Shoto grunted when he heard Hikari's cries in the middle of the night-- it had been a while since their bundle woke them up in the middle of the night.
Cracking one tired eye open, Shoto willed his body to get up from bed-- gently as to not wake a very exhausted Izuku up-- and walked down to Hikari's crib where his baby girl cried her eyes out.
"Hush, Hikari..." Shoto cooed as he bent over to pick her up. "Are you hungry? Mommy's asleep so you'll have to wait for me to reheat your milk,"
But Hikari continued to wail in discomfort that sounded wrong to her father's ears.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Shoto asked but was surprised when he felt his daughter warmer than usual as soon as he picked her up.
Hikari gripped her father's shirt as she continued to cry, burrying her wet face at the crook of his father's neck-- demanding Shoto to take the feeling of discomfort away so she could get back to sleep.
"I-Izu... Izuku, baby..." Shoto called, shaking Izuku gently that woke the omega up.
"W-what's wrong?" Izuku groggily asked, before his eyes snapped open and he realized his daughter was crying. "What is it? Is she hungry?"
"I don't know," Shoto said before he pursed his lips. "B-but... Hikari, she... she's warmer than usual,"
That woke Izuku up.
"What? What do you mean, warmer?" Izuku said as he sprung out of bed and took Hikari out of Shoto's grasp before gasping at how hot his daughter's skin felt against his. "W-what... why is she... S-Sho..."
"Calm down, calm down," Shoto said, wrapping his mate and daughter around his arms comfortingly. "I'll go wake mom and Inko-san up, okay?"
Izuku stiffly nodded as he gently rocked his daughter while Shoto weny out to wake Rei and Inko. In no time, both grandmothers were up and ready to check their granddaughter.
"What's wrong, Izu?" Inko asked gently as she watched his son rock her daughter in attempt to stop her from crying, all the while attempting to stop the tears that were forming in his eyes.
"M-mom, I... Hikari was crying a-and... she felt warmer than usual, I-I'm scared..." Izuku struggled to keep his composure, Hikari picking up his stress and cried some more.
"Izuku, why don't you let me take Hikari for a while..." Rei said as she gently reached up for Hikari but Izuku, upon seeing this, tightened his hold on his daughter.
"It's okay, Izuku..." Inko said, seeing how her son backed away. "We have to check Hikari's temperature, okay?"
"O-okay..." Izuku answered before he let Rei take his daughter while Inko rushed out to grab a thermometer.
"Come here," Shoto whispered as he wrapped Izuku in a hug to calm him down. "She'll be fine... you can't let her see you crying or she'd get more upset,"
"B-but--"
"What's going on?" Enji asked, who seem to have been woken up from Hikari's cries.
"Hikari's got a slight fever," Rei answered as she rocked her granddaughter to calm her down. "Inko-san's gone down to get a thermometer so we can check her temperature,"
"I-is there anything I can do to help?" Enji asked as he awkwardly stood by the door.
"Can you go get a basin with warm water and a towel?" Rei said with a gentle smile. "The one you usually make when Shoto got sick one time when he was four,"
Enji smiled a bit at the memory before he nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare the things his ex-wife requested.
"R-Rei-san... do we need to call Koushi? Do we have to bring Hikari to the hospital?" Izuku asked worriedly as he looked pitifully at his crying daughter.
"No, I don't think we need to do that," Rei said with a smile as she walked closer to Izuku for the omega to touch his daughter. "But I need you to calm down and try to comfort Hikari... she can sense your stress and discomfort about you worrying that's making her cry,"
"But--"
"I understand that you're scared... all new parents experience that same thing once their child gets sick, but you have to keep your composure to help Hikari calm down," Rei instructed. "Omega babies can always sense when their mothers are frustrated, so you have to keep yourself calm in order for Hikari to calm down as well,"
"I got the thermometer," Inko said as she got back inside their room.
"I need you to sit down, Izuku," Rei instructed and the male omega obliged before he was given his daughter who was crying her eyes out.
Shoto stood by his mate's side and gave his much needed comfort and support as Izuku attempted to calm Hikari down while rubbing her back comfortingly and hum her a lullaby-- Rei and Inko watching them.
Gradually, Hikari's cries died down as she felt safe in Izuku's arms while the omega tried to fight his own tears in worrying about his daughter.
"Thirsty seven degrees," Inko mumbled worriedly as soon as she took Hikari's temperature.
"But she was doing okay earlier," Izuku muttered sadly. "D-do you think she caught Kei-chan's cold?"
"We're not entirely sure, Izuku," Inko said. "Let's hope not, though,"
"I've already set an appointment with Koushi-san for tomorrow, we'll bring Hikari in for a check up first thing in the morning," Shoto said, planting a gentle kiss on Izuku's head.
"What can we do then?" Izuku asked, gently rocking his daughter.
"For now, try and bring her temperature down," Enji said as he gently put the basin of warm water down on the bistro table before he let Shoto take over.
The young alpha gently wiped her daughter with the wet cloth, cooing and shushing her when she makes grunts of discomfort while Izuku continued to rub her back gently.
After they put Hikari on a fresh set of clothes, the couple stayed up all night-- watching their little bundle sleep soundly after exhausting herself with all the crying she did.
"Hey..." Shoto whispered as he reached for Izuku and wiped a stray tear from his eyes. "Stop crying now, she'll be fine,"
"I'm so worried," Izuku mumbled, sniffling back tears. "She was crying her eyes out and I couldn't get her to stop, I-I... I was so scared..."
"I know, baby," Shoto cooed as he wrapped an arm around Izuku and kept him close while they watched Hikari sleep. "But I'm here with you and I won't let anything bad happen to our daughter, okay?"
Izuku nodded as he sighed silently and struggled to keep his eyes open the whole night-- afraid to fall back asleep.
However, Shoto saw the tiredness among his mate's eyes and released pheromones that calmed Izuku down-- eventually lulling him to sleep and the alpha stood guard and watched over his beloved mate and daughter for the whole night.
***
"I read Shoto's text last night," Koushi said over Hikari's wails as the infant cried in discomfort in her mother's arms. "You must've been up all night, worrying about her,"
"We were," Izuku said as he gently rocked Hikari in attempt to calm her down. "C-can you tell why she suddenly caught a fever?"
"Let's have a check at her first, okay?" Koushi said with a gentle smile before he gestured Izuku to lie Hikari down on the small matress laid down over the table.
"I know, sweetheart," Koushi cooed as he gently pressed the stethoscope over Hikari's chest to check her vitals. "It is uncomfortable, isn't it? Koushi-san just needs to check you a little bit more so please be patient... She's about six months now, isn't she?"
"Y-yes..." Izuku answered.
"You don't mind if I give a little peek inside her mouth?"
"N-not really,"
Sanitizing his hands, Koushi gently opened Hikari's mouth for a brief moment before giving the infant back to her parents. "Aha," he said. "Well, I know now what's happened to her,"
"What?" Shoto asked.
"She's started teething," Koushi answered with a smile. "If you look closely at her mouth, you'd see something white growing over by her lower gum. Infants her age normally experience slight high temperatures while undergoing the teething phase,"
"So... Hikari experiencing fever is a normal thing?" Shoto asked.
"Yes, so there's nothing to worry too much about,"
"B-but... Kato, Hikari's older cousin... he didn't experience any fever when he started teething," Izuku said.
"Well, there are some cases where babies do not catch fevers during these stages, but I assure you that Hikari's slight fever is caused by her first tooth," Koushi said. "You should also expect a lot of drooling and gnawing so I suggest you buy her toys meant for teething infants because she will put whatever she gets a hold of in her mouth. She'll also begin crying a lot since teething is an uncomfortable stage for a baby to experience so there will be crankiness along the way,"
After Hikari's check up, Shoto instructed Izuku to wait for him by the lobby while he went down the basement to get their car off the parking lot.
"I know, honey... I know it's uncomfortable," Izuku mumbled as he rocked Hikari who started crying in discomfort again even after he tried to distract her with toys.
They drove back home and Izuku locked himself up in their room as he tried to stop Hikari from crying even more-- growing more frustrated and more worried as time pass by.
"Please stop crying, Hikari... I don't know what to do anymore," Izuku said, his frustration building up-- making Hikari cry even more. "You have to stop crying now or it would just grow more uncomfortable... please,"
"Hey, Izu... why don't you let me take Hikari for now?" Shoto gently said.
"Why?" Izuku snapped. "I can't even get her to stop crying, how can you do better?"
Shoto pursed his lips before he gently wrapped his omega in a hug. "I know you're worried, but I'm gonna need you to trust me... I'll take care of Hikari for now, you've been exhausted staying up all night, watching her. Let me take care of our daughter, okay?"
Izuku gave out a sigh but he eventually handed Hikari over, reluctantly letting his baby go.
"If she doesn't stop--"
"I know, I'll wake you up, I promise..." Shoto said with a smile as he rocked her daughter gently and watch as his mate lied down on their bed and closed his eyes-- watching how Izuku's worry-streaken face slowly change into a solemn one as the omega fell into a deep slumber after an exhaustive day.
"You make mommy worry too much, Hikari," Shoto mumbled to his daughter who's cries were starting to die down as she finally found comfort in his father's arms.
Shoto smiled gently down at his daughter and his sleeping mate before placing gentle kisses on them and let them get their well-deserved rest before he went down the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.
"Here," Touya said with a smirk, handing Shoto a mug of well-made brewed coffee as if he read his younger brother's mind.
"Thanks," Shoto mumbled before taking a stop, humming in satisfaction.
"Parenting ain't that easy, isn't it?" Touya said.
"Not even the slightest," Shoto sighed. "It's even harder with Hikari getting sick. Izuku's not taking it very well,"
"And you?" Touya asked.
"I'm... hanging in there," Shoto said, "I mean... it's not going to get easy, but..."
Touya looked at Shoto in surprise when the younger alpha managed to smile-- with his eye bags and disheveled hair, he looked crazy. But that smile looked so genuine that he already knew what Shoto was going to say before he can say it.
Smiling, Touya raised his mug. "These eyes bags are gonna get worse but they will be worth it," he said and Shoto laughed.
***
Shoto entered their bedroom to see Izuku watching Hikari sleep, a blanket hanging around his shoulder and his hair in a mess as if he had just woke up.
"Izu? Baby, what are you doing up already? You should sleep some more..." Shoto said and Izuku turned to him before the omega wrapped his arms around him.
"Thank you," Izuku whispered.
"Hmm? What for?"
"For being by my side the whole time I was struggling with Hikari," Izuku said, "I'm sorry if I snapped at you earlier,"
Shoto smiled as he combed his omega's hair back. "It's okay. We're both together on this, right?" he said, holding his pinky out. "Forever and always?"
Izuku smiled, locking his pinky with Shoto's. "Forever and always,"