Argh! It hasn't been long since I posted chapter one and I'm already, somehow, regretting it, I feel like I made it too crappy. Since it was just copy-pasted from word it does look lame (besides me feeling mentally tired). So I'll try to go over the weekend through chapter one and correct some mistakes and re-write some scenes (tough I think I should do that first before posting chapter two, I don't quite know about it)
PS: I don't know if I made it clear last chapter, but neither Free! Or any of its characters belong to me; they are property of KyoAni.
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"…As much, as I'd like the past
Not to exist, it still does,
And as much, as I'd like, to feel like
I belong here, I'm just as scared as you…"
-"Lost in paradise", Evanescence.
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After the initial awkward silence, laughter suddenly filled the room. "Excuse me, Hazuki-kun, but may I ask what is it you find so funny?" Inquired Irie, slightly annoyed by Nagisa's reaction.
"Nothing really, Irie-sensei, just that I never took you for a joker, specially with that serious look of yours, you remind me a lot of my best friend in that aspect," answered the blond as cheerful as if he truly believed that what the doctor had said was only an outburst of senseless humor. After that, he started scratching his cheek and furrowed his brow, deep in tought as he could get "besides, Rei-chan told me many times that it was biologically impossible for men to conceive children, as I have joked about it many times myself." He finished his explanation with a wide smile.
The office remained silent for a few minutes before Irie decided it was his turn to talk. "Just as your friend said, it was impossible, but you see Hazuki-kun, as of recently there is a sickness named MP3REG36, or commonly know as 'The Uke Flu'.""'The Uke Flu'?" This time, it was Gou who asked the question, concerned of his friend's probable condition.
"Yes. As you may know, Hazuki-kun, Matsuoka-san, in all yaoi relationships, there is always an Uke and a Seme, in other, more simpler words, the Uke is the one who is penetrated while the Seme is the one who…"
"I think we already got it." Gou said as she noticed Nagisa's face going pale, as straightforward and indiscreet as he was, he was very timid when it came to sex talks.
"Ok. However, 'The Uke Flu' is a mutation of the male body, it creates a womb in their abdomen and makes it possible to have children." He waited a little for his words to sink in, only when they did, did he continue. "It has three stages, so, if you are already experimenting morning sickness, as you have told me, you must be already in stage three; therefore, the virus must have been inside you little more than three months. Have you been with an infected Uke?"
"…how?" Was all Nagisa could mutter at the time."Well, as far as we know, the first infected Uke, Misaki Takahashi, had recently come from a vacation trip in South America, he was kidnapped and used as an experiment. Apparently, his kidnapper was some kind of medical scientist and created the virus." Nagisa could only stare in atonishment at one unspecified point in his leg, he swallowed hard, his mind finally accepting the tought that maybe something as illogical as what he was being told, might be actually true.
He then, forced himself to look up. "So, you're saying this was the result of a mad scientist's experiment?"
"If you want to think it that way." He cleared his throat and his voice turned a little but more severe "Now, Hazuki-kun, I want to ask you one important question, are you going to keep the baby?" Doubt spread all over the blond's features, he hadn't tought about it, now, in his university life, was too soon to be thinking about raising a family. "You might want to discuss it with your Seme."
His Seme?! Magenta eyes went wide at the statement, he shook his hand before him in negation "Rei-chan and I… we're not… a couple or anything like that…" now was the doctor's turn to look surprised.
"I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood things, my mistake." Irie apologized.
"Nothing to worry about, Irie-sensei, after all, you might think they are indeed a couple from the way Nagisa clings to Rei-kun all the time." Nagisa could only blush at his friend's words "Anyway, I think we better head back, we already took too much time from your schedule, I'm sure you're busy."
"Ok then, come back when you have the answer, Hazuki-kun, have a safe trip."
"Thank you, Irie-sensei." They both bid goodbye and headed towards the train station.
Once they arrived they sat at a bench and watched the people across them climb onto their respective transport. "Do you plan on saying something to Rei-kun as of yet?" Asked Gou, cautiously.
"I don't know, Gou-chan, you know how attached he is to science and stuff like that, he wouldn't believe it." Said the blond, with a sad sight. "Besides, it's not like he should care, I mean, why would he, anyways?" He shrugged and stared at the thin air, as if trying to clear the mess inside his mind.
"Because he is your best friend, he will care," the red-headed girl stood up, putted her hands on her hips and stared at her friend, infuriated at his hopelessness "and I think he will try to help you out through this. You should trust him."
"He doesn't have to take care of it, it's not like it's his responsibility or something." Gou sighed at Nagisa's response.
"Well, if you say Rei-kun is the father then he does have responsibility in all this." Nagisa blushed, only then had he realized that he had, unconsciously, acknowledged Rei as the other parent (not like he had gotten engaged in those situations with anyone else, anyways). Nagisa's eyes started to moisture as he imagined all the possible rejection scenarios, none of them were very polite, by the way. "Don't start crying now, Nagisa, I'm not going to baby you and you know it. Whatever the circumstances were you've gotta confront them as an adult. Period." She hadn't meant to be rough, but she had to, or either Nagisa would've started crying non-stop, and she, as everyone else, hated to see the bubbly blond with a sad face. "I'm sure you'll get through it, you're a strong person, Nagisa-kun." Then, the train arrived, ending whatever conversation they could've had.
Rei was never a person to give a subject more attention than it deserved. Or at least, that applied to any subject but Nagisa and swimming; ever since meeting the blond, his world had changed, for the better mostly. He had learned the deep value of friendship and also found one of the greatest mysteries he would ever encounter through his life. His friend was a subject worth a thousand scientific journals and not even with millions of days of studies would he ever discover his every secrets. Or at least, that was what he had tought once.
Rei discovered that, whenever the blond was near, his heartbeat would increase, his voice would tremble nervously and he would find himself pushing up his glasses more times that he could ever remember. After looking in books, browsing through the internet and —much to his embarrassment— talking about it with his Senpais. In the end, after all the thought he gave into it, he concluded this could only mean one thing: physical attraction.
He feared not the idea that he might possibly be homosexual, nor the fact that he started having romantic feeling towards his best friend, but oh how he feared the idea that the sentiment might not be returned. Every time he tought about it, he would feel a piercing pain go through his chest, just like a little, ice-cold dagger making its way to Rei's heart. As he had read in many, well informed, trustworthy knowledge sources (Ahem, aka: Shōjo manga he hid very well under his mattress, little did he know that Nagisa read every single volume he had and was very aware of his secret hobbie), he ought to confess. If not, he wouldn't ever know if his feeling were returned, and he knew very well from his Shōjo mang… err his knowledge sources, that never knowing his romantic interest's feelings was way worse than being rejected, so, in order to put an end to all that anguish suspense, he had planned a perfect confession, he would've had taken Nagisa to a fun theme park and, in some sort of wheel of fortune, when they were at the top of it, he would talk about his undying feelings for the blond. It would've been beautiful and they would've lived happily ever after.
Or at least, that's what would've happened if he hadn't screwed up like he did.
Because he was sure he screwed up.
Ever since that troublesome day, he hadn't talked to Nagisa unless it was necessary, and that was something to worry about.
He had also deducted, through observation, that his blond friend was having severe abdominal aches, he might think he hid it well, but Rei's eyes were the hardest ones to fool. That aside from the extreme exhaustion, almost to the grade where the pink-eyed boy wasn't being his bubbly usual self. Ot at least so tought Rei.
He scolded himself for the hundredth time that day for being thinking of his friend, again. And tried to focus on his homework. But his concentration was quickly broken by the sound of an opening door, which indicated the arrival of his roommate.
"Welcome back, Nagisa-kun, how were things at the hospital?" He asked, trying not to sound too worried, or his friend would suspect of him.
"Things went… well, I think." Now, 'well' wasn't his normal answer. "The doctor said it was probably exhaustion from my overworking myself." It was a lie. Rei knew that much.
Why would he need to lie to him?! Had he gotten some kind of unknown disease that was incurable at the time?! Or maybe a cronical, slowly-degrading one?! Had that sentence been his last breath?! How much time did he had, anyways. Day? Hours? A few seconds? Maybe, if he putted enough effort into it, he could find a way to… wait a minute, he was making rushed conclusions, he needed to take a deep breath and talk calmly with his friend.
"Is something the matter, Nagisa-kun?" He asked, worry too evident in his voice. The other one just shook his hands in front of him, saying a mimic 'no'.
"It's nothing, Rei-chan." Assured the blond.
There was wary silence between them. Both knowing something was off. Both fearing the reaction of the other.
"If nothing's wrong, as you say, you might want to come study, finals are coming soon." Rei smiled warmly and patted the space on the desk right beside him, Nagisa sat at his side and opened the physics book, flipping through the pages and occasionally taking notes on it.
It had gone like that for a few hours before it grew dark, then, Rei decided it was best to call it off. "I think we did enough for today, Nagisa-kun." He yawned and stretched his arms over his head. "Let's go to sleep."
Nagisa nodded, somehow timidly. "Can I…?" He started, not daring to finish the sentence.
"What is it, Nagisa-kun?"
"Can I… sleep with you tonight?" Rei opened his eyes wide, this he had not expected. "There, I knew it sounded stupid, sorry to bother you…"
"I guess you can." He said, scrubbing with his left hand the back of his neck.
"What?"
"I said you could, Nagisa-kun, only let me make it more comfortable, one minute please." Nagisa watched, slightly amused, as Rei re-accommodated the covers and sheets of the bed and got his penguin plushy pillow from the tornado leftover that was his bed.
After the purple-eyed boy finished with his obsessive-compulsive attack of order and cleaning freak, Nagisa got into the bed and rolled a few times in it before it was now a little messy, he then patted to his side, inviting Rei to come over.
Rei doubted no longer than two seconds and got inside if the covers, engulfing both himself and the little blond besides him; even tough they were just inches away, the taller one felt as thus was not enough, and, as if Nagisa was reading his thoughts, he felt two arms wrap around his torso and connect in his upper back, he could only respond by wrapping his own around the shoulders of the smaller one and bringing him closer. Nagisa inhaled the sweet scent of Rei's clothes.
"Nee, Rei-chan?" He whispered.
"What is it, Nagisa-kun?"
"Can you promise me one thing?"
"Hmm?"
"Will… will you stay with me, no matter what?"
"Of course, you can count with me."
"Thanks. Good night, Rei-chan."
Rei felt the blond relax in his arms and slowly drift to sleep, and, when he tought Nagisa wouldn't notice, he placed a tender kiss in his forehead, feeling closer to him than ever.
"Sweet dreams, Nagisa-kun." And then, he got himself to sleep.
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Ok, so I wanted this super sweet, heart-warming scene between Rei and Nagisa before dropping the bomb; I'm just not ready to write his reaction as of yet, I still want it to remain a mystery for a bit longer. But know that he will know, just not in next chapter, because chapter three is going to focus on… *drums playing* ¡RinTori! I wasn't sure about this whole thing, if I should make RinHaru, SouMako and MomoTori, or either MakoHaru, SouMomo and RinTori. But, as you might have already notice, I have a special weakness for Shark boy and pretty boy being together.
I probably already bore you, so I'm just gonna say: See you next watery time…
Matane!