to both sides of the van to get his kids out.

Naima was still sleepy, so he carried her inside. Delara on the other hand was holding onto Kaveh’s pants leg. Once inside, he brought the kids over to the reception desk and informed the staff why he was there.

“My husband is giving birth here. Should be under the first name Al Haitham?”

“Ah yes, he’s in room 406 in the maternity ward.”

“Thank you.”

They made their way over to the elevator, Kaveh knowing it would be too many steps for his daughter to take up the stairs. He knew it was a bit rude, but if no one else was using the elevator, it should be okay. Taking the elevator up, he watched as the floors ticked by until they inevitably reached floor four.

The trio soon exited the elevator and made their way to the maternity ward. Once there, he situated his kids on chairs near the nurses station before approaching it.

Grabbing the attention of one of the people at the desk, he gently asked, “Is it alright you watch my kids for just a moment? I really need to check in on him, just for the briefest of seconds.”

He was given the go-ahead by them, so he ran over to the room the person at the front desk of the hospital gave him. Delivery suite 406. Opening the door, he saw a familiar sight. His husband, Al Haitham, lay in the hospital bed pressing a mask to his face. He still looked distressed despite the gas coming through it. Haitham was too exhausted to even greet Kaveh, only removing the mask in response to his arrival.

“My love… I’m here.” Kaveh greeted in a soft tone, approaching the bedside slowly. Upon reaching it, he gently pushed back the hair in his partner’s eyes, getting a small smile in response.

“I’ve been waiting for you… Are the kids okay? Did you get them with their babysitter?”

“Ehm… no. But I brought them with me until I’m able to find another trustworthy person to watch over them. I just haven’t had a moment to look. It’s always just, ‘go, go, go.’ But I’ll look once I’m back in the waiting area.” With this, he leaned over and kissed his husband, clearly having not remembered he had just thrown up recently.

“Eugh… Did you…?”

“I…I can explain. I got pulled over, and I got a bit nervous so I…”

“You were pulled over.” Al Haitham repeated, letting out a long, disappointed sigh. “Did you get another ticket?”

“…A fine. I ran a light.”

At this, you could see the younger man’s blood begin to boil. On top of being in labor, he had to deal with this. He couldn’t control his emotions, especially with his hormones being all over the place. “I won’t yell, but I’ll give you a piece of my mind.” He began, taking a deep breath of the gas, “You get an infraction, despite me telling you to be careful on the roads, especially after my last pregnancy. Second, you didn’t bring it up immediately, which pisses me off even more. And lastly, you put our children in danger.”

“I just—”

“No excuses. We’ll discuss this later. Just go.”

Kaveh bit his lip but listened to his husband, walking out of the delivery room with his tail between his legs, not literally of course.

Shuffling back to the waiting room, Kaveh pulled out his phone to distract himself by trying to find a sitter. He searched on the website he had found their trusted one, hoping that he’d be able strike gold once more. He ignored the tears welling up in his eyes. No, he wasn’t going to act like a victim. He knew what he did was reckless, and he’d make strides to be better.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he continued his search. Eventually, he found a sitter that was supposedly online at the moment and called the number listed.

It rang for almost the entire time it was able to, the person picking up right before the tone. Sighing within his mind, Kaveh put on a confident voice and spoke, “Hello… I heard your services were available?”

“Eh… I wouldn’t usually accept requests for my services at this time…”

“I’ll pay a hefty bit on top of your usual rates.”

The person on the other line responded with more energy with the offered price, seemingly more awake now. Kaveh just hoped the sitter wouldn’t just take the money and neglect his children’s needs, but he was overthinking. This sitter had good ratings, so he shouldn’t worry. Plus, Haitham clearly needed someone here for him, and he requested they have a sitter.

“I’ll meet you at my address. Just give me a moment to grab it, I’ll send it via text.”

Ending the call soon after, Kaveh turned to his kids, Naima now awake and Delara just sitting there, both of them bored out of their mind. He quickly took this moment to send over the address.

All this back and forth was numbing to the mind. Putting his kids to bed, waking them up, bringing his kids to the hospital, bringing them back. It was so repetitive… No worries though. If this is what Haitham wanted, to have them be at the house, then he’d allow that. Kaveh wasn’t in his right state of mind anyway, Al Haitham being more so in a better one.

The blonde man put his phone in his pocket and took his daughters’ hands, leading them out the ward and down to the lower levels of the hospital, finally out to the parking lot where the van was located.

“Come on girls, back into your car seats.” He instructed softly, helping his daughters back into his car seats. Buckling them in, he removed the keys from his pocket and put them back in the ignition. The van hummed to life and they took off.

Kaveh was still a bit shaken up from earlier, and took his husband’s stern words as something to reflect on. He needed to keep a better eye on the road.

And surprisingly, they were safely able to get home.

The sitter was just pulling into the driveway after they had arrived. Perfect timing.

As fast as he could, he explained his children’s needs. To make sure they slept through the night, that they were fed the next morning, as he knew it would be a while, and to keep them happy. He also made sure to explain what there was to make, and where the sitter could sleep.

The babysitter seemed prepared though, having packed an overnight bag as they had already discussed this over the phone. Ugh… Kaveh had forgotten and made an idiot of himself. Of course he made this mistake, but was it truly one? Since he had repeated it twice, maybe they’d have a harder time forgetting.

Once he had said everything he needed to, he went on his way back to the hospital. By the time he had gotten back, it had been about three hours since Al Haitham went into labor.

He was able to park, run through the hospital, and make his way back into his partner’s room.

As Kaveh entered the room, he heard a long groan coming from Haitham. It was clear as day that he would be having their daughter soon. All he wanted to do was comfort him, tell him he was there, because by the gods, that groan was laced with pain.

“Haitham! I’m back…” He exclaimed, rushing towards the beside.

“I thought… I thought I’d be used to this by now, but the pain that I thought I remembered… Oh… It’s nothing compared to this…” Al Haitham muttered in distress, taking a deep breath of the gas. “They’re closer together… She’ll be here soon…”

“Should I grab a nurse?”

“Please…”

Kaveh dashed out of the room, drawing the attention of the nurses and several visitors who were waiting with their own families. He didn’t care if they were judging him, only caring about getting his partner the help he needed.

One of the nurses came over to him, so he quickly explained the situation. When the nurse went off to grab an obstetrician, he knew things would be okay.

That’s when he finally returned to Al Haitham’s side, taking his hand in his own.

“I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

“My god… Please tell me they’re coming soon.”

“They are. Any second, they’ll be here.”

“Fuck!” Haitham growled, another contraction rocking his body. They were coming every other minute now, and lasting just as long. At least that’s what it felt like.

Kaveh couldn’t help but yelp as Al Haitham’s hold on his hand grew stronger, almost to the point it was painful.

Minutes later, the obstetrician arrived and checked the young man’s dilation. He was fully dilated. It was time to go.

They set up the birthing bar for Al Haitham, and he slowly adjusted his position despite all the pain he was in. He could only prepare for the agony he was about to endure.

He didn’t even give the obstetrician a chance to instruct him what to do, already knowing from his pregnancies before. Haitham tried to listen to their words, but it was difficult over the sound of his own pained screams. One big push there, another decent one there. He hated that he felt everything right now.

Kaveh affectionately rested his hand on the curve of his partner’s back, rubbing slowly. It was the least he could do.

He didn’t expect when Al Haitham barked at him to back off. But obediently, he did move away despite the urge to hold him.

A spew of curse words fell from the younger man’s mouth as he went off on no one in particular. Kaveh didn’t expect his husband to have such a mouth, but it was understandable, certainly in conditions like these.

“You’ve got this, Haithoomi.”

But soon, the head was visible. The obstetrician helped position the newborn girl in a way where she was able to come out easily with one more big push.

“They said one more push, Haitham. One more big push”

Summoning all his remaining energy, he pushed as hard as he could, his vision darkening for the briefest of moments as he did so. And at last, Srija was here.

Al Haitham couldn’t help but flop back down onto the hospital bed once it was over. He would’ve loved to have held her at this moment, but he simply couldn’t. He was exhausted.

With his last residuals of energy, he said, “I’ll see her soon… Just… sleep… Need a moment…” before he shut his eyes.

Kaveh couldn’t help but blink a few times and watch as they quickly cut the cord. He knew that’s not what Haitham would’ve wanted, as he usually did skin-to-skin after birth and let the cord go white.

He knew he would have to let the staff know later on about what he thought about what they did. But for now, he’d watch over his partner.