A/N: A shoutout to OceanAngel94, chickadeeyasee, Myrskyluoto, Charmsrule and shizuka for the heartening words and comments! I dedicate this new sequel to you all :)

This is a sequel to:

1) Consumed by your fire

2) Kindles and sparks

As this story would continue off from where "Kindles and sparks" stopped, I suggest reading the first two stories also :)

PS: Throughout the story, the way in which the 2 main characters are called will switch between these:

Tatsumi Souichi: Souichi (in his own POV) / Sempai (in Morinaga's POV)

Morinaga Tetsuhiro: Tetsuhiro (in his own POV) / Morinaga (in Souichi's POV)

Warning: This story is Yaoi and contains male pregnancy.

Disclaimer: As before, Koisuru Boukon does not belong to me.

Chapter 1: Unfurling

xxx Souichi xxx

In the late afternoon light, Souichi rounded the bend of the walking path in the park, stretching his legs in a brisk walk. The late September air was crisp, carrying a woody fragrance. Leaves swirled prettily around Souichi's feet. Dr. Hako had recommended light exercise starting from his third month onward to prevent excessive weight gain and lethargy. The daily exercise had indeed proven uplifting on both his body and mind.

After finishing his routine, Souichi sat at his customary bench by the playground, taking a sip of red kiichigo leaf tea from his thermos. Morinaga had bought the tealeaves recently and nagged at Souichi to drink it daily, quoting its benefits for pregnancy. Leaning back on the bench, he replaced the thermos cap and let his hand rest on his womb, feeling the slight rise beneath the cashmere. He hoped the baby was growing well inside, his tiny miracle. The autumn bluster set the tree branches swaying, the shaa-ing sound peaceful and soothing. Souichi closed his eyes for a moment, savouring the quiet time together with the life inside of him.

The days were passing quickly, what with his intensive research and thesis writing. Morinaga was also tied up with his responsibilities at the company, currently in Tokyo for a rotation around the other departments in S Pharmaceuticals. In less than a year, he would officially start his position as a chemist. They had not discussed the imminent transfer yet but Souichi knew that the issue was never far from their minds.

His first trimester was over and with it his nausea and fatigue had also receded. Souichi had taken advantage of his regained vitality to quicken the pace of his research, to Morinaga's distress. However, he had had to do it so that he could complete most of the lab work on hand. Luckily, his hard work for the past two years had not been for naught; Souichi would be finished with the quota of six research papers for Prof. Fukushima in three years rather than the usual four.

Souichi wanted to take a year of absence from the program before he started showing. At the moment, his heavy sweaters and coats were keeping his condition hidden from his colleagues. He did not wish for any unwanted attention or trouble from school, or any of it to spill over to Morinaga should Prof. Fukushima find out about their relationship. His lab work should be finished in a month. After that, he could stay home for the year to have the baby, write his thesis and perhaps do some ad- hoc research reviews for some of the professors at the side.

The sound of childish laughter rang from the playground. The young kids around the neighbourhood had become a familiar sight to Souichi and one or two brave ones had even come to greet him when he had sat at his bench. After a few days of peeking behind the monkey bars, the other children had gradually come to recognize and greet him as 'Tat-kun', even involving him in some of their games.

"Tat-kun!" Two of the girls who had made him their buddy had spied him and were now running over, toothless grins splitting their cherubic faces. "Tat-kun! Konbanwa!"

Prepared now, Souichi took out a few candies from his pockets and hid them in one fist. "Guess which one contains the sweets today?" He stretched out his fists.

"This one, this one!" One of the girls squealed, clapping her hands merrily when Souichi smiled and opened his hand to reveal the prize.

"Correct! Now, don't go eating them all by yourselves; share them with your friends." Waving goodbye to the kids, Souichi stood up and started towards the exit, pockets considerably lightened.

The neighbourhood kids were easy to please, much like his precocious younger siblings in the past. Souichi had always been the big brother, watching out for Tomoe and Kanako for all the things in their lives, whether big or small. However, they had already been out of infancy when their mother died. Thus, Souichi did not have the first idea how to take care of an infant. The thought worried him. Morinaga had been the youngest in his family, so he had had no experience either.

There were still a few more months to go but Souichi was beginning to feel anxious. His doctor's appointment was coming up in a few days. Dr. Hako's advice on such preparations should come in handy.

"Matsuda- san, Kanako, I'm here." Souichi let himself into the two- storey house, as familiar to him as his own apartment. Since Morinaga was away on his trip, Matsuda- san had insisted on him joining them for dinner for the week. There was an unfamiliar pair of shoes at the genkan. They probably had a visitor tonight.

"Souichi-kun~! I heard about your condition, my, my, congratulations!" Souichi heard a very familiar voice but before he could scowl, Isogai Taichirou had burst out from the kitchen and was now pumping his hand enthusiastically.

Souichi remembered the endless hours of Doraemon in a darkened karaoke room and the blackmail videotape kept by the man. The cherry on top of the sundae was the fact that Isogai was best buddies with the evil gay landlord (he refused to say 'brother-in-law'). This man was his nemesis! "You-! What are you doing here! And why haven't you dragged Kurokawa away from my Tomoe!" Souichi pulled his hand from Isogai's crushing handshake and stalked irritably into the kitchen. "Matsuda- san, konbanwa."

"Ahh, Sou-kun! Welcome home. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. We are having chicken and vegetables stew tonight. Kanako, could you help me to set the table?" His aunt pottered about the kitchen, busily stirring the bubbling pots and pans on the stove.

"Hai! Nii- san, konbanwa! Isogai- san, eat loads later, ok!" Kanako grinned at the two men before she scooted off to the living area.

"So, I heard that you are pregnant. Is the father who I guess it is?" Isogai grinned wickedly, wriggling his brows.

Souichi glowered at the nosy man. That bastard knew about him and Morinaga after he had caught them kissing in a back alley of the karaoke lounge. He had used this knowledge to guilt- trip Souichi whenever he went into his anti-gay landlord tirades. He had also, unfortunately, been the one who had advised Souichi on their relationship when things had almost ended between them. But-! That didn't mean that Souichi had forgotten about the Doraemon episode and those hours of embarrassment! He ignored the man and proceeded to pour out four glasses of water.

"Ooh, I should be correct then. Why is he not here today? I want to congratulate him on managing to tame you! Hohoho."

"Oh, Morinaga- san is in Tokyo for the week! He was worried about Nii- san and his inability to cook so I told him that Matsuda- san and I would take care of him!" Kanako quipped as she reentered the kitchen.

Souichi closed his eyes, resisting the urge to punch something. His family was just weird; who the heck could take the news of him, a man, being together with another man and having his child so naturally? The Tatsumi family, apparently. With a sinking feeling, he realized that his family had probably known about his relationship with Morinaga for a long time already. The very thought caused heat to rise to his cheeks, both in indignation and embarrassment. "You people are driving me up the wall!" He slammed down the jar of water on the table, jarring the glasses.

"It's ok, Nii- san. I'm so glad you are having a baby; it takes the pressure off me, what with you and Tomoe-nii being with another man. Now I can just have five babies instead of six!" Humming happily, Kanako flitted to Matsuda- san and helped the lady taste the stew.

Souichi could only gape; what in the world had Kanako been planning? It made him happy but also a little sad that his youngest sister had had to worry on their behalves. He ruffled the girl's head as she walked past, earning a puzzled glance from Kanako. "Nii- san? Come on, let's go and eat! My baby nephew or niece needs feeding!"

"All right, all right. Stop nagging; you are starting to sound like Mori-uhh, somebody else! So troublesome." Grumbling, Souichi nonetheless picked up the tray of drinks and padded into the dining area. Together, the four of them sat down to dinner, the chicken stew bubbling merrily on the hot plate. Conversation flowed around myriad topics and Souichi soon relaxed into the cozy atmosphere.

"So, ready to be a father?" The stew was scraped to the bottom of the pot, everyone was warm and sated and the two men were sipping their beverages while Kanako helped Matsuda- san with the cleaning up.

Souichi glanced down at the slight curve of his belly, the rise visible when he leaned back. Stroking it gently, he shook his head reluctantly. Somehow, Isogai, for all his frivolity, always managed to get to the crux of the matter. "I have next to no idea about what to prepare. We don't even know where we'll be living a year down the road, so everything's in the air now." Not realising his slip, Souichi missed how Isogai's eyebrows lifted with his usage of the plural noun.

"Hmm…" Isogai took a swig from the beer can, a thoughtful look on his face. "Have you ever thought of taking Lamaze classes?"

"Yea... but those classes are usually public. A pregnant man like me would probably create a hoo-hah… That's also why I want to finish my work at school before I start showing. I don't think Japan is broad- minded enough at the moment to embrace homosexuality, much less a man being pregnant."

"Well, that's true. But you shouldn't let that stop you from learning about everything you need for the child. I think my friend might know a midwife who also teaches Lamaze classes…maybe she would be interested in giving private classes. Give me a minute…" Isogai snapped open his cell and began to type rapidly.

Souichi glanced at the black-haired man, pondering. Isogai was rather…reliable when he was not being obnoxious. Deep down (really deep down), he was grateful for the man's advice back then. If Isogai had not urged Souichi to truly think about what he wanted instead of focusing on the negatives of his relationship with Morinaga, Souichi was pretty sure that he would have pushed his lover away with his own two hands. It was Isogai who had made him realise that, rather than Morinaga always running away, it was himself who had perhaps provided the push.

"All right, my friend would get back to me about the midwife. If this goes through, you owe me another one, Sou-kun! Now, how should I make you repay me, hmm…" The insufferable man winked at Souichi before chugging the beer.

Souichi settled for glaring at the man, feeling too sated to carry out physical violence. Urghh, his family (and family friend) was weird, all right.

To be continued.

Here's the first installment of the next sequel! :) I think I'll have to name these series of writings. Maybe call it Fire!verse? Hahahahha. I do hope that it was fun to read!