A/n: I had an accident with the hairdye... my head now looks like it's on fire. Natural redheads cannot go blonde at home.

Chapter 4:

"'Can I do it?' he asks." She smiled, and sipped at her drink. Appearing on the living room wall, Yuko in her projected state appeared to be wearing little more than lingerie, with two girls fanning her.
"Mistress can do anything." Chanted the two girls.
"What'll it cost?" Kurogane grunted, leaning against Sakura's bedroom door to make sure neither she nor Syaoran left. Right now this was still tentative, Fay had outright refused to tell them. It was still up in the air, and if it all fell through Fay could not face telling Sakura. Mokona had been dragged out in order to act as communication.
"Well, if you require me to make a powerful enough kekkai to conceal that kind of spell…" She smiled wickedly. "I'll end up exhausted. I won't be able to work."
"You don't work now!" Interjected an irate boy's voice. "You just lay around drinking sake and…"
"Quiet Watanuki I'm conversing." The witch shushed the boy who was in the blurry peripheral of the screen before looking back at the parents to be. "I'd most certainly need someone to help out around here while I recovered." She pouted then lay back languidly, causing her breasts to practically tumble out of their thin clothing. "And it's been forever since we went on vacation…"

"Stop with the social story: what's the damn price?" Kurogane demanded.
"Mou someone's getting sympathy tantrums!" Yuko grinned maliciously. "Fathers can be so troublesome." Kurogane felt his cheeks turn slightly red, was it obvious even to the damn dimensional witch?
"Yuko-san…" Fay prompted nervously. "The price?"
"Someone needs to watch over my shop for the month after the baby is born." Yuko said straightly. "98 percent of the cases I see to are psychological, any magic you will need such as potions or items I can leave out for you." Kurogane nodded, a month was a pretty long time but it was a fair enough deal.
"Done."
"So when the baby is due… we…" Fay wondered aloud.
"Mokona will bring you to the shop," Promised Yuko. "The delivery will be here, and all of you are welcome to stay for the month Kurogane will be working."
"Why does Kuro-rin have to do all the work?" Fay asked bewilderedly. Yuko smiled softly.
"You really think I'd make you work hard after having a baby? Mother's rights, to just sit down with sake and feet up." There was a knowing smirk that made Kurogane shiver. Did Yuko have kids? The thought of her taking control of children was sickening.
"Father's." Fay corrected then smiled and shook his head. "Anyway… it's my wish, I should have to work it off it's not fair that…"
"Shut up, you." Kurogane barked.
"Kurogane wishes for the exact same thing, and is better equip to pay the price. I'll see you in… 5 and a half months. Ja." And the transmission cut off.

Fay placed one hand on his stomach, he looked very vague. Kurogane absently blew at his bangs, unsure of what to say in the situation.
"Oi… you okay?"
"Fine… We should tell the kids." Fay mumbled as Mokona hopped up and kissed him on the cheek in celebration. Kurogane watched in a slightly dazed state, it felt a lot more real now. Fay standing up and crossing the room didn't look remotely pregnant (for his shirt had long since been put back on), but he came off as mother… uh… fatherly in just his gait. Kurogane stepped to one side and the door fell open, Sakura and Syaoran had been leaning against it trying to hear and tumbled to the floor in a heap.
"Fay-san!" Sakura whispered softly, as she clambered onto her feet. She had tears threatening to fall from her emerald eyes and looked so apologetic.
"It's ok." Fay promised her.
"It's not ok… why didn't you say anything?" She was helped slowly to her feet by Syaoran. "I… I'm sorry I behaved like…"
"It's fine." Fay said firmly. "Now stop worrying yourself over this okay. It's sorted now so…" He paused and smiled. "Come on, you... can help me with the dinner?" He offered her his hand and she stared incredulously, shocked that he was being so nice to her after she had behaved in her opinion rather horrendously, before taking it enthusiastically.

And all hell was loose.

Sakura had no mute button, and she even seemed to have Fay excited, not that Mokona needed exciting. Syaoran and Kurogane quickly became overloaded with 'baby this' and 'baby that' converstions to the point two weeks later when Kurogane felt his head would explode.
"You, come with me!" He barked at Syaoran, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him from the apartment unceremoniously, while the pregnant blond and the hyperactive girl sat talking. "We're going feather hunting… anything to get away from this." Goddamn female hormones would be the death of him.
"Ne, Kuro-rin we're out of milk could you…" The door slammed shut in response and Fay grinned guiltily. "I guess we are a little loud."
"No I think he just feels awkward given the circumstances." Sakura mumbled apologetically
"Kuro-Kuro's gonna be a daddy and that's a big step." Mokona chirped. The 4 month pregnant bishie blinked, he hadn't even thought of that. Kurogane had acted as calm and cool as usual but… to randomly have it sprung on you that you're going to be a father with a gay male magician who fell in love with you. Kurogane's mind must be blowing several kinds of fuses.

He would discuss it with him later, as currently he was off chasing pigeons with his katana (as manly men do when they want to get feathers for the pretty princess). Fay tried to put himself in Kurogane's shoes in the given situation… he shivered violently. In a way that was scarier than his own tentative present.
"He'll be okay." Sakura reassured him.
"Of course, I'll talk to him after you all have gone to bed, in the mean time maybe we should not annoy him…" Fay grinned cheekily and his blue eyes lit up in mischief. "Too much." Sakura giggled and covered her face with her hands.

"You didn't get any milk then?" Fay asked softly, Sakura and Syaoran had long since retired to bed and Mokona had finally taken the hint. Syaoran and Kurogane had returned victorious with the feather, so the princess was in a preternatural sleep as opposed to Syaoran who had fallen asleep at her bedside, like a loyal lover.
"Tcheh." Now that it had been mentioned, Fay realised that Kurogane was indeed being more offhand than was usual for him. He had been so wrapped up in the babytalk with Sakura he hadn't even noticed.
"Okay… but you'll be the one complaining when there's no milk on your cereal tomorrow." He taunted. Kurogane looked up in irritation.
"You're too calm." He said eventually. The blond wizard raised one eyebrow before clambering over the back of the sofa to sit beside him. "And don't do that you fricken idiot!"
"It's fine," He batted his hand in dismissal. "What do you mean too calm?" Fay queried, far too close for comfort. Kurogane glared as though the answer was more than a little obvious. When Fay didn't relent he growled.
"We're moving worlds again… we don't know what's coming our way." Fay smiled brightly.
"We never do." He said in a singsong voice. Kurogane sighed and leaned back against the back of the sofa.

"We could be thrown headfirst into a war, a famine… a drought." He warned seriously, and the sorceror just tucked his knees up towards his chest, hindered slightly by the small bump. Whereas the baby-bump was by no means large for a four month gone pregnancy, on his thin frame it was beginning to seem huge.
"That's always a possibility."
"Why the hell aren't you more worried?" Kurogane asked. "With the… the… thing!" Fay chuckled softly.
"It's a baby Kuro-wan, you can say it." Fay leaned over and began tussling Kurogane's hair, much the the guard's annoyance. He figured it was out of line to punch a pregnant guy though. "And I'm not worried, life is too short to worry over every little thing that could go wrong, should the situation arise, we'll find a way around it," The blond's smile didn't fade in the slightest under Kurogane's glowering.
"And if that guy in your home world wakes up…" He asked sternly, and Fay faltered and the hand that hand been toying with Kurogane's black spiky hair froze.
"He won't." He whispered defiantly, his eyes glazing a little.
"Yeah well, it wouldn't kill you to act a LITTLE more concerned, bastard," Kurogane grumbled.

"Hyuu… Kuro-shii is worried for me." Fay teased, laying his head against Kurogane's shoulder. The black-clad warrior angrily shrugged him off.
"Say what the hell you like, if you get yourself killed I don't care, but if you act like there's nothing wrong all the time, you'll put others in danger." He stood up and Fay piped in quickly.
"It's okay… to admit you're scared." His voice was almost desperate as he spoke: addressing the father of his child.
"Tcheh, he's not after me." Kurogane unknowingly still on the subject of Ashura, the blond shook his head furiously.
"I mean about the baby." For a moment their eyes locked and Fay stared unblinkingly up at the man he had fallen in love with.
"What makes you think I'm scared?" Kurogane questioned, lowering his voice and looking away as Fay took hold of his wrist.
"What have you done to prove you're not?" Fay countered, trying to tug Kurogane back to sitting down so that they were on even levels. "Ne, give me your hand." He ordered.
"Screw you, let go," The warrior tried to wrench his hand out of the magician's vicegrip but he did not relent.
"Ne, Kuro-ga, trust me." Fay purred and with a surprising amount of strength, pulled Kurogane back down by his arm.

"She moves a lot you know…" Fay said once Kurogane had reluctantly returned to a comfortable position. "You can try feel her if you want…"
"Tcheh, like that's possible."
"It is it is! Syaoran-kun told me that usually it's around 5 or 6 months, but because I'm naturally thin we tried it earlier with Sakura and she was going crazy."
"Hime or…" Kurogane awkwardly nodded towards Fay's swollen stomach.
"The BABY… you can say it Kuro-myuu." Fay smiled. "She's not moving now, but when she next does…"
"Why are you so damn convinced it's a girl anyways?" Kurogane barked for lack of anything better to say.
"Wishful thinking."
"Yeah well, there's not been a girl born into my family for six generations, you're screwed," Fay sighed heavily and nodded. He could resign himself to a boy he supposed, but he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to look it in the eye.

"So… we're ok?" Fay asked eventually, slipping his hand onto his stomach where it had practically taken up residence. Kurogane shrugged.
"Guess so." He grunted in the most reassuring way he was capable of before standing up. As he was heading into the bedroom Fay's voice met his ears once again, this time tentative and innocent:
"Ne, Kuro-tou… what happens… when you go home?"

A/n: Uh oh. Good point Fay!
The speed at which I type the next chapter is directly proportional to the amount of reviews received.