A/N: Alas we have reached the end of the story. I am ecstatic that you all enjoyed it and for the many reviews, faves, and follows. Thank you to I Love Fuji, Maui, vegibee, fujiyuki, lilian violet, kazugami saichi hakuraichi, oreobabez, kurayami-9, and my guest reviewers for the wonderful reviews. Also thanks to WhiteEnsigma for writing the original and allowing me to write the sequel. I hope you like the epilogue and look for my new story in the next week or so.
Epilogue
"Otou-san, can pwease pway tea parry wit me?" Four year-old Sakuno stuck out her bottom lip and batted her eye lashes for her father. She was young, but she already knew how to get what she wanted from that particular parent.
Tezuka looked down at his daughter and smiled as he crouched down to be more on level with her, "Where is Ryoma? Maybe he can play tea party with you?" He had come home at lunch because Fuji was feeling tired and sick. He had caught a cold and because he was 19 weeks pregnant with their third child, could take virtually nothing for it. Wanting his husband to rest, Tezuka left the office to help at the house with every intention of working in his home office while he kept an eye on Fuji and his kids. His son was already home from school and somewhere in the house. He knew because he had picked Ryoma up from school while on his way home since the students had a half day today.
"Aniki say no and I wan otou-san," the little girl pouted as she stamped her foot so her father would understand she wanted him and not her brother. The purple tutu she wore was swishing around her knees and she was starting to pick swing it in her impatience.
It was at that moment Tezuka knew his plans for the afternoon had changed. He couldn't say no to her big blue eyes that looked like her whole life hung in the balance waiting for his answer, well actually, he just had a hard time saying no to her period. Sighing, he kissed her cheek, "Ok princess. Let's go have a tea party."
Standing up, he grabbed his daughter's hand and escorted her down the hall to her room. When she had gotten to the point where she was ready to come out of the crib and into a toddler bed, they had moved her into the room next to Ryoma's. The brother and sister shared a bathroom, but they didn't seem to mind and were actually quite close; which Tezuka and Fuji both thanked the heavens for. After everything that happened after Sakuno came home, they had been a little afraid that the siblings wouldn't really get along.
As he walked past his son's room, Tezuka stuck his head in and saw Ryoma sitting at his desk working on his homework. The father was proud of the now ten year-old and how hard he worked to maintain his grades and everything else in his life like tennis, "Ryoma, Sakuno wants to have a tea party."
"I'm busy with homework father," Ryoma declared without looking up. He loved his sister and he didn't mind playing with her outside or watching cartoons with her, but he hated her tea parties. She always made him wear girlie things and would throw a fit if he didn't. Throwing himself into his homework was the best course of action available to him and he would use it until she grew out of the tea party phase. He was really, really happy that the new baby was going to be a boy… one girl was more than enough, "How is dad feeling?"
"He's sleeping right now. Think about what you want for dinner and I will order it in a little bit," Tezuka told him. He knew it had been a long shot that he could convince the ten year-old to join in the tea party fun, but he had to try. Ryoma was willing to do almost anything except play tea party.
Turning around in his chair, the little boy asked, "Can we have sushi? You can get dad the miso soup."
"Yah otou-san!" Sakuno agreed with her brother and started to yank on her father's arm.
Tezuka rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I guess that's fine. I will call Kawamura-san closer to dinner time then." He glanced at his son, "If you need me, I will be in your sister's room."
"Have fun with that," Ryoma snickered and turned back to his homework.
"Tum on otou-san!" The small girl was attempting to pull her father out of her brother's doorway and towards her room.
Knowing that he couldn't delay the inevitable any longer, the father allowed his daughter to lead him to her room and sat down in the chair she indicated, "Where is your tea set?" The small table they were sitting at was devoid of any dishes.
Sakuno scowled, "You not ready for tea!"
And here it was. The thing that both he and his son hated, but Fuji seemed to encourage… dress up. Observing as she pulled a couple of things out of her dress up box, Tezuka noticed that she put on some items and set others aside. When it seemed that she was ready, he watched, with a bit of dread, as she approached him and gave him her sweetest smile, "Pwease otou-san?"
Tezuka nodded giving his assent. There really was no use in arguing, and when Sakuno beamed at him, he knew no matter what she put on him, it would be worth it… he just hoped no one would see pictures of this... Fuji always seemed to get this stuff on camera. His daughter had placed a sparkly tiara on his head and a pink feather boa around his neck. She tried to get him to wear a pair of clip on earrings, but they hurt too much and he had to take them off quickly. After a touch of pink lip gloss, he was going to kill Fuji for getting their four year-old that, she announced they were both ready for tea and she began to set the table.
Sakuno's tea party was attended by only the most important of her toys and her father. Her favorite bear and doll sat in two of her chairs, and she and Tezuka sat in the others. She served and they pretended to drink, and she had a blast. She loved tea parties with her father, she liked them with her daddy too, but her father wasn't there to pretend as much as daddy was. Giving him a huge smile, she declared, "Otou-san is my boyfriend. I go to marry him one day."
Laughter came from the open door and Tezuka looked up to find his husband snapping pictures. Shaking his head at Fuji, he looked at his daughter, "Nani?" Where did she even hear of the word boyfriend?
"Daddy say tat girl tat like aniki wan be gurlfend. He say tat when a boy and girl love each utter tay marry. I love otou-san!" Sakuno giggled.
Glancing up at Fuji, Tezuka quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head towards their daughter in a silent plea for help, "Syusuke…"
Fuji coughed a little and grinned mischievously, "Daughters love their fathers when they are young. Enjoy it while you can. She doesn't really understand." His voice was a little hoarse, but he was still heard.
Tezuka shook his head and kissed his daughter on the top of her head, "I love you too princess, but one day you are going to meet someone special and you will marry him, and you will live in a nice house..."
"I no wan to! I no wan leave daddy and otou-san!" Sakuno cried.
He saw the glare his husband shot his way and knew he needed to fix what happened. Pulling his daughter into his lap, Tezuka held her close, "You never have to leave if you don't want to. Your daddy and I love you very much, and we never want to lose you either. Ok princess?" He felt his daughter nod her head and he kissed the top of her head. He noticed Fuji snapping more pictures, but he didn't try to stop him because that was just who his husband was. However, when it seemed that Sakuno was calmed down, he frowned at the man in the doorway, "What are you doing out of bed Syusuke?"
"I woke up and noticed that you were in here, so I grabbed my camera," Fuji chuckled, but that turned into a coughing fit.
Setting his daughter back in her chair, Tezuka told her, "You finish tea and I am going to put daddy back into bed. Then we will pick up dinner."
"Suchi!" Sakuno shouted.
"Yes, we will get sushi," the father smiled and kissed her head one more time before walking over to where his husband stood and put his hand on the other man's forehead, "Come on. You need to get back in bed and it is probably time for more Tylenol. Your fever feels like it is going up again." Checking his watch, Tezuka said, "It isn't time for the Sudafed yet though."
Grinning broadly, Fuji whispered as he allowed himself to be swept up and carried back to their room, "Ne Kunimitsu?" He snuggled into his husband's chest and let out a contented sigh.
"Hmm?"
"You take such good care of us."
Tezuka laid his husband back down in bed and covered him up. Sitting next to him, he brushed his bangs out of his eyes before cupping his cheek and leaning forward to kiss his forehead. When he pulled back, he spoke with his heart in his eyes, "I love you and I would take care of you forever."
"I love you too," Fuji said softly, but unfortunately the moment was ruin by a fit of sneezing and coughing. He hated being sick while pregnant. His husband took it all in stride though and handed him the box of tissues before opening a white bottle and giving him two pills to take with a glass of water. When his cough had subsided and he felt more in control of himself, Fuji smiled, "Saa you know one of these days, she is going to find a prince that will love her and want to marry her."
"She will, but he is going to have to be someone really special to measure up and be good enough for her."
"They broke the mold with you. It is going to be hard to surpass her father in her heart. She is her father's baby. I knew it was going to be like that the first time you held her," Fuji snickered, "Ne Kunimitsu… there is just something about daughters, isn't there?"
"Mmm, there is," Tezuka's smile was soft as he thought about his little girl. Kissing Fuji on top of his head, he stood up and asked, "They want sushi and we were going to get you miso soup. Do you want anything else?"
"Mou, I want wasabi rolls, but this baby can't stand wasabi. Ryoma didn't mind a little of it when I carried him, and Sakuno liked it even more than Ryoma… she still does. The only thing with her was the heartburn from it, but this baby hates wasabi."
He had known it was coming and still he shook his head and chuckled, "Are you up for eating something more? You can't have sushi, but I can get you something else."
"No, the miso will be fine. Thank you," Fuji sniffled.
"You will be able to have it again after you give birth. Until then, there are plenty of other things he likes," Tezuka pointed out. This pregnancy was very different from his last experience with a pregnant Fuji, and he was thanking his lucky stars. The mood swings, although there, were nothing like before, and he didn't feel like he was traipsing through a mind field. The cravings were still more than abundant and he was still getting up in the middle of the night at times, but that was so much better than getting his head bitten off for saying the wrong thing, or saying something innocent and it being taken the wrong way. It still happened sometimes, however, not like Sakuno's pregnancy. As he walked to the door, he was stopped before he could leave, "Nani?"
"Actually, can you bring me back some pancakes? Nothing on them, just pancakes."
Nodding, Tezuka gave his husband a smile and exited the room. He wasn't sure if Fuji would be up to eating anything, but if he wanted pancakes, Tezuka was going to get them… or make them himself. Pulling out his phone, he placed the order for the sushi and miso and then inquired, "Kawamura-san, do you know how to make pancakes?"
"Is that what Syusuke-san is craving?" The voice on the other end of the line questioned amused. Kawamura was a part of the family and Fuji had finally insisted that he call him by his first name. It had taken some finagling, but the sushi chef finally relented. It wasn't that he really minded calling Fuji by his first name, it was more that he knew Tezuka's past issues with he and Fuji's relationship; however, Tezuka didn't have a problem with it and Fuji became Syusuke-san, while he became Uncle Taka to the children.
"Hai."
"Don't worry Tezuka-san. I will get some made for you and have them ready when you pick up your sushi order."
Relieved, Tezuka sighed, "Arigato."
"It's ok. My wife is going through the cravings too. Now I completely understand what you went through when he was pregnant with Sakuno."
"They can be weird. Syusuke ate pickles with bean curd and wasabi one day when he was pregnant with Sakuno."
"Nani? No, Michiko hasn't done that, but last night she was eating mashed potatoes with her ice cream. She said it tasted good together."
The two men laughed about some of the weirder cravings for another minute or so before they got off of the phone. Michiko was due in another 3 weeks and Kawamura was starting to get anxious. Tezuka helped him as much as he could, but he also knew the sushi chef would not truly calm down until the baby was here and in his arms, and he knew that feeling very well.
Walking down the hall, he noticed that neither kid was in their room and heard laughter in the backyard. Tezuka followed the sound and found Ryoma helping his little sister hit a tennis ball against the practice wall the couple had installed when their son started to get more and more into the sport. It was one of those moments that the father loved to witness and another memory to hold onto. After another couple of minutes of watching his son teach the little girl, Tezuka called out to them, "Come on you two. I already called in our order and Uncle Taka is expecting us."
"YAY! Undle Tata!" Sakuno shouted and ran over to throw herself against her father.
Ryoma smiled and grabbed the racket his sister had thrown to the ground in her excitement, "Coming father."
When his son was close enough, Tezuka ruffled his hair, "Go put the rackets up and let's go." Yes, it was more memories and moments with his children and husband, and every one of them made his heart soar. Fuji had written on the back of the watch that he gave him on their first anniversary, "1000s more to go", and as Tezuka looked at his children and thought of his husband upstairs in bed, he wondered if that was going to be enough time for them.
Elsewhere in Tokyo…
In a large building, in a wing that most people never visited, a woman with scars on her face sat and watched the news with the other people in a white washed room. The TV hung from the wall and there were about six others in the room with her. All of them wore robes and pajamas; no one wore regular clothes here.
She had been trying her hardest to get out of this place, and in order to convince the higher ups that she had really changed, she had suppressed the rage she still held for a man with striking blue eyes. The woman believed she didn't belong here; she belonged out in the real world, in front of a camera. Yes, her face was ruined and it was partly her fault, but that was what plastic surgeons were for.
On the TV the news ran their gossip segment and she was only halfway listening until something caught her attention…
"Well it looks like the world is in for a baby boom. Prince William and Duchess Kate have announced that they are expecting their second baby. Actors Ryan Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively are due sometime in late winter with their first. Tennis pro Sanada Seiichi is due to have the baby any day now according to his husband Sanada Genichiro, it is the couple's first; and business mogul Tezuka Kunimitsu and his husband Tezuka Syusuke are expecting their third child together, and we have been told it will be another boy for the happy couple! Congratulations to everyone that is expecting!"
"NO!" A scream echoed through the room before books and magazines were being thrown at the television, "NO! HE STOLE HIM FROM ME! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE! HE IS NOTHING BUT A WHORE!" She tried to pick up a chair, but it was just too heavy.
The other patients were trying to get as far away from the woman who was in mid rant. They didn't want to be caught by any flying objects or get in the way of the orderlies that ran into the room followed by a doctor.
"Hold her while I sedate her," the doctor ordered. He injected the woman as swiftly as possible in order to calm her down. "Oh Minami, you were so close to convincing all of us. Well, it's too late, you aren't going to be able to leave now," he clucked and shook his head in pity as he gazed down at the patient whose eyes were still focused on the TV, but he noticed they were starting to droop. Turning to the orderlies, he instructed them, "Take Minami back to her room and restrain her. It looks like she's had a psychotic break."