Thank you for my beta Twelf Bell san~!

Enjoy!

Kanou could feel cold sweat drip down his temple. It had been so long since he had nightmares. SHIT! It was all because of that woman, the woman who was the root of all evil, the woman who was even more devilish than his demonic father, the woman who had no feelings and who ruined his childhood.

Kanou opened his eyes. Irritated, he yawned. He felt like he had been sleeping only for a short time. But he felt comfortable. Despite the cold weather, it was really warm and it smelled good... he found Ayase's chest right in front of his eyes. The chest softly moved in and out, following the soft breathing of his lover. Kanou smiled. He never knew he could call somebody his lover. Usually, all the women he slept with were all just companions. But now, he could proudly call Ayase his lover.

Ayase's hair felt soft on his forehead, and his lips were on Kanou's hair. Ayase's hands were wrapping him protectively, like a mother hen with her chicks. But since Ayase was smaller than Kanou, they looked like the letter 'g'. Kanou felt awkward. Usually, he was the one who held Ayase in his arms. He never fell asleep inside somebody's embrace like this. And Ayase's chest... was arousing him. Although it was perfectly covered by pyjamas, the nipples were kinda visible from the thin fabric of the pyjamas – a soft texture that felt like it were welcoming him to lick them, and it was only a tongue away from his face...

Stop it. Kanou bit his own tongue. It hurt but it was enough to remind him of his common sense. He was not going to attack Ayase now, even more so after Ayase had been holding him the whole night. And honestly, he felt moved by the gesture. The gentleness Ayase had shown him so many times had been deepened by this current action. By embracing Kanou tightly, Ayase had shown his concern and acceptance towards Kanou. And that meant Kanou had made another successful step. The day when Ayase'll accept him completely will come soon... hopefully.

Kanou then realized he was sleeping with his working clothes on. Heck! How come he was sleeping without pyjamas? Oh yeah... that woman and the okama's warning. Shit. Kanou decided he should call the okama later to ask for more information.

But for now, he indulged himself in Ayase's warm embrace... the nice smell of Ayase with soft gentle skin wrapped around him... If only he could lock Ayase inside this place and never let him out so people couldn't see Ayase, and that way, he could monopolize Ayase's everything... his hair, his skin, his lips, his body, their child... and Ayase's heart. If only Ayase would remember and time stopped now...

He felt weak. After getting Ayase in his arms, Kanou knew he was getting weaker and weaker. He was being strong in order to protect Ayase, but inside... he had became more vulnerable. People began to know of his main weak point of his and someday, they might use it against him. And this main weak point was of course: Ayase. If something were to happen to Ayase, he would go crazy; worse come to worst, he might be a mass murderer before commiting suicide. And since Ayase was so delicate... he would definitely break if they tortured him... no! The image gave Kanou the chills and then goosebumps. Shit. Kanou involuntarily pulled Ayase closer, grasping the thin waist protectively, causing Ayase to flinch a bit. Kanou released his grip right away, and softly patted the pretty creature.

He decided to increase the security around the house and assign Kuba to be Ayase's shadow. Or better still... maybe the okama was right. Ayase should just take leave for the whole 9 months; it would ease him of his stress and make everything easier. Kanou smiled. He had to persuade Ayase tomorrow to take leave from the college. He thought of ways to persuade Ayase... well, he could just take him under and force himself, or not let Ayase come until he said yes... but since it was now forbidden, he searched for better options.

Kanou felt more peaceful and slowly drifted back to sleep. The comfort around him was addictive. He hugged Ayase's pregnant hips gently and pulled them closer to his chest. Inside there was his child... and the thought was enough to make him feel like he was the happiest man in the entire world.

"Ah, as cute as usual, sweetheart." Someya smiled when Ayase opened the door.

"Someya-san! What a surprise! Come on in!"

"Thank you, darling. But can you call that monster from his slumber and meet me in the living room? We have something to discuss, Ayase. And later... let me take you out."

"Uh? Take me out?"

"We need to buy baby clothes don't we? And we need to check everything... I'm going to get you the best pediatrician in town and we'll see whether or not we can put Kanou inside the delivering room..."

"Someya-san!" Ayase blushed and it looked like he was ready to cry anytime soon. His teary eyes looked disbelievingly at Someya. "Who... Who told you...?"

"Well, danna-sama of course. He was bragging about it yesterday to us."

"... U...us?"

"Yes, me and (the) Kuba(s) as usual. He's such a bully. Hah! Tell me, he did not force you to do anything yesterday, did he?"

"...Ye...yes." Ayase remembered he was almost forced down. But since the phone call, Kanou was strange. "Was it your call yesterday night?"

"Oh, yes, it was me." Someya smiled. They entered the living room and Ayase rushed to serve tea. Someya looked carefully at Ayase, and sighed.

"I have no idea how he made you conceive. I mean, although you are a hermaphrodite, usually they are sterile. It will only be productive if 'pushed' if you know what I mean. How long and hard did he do you?"

Ayase went red, as red as the red button on the electric kettle. Someya smiled. Ayase's reaction told everything. But still... somehow it was making her happy. She had been looking at Kanou since childhood. They were not friends and neither were they family, but it just felt natural to have each other and to quarrel non-stop. Kanou had been gloomy and antisocial since his childhood, but it had worsened since the incident with that woman. Now, Kanou had turned better. At least he had begun to trust and value people other than himself. And he was more human-like now. All... maybe thanks to Ayase's influence. This innocent (well, not oh-so innocent anymore but innocently pure in mind) child had changed danna-sama for the better.

Or maybe for the worst.

Someya didn't know the future, but he was happy that this child was here with Kanou. Kanou needed him.

"Kanou san... wake up..."

"Nggh... give me 5 more minutes..."

"Someya-san is already here..."

Someya? What was that okama doing inside the house? Kanou massaged his temple before getting up quickly. Yeah, the problem was waiting and he had no time to sleep anymore. He looked around and found Ayase sitting beside him, smiling although looking worried.

"Yesterday... you were warm, Kanou-san. I think you might have fever... isn't it better to take a day's rest?"

"I'm fine. Just give me my suit." Kanou sat upright and patted Ayase's soft golden hair. "Don't worry, I was just tired."

"..." Ayase clearly looked worried, but he kept his silence. Kanou had been strange since last night. He was worried. Last night, Kanou was talking in his dream, mumbling something similar to a 'help' and 'why'. It was clear that he wasn't having a nice dream. Kanou was sweating drops and drops of perspiration, his body all tense and he looked tortured. Ayase couldn't help but pull the guy closer, calming him down; patting him like a child, making sure the nightmare left him. Ayase wondered maybe Kanou had never been treated like that since Kanou's body suddenly went tense and he struggled against the embrace, but after forcing his hand to stay still and keep on whispering 'it's fine' to him, Kanou finally relaxed and stopped struggling.

He fell asleep soon after that, with the warmth of Kanou's strong and masculine body on his chest. Holding Kanou's face against his chest was a risky move of course, but he felt that Kanou needed it. He remembered when he was small, his dad always pulled him closer and they embraced each other before sleeping. It was always lonely since his mother was always in the hospital for as long as he remembered, but his dad proved to be a really attentive father. Whenever Ayase had a nightmare, his dad would always whisper softly and hug him. Ayase felt safe, like he didn't care about all the monsters in the world 'cause his dad was there and his dad loved him. Maybe that was the reason he hugged Kanou. Maybe he wanted to convey the feeling that someone was always there for you...

Does that mean I'm in love with Kanou-san?

The thought of it made him blush.

"You looked awful! Yuck! Please shave before meeting a lady, at least!" Someya held her handkerchief by her mouth and pretended to act like she was sick. "Such a bad man..."

"Shut up. Where's the report? And the other matter..."

"She will arrive in Japan in 2 days. She's coming back for a work reason. Well, you know what work. Anyhow, this is the report." Someya pulled out a thick document from his bag. But before Kanou could touch it, she pulled it back to herself.

"Hey, OKAMA! I'm in no mood for playing tug-of-war!" Kanou felt his blood pressure rising. Ayase smiled and put the saucer on the table.

"No. I won't give this until you promise me one thing." Someya smiled.

"What?"

"Don't you feel cruel, making Ayase a single parent outside of marriage?" Someya wiped her pretend-tears. "You should at least give him a wedding band, danna-sama."

Ayase dropped the saucer but luckily, it landed on a soft part of the carpet and didn't break. His whole body turned red. "...So...Someya-sa...san..."

"Ah." Kanou smiled. "Yeah. Good thing you reminded me of that. Geez... how did I forget?"

"Good." Someya smiled and put the documents on the table. She helped Ayase pick up the saucer and patted the boy's golden hair. "And I planned to take him out today. I'll take him to the best pediatrician and do some shopping."

"Someya-san... I...I don't have the money!" Ayase looked pale, but also red. He looked lost; he didn't know whether he should blush or become pale. Shopping was outside his vocabulary; he knew he would eventually need to buy some baby stuff... but shopping with Someya-san meant expensive stuff and he didn't have the money...

"Well, aren't you silly? Of course it will be danna-sama's bill." Someya smiled, eyeing Kanou who looked happy. Kanou was busy looking through the papers, and he kept smiling as if it were a new toy and very interesting. Kanou looked up. "Yeah, of course it's my tab, Ayase."

"Ka...Kanou san... but I don't want to increase my debt!"

"Hey, listen to me, Ayase." Kanou pulled Ayase onto his thigh, nudging Ayase's cheek with his nose. Ayase flinched from the unshaved whiskers on Kanou's face. "I know it will be added to your debt. However, I'll only receive one payment for the maternal fee, and that is you must deliver my child safely into this world. Understand? Isn't it fair?" Kanou smiled.

Ayase blushed, ready to cry with embarrassment (why did Kanou like to show off their relationship in front of other people, especially with people that they knew?) and confusion (was this Kanou's way of saying he'll pay? Or did Ayase need to really pay him back in the future?). Someya smiled looking at the sweet scene in front of her.

"Yes, danna-sama. I have booked him at 12, which is why we need to get going." Someya stood to take over the tea tray and cleaned up while Kanou was busy smooching Ayase and touching him all over like an octopus with 10 hands. "However, I think for the best, you should assign someone with us. Just for... safety, you know."

Kanou automatically hugged Ayase tightly – so tight that Ayase found it hard to breathe. "I'll assign Kuba with you. And you... take care of Ayase." Kanou looked stern, before adding awkwardly, "...please."

Someya blushed. Oh! That was the first time in her life she had ever heard the magic word from Kanou! It was worth capturing on video, but Kanou had already taken Ayase into the room.

"Don't force him down, danna-sama." Someya chuckled. Kanou growled.

Ayase grabbed Kanou's neck tightly, hoping he could still walk after this.

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