Work Text:
Multi feels shitty. He’s been home from the hospital for a month now. He’d have liked to get back to work two weeks ago.
He hadn’t expected it to impact his life this much, giving birth that is. It’s taxing, he knew that would be the case, but taking him out for nearly thirty days? It feels like a punishment.
Then there’s the baby. Nacho. He’s a good baby, or so Katie says. Multi hasn’t made as much of an effort as her.
Thats probably a part of why he feels so shitty, his doctors told him he should bond with the baby early on, that it might help soothe him. The idea only proved to make his brain shut down.
So, Katie’s taken over the household. She does just about everything that Multi used to. While before, she cooked, made lunches for everyone, dropped Robleis off at school every day, dropped Multi off at work every day, made it to work on time, and came home to a clean house, and she’d do it all over again.
As terrible as it sounds, Multi has been bedridden for the last month, so every thing he used to do, instead got stacked on Katie’s plate. He used to do the dishes, clean the house, pick up Robleis from school, run errands if Katie didn’t on her way home. Now, all he does is lie in bed and rot. Now, Katie handles all of that.
He feels like a burden. It’s hard to with a partner like Katie, incredibly forgiving and caring, but Multi’s fucked up brain manages.
He made a development yesterday. After a long day of work, Katie was finally able to curl up behind him in bed. She nuzzled her face into his back, despite the fact that she and him both know he hasn’t showered since she bathed him two weeks ago. He turned over to face her with too much effort.
Katie gave him a soft smile, “Hey, how you feeling?”
Multi hums, his voice comes out scratchy from lack of use, “Fine. I uh…” he attempts to clear his throat, “I think I can keep Nacho tomorrow.”
Which, he’s sure surprised her.
After Katie stayed home from work for a full three weeks, she made the decision that she couldn’t miss out on anymore money, now with two children in the house instead of one. So, Aldo and Roier had been taking turns watching the baby for the past week.
But the more Multi thought about it, the more anxious it made him. He trusts Aldo and Roier. More than most people, he’d say, but anything is possible. Leaving his baby alone with people other than Katie makes his heart pound.
He wants to be with his baby. He refused to think about it before, but now he cries at night while Katie sleeps away next to him. One night, he snuck out of bed just to peak in Nacho’s room. Didn’t walk in, didn’t want to disturb the slumbering baby, but just the sight of him made his heart ache.
That left Multi here. Finally, he moved from his bed to the couch. In front of him, a baby bouncer, with a fitting baby inside. Nacho is happy. He’s been fed, Multi handled that around an hour ago.
He looks at the clock above the tv. It’s nearly three, which means Katie will be getting off of work very soon, and subsequently she and Robleis will be home within the hour.
Multi feels like he might pass out. It’s a faint feeling, one that usually lingers in his body for hours before it actually follows through. He’s been inactive for too long, that’s most certainly why it’s acting up now. He takes a deep breath. He has time, but he can’t pass out with Nacho in a bouncer that he could very easily roll out of.
Okay. Moving Nacho from the bouncer to his crib will be easy enough. He pushes himself up to stand, muscles aching with the effort. He pushes through, leaning down to pick up Nacho and curl him into his chest to decrease the likelihood of him slipping from Multi’s grasp.
He gets to Nacho’s doorway when it happens. He feels it, his body goes weak, legs giving out beneath him as his vision goes dark, he’s falling before he can even think about it.
Multi comes to. The first thing he registers is the crying. Nacho doesn’t cry much, he’s been a pretty quiet baby since coming home, so the level of screaming that rings through Multi’s head sets off alarm bells.
Then the rest of his senses return, his hand is curled around the back of Nacho’s head like a lifeline. His other hand is firmly placed on his back, holding him tightly to his chest still. His position is unchanged in Multi’s arms. His grasp had stuck.
Nacho is still crying, so Multi knows he’s breathing. He doesn’t want to pull him away. Doesn’t want to separate them any further. Full body sobs soon wrack through him without his permission. He curls inward, cradling himself as much as he’s cradling Nacho. Nacho’s cries fizzle out soon, but Multi’s don’t.
He should get over it and stand up, but the thought of standing up and — god forbid — falling again, whether that be due to fainting or just slipping. He curses his own body for having such problems in the first place, he’s not fit to be a parent. Babies are too fragile. At least with Robleis, he’s able to do some things on his own, Nacho is completely dependent. It’s frightening.
So he sits there. Baby curled to his chest like a piece of fine china he’s scared will break.
He barely registers when the front door is opened. Katie’s voice rings out, “I’m home!” She yells, then, “Multi?” Her voice gets louder as she approaches, rounding the corner of the hallway. “Hey, Multi, what—“ She stops.
Katie kneels down at his side, “What’s going on? Why’re you crying?” She fails to hide the concern lacing her tongue, a hesitant hand on Multi’s back.
Multi tries. He really does try and breathe so he can give her an explanation. She deserves one, this probably looks awful for him. She’ll never let him stay with Nacho again alone, she’s gonna take him away—
“Multi, babe, can you please talk to me?” The concern lingers, her voice shaking ever so slightly. She slowly reaches out for his hand, but he jerks away, back hitting the doorframe. His breathing does nothing but quicken as he uncurls to look at Katie with wide eyes.
”Sorry! I’m not— I’m not trying to like, hurt you, or anything. I promise.” Katie’s eyes probably rival his at this point, wide and unsure, likely a bit scared.
”Ma?” Little Robleis’s voice comes from the end of the hallway, tiny and hesitant.
Katie swallows thickly, looking his way, “Just a minute, stay in there for me, please, little birdie.” How quickly she shifts from scary concern to soft and nurturing is lost on Multi, but he admires her for it.
Robleis must accept her words, because Katie turns back to him, her soft smile sinking into a frown, “Multi, please. Let me help you, okay?”
“You—“ He’s finally able to force words from his throat, filled with anxiety and dread, “You will take him. I— I need to keep him safe.”
Katie takes a deep audible breath, “Okay. Why uh… Why’re you on the floor?” She asks.
Multi tries desperately to calm his breathing, “Fell.” He rasps out.
”Did… Did Nacho hit his head? Is he okay?” She’s careful, not breaching the boundary of contact as she tries to pry information from him. He shakes his head frantically, barely stirring the baby in his arms who’s near sleep. “Good. You did good then, right? You kept him safe.”
Another sob chokes out at her words. Because no, everything very well could’ve gone wrong and Nacho could’ve died. Multi doesn’t want to think too graphically about it, he’s been warned by his psychiatrist of that, but the thoughts of what would’ve happened if his grasp on Nacho was even a tiny bit less firm are rampant.
”Is… he asleep?” Katie asks.
Multi barely pulls Nacho away from him, just enough so he can see the baby’s face, then gives her a tiny nod, tears still falling freely down his cheeks.
”We should take him to the crib, babe, c’mon.” Katie stands up and holds a hand out for Multi, he just stares.
”I do not… I can’t drop him.” He insists, voice breaking.
Katie just smiles, “You won’t. I’ll help you, okay? I hold you, and you hold him, capiche?” She instead wraps her arm around his back, carefully guiding him to stand, whispering small words of affirmation in his ear.
She leads him gently and slowly to the crib, he shakily pulls Nacho away from his chest. Carefully, he sets him down in the bed of the crib. He tugs the blanket over his tiny body.
”See? Everything’s fine.” She cups his face gently, pressing a kiss to his nose, “Have you eaten?” She asks, more playful this time. He shakes his head slowly. He’d completely forgotten about food for himself, too caught up in making sure everything was right for Nacho.
”Mm, well that just won’t do. How ‘bout an early dinner for today? I’m sure Rob won’t mind.” She trails her hand down to his, lacing their fingers together sweetly.
Multi finds himself nodding.
Katie carefully leads him out of Nacho’s room and to the kitchen, “Sit.” She directs, pointing at the table. “Any requests?” She asks, pointing the question at both Multi and Robleis, who’s sitting cross legged on the kitchen counter.
As they eat their dinner, Multi can’t help but think, if he didn’t have Katie with him, he’d be done for. It’s a good thing she won’t be leaving any time soon.