FATHERHOOD
Five times Aomine thought he was a terrible father, and one time he was told he wasn't.
Relationships: Aomine/Kagami, background Kuroko/Kise, background Midorima/Takao

CHAPTER 1

Aomine felt close to pulling his hair out, his stress levels through the roof; Taiga had promised to be home over an hour ago but an unavoidable call-out meant Daiki was left with their screaming child. Mitsuko had been fussy before bed the previous night, taking over twice as long to finally go down, but had woken almost every hour, on the hour, howling and screaming. Aomine sighed loudly, rocking his daughter in his arms, trying in vain to calm her.

"I'm sorry, baby, I don't know what's wrong."

Mitsuko continued crying into Aomine's chest, her tiny fingers curling and uncurling in his dirty shirt, soiled with tears, snot, and baby vomit. Aomine pressed a kiss to the top of her head, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"Midorima will be here soon. Please stop crying."

As if just to spite him, Mitsuko let out an even louder wail, letting her head roll back, letting Aomine feel the full force of the cry. Aomine winced, trying to make her rest her head back on his chest, increasing the momentum of his rocking. He could feel his nerves thrumming with nervous energy, his knees going a little weak.

"Please, Mitsuko. Daddy can't take all this crying, he's going to start crying too." Aomine's voice cracked as he swayed; he squeezed his eyes shut, taking deep breaths. He felt hopeless, lost without Taiga's reassuring presence; tired from being up all night caring for his sick child and being unable to even sit down. He was given a short respite when he heard a knock at the door over Mitsuko's cries. He hurried to the door, manoeuvring his child in his arms to allow him to wrench the door open.

"You look terrible," Midorima said in lieu of greeting his old teammate. He slipped off his shoes and made his way to the living room, rooting in his bag.

"Thanks for coming. She's been like this all day," Aomine said, trying to not let his weakness show.

"I'm not your personal doctor, Aomine, remember that. I'm doing this as a favour."

"And I appreciate it. I wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious... she won't let me put her down for long enough to get ready to leave for the hospital."

Midorima nodded, hooking his stethoscope around his neck. "So, restlessness? Moodiness? Anything else?"

Aomine groaned dramatically. "Vomiting, lost appetite, won't sleep, won't go down... nothing I do works!"

Midorima nodded, putting the earpieces in his ears, lifting Mitsuko's top to press the bell against her back. He listened intently, seemingly not bothered by the child's wailing. "Can you turn her around, please?"

Aomine struggled to turn her as she clung to his shirt. Midorima continued listening to her chest, giving away nothing as he unhooked his stethoscope and moved back over to his bag, pulling out another instrument.

"Well?"

Midorima didn't answer, instead placing the instrument in Mitsuko's ear, prompting her to scream even louder. Aomine flinched, his stomach twisting at the thought of his daughter being in pain. He pressed his nose to the top of her head, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Shush now, sweetheart. You'll be alright... Right, Midorima?"

"Yes," Midorima replied, going back to his bag. "Mitsuko has an ear infection. Quite common but, clearly, not much fun."

"So it's not serious?"

Midorima pulled out a packet of sterilising wipes, cleaning his otoscope. "It should clear up by itself within the next couple of days. If she doesn't pick up in three days, take her to the hospital."

Aomine let out a sigh of relief, squeezing Mitsuko gently. "So what can I do?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid. She won't let you lay her down so keep her upright. Keep trying to feed her and just be patient... she's over six months, yes? You can give her ibuprofen to lessen the pain."

"Right... do you mind taking her for a minute? I seriously need to take a few minutes to calm down."

Midorima frowned, carefully putting his things back in his bag, casting a disdainful look up at Aomine. "I'm not your babysitter, either."

"Yes, I know, but I've been up all night, Shintarou! I haven't even had a chance to take a piss, alright?! I just need five damn minutes to get my breath back before I go crazy!"

Sighing, Midorima reached out to take Mitsuko, mindful of her ear, and cradled her against his chest. Aomine slumped, running his hands through his hair.

"Right… Bathroom." He quickly stalked off towards the bathroom, not even hesitating to check if his daughter was fine in the care of, to her, a stranger. He slumped back against the door, slipping down to the floor, a whole range of emotions coursing through him. Relief at no longer having a child screaming down his ear. Guilt at feeling relief; Mitsuko was his child and he was supposed to care for her and love her but all he felt was contempt; he'd seriously resisted the urge multiple times to just put her in her cot and leave. He'd scared himself with the thoughts that had briefly flashed through his mind, things that had disgusted him when he'd read about them in police reports.

Taking deep gulps of air, he tried to calm himself down; Mitsuko's cries still audible through the walls. He knew he'd feel lost and hopeless until Taiga came home, he was always so much better at calming her down.

"I'm a fucking terrible father."

Midorima, meanwhile, was calmly pacing around the living room, gently bouncing Mitsuko in his arms. Her screams didn't bother him the same way they did Aomine, he was long used to crying and loud irritating noises from his job at the hospital and living with Takao. He did, however, pity the child. He couldn't imagine how awful she felt, too young to understand why she was in pain and no way to stop it. He went through to the kitchen, balancing her in one arm whilst he rooted for a cloth, dampening it with cold water when he found one.

"Hold still for me," he muttered, balancing Mitsuko on the counter, her back propped against his chest whilst he wrung out the cloth before pressing it against her infected ear. After a minute or two her cries calmed from ear-piercing wails to pained hiccuping. Midorima maneouvered her back into his arms, holding the damp cloth in place and wandered back to the living room.

Aomine finally reappeared, his cheeks flushed and his eyes a little red. Midorima said nothing as he passed his daughter back over.

"Is she finally calming down?"

"Perhaps. Keep the cool cloth against her ear, it should help relieve some of the pain. Will Kagami be returning soon?"

"I don't know, he's on a call-out." Aomine closed his eyes, pressing his lips to his daughter's head, willing her cries to end. Midorima pushed his glasses up, watching Aomine carefully.

"Would you like me to stay until he returns?"

"No, thank you."

"Aomine. Accept my help if you need it, don't be so proud."

"I'm her father, I can look after her."

Midorima rolled his eyes, edging towards his things, unsure whether to leave or to put his foot down and make Aomine accept his offer of help. "Looking after a sick child isn't easy, Daiki."

Aomine's head snapped up at the use of his first name, especially from Midorima.

"It's even harder when you're by yourself."

"Single parents manage perfectly fine," Aomine snapped, flipping the damp cloth around to press the cooler side against his daughter's ear. "Go home, Midorima. You said yourself, you're not my personal babysitter. Mitsuko and I will be fine."

Midorima sighed, gathered up his things and saw himself out, pausing on the doorstep to send a text to Taiga, urging him to hurry home.

Inside, Aomine let out a long sigh, chastising his proud nature, wishing he'd had the guts to admit he didn't think he'd be able to look after Mitsuko. He paced around the coffee table, gently pressing the damp cloth against her ear, occasionally kissing the top of her head, hushing her cries.

"Just you and me again, baby, just you and daddy. No more strange giants with green hair to scare you… You're going to stop crying now, right?"

Mitsuko's cries had quietened considerably, Aomine hoped she'd tired herself from being up all night. His only issue now was he wouldn't be able to put her down to sleep, and his arms were aching from holding her for so long. He continued pacing, wondering if he should attempt to put her down to sleep or deal with the pain. His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating on the table; he dived at it, hoping it was Taiga telling him he was on his way home.

"Taiga?"

"Sorry, Aomine-kun, it's me."

Aomine sighed, shifting Mitsuko in his arms, pinning the phone between his ear and shoulder. "Oh, hi Tetsu."

"Midorima-kun just text me, Mitsuko's ill?"

"Ear infection."

"I'm sorry to hear that… is it just you?"

"Yeah, Taiga's at work."

"Would you like me to come over?

"No thank you."

"Aomine-"

"No, Tetsu. I don't need everyone's pity! I can manage!"

Aomine heard Kuroko sigh away from the phone, shuffling a few things on his end.

"It's not pity, Aomine-kun. If anything it's empathy. I have to deal with sick children all the time, so does Midorima-kun. We know how hard it is, we just want to help."

"Taiga will be home soon, we'll be fine."

"Very well. I'll just offer you this piece of advice various mothers have given me; do you have a sling?"

"What, like, for a broken arm?"

Kuroko chuckled. "No, a baby-sling. I'll take that as a no. You can make one out of a bedsheet or something; it'll keep Mitsuko upright and against your chest so she's comfortable and frees up your arms. I'll text you a how-to link."

Aomine managed a smile, softly stroking a hand over his daughter's head. "Thanks, Tetsu."

"I hope she gets better soon. Good luck, Aomine-kun."

Aomine ended the call, quickly pocketing the phone before moving to the linen cupboard to grab a bedsheet. Mitsuko was still snuffling his arms, occasionally making noises as if she were about to start wailing again before calming. Aomine's phone vibrated; he somehow managed to juggle everything in his arms as he read the how-to article, unfolded the sheet and kept Mitsuko pressed against his chest.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm going to have to move you about a bit," Aomine murmured. He did as the article said, folding the sheet, wrapping it around his torso, bringing it up over his shoulders. Mitsuko didn't react well to the jostling, she woke from her from her almost sleep-like state and began wailing, even louder than before. Aomine grimaced, trying to hurry up tying the sheet but kept fumbling, jostling the baby even more.

"Goddamn this is so fiddly. Mitsuko, please! Just stop!"

Mitsuko's cries only got louder as Aomine got more panicked, the sheet constantly falling out of place and slipping from his grip until he gave up entirely. He kicked the sheet out of his way as he marched back to the living room, rocking Mitsuko more aggressive than necessary.

"Mitsuko, please, for God's sake!"

Aomine returned to pacing and bouncing his daughter in his arms, trying to tell himself everything was okay. It felt like hours had passed before Aomine heard the front door opening. He rushed to the foyer, sighing in relief at the sight of Taiga hurriedly getting out of his outdoor clothing, marching forwards. Aomine quickly pushed Mitsuko into his arms, sagging in relief against the wall.

"I'm so sorry, Daiki. Midorima and Tetsuya texted me and told me how bad it was."

Aomine nodded wordlessly, pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes as he slowly slipped down the wall. Kagami frowned, calmly cradling Mitsuko against his chest as he bent down to press a kiss to his husband's forehead.

"Go calm down. Take a nap or something, I can handle her."

Aomine gulped in a few breaths, squeezing his eyes shut to stave off the tears he felt, burning behind his eyelids. "Taiga-"

"Go on, Daiki. You've done well, let me take over."

"I haven't."

"Hm?"

"I haven't done well."

Taiga sighed, tucking Mitsuko against his chest with one arm, and pulled Daiki against his chest with his other, pressing kisses to the top of his head. "No, you've done so well, Daiki. I'm sorry I left you by yourself, I'm not sure how I would have coped by myself. Now go on, go lie down."

Aomine took another deep breath, drying his eyes with the back of his hand before he pulled himself up, slowly shuffling towards the bedroom. He could still hear Mitsuko crying, Taiga comforting her as he paced around the living room. The ache in his arms had settled as he flung himself face down onto the bed, burying his face in the pillow. He wasn't sure if he should cry away his frustrations or sleep through them, so he lay completely still, holding a pillow over his head to block out the sounds of his daughter crying.

He was awoken several hours later by Taiga gently shaking him and calling his name. He blearily lifted his head from beneath the pillow, squinting at his husband. Taiga smiled, leaning forward to rest their foreheads together.

"I've made dinner, you hungry?"

"Where's Mitsuko?"

"Sleeping in her carry cot. I'm hoping she might be able to sleep through the night… Come on, you must be starving."

Aomine grumbled, letting Taiga pull him out of bed and into his arms. "How'd you get her down?"

"She fell asleep herself, I just propped the cot up on the sofa to keep her upright. Stop dwelling on it, Daiki; Midorima said she should perk up tomorrow, and I'll be home tomorrow, you won't have to deal with it by yourself."

"Why couldn't I deal, Taiga? Am I that bad a father I can't even-"

"No, Daiki. No. Don't even dare. You're a great dad; Mitsuko loves you and I can already tell she's going to be a daddy's girl. It was a stressful day, you had no sleep, she was in pain, but you are not a bad dad, okay?!"

Aomine sighed, slumping in Taiga's arms. "I wish you'd come home earlier."

Taiga pressed a kiss to Daiki's forehead, giving him a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry. But I'm here now… come and eat."