America kept his hands around Japan's waist as the Asian pet his flat stomach. America smiled. "Kiku, there's barely anything there. Stop."

"I'm still pregnant," Japan retorted. "We're still going to have a baby together. You and I. Parents."

"I'm so excited," America said quietly. "I'll even set up a nursery the second we know what we're having."

Japan nodded. "Dark colours if it's a boy; bright ones if it's a girl."

America put his hand up halfway and tilted it back and forth, the look on his face reflecting the same emotion as that very gesture. "How about blues and greens for a boy and reds and purples for a girl?"

"I still like the dark and bright idea," Japan said.

America just shook his head and they swapped to a different topic.

»_«

Now that he was about six months in, Japan's stomach had stretched to quite a size, containing a little baby boy inside of it. America had painted squares of blues and greens all over the nursery walls, bought a small crib, and filled the room with plush toys and lined the floor with soft flooring that looked like bright and colourful puzzle pieces. Japan's favourite touch was the little rocking horse he put in the room, surrounded by a circle of the larger plush toys.

They also made sure there was a rocking chair in the corner for them to sit in when the baby needed calming in the middle of the night. There was a toy chest in the corner behind the door, which had those large plastic Lego™ blocks inside for their son to build his own little things with. The closet in the room now had a dresser for the baby's clothes and diapers, along with spare sheets and blankets in the bottom drawer. The other thing in the closet was a sleeping bag and a pillow, in case the baby ever got so restless, either parent had to spend the night on the nursery floor.

"Do you have names yet?" Japan asked.

"Not yet," America answered.

»_«

A month later, Japan was already having some problems. The baby was kicking so hard, it was leaving bruises on the outside of his stomach, which was now the size of a small beach ball. America was using cocoa butter to rub the stretch marks and help with the bruises on the surface of his stomach.

It was one night that Japan finally decided to tell America his fears. He was about eight months in, being only half a week away from officially being eight months. He rubbed a hand over the surface of his spotless, soft stomach.

"Alfred," Japan said quietly, "the baby's not moving. He hasn't been moving for a few days."

America chuckled. "He's just taking after me- being lazy as fuck."

Japan shook his head. "No language around the children." He chuckled, anyway. "Besides, we have a doctor's appointment for the baby the day after tomorrow. We'll find out what's wrong then, won't we?"

"Again," Alfred said, "you could just be pregnant with a lazy baby."

»_«

"Honda! Kiku!"

Japan slowly stood up with America's help, and they slowly followed the doctor back into the room for the ultrasound. As Japan laid on the bed provided softly, he silently prayed that "nothing was wrong with my baby and that Alfred's silly jokes were true". He tensed up and he slowly pulled up his maternity gown for the doctor to put the clear gel across his stomach. The cold substance was squeezed out of a tube onto his stomach and rubbed out. The doctor took the wand on the machine and began looking for the baby.

He found him incredibly quickly, but he was still in the one spot. The doctor, clearly nervous all get out, turned on the heartbeat monitor that would allow both parents to listen to their unborn baby's heartbeat. The doctor moved the wand bit by bit for a few minutes, leaving the monitor on. There was no detectable heartbeat, and the baby was clearly not moving at all.

The doctor sighed. "Mister Jones, Mister Honda, I'm sorry. Your baby died in the womb."

Japan teared up before the doctor had him wheeled off to the abortion clinic next door.

»_«

Through a window, America watched Japan go through the abortion process. First, they put him on anaesthetic so he wasn't conscious and so his body was numb to make him unable to feel pain during the surgery. Afterwards, they cut him open, grabbing the deceased foetus out of the womb and cutting the umbilical cord, disconnecting Japan from his dead and unborn son. America was terribly horrified when he watched the doctors put the dead foetus into a chemical yield bag before throwing it out like garbage.

How could they? That would've been a human being, Alfred thought, his heartbreak clearly heavy on his heart. They would've handled it much better if it were still alive...

America teared up and looked the other way.

»_«

America stood in the doorway of the empty nursery, staring at the crib. Japan put a hand to his empty stomach and reached over to put a hand on America's shoulder. However, at that very moment, America decided to step into the room and look into the empty crib. Japan sighed and turned around.

"I wish I could've done something," America said quietly. Japan froze upon hearing him.

Japan turned away. "There was nothing you could've done," he said quietly, walking out of the room.

»_«

America woke up to see the other side of the bed empty. He went downstairs, but the only thing he found was Lithuania making breakfast. Japan's drawers were empty, and all his stuff was either gone or had been hidden around the house. His car was gone, too.

"Torys?"

"Yes, Alfred?"

"Did Kiku leave?"

"I think he did. Although, he said something about the grocery store..."

"All his stuff is gone."

"Oh. Maybe he really did leave."

America teared up and sat down at the dining room table, putting his head in his hands. Lithuania stopped cooking and sat down next to him. "Alfred?"

America gripped onto Lithuania's arm and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. "I'm here," the European country said quietly. "I'm here."