I wrote this as a birthday fic for one of my very best friends, signelchan! It might have gotten a little out of hand, but that happens sometimes. Enjoy!
The quiet and peaceful newly-married life for Kaito and Maki ended the moment that Kaito woke up to the unfamiliar sounds of Maki getting sick in the bathroom adjacent to their bedroom. Sleepily rolling out of bed, his hair tousled and space pajamas ruffled, Kaito staggered his way into the bright bathroom, finding his girlfriend kneeling in front of the toilet.
"Get out," she spat immediately upon seeing him in the bathroom doorway. He raised his hands up in front of him.
"I know that's what you want, but that's not gonna happen when I know you're sick. What's up?"
He came into the bathroom and stood by her kneeling form, before kneeling down next to her so he was at her level. Her face was pale and sweaty, and few locks of her bangs were plastered to her forehead. She regarded Kaito with weak eyes, but ones that could still shoot daggers if he said something stupid, probably.
"Come on, what's wrong?"
"I don't know what's wrong, you dummy," she said, sounding the same amount mad and slightly scared. "I just...woke up sick."
"Well, do you think it was because of what we ate last night?" Kaito asked, reaching a hand up to tentatively place on her upper back. When Maki didn't seem to react badly to his gesture, he held his hand in place.
"I couldn't eat last night, remember?" she asked. "I wasn't feeling good then, either."
"Right," Kaito said with a nod, now remembering the previous night and how he'd felt bad about eating in front of her when she didn't feel like it. "And I feel fine, so it's probably not that."
"Whatever, I think it's over now," Maki said after a long moment, her hand going for the toilet's handle. "We can get on with the day now, I guess."
"Are you sure you're feeling better that fast?" Kaito asked.
"I'm fine," she repeated, standing on still shaky legs and flushing the toilet. She went to the sink to splash a little water over her face, and while she did, Kaito watched her closely. She caught him staring when she was almost done, and glared at him.
"Seriously, I'm fine. I'm sure it was just a random, one time thing, okay?"
"Alright, alright," Kaito said, raising his hands in front of himself again. Not completely convinced, but not wanting to fight with her, he nodded. He followed her out of the bathroom and they went on to what they had planned for the day.
It turned out to not be a one time thing, but more like a four day thing, and by the fifth morning, Maki was so tired of waking up sick.
"So maybe I was wrong about this being a one time thing," she admitted, once more leaning over the toilet, her eyes turned up to Kaito's, "but it's probably just a flu bug?"
Another possibility had wormed its way into her head over the last few days, but she was doing her best to ignore it. While Kaito hadn't come to the same possibility, he was still worried about her and what could possibly be wrong.
"Do you think maybe you should go to the doctor or something?" he asked, watching her as he leaned against the doorframe while she cleaned herself up. "I'm worried about you."
"...I've considered it," she answered, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Whatever this was was already taking its toll on her, and it had only been a few days.
"Kaito…"
He looked up at her, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah?"
Her idea lingered on the tip of her tongue for a moment, but she resisted saying it, shaking her head in a gesture that she wanted him to forget it, both so Kaito wouldn't possibly latch onto the idea and so maybe if she didn't say it out loud, it wouldn't be what was happening.
She spent the last hour or so of her normal life restless and anxious, as she and Kaito drove to the doctor's office and got checked in.
Less than twenty minutes after getting her blood drawn, the doctor returned to their room, clipboard in hand, a smile on her face.
"Well? Is it the flu? Is she gonna be okay?" Kaito asked, as soon as the door shut behind the doctor.
"She's going to be fine," the doctor said, setting the clipboard down on the side table by the bed. She looked at Maki, the grin still on her face, which easily contradicted Maki's frown. "You're pregnant."
"Pregnant?" Kaito answered immediately for them. "Like, with a baby?"
There was no quick witted response to his stupid comment from Maki, so instead the doctor just nodded.
"Yes, her bloodwork came back positive for pregnancy. So now we're going to take a look and see how far along you are," the doctor said, pulling up the seat next to the bed, and turning on the machine set up next to Maki's bed.
"I'm...so, I'm not sick?" she asked, her mind racing with the news she'd just been told.
"Not with the flu, but your morning sickness might continue, I'm afraid," said the nurse, picking up the machine's wand and spreading a little gel on it. "Please lift your shirt a bit, so I can run this over your stomach."
"Pregnant?" Kaito repeated, using the hand not being grasped by Maki to scratch the back of his neck. He looked on as Maki lifted her shirt for the nurse, and she began the proceedings. The screen flickered a moment before an image filled the screen. While Kaito and Maki couldn't make out what they were looking at, the nurse immediately gasped and brought her free hand to her mouth.
"W-what is it?" Maki asked, unsure of how much more news she could handle in one day.
"It's...triplets."
A moment of silence overtook the room, as everyone there absorbed the news. Maki's face had gone completely pale, her mouth hanging open from the shock of the news. She seemed to be trying to say something, but no words would come out. She turned her head and looked to Kaito, who had the same expression as she did, but he was doing something she'd never seen him do before (and if she could think straight, would probably punch him over).
The wetness on his cheek was barely visible, but from the light from the machine's small screen made his tears stand out on his cheeks. He was crying, overwhelmed with all the news they had learned in the span of less than ten minutes.
"Kaito," she breathed, her voice barely visible. He looked away from the three tiny, flickering heartbeats on the screen and to her face, his shocked mouth turning into a large grin.
"Triplets!" he said with a laugh. "Wow, Maki Roll, can you believe it? That's three babies! We're having three babies!"
He laughed again, bringing a hand up to wipe at his eyes, where more tears had welled up. "Wow, I just can't believe this."
"Believe it," the nurse said, her eyes having gone back to the screen, where she was busy with editing the picture to put numbers by the three little blobs. "There's three. I've only seen this happened a few times, and it's just so amazing every time."
"No," Maki said, finally finding her voice again, her shock suddenly dissolving into anger. "No, it's not amazing."
"It's the miracle of life," the nurse said, before turning to look at her. "But I understand how you're feeling. It's a shock to learn, but once you're used to the news, you'll be overjoyed as your husband is."
"I will never be as happy as he is about this," Maki spat, pulling her hand out of Kaito's grasp. "I didn't ask for this. I came here thinking I could have had the flu, and I'm leaving with news that I'm having three babies I didn't ask for or wanted."
Kaito reached for her hand again, but she pulled it away so he couldn't. "Don't you touch or try to console me. This is your fault."
"Aw, come on, Maki Roll, it's okay," he said gently, but she couldn't be swayed. She remained quiet for the remainder of the appointment, and Kaito was torn between looking at his little blob-y babies and trying to offer words of comfort for her.
She did open up again, once they were on the way home after leaving the doctor's office, but it was only to mutter words of disbelief and a few curse to Kaito. He was lost in his own world, barely hearing her words (and curses) as he processed all the information they had just learned.
"Wow...three babies," he made the mistake of muttering out loud again, earning a side glare from Maki.
"I can't believe this," she said, scowling as she leaned back in her seat, one hand sitting over the already (and now obvious) small bump of her stomach. She had noticed it even before the sickness had come, but had attributed it to her monthly cycle, as she usually had symptoms a few days before it came, which included bloating. This time it wasn't because of that.
"We'll have to tell our friends, it will be impossible to hide it for very long," Kaito said, turning his head quickly to look at her. "The nurse was telling me while you were pouting."
Maki scoffed. "Well excuse me for not taking the news happily like you did. Also, we're not doing that, I don't want to tell anyone before I'm over it."
"That could take weeks, and you'll definitely be showing by then," he replied. "I mean, maybe it's just because I know, but I can totally already tell."
Maki tried to cover her small stomach, before scowling once more. "Don't you know you're never supposed to tell a girl things like that?"
"Sorry, but it's true," he said with a shrug. He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it when he saw the death glare he was getting from Maki. "Okay, but it's not a bad thing! You've got three little babies in there, so of course you're gonna start showing sooner than someone who's just gonna have one baby."
It wasn't much of an apology, but it was right, so she sighed. "I guess. But still, it sucks. This whole thing sucks."
"Please don't say that," he said, taking one hand off of the steering wheel and reaching it to place it over the one she still had on her stomach. "I know you're still in shock and aren't used to the idea yet, but it's gonna be okay."
She wasn't completely convinced and might never be, but she had definitely calmed down a little since getting the initial news. Not enough to let Kaito sleep in the same room as her, but still enough that she had started to think a little ahead about the new life ahead of her and how scary the unknown was.
As Kaito had said, telling their friends as soon as possible was inevitable, and all Maki could do was steel herself for the dreaded meeting. It happened a week later, after the second scheduled doctor's appointment, so along with the information that the three little blobs were doing okay, they also had a few more blurry photos to show off.
The plan was to meet at a restaurant for lunch and the sharing of the news, which had been vaguely discussed but not completely revealed for obvious reasons. Kaede and Shuichi had been waiting for them there already, Kaede excitedly waving them over to the table they had reserved for the meeting.
"Hey!" Kaede greeted, standing up to hug them. She came around the table towards her friends, but Maki immediately held a hand up in front of her. She was still holding one in front of her belly, hoping it would cause some sort of cover that wasn't too obvious about what was going on.
"Please, no hugs," she said, and Kaede cocked her head to the side.
"But—"
"I'll hug you!" Kaito said, stepping towards Kaede and grabbing her into a big hug, making her squeal. Shuichi had joined them and stood in front of Maki, one hand scratching his chin.
"Maki, are you alright?" he asked. "You usually don't mind Kaede's hugs."
"I'm...just not feeling very hug-y today," she replied. "No big deal."
"Does it have to do with the news you're gonna share?" Kaede asked, once she was out of Kaito's grasp.
"Maybe," Maki replied, still not wanting to give anything about their big news away.
"I can't wait any longer, just tell us already!" Kaede said.
"Let's sit, this news might be best being received sitting down," Maki said, grabbing her chair and sitting in it as the others did the same. She took a deep breath, turning her head to Kaito, before looking to the eager faces of Kaede and Shuichi.
"Well—"
Just then, a waitress appeared at the end of the table, carrying a pad of paper. "Hi, would y'all like some drinks to start off with?"
Waters were quickly ordered all around, and the time seemed to finally be here to announce the inevitable.
Maki sighed, having to prep herself up for the moment again. "Two weeks ago, we found out that we're—"
"Having triplets!" Kaito exclaimed, unable to wait for Maki to spit the news out. It took a moment for what he said to register, but the reactions were nearly the same as their own had been.
"Triplets? Like, three babies, triplets?" Kaede asked, her eyes growing wide.
Shuichi looked to Maki. "You're pregnant? Is that why you didn't want to hug Kaede earlier?"
"The detective breaks another case wide open," Maki said. "But yeah, somehow we're ending up with three babies."
Kaede squealed again, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh my gosh, that's so exciting? I'm so happy for you guys!"
"You gotta see them, even though they're not much to look at yet, but they're still amazing!" Kaito said, digging one of the pictures out of his jacket pockets. He slid it across the table to directly in front of the pair. Kaede and Shuichi leaned in to try to see what they were being shown more clearly, which was made easier with Kaito pointing out the little labeled shapes.
"A, B, and C," he said, pointing out the shapes with his fingers. Even though she had seen the picture many times before (and had heard the accompanying strong heartbeats at the doctor's) seeing Kaito show off each individual little life to their friends was almost too overwhelming to her. Without saying anything, she stood up and pushed her chair back, leaving the table and going off to look for the restroom. She could feel her emotions bubbling up, and fast, and didn't want anyone to see her have a moment to herself.
The single restroom was thankfully unoccupied, and she quickly locked the door behind her. She was shaking now, her body suddenly overwhelmed. Leaning on the bathroom sink, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Her own pale face stared back, quick, shallow breaths puffing from her mouth. Before she could stop them, a few tears came and fell from her eyes, making wet trails down her cheeks. She hadn't asked for this, she told herself for what had to be close to the thousandth time since she had first learned about the pregnancy. She didn't want to do this, but there was no backing out. She and Kaito were expecting triplets, a concept that she hadn't even known three weeks ago. And that she was now stuck with for her whole life.
She scowled when a knock came at the door, breaking her out of her thoughts, but she got over it a bit when she heard the familiar sound of her friend's voice, asking if it was her, and if she was okay.
After a moment, she moved away from the mirror, and went to the door.
"Yeah, it's me, and I'm okay. I just started feeling sick and needed a moment alone."
As soon as she said it, she did in fact feel the signs that she might be sick, and rubbed a hand over her belly. "I'll be out in a bit."
"Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do?"
"No. Just go listen to Kaito blab about the babies, I'll be alright," Maki replied, trying to soothe the churning in her stomach, but being unsuccessful. She didn't know if Kaede said anything in response to that, and frankly didn't care about anything other than making it to the toilet on time.
She finished up quickly, and now feeling physically and mentally exhausted, she reluctantly re-joined the group at the table. In the time she'd been gone, some of their other friends (that Kaito must have invited without telling her, because as far as she knew, they were just going to meet Kaede and Shuichi today), had arrived and were also gawking at the photo. Also the waitress had been back, as a glass of water now sat at every spot around the table. Himiko and Tenko had current possession of the black and white image.
"How did this happen?" Himiko piped up the moment that Maki had sat back down at the table. "Was it some kind of baby magic? Can you teach me?"
"There's no such thing as baby magic, Himiko," Tenko said, "this kind of thing just happens."
"I can't believe it happened to us," Maki muttered, settling back in, looking towards the couple holding the picture. "And while you two are trying so hard to just have one baby."
Tenko sighed. "Yeah, but I don't know if we'd be able to handle having three." She smiled sheepishly after getting a look from Maki, "but I bet you two will be just fine with it!"
"Nice save," Maki deadpanned.
"I don't know if we'd be able to handle it, either, honestly," Kaede piped up. "I mean, as much as we want kids, and these pictures have definitely helped with that, I can't imagine having three all at once."
"That doesn't mean we won't be here to support you two through it, though, of course," Shuichi added.
"Oh yeah, we're gonna be here every single step of the way with you guys, whenever you need us!" Kaede said. "It's not every day that your friends drop news like this!"
Kaito wrapped his arm around Maki, pulling her in close. "We appreciate that, we'll probably need a lot of help. Thanks, you guys."
"Oh, I have an idea of what we can do later on," Kaede said, the gears clearly turning in her mind. "But question, are you planning on finding out what they are?"
"We just barely learned about them, do you really think we—"
"No need, I already know!"
Maki and Kaito spoke together, causing a moment of silence to fall over the group. Maki turned her head to look at Kaito with an amused look.
"Oh, really? I must have missed the announcement at the appointment earlier," she said sarcastically.
"I just don't expect anything other than boys," Kaito said. "I've never told you this because it's never come up before, but my family only ever has boys."
"Don't start, that's not a thing," Maki said, and Kaito gave a shrug.
"It's true, and I'll bet that trend is gonna continue with these," he said, attempting to bring his hand to her belly, but she swatted it away quickly.
"Three boys that would probably end up being exactly like Kaito would be...a lot," Kaede said. "No offense, but I hope there's at least one girl in this bunch."
"You and me both," Tenko said. "We definitely don't need three Kaito clones running around, but a Maki clone or two wouldn't be bad."
"Let's just wait and see what happens when it happens, okay?" Maki said, not wanting to think about that on top of everything else. "It's still early, and I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Fair enough," Kaito said. "But you can't stop me from thinking about it."
He had her there, and while everyone kept their hopes quiet for the rest of that lunch, trying to turn the topic from babies to what was going on in everyone else's life, Maki now had another worry to add to her now constantly growing list of fears.
Their life fell into the routine of weekly doctor's appointments to stay on top of how Maki and the triplets were doing, and almost daily visits from friends for news about the babies and mother. Kaito was happy to share the news and daily pictures of his growing babies, talking endlessly about whatever they had learned from that week's appointment to anyone who would listen, that person mostly being Kaede.
Maki, meanwhile, listened from her new favourite spot on the couch, scowling down at her rapidly growing belly, one hand placed on each side of the dome. She was still only a few months in, but looked like she was at the end of a regular pregnancy. She was beginning to feel subtle sensations inside her (which Kaito begged to try to feel when she brought it up, but she refused and would do so as long as she could), but the babies amazingly were still quite small despite her stomach size.
"The doctor said soon we might be able to see what they are, if they're in the right position," Kaito was saying from the table, making Maki's scowl deepen a bit. She was still stuck on what he'd said before about his family only having boys, the fear taking root in her mind as of late. And since they had been lucky with having triplets, there was a good chance he was right about that as well, because why not.
"And you want to find out, yeah?" Kaede asked.
"It would make things a little easier so we know what to buy, even though I'm still pretty sure it's just gonna be boys."
Kaede scribbled something down on the paper in front of her, before looking up and meeting Kaito's eyes, clear excitement in them. "Kaito, what if I said I had a way to maybe make finding out what the babies are more fun?"
"Whatever it is, Kaede, please no," Maki piped up before Kaito could say anything, "I've accepted that he's probably right so I don't even want to try to get my hopes up that it's anything different."
"Oh, I didn't know you were still awake, Maki! You were being so quiet over there, I thought you'd dozed off," Kaede said with a giggle. "I was just going to suggest maybe we could get one of those gender reveal cakes for the baby shower."
"I don't want either of those things," Maki said, shifting to try to turn to look at Kaede from over the back of the couch. "No baby shower, and no baby reveal cake."
"Come on, we have to celebrate somehow! I'm at least throwing you a shower," Kaede said definitively, jotting something down on the paper she had in front of her. "It can be small, but it's going to happen either way."
"No, Kaede— Kaito, come here and help me get up."
When her help didn't immediately arrive, she sighed and gave up, settling back in to rest as she had been.
She should have expected that Kaede wouldn't listen to her about the other thing, and should have said something when during one of the next appointments, the nurse turned the screen away from them for a few minutes without any explanation other than she had to just make sure things were developing as they should be.
Maki was suspicious, but when the screen got turned back around and she saw all three small, flickering heartbeats still there and seeming okay, she relaxed a bit.
"Okay, what was that about and what do you know?" she asked Kaito on the ride home, glaring at him from the passenger's seat. He was grinning, hands gripping the wheel, and bouncing slightly in his seat.
"Nothing," he tried to act innocent as he drove. "Don't know what you're talking about."
"You're the worst at keeping secrets, so spill it. This has to do with Kaede's idea, doesn't it?" Maki asked.
"Sorry, still don't know what you're talking about," Kaito said, though he was still bouncing slightly in his seat. "You heard the nurse, she just wanted to make sure all the little Kaito juniors were okay."
Maki scoffed, both from his comment and obvious lie. "You're the worst liar. Guess I'm gonna have to figure this out by myself, then."
"Or you could just wait like, a week," he said, before cringing at himself. "Oh, damn it, I wasn't supposed to say that."
"A week, huh?" Maki asked, instantly becoming a little anxious at the given time period. "What's happening then?"
"I've already said too much, Maki Roll," Kaito said with a dramatic sigh. "If I say anymore, who knows what will happen."
"I'll banish you to the couch for another week," Maki said.
"Aw, come on, it's already been like...how many months are you?"
He blocked a fist aimed for his shoulder with a laugh. "Okay, bad joke, but seriously, when are you gonna let me back in our bed?"
"I haven't decided yet," Maki replied. "But the more you push it, the longer you'll be banished."
He ended up earning another week of sleeping on the couch for not informing her what was happening next week, and it felt like the longest week of Maki's life. The answer was finally revealed after that week's appointment, when instead of going home, their route brought them to Kaede and Shuichi's house.
"No, I don't want to visit them or do anything today," Maki said as Kaito parked the car outside the house. She was grasping the sides of her belly, now akin to a seven months' pregnant woman's.
"You've known about this for a week, remember? Hasn't that been enough time to prepare?" Kaito asked, as he turned in his seat to her.
"I'm tired and sore and don't want to do this. Going to the doctor's was enough of an outing for today. Take me home and let me go to bed."
"Come on, it'll be okay. Kaede said she'll have a spot set up for you to sit and you can just stay there the whole time, if you want."
That offer was what convinced her, so she waited until Kaito came around to her side of the car to help her up and out. She couldn't stand up by herself anymore, and required help every time she wanted to go somewhere. As much as she hated anyone touching her, she was thankful to Kaito for how eager he was to help her move around any time she needed it.
"Up and at em, here we go," Kaito said, as he helped her out of the car seat and to her feet. She pressed a hand against her lower back, and one on top of her belly, as she adjusted to being standing once more.
"You okay?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"No, but I'll manage, I guess," she replied. Under her palm she felt the light flutterings once more, one (or more) of the tiny babies within her. While the babies were small, she didn't mind, but she was not looking forward to the future kicks she inevitably knew she'd be feeling later on.
A bunch of pink and blue balloons tied to the mailbox was the only outside decorations that indicated this was probably where they were supposed to be, and because there didn't seem to be many other cars parked outside the house, Maki hoped it meant that maybe this would be a small, intimate event and would be over rather quickly. She still didn't know what to expect, but was here now, and had to face whatever was waiting inside the house.
Kaito knocked excitedly on the door, and Kaede almost immediately answered it.
"There's the guest of honor!" she said, leaning forward to hug Maki. She allowed a hug this time (rather, couldn't refuse, but her belly prevented it from being too long, so that was okay).
"Okay, I know you're probably eager to be sitting down again, so come on in and let's get you comfortable," Kaede said, pulling out of the hug. She went back in and Kaito and Maki followed her.
The living room was decorated with the same baby blue and pink balloons, some hanging, others in bunches, each with a large question mark marked on its front. There were two banners, one on each side of the room over the tables for the appropriate colored foods and small candies, for Team Pink and Team Blue. Three small frosted white cakes sat on a table in the middle of the room, each decorated with both pink and blue candies and with the words "He or She? Open to see!" written on them. The room had obviously been decorated with care and for a very special event.
"Kaede, what-"
"I may have gone a little overboard on this party, but I just wanted the best for your babies, since this is their big day, too!"
"It look awesome!" Kaito gasped, looking around the room. "I think you did great!"
"It's going to be quite the party," Shuichi said, appearing at Kaede's side. He was wearing two badges on his shirt, one for Team Pink and one for Blue. "She's been working hard to get it all perfect."
"That's right, it's gotta be perfect, even if it's just the four of us here," Kaede said, leading Maki over to the middle table, where the cakes were, and where a comfortable, padded chair fit for a pregnant queen was set up, small footstool included. A few more bunches of balloons were tied to the chair, in groups of three. The chair looked rather comfortable despite how it was decorated, and Kaede helped Maki to sitting in it. Kaito and Shuichi stood on the other side of the chair, Kaito closer to Maki and the cakes, Shuichi on his other side.
"Do we really have to do this?" she asked, realizing where Kaede had set her spot up at, looking at the three cakes in front of her.
"You want to know what we're having, don't you?" Kaito asked, placing a hand on Maki's shoulder. She didn't bother to shoo him off.
"What happened to you knowing we were going to have three boys?" Maki asked, causing Kaito to splutter a moment.
"I'm still sure of it, I'll just wait to confirm it with the cakes!" he replied. He picked up one of the plastic knives, offering it to Maki to do the honors, but she shook her head.
"I want nothing to do with this, it's all you," she said, moving her hand to rest on top of her stomach.
"Are we all ready, Kaede?" Kaito asked, knife poised above the first cake.
"Ready if you are," she said with a nod. "It was really hard to, but I resisted looking at the results so I could be as surprised as everyone else."
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Kaito cut into the first cake.
"Pink, I see pink!" Kaede squealed, as Kaito pulled the knife out of the cake and used it to lift the small slice he'd cut up. "That's one girl."
"So it is," Kaito said, pure genuine surprise in his voice. He replaced the slice where it had been before quickly wiping the knife off and moving to the second cake, slightly leaning over Maki to do so.
"'Scuse me, Maki Roll," he said, as he cut into the second cake, everyone watching with bated breath.
"That one is also pink," Shuichi observed when the second slice had been lifted up.
"Two little girls and one more cake," Kaede said.
"Kaito, are you getting nervous for what's in the last one?" Maki asked, her voice sounding amused for the first time during this whole thing.
"Me? Nah," Kaito said, "I'm cool as a cucumber."
His slightly shaking hand disproved that. He moved around Maki's chair, Shuichi scooting over to give him access to that cake. He took a deep breath as he wiped the knife off with a napkin, before holding the knife over the last cake. He cut into it once, twice, being careful not to expose the colored frosting inside too quickly, before using the knife to lift the slice up as he had with the other slices.
"Blue! It's definitely blue," he said quickly upon seeing the icing, his grin returning.
"So that's two girls and a boy, aw," Kaede said.
"I guess you were wrong," Maki said. "Your family doesn't just have boys."
"There's still one boy, so I was sort of right, though," Kaito said, returning the last slice back into its place. "So, do we actually eat the cakes now, or…?
"If you want to, I can grab plates," Kaede said. "But you have to let me take a picture of all the cakes and their results first!"
"As long as you don't post it anywhere," Maki said, and Kaede shook her head.
"No, I was just going to send it to those who couldn't come today," Kaede said. "They all had work or school, and promised that they would meet up sometime to give you your baby gifts another time, but as long as they all got the results, they were all okay with not being here."
Kaede had pulled out her phone amidst the explanation, and was setting up to try to fit all three cakes into the picture, wanting their frosting centers to be as visible as possible for anyone who wanted to see it.
Once she had gotten a few good shots, she went to grab the plates.
"I'll take a piece of the blue cake," Kaito said pretty much to himself, serving himself a slice before Kaede could offer.
"Naturally," Maki muttered.
"And you, Maki? What kind would you like?" Kaede asked.
"I don't want any, thanks," she replied.
"But there's so much here, you're not gonna have any?" Kaito asked, his mouth already full of his first bite of cake, his mouth spraying a few crumbs as he spoke. She made a face and shook her head.
"No, thanks."
"Come on, this cake is for you and the babies," Kaede said, picking up one of the pink pieces and plating it for Maki. She tried handing it to her friend, but Maki still refused.
"Really, I don't want it," she said. Finally, Kaede relented, handing the plate over Maki to Shuichi before starting to dish herself a piece.
"That was fun," Kaito said, as he polished off his piece of cake. "Glad I didn't let the cat out of the bag about this part, huh, Maki Roll?"
Maki just rolled her eyes, and Kaede gasped.
"You almost told her?" Kaede asked.
"She almost had me tell her, but I caught myself, don't worry," Kaito said. "She just knew that she had a week to prepare for this, but nothing else other than that."
"It was still too much information," Maki said, looking to Kaede. "But I do appreciate the party, so thanks."
"It's not over just yet, though," Kaede said, setting her plate on the table and bending to retrieve something from under it. She came back with a large gift bag that had somehow stayed hidden under the cake table throughout the reveal.
"You didn't think I wouldn't have presents, did you?"
"Alright!" Kaito cheered, "we don't have a lot yet, so anything will help."
"I didn't know what the babies were, so I didn't get anything too gender specific," Kaede explained, as she moved the middle cake from in front of Maki to replace it with the bag. "But I think you'll like what I got, anyway!"
Maki tipped the bag over so she could reach into it, pulling out the crinkly tissue paper. With it came two sets of three baby bibs, one set with the words "Feed me first!" written across the front, the other with "We stick together" across them.
"These are...not terrible," Maki said, picking up and looking at the words on the bibs.
"I know that's your way of saying thanks, so you're welcome!" Kaede said with a giggle. "Keep going, there's more."
Pulling out the rest of the tissue paper yielded more sets of things made for multiple babies, including some onesies, one of them with "copy" and the other two with "paste" written across them.
"I thought you guys might be able to have some fun with pictures with those ones," Kaede said, as Maki held the little clothes up to look over them.
"They could be fun, yeah," Maki said. "At least for you, I don't know how often we'll dress them in them, though."
"That's also a thing, I didn't know what size to get since we don't know what size the babies will be when they come, so I just got newborn size."
"That's okay, I'm sure they can wear them at least once," Kaito said, joining Maki in looking at the clothes.
"There's one more little thing for them, at the bottom of the bag," Kaede said, and with one more reach into the bag, Maki pulled out three little teddy bears, 'A', 'B', and 'C' stitched across each respective bear's belly.
"It seemed easier to get them like that rather than waiting for names," Kaede said, getting excited over what she had just said. "Oh, have you guys even thought of any names yet?"
"I want the boy to be Kaito Jr.," Kaito said immediately.
"That's...probably not going to happen," Maki said. "But otherwise no, no names yet."
"There's still time, hopefully," Kaito said, this last part a little quieter than the other part of his sentence.
"There better still be time," Maki said. "We're not even close to being ready for them. There's still so much to do, and-"
"Hey, it's okay," Kaito said, placing a hand on Maki's shoulder. "There's still time, you're only five months."
"Yeah, but they'll probably be born earlier than normal babies," Maki said, panic rising slightly as her mind raced with the possibilities.
"Maki, hey, it's okay, you'll get it all done before they get here!" Kaede said, placing her hand on her friend's other shoulder. "Shuichi and I can help Kaito, we'll get everything all set up and ready for the babies, don't you worry."
"You better be right," Maki said, calming back down a bit. "I really don't need to be completely unprepared for these triplets I wasn't even prepared for in the first place."
"We'll get everything done, okay? It'll be fine," Kaito said, gently squeezing her shoulder.
"Maybe you should start heading home so you can relax and keep yourself nice and calm," Kaede said, already beginning to pack things in the gift bag for Maki. "It's been a long day for you, and maybe having the party on the same day as your appointment wasn't the smartest idea."
"That's probably a good idea," Shuichi agreed.
"Okay," Maki said, letting go of the small breath she'd been holding. "Yeah, home sounds like a good idea."
"You can take one of the cakes if you want," Kaede offered.
"Sure, let's just go," Maki said. "Sorry, Kaede, but thanks for the party and the gifts."
Kaede moved away so Kaito could stand by Maki's side, and he gently helped her to standing once more. They slowly walked across the room, Shuichi and Kaede both trailing behind them carrying a cake and the gift bag, respectively.
"Okay, almost there, now," Kaito said once they were outside and on the path, nearly to the car. "You okay?"
"Again, no, but I'll manage," Maki said, the weariness now obvious in her voice. He helped her get into the car and buckled in, taking their things from Kaede and Shuichi and settling them in the backseat, before getting into the car himself.
"Thanks again, you guys," he said, waving as he started the car.
Kaede and Shuichi stood and waved on the sidewalk until the car was out of sight.
The remaining time of her pregnancy was literal hell on Earth for Maki.
Her belly grew weekly as her little passengers grew stronger. The day came when an offhand touch from Kaito made him feel one of the baby's kicks. His immediate reaction was awe, and from that moment, wanting to feel every single kick of life from one of his unborn children. At first Maki was still able to push his hand away, but as she grew, her attempts grew weaker, until she just didn't care and grudgingly allowed him to touch her belly as she rested in either the blanket nest she'd made on the couch, or the one in their bed.
His current favorite game was to balance one of the soft, small baby toys they'd collected on Maki's belly, and see how long it took for one of the babies to knock it off of it with a few strong, well placed kicks.
"It's so crazy," he remarked quietly after a little while of playing the game, once more growing bored and deciding to just use his hands again, awe in his voice as he felt another tiny limb move under his palm. "It's like they're really real now, you know?"
"I've known," she replied grumpily, one hand over her weary eyes and the other resting on the top of her full term looking belly. "I've known they've been in there for ages, playing soccer with my organs and each other."
"Yeah, but like...they're real," Kaito said. "There's three little real human babies in there. My three real little human babies."
"You mean your three little monsters that never stop moving and that made me look like this," Maki replied. "I'm huge and tired, and everything hurts, and it's all your fault."
"Yeah, but you're creating life, and all those things come with it," Kaito said, rubbing his hand across the side of her belly. "Plus, I still think you're as pretty as ever."
"Shut up, you're just saying that."
"Am not. I wouldn't lie to you, you're carrying my babies, and you look beautiful because of it," Kaito said, leaning in to kiss the side of her stomach. Maki raised her hand from her eyes a bit to see Kaito continuing to kiss the side of her belly. He popped one eye open and looked up, catching her eyes and making her quickly cover her own, making him chuckle.
"I saw that, Maki Roll," he said, leaning in for another kiss. "But seriously, I mean it."
Her face was flushed and warm, but she kept it covered from him.
"You're still just saying that," she muttered. "I know I look huge and gross. You don't have to try to sugarcoat it for me, it's okay."
"What do I have to do to convince you that I really mean it?" he asked, pressing his head against her stomach, making her reveal her face to him once more. She could see that he did look pretty serious, and lowered her hand a little more.
"You really mean it?" she asked in a quiet voice, and he quickly nodded against her belly.
"I love you to the moon and back, especially now, when you're like this."
He turned his head and gave her belly another little kiss, giving a small chuckle when he felt another tiny, but forceful nudge under his palm.
"And I love you, you, and you," he said, moving his hand as he said each greeting, not knowing if he was touching the spot that a baby occupied, but hoping he was close enough.
This became a routine, any time he found Maki resting in bed, he would slide up beside her (regardless if she was awake or not), and lift her shirt to kiss her belly, giving each baby a greeting through a tiny kiss, and giving an extra one meant for Maki. Sometimes she responded to them, but most of the time she was resting too comfortably to (or was trying to ignore him), but either way, Kaito did it.
Feeling Kaito's little kisses and sometimes words of encouragements when she was feeling low was what ultimately helped Maki get to the magic week that the doctor gave them to aim for for the babies to be at the generally thought of 'safe' week. And then another week after that, until she was further into it than she thought she'd be, and was told that it would be safe for the babies to come pretty much any time now.
The last night before they would actually become parents, a feeling that Kaito couldn't explain caused him to spend extra time with the babies before going to bed, and he did so by taking time to kiss each and every one of Maki's stretch marks as he quietly talked to the babies and told them how proud of them he was for them getting to this point.
Things happened pretty quickly the next morning in regards to her labor suddenly starting, and that day at some points was a scary blur that neither of them would later remember, but that evening, as Kaito looked into the tiny, pink faces of each of his children as they were born, it didn't matter.
They had first welcomed one of their little girls into the world, her lungs announcing her arrival the moment she had been delivered into the doctor's hands, even for being a few weeks early. While she was getting cleaned up and assessed, the doctor delivered her sister two minutes later, her lungs almost as strong as her sister's had been. When it came time to welcome the single little boy into the world, it took the doctor having to actually announce that he had come into the world. He was as quiet as he was small, but an immediate assessment showed that he had just come into the world so peacefully at the hands of the doctor that he thought he'd still been inside his mother, and a quick clean up had rectified his silent birth, his little (though delayed) cry was eventually music to their ears.
"They're here, and they're all so beautiful, Maki Roll," Kaito said, gently stroking what visible hair from under her thin hospital cap was visible with his hand, tears in his eyes. "Can you hear them? The nurses are taking real good care of them, said they're all really strong."
Even with Kaito's babbling, she heard the tiny cries, the signs that her babies were alive and really here.
"I'm gonna go see them, but I love you, okay? I'll be right back, promise."
She couldn't do much but lay there on the operating table as the doctor continued working on her, as Kaito left her field of vision and went off to the other side of the room to see the babies again.
When he returned some time later, it was with full arms.
"Hey, I have two little girls here who really want to meet you."
She turned her head to see Kaito sitting in the chair by the bed, cradling his daughters in the crooks of his arms, the only indication of who they were marked by the A and B on their caps that the nurse had written in marker to be able to tell the girls apart.
"Girls, this is your awesome mom, Maki Roll," Kaito said, and despite everything that had happened the last few months and how not ready to see her babies Maki was, she couldn't stop the tears that welled up in her eyes.
"They're so beautiful, Maki," Kaito repeated with a sniffle and a small chuckle. "I love them so much."
The girls were trying to look around as best they could, but the brightness of the room seemed to be making that a little hard for them. Despite that, Maki immediately noticed something about the babies.
"They look identical," Maki croaked, "how will we tell them apart?"
"I was thinking that their hats will be a big help for that, at least until we come up with names," Kaito said.
"I literally have no ideas," Maki said, "I didn't think about it."
"We'll think of something, don't worry," Kaito said. "Now, let me go grab the other baby, I'm sure he's ready to meet you, too."
She watched as he slowly stood and left her sight again, but he returned fairly quickly, this time with just one baby. His hat was simply marked "C".
"Kaito Jr., I'd like you to meet your awesome mom and the love of my life, Maki," Kaito said proudly. The same wave of emotion overtook Maki, as fresh tears welled in her eyes as she saw her tiny, newborn son.
"He's perfect," she said, "but is he identical to the girls?"
"Don't know yet, the doctor said we'll see as they get bigger," Kaito said. "But, um...can he really be Kaito Jr. or do you want me to change it?"
Maki sighed, but nodded. "I guess it wouldn't be right if he wasn't named after you."
Kaito grinned. "Thanks. Also, I don't know how you feel about them, but I thought of some possible names for the girls."
"What are they?"
"How do you feel about Luna and Nova? I'm sure you get the meanings."
She only had to think about it for a moment. "Of course I do, and they're fine with me."
"Great," Kaito said, his large grin returning once more. "We can decide if they should all get middle names, but I feel better with them having first names now."
"Me, too."
A silence fell between them, as Maki looked at her son's tiny, pink face and tried to wrap her head around the fact that he was hers. And that the two little girls she'd seen just a few minutes before (now named Luna and Nova, respectively) were hers as well.
After a quick little kiss to her son's cheek, Kaito stood once more and took the baby back to be with his sisters, as the doctor and staff worked to finish up the delivery. Kaito and Maki were soon moved from the operating room to a new room, while the babies went to the nursery for a while to see if they could be okay to stay with their parents while they were in the hospital.
"I can't believe they're here, and not in you anymore," Kaito said, staring dazedly at Maki, who was now laying in a proper hospital bed, propped slightly by some pillows.
"It's weird not feeling them move around, that's for sure," she replied.
"I guess we should call Kaede and tell her she's an unofficial auntie now?" Kaito asked, but Maki shook her head.
"Just text her, and tell them they can come visit tomorrow. There's no way I want to excite them all up and possibly have them come here tonight. I just want to sleep now," she said, laying back on the pillow, her eyes fluttering closed.
"I can imagine," Kaito said with a nod, pulling out his phone to send a quick text. "But first I want to see if we can have the babies with us."
Maki made a quiet noise of agreement, and it wasn't too long after that they learned that they could, in fact, do just that.
The nurses brought the babies into the room in clear bassinets, all three of them now all cleaned and dressed properly. The caps were still on their heads, and they looked just as perfect as they had when they had been newly born.
Maki got the chance to properly hold her babies, first holding the twins, one in each arm, admiring their perfect and identical little faces, while Kaito held his son. It was hard to tell who each of the babies looked like, but it didn't matter, because they were there, and they were theirs.
Sweet silence filled the hospital room that evening, as the new parents and babies bonded.
The next day, as soon as visiting hours started, Kaede and Shuichi (and all their other friends, as Kaede had obviously passed the news along during the night) were there to see those babies for themselves, each person immediately falling in love with those new little people, but all of them unable to wrap their heads around the fact that they were there, safely, as well.
And while the obstacle of the babies getting there had been crossed, many obstacles about the next few years still stood in their way, but they would overcome each as it came.
Yeah, I don't even know what this became but it was a hella fun ride to pound out in two days. hope you liked it!
happy birthday signelchan xoxo