Chapter 17 - X

KAZUKI

Nine months had already passed since Ryuichi and I found out that I was pregnant. It was both shocking and fulfilling.

I didn't expect that we would be having a child, because I admit, drinking a lot of different medicines to control my heat could have had a great effect on my body. And besides, I'm too old to be growing a baby inside me. But Ryuichi's reactions were rather different from what I expected.

When we became mates, having a child passed my mind, but I didn't let him know of this idea, because maybe, Ryuichi would have second thoughts about our relationship. Sadly, this is how I think of situations. You see, most guys didn't like the idea of having a child right away after they just settled down.

Considering how our relationship started, I was pretty sure that Ryuichi wanted to spend quality time with me and overwrite those painful memories we had. He was giving his best in trying to cope with our new situation. I felt that.

But since day one until now, he had been keeping a close eye on me, making sure that I was getting enough rest, nutrition, and assistance to my everyday needs.

"Ryuichi, the bath is ready, You wanna come in now?" Ryuichi asked, sitting beside me on the couch and pecked me on my lips.

"Are you going with me again?" I asked while raising a brow.

"Of course. The baby will be arriving soon and I don't want anything to happen to you while you're in there." He said and carefully held my stomach before smiling and caressing it. "Your belly is giving off a sweet scent; just like you do."

"You are really fond of noticing how things smell." I said before giggling.

"No. It's just you and your belly's smell that I like." He corrected me and continued caressing my tummy.

A few moments later, I felt something moving around inside my stomach. And because he kind of grew up, it was a little painful, but Ryuichi's reactions were cute. He literally blushed and even brought his ear closer and slightly pressed it against my belly and his smile widened when he felt a little kick.

"Ah, he kicked me!" He exclaimed in joy.

"Maybe he can hear you."

"He does I mean, he must. I want him to know that his mom and dad love him so much." He said then kissed my belly. So, don't give your mom a hard time, 'kay? Be a good boy." He talked to it and I smiled in elation.

"Let's go take a bath." I suggested to change the subject and we both journeyed to the bathroom.

~~~~~

We were in the middle of our shower when Ryuichi hugged from behind. He wrapped his right hand on my chest and his other hand rested on my belly, carefully massaging it.

From the way he pressed his body against mine, I could tell that he was aroused. Since he was strictly forbidden to have sex with me, he's stockpiled up and that's quite frustrating. I'm a guy too, so I know that restlessness.

He burrowed his face on the left side of my neck and licked it before pecking it with a kiss. I slightly turned my face towards his direction and gave him a wanting look. For a moment, he hesitated because he might do something foolish, but I smiled at him meaningfully that it was okay.

Ryuichi then claimed my lips and I instantly knew how long he was wanting this. We still shared passionate kisses, but he's been trying to avoid too much skinship with me because that would trigger his desire to make love to me. He had been very considerate towards me and my well-being. And because of that, there were times that I would like to tease him, but given my current situation, I couldn't possibly flirt with him.

'Now that I look like a big ball of cheese, maybe Ryuichi will be turned off. And it's awkward to see a muscled guy like me with a big belly.' I thought to myself in dismay.

I guess Ryuichi noticed my stupid insecurities and broke our kiss, looking at me with worry. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I weakly answered and forced a smile so that he wouldn't worry.

"You seem down. Are you hurting anywhere?" He asked in alarm, removing his hug and turned me around gently to face him.

I wasn't able to stop myself from smiling faintly at his antics. "I'm fine, really."

Ryuichi sighed at me for being hard-headed. He probably thought that I was being childish for feeling down for no valid reason. He loves me, I knew that. It was just my little useless ego that's making me pissed off, that's all.

"Kazuki, I really want to have sex with you; that's the fucking truth. It is hard to hold back. Just seeing you walking around makes me aroused." He suddenly told me. (Rika: hot deym.)

"I know, Ryuichi. I understand. Even me, I want us to make love. It's just me who feels insecure all of a sudden. No need to worry." I reassured him.

"Insecure? Of what?" He asked me in confusion.

I didn't answer. I looked down and caressed my belly while my face colored in embarrassment.

"I see…" He spoke in dismay and then I heard him click his tongue before holding both of my cheeks, making me look at him. "You are beautiful to me, Kazuki. You don't have to look perfect for me to like you or desire you because I will desire you forever. Remember this."

"Thank you, Ryuichi." I smiled in extreme joy and happily hugged him, but we both laughed when my bulging tummy prevented me from doing that.

For me, that was enough for me to remove those heavy thoughts and soothe me. Ryuichi does love me.

We decided to finish our bath, but I froze when I felt something different.

I suddenly felt a sharp pain around my belly that gradually turned into a burning agony. I was confused about what to think because there were times that it burned painfully, but today was different.

I tried to calm myself down and exhaled deeply. Then I waited for further contractions and how often it was. A few moments later, I once again felt a sudden jolt of pain and that was the time I felt something flowing down my thighs.

"My water broke…" I muttered to myself, looking down at my feet and saw gushes of clear, slime-like liquid flowing down from my behind mixed with few tints of blood. "Ryuichi…" I accented the mention of his name.

Ryuichi quickly looked at me, but my lower half was probably more noticeable than my frightened expression. "Oh shit!" He cursed suddenly and quickly got a towel and covered me with it.

Slowly but surely, he supported me until we arrived in the living room. He let me sit on the couch, he reached out for a pillow and placed it behind my back and sides to help me relax. Then, he hurriedly went upstairs. I heard loud thuds coming from our room as if he was bumping into some hard objects. At that moment, I understood that Ryuichi was panicking.

When he got back, he had already changed, holding some clothes for me. He even got the baby bag that I prepared ahead of time in the chance it was already time for me to give birth… and it's finally happening.

"Breathe, Kazuki. Breathe." He instructed me while helping me put on clothes.

"You're the one who needs to breathe." I seriously told him and even had the time to laugh at his reaction.

"Fuck. This is no time to laugh, Kazuki. You're going into labor." He anxiously chided. When he finished dolling me up, he carefully supported me to stand up.

After getting me in his car, he ran back into the house and brought all the things I might need. He was both excited and scared.

"Argh." I groaned and without notice, I felt another spike of burning agony in my belly. It was getting more and more frequent.

"You're going to be okay. Trust me." He said, starting the engine and drove off.

~~~~~

Arriving at the hospital, Ryuichi looked after everything while I was immediately sent to the emergency room. He reassured me that he would come with me and even watch me deliver our child. The idea kind of annoyed me because I didn't want him to see me giving birth, but the pain I was experiencing right now was more intense.

They examined my condition first in order to determine whether I was going to have a normal delivery or cesarean section. Since my body was sensitive to any kind of stress, the doctors told me that I better have cesarean section delivery to ensure my safety and my baby's life. Even if Ryuichi was against such treatment because he was scared that there was a possibility that something could happen to me, he still signed.

The doctors and nurses prepared everything for the operation while I became impatient from all that waiting.

"Kazuki, are you okay? Do you need water? I can't go with you, but I will wait here. I promise." I breathlessly continued on.

With the long wait and the pain I was feeling, I bellowed and cursed in no time. "Will you shut the fuck up?!"

Ryuichi looked at me with wide eyes. A few moments later, the doctor finally arrived and tapped Ryuichi's shoulder while snickering.

"He's fine. That happens when they are in labor. Don't worry." The doctor said to calm down Ryuichi.

When they were sure that I was okay for the operation, Ryuichi gave me a kiss.

~~~~~

RYUICHI

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck." I restlessly cursed while walking back and forth outside the operating room.

I hope Kazuki's okay and that everything was going well. I didn't want to think of bad outcomes, but I really couldn't prevent myself from worrying. His entire pregnancy was a struggle. Any careless actions may lead to miscarriage, so I really took great care to give him his needs. I knew that he's strong, but I wasn't sure if I was giving him enough emotional support.

"Ah, he's gonna cry."

My head almost exploded in anger when I heard that irritating voice of that lunatic doctor. I clicked my tongue when our eyes met.

"How did you know?" I suddenly asked him because I was sure that I haven't called or texted anyone.

"Kicchan texted me." He bragged. "Acchan, help me. I'm going into labor, but Ryuichi's acting like a rabid dog that doesn't know what to do." Said the freak in his usual insane demeanor. It made him crazier, if it helped anything.

"As if I'll believe you."

"I am not telling you to believe me. Besides, I went here for Kicchan and I'm excited to meet Kicchan Jr.(1)!" He said and ignored me. He felt excited at the idea of he would soon meet our child, but his words at the end gave me a different effect.

"You're such a dickhead." I irritatedly told myself.

"And you think like one." He quickly retaliated while his eyes were shaped like hearts for his extreme excitement to see the baby.

I just ignored him and continued waiting.

~~~~~

After hours of anxiously waiting, the operation succeeded. I was told that I could already see Kazuki, but the baby still needed to be checked, so I couldn't see him until later.

When I entered the room, Kazuki was there. He was conscious and smiled the moment he saw my face. Miraculously, the four-eyed lunatic was silent when he followed me inside the room; Kazuki was also happy to see him.

"Kazuki…" I called out his name and gently brushed my hand on his forehead.

"I did it." He weakly declared.

"Yeah." I agreed back.

"He was so beautiful, Ryuichi." Said Kazuki, tearing up suddenly in happiness. "When they pulled him out, he didn't cry, so I began to worry, but the doctor said that he was very healthy." He relayed to me.

"Really?" Were the words that I could only utter as I couldn't think of anything to say due to the extreme bliss I was feeling. I am, too, was itching to meet my son for the first time.

"Congratulations, Kicchan. You were so brave." The lunatic suddenly intruded.

"Thank you for coming here, Aki." Kazuki joyfully thanked his friend.

"Of course. Anything… for you." He said.

A few moments later, a female nurse carrying a bawling infant entered.

The moment the baby felt Kazuki's warmth, it quickly calmed down and stopped squirming. All of us that witnessed such a beautiful scene were touched and I wasn't able to stop myself from tearing up.

Kazuki was already crying and so was the four-eyed freak. Even the nurse felt our happiness. The doctor also entered after a while and tapped my shoulder once more.

"Congratulations! You're now a dad." He exclaimed and shook my hand happily.

"Thank you for everything." I thanked the doctor before nearing Kazuki and our baby.

"We should give him a name." Kazuki urged.

"Yeah, but I can't think of any." I told him while glancing at our baby that was so comfortable in Kazuki's arms.

"How about 'Yuuki'?" Kazuki suggested.

"Yuuki?" I uttered, thinking why Kazuki would choose that name.

"Hmm…" The four-eyed doctor suddenly made a sound before fixing his eyeglasses. "'Yuu' means 'distant' and 'ki' means 'brightness'—distant brightness. Yuuki." He explained, smiling in so much agreement. "It's a perfect name."

"Yes. You're my 'Yuuki'." Kazuki uttered while caressing our baby's back.

"Yuuki…" I repeated. And after that, I found myself smiling too. "Yuuki."

Welcome to the world, Yuuki…

Fin