Notes: Well, sorry it's been so long! We're moving to another city in a month, and there's so much to do to prepare! Anyway, this chapter is just me indulging in a little silliness. After this, it all goes to hell (literally) XD.

Thanks again to all who reviewed, faved, and read! Special thanks to my anonymous guests, Red Mynx, and Bunny-chan2022!

Oh, and Red Mynx, you don't know the half of it! XD DBZ MPREG is all sorts of messed up. Usually, it's Goku who gets Vegeta preggers or the other way around. It always involves an elaborate Saiyan mating ritual, a primal sex scene, a possessive bite to the neck… there are a lot of rules. Lol Also, to answer your question, angel wings disappear when they "fold" into the back. Sorry, I didn't explain that properly! The wings are made of telescoping bones that collapse and expand as needed. Once they're pulled inward, they vanish completely from sight (though evidence of them remains as two slight bumps on the shoulder blades). It's science and magic, mostly magic (i.e. artistic license).

Chapter 13: Revenge of the Puppies

Little Angels Garden was the sort of place that Souichi hated to be within a hundred meters of. The store sold everything a parent would need to care for the little ones: furniture, bedding, clothes, food, dishes, bottles, diapers, toys… All in pastel colors and cutesy patterns that irritated Souichi for some reason.

Yes, Souichi hated all things cute. It wasn't that he hated children, or even animals; but the adorable little characters that adorned many children's merchandise really got on his nerves. As soon as he and Tetsuhiro entered the store, his vision was assaulted by a sea of pinks, blues, greens, and yellows. He saw kittens and puppies and little baby chicks leering at him from every side, staring at him with their beady little eyes.

"Welcome to Little Angels Garden!" a young girl, clad in a pastel yellow merchant's smock, bobbed toward the two men as soon as the door closed behind them. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, we're just browsing," Tetsuhiro said. "Thank you anyway."

"OK, then! Say, are you shopping for a baby shower? We can check the registry to see if your friend or family member has signed up with us, if you're not sure." Souichi let out a hissy little breath when the brunette girl made her inquiry. One thing he hated about these places—and he had been in a few with his parents while they were shopping for Tomoe and Kanako—was the curiosity of the sales staff. Entering a baby store was like putting on a sign that said, "Please ask about my personal life."

"Ah, no, this is for…"

"We just have to get a few things," Souichi cut in before his kouhai could say anything more. Despite his effort, the girl's face grew shocked before she smiled.

"Ah, I see…" she giggled. "Adopting, are we?"

At this point, Souichi grabbed Tetsuhiro's sleeve and dragged him through an aisle of stuffed animals. "That was rude, Senpai!" Tetsuhiro said.

"Well, it was rude of her to be so nosy!" Souichi grumbled. He turned a corner at a teething ring display, dove past some bibs, and finally stopped in the newborn clothing aisle. He scarcely had time to catch his breath, though, when he was suddenly patted on the back.

"Souichi-kun! Tetsuhiro-kun!"

With a feeling of dread, Souichi turned to face his father. "What are you doing here?"

"Shopping for my grandchild, of course!" The older man grinned, holding up an orange onesie with green letters that read, "Grandpa's Little Pumpkin". Souichi almost gagged.

"My kid's not wearing that!" Souichi snapped.

"Why not?" Tetsuhiro asked.

"Oh, don't mind him," Soujin said, putting the outfit back into his hand basket. "Souichi's always hated cute things. Has ever since he was little, and we were picking out clothes for Tomoe."

"Everything marketed for babies is just so irritating," Souichi said. "There's no dignity in it! Why should a kid look like a jackass just because he's too young to know better?"

"Lighten up, Souichi-kun!" Soujin laughed and pulled a blue onesie off the rack. "Say, Tetsuhiro, how about this? Oh, you don't mind—er, you are practically family now, so…"

"I don't mind at all!" Tetsuhiro said. Immediately he joined Soujin next to the onesie display, and the two set to work examining every single one.

Souichi sighed and glanced at the racks upon racks of clothes. As always, he was beginning to feel outnumbered. He was just glad Kanako wasn't here. Who knows what she'd do or say. When he turned around, though, he began to wish that Kanako was there instead of their father.

"So only six weeks to go," Soujin was saying as he stared down at Tetsuhiro's belly. "Is it kicking yet?"

"Oh, he is!" Tetsuhiro laughed. "It's a he, by the way. We angels can usually tell."

"How fascinating!" Soujin exclaimed. "And how do you explain the… Well, you're pretty big now, so aren't you worried about…"

"It's a spell. People who don't know what I really look like see me as, ah… thin."

"Ah, well, that's a relief! I was afraid you were having to pretend to have some kind of tumor or something!"

"What a cozy little picture…" Souichi thought. "They're idiots. Both of them."

"Tetsuhiro-kun, may I…?"

"Of course!"

To Souichi's horror, his father reached out and placed a hand on Tetsuhiro's stomach. "Hey, stop that!" the blonde shouted. "Someone might see you!"

"All right, sorry," Soujin said, withdrawing his hand.

The three went back to searching through clothing until Tetsuhiro said, "Hey, look at this!" He pulled a blue outfit off the rack and held it up for the others to see. Its sky-blue fleece was patterned with brown puppies, each with a lolling red tongue and a white spot over one eye. Soujin laughed when he saw it.

"Sou-kun had one almost exactly like it when he was three!" he said, fingering the tiny sleeve. "Remember that, Souichi?"

Souichi didn't answer. He was too busy staring aghast at the onesie. Those sappy little dogs… His eyes narrowed. "P- puppy…" he muttered. How he hated those footie pajamas. He remembered being encased in smothering warmth, fussing as his parents laughed at how cute he looked. The one picture they could get of him in those pajamas had been burned in the fire that took their house, but he still remembered it. "Puppy… FUCKERS!" he shouted.

They got more than a few odd looks when they paid for their items and hurried out of the store. Souichi's eye was still twitching.

VVVVV

Just days after learning of his impending status change from "carefree student" to "parent", Souichi lay on his couch staring up at the ceiling. A part of him wished he hadn't gone after Tetsuhiro that night. Most of him wished he'd never said anything to make his kouhai run in the first place. All of him was teeming with panic, and yet on the surface he seemed calmer than ever.

Correction: he seemed practically dead.

He hadn't showered in God knew how long. He hadn't eaten in half that time, except for a few rice crackers he'd found in the back of the cupboard. He drank only beer, and he had the headache to prove it. Most uncomfortable of all, he hadn't really moved from the couch in hours. The cushions probably had a permanent imprint of his body by now.

Inside, though, he was seething. "That fucker," he thought. "How could he do this to me? I wish he'd just die and leave me alone."

"You don't wish that," his inner voice said.

"Shut up!" he croaked aloud, his voice hoarse from misuse over the past day. "I'm way too hung over to deal with you right now!"

"You're crazy. You know that? You look like a homeless person. Do you know how pathetic you are?" Was that voice speaking aloud? Was he actually talking to himself out loud?

He didn't really care at that point. "So what? My life's over. Everything I held dear is now lain to waste around me. Nothing will ever be the same again."

"Why?"

"That damned idiot is pregnant! He's a GUY! AND IT'S MY KID!"

"So? I thought you wanted to cut ties with him. You have a chance now, after all. You can just forget about him."

"Huh. I could, couldn't I?"

"Are you coming to Celest with me?"

Souichi opened his eyes. He was lying on his side facing Tetsuhiro, but his lover's features were slightly blurry even though they were fairly close to each other. "You mean when you have the baby?" Souichi asked.

"Well, not only then," Tetsuhiro shifted so that his hand was under the pillow. "He's starting to drain me a bit. Pretty soon I won't have enough energy to teleport to Celest…"

"When were you planning to go? And for how long?" The human's mind defogged a bit as he thought about his school schedule.

"Maybe by the end of next month. That'll mean at least a couple of weeks there…"

Souichi bit his lower lip in consternation. "I might be too busy," he said. "What if we call Isogai? Maybe he could take you there when the time comes. Then you won't have to stay in Celest."

"Not him…" Tetsuhiro groaned.

"I'm calling him," Souichi reached for the phone. It was only half past eleven, and he knew Isogai liked to stay up late. Scrolling through his contact list, he ignored Tetsuhiro's protests.

The demon answered with a cheerful, "Helo-oo!"

"Isogai, I need a favor." Souichi thought it best to just cut to the chase before Isogai could pull him into any banter.

"Oh? Why so abrupt? What's the favor?"

"Can you get Morinaga and me to Celest?"

"Hm? You mean now?"

"No, in a few weeks. He has to have the baby there, so…"

"Ah, I see." Isogai's smile was almost apparent in his voice. "No problem. I guess you guys will go to his brother's?"

"We'll see."

Tetsuhiro sighed as Souichi conversed with Isogai. He had never trusted the demon. Not that he initially hated all demons, but the karaoke incident had certainly started them out on the wrong foot. The angel allowed himself to doze lightly, keeping one ear tuned to Souichi's voice so he could monitor the conversation. He was roused from his relaxed state when Souichi said, "So, I hear Demic has a new king."

Tetsuhiro opened his eyes a bit. Why would Souichi care about that?

"Huh. Didn't think the guy would actually make it," Souichi said. "Yeah. Yeah. What? You're kidding, right? They're seriously behind him? Psh. Whatever. Hm? No, that's not it. I just don't like guys like that. A douche like him has no business being king."

Now the angel was fully awake. He waited until Souichi ended the call before asking, "Were you talking about the new king of Demic? You don't know who it is, do you?"

"Actually, I saw him when Isogai was dragging me around up there. The guy's a bastard."

"You don't think it's something to worry about, right?"

"Why would I worry about it? I was just curious, that's all." Souichi set his phone aside and relaxed into the pillows. "Shut up and go to sleep. I've gotta get up early tomorrow."

Tetsuhiro nodded and scooted a bit closer to his lover. "I wish I could go to school," he said. "I'm gonna miss it…"

"Hm." Souichi didn't know what to say to his kouhai. The truth was that he missed having him in the lab as much as Tetsuhiro missed being there, but what could they do? While he was expecting it was just best if he stayed home, and after the baby came one of them would have to stay home all the time (and Souichi would be damned if it was going to be him).

"Senpai, what are we going to do about finances?" Tetsuhiro asked after a moment of contemplation.

"I don't know. I can make an OK living as a researcher, but to support a family…"

"I could still get a job," Tetsuhiro said. "I won't be able to work in Hamamatsu, but I can find work locally. Or I could stay on at the lab and be a researcher like you."

"What about the kid?"

"We'll have to find a babysitter, of course," Tetsuhiro said. "Maybe Matsuda-san would agree…"

"Perhaps. But for now, at least right after it's born, you'll have to stay home with it. So let's just figure it out later, OK?"

Sometimes it was hard for him to remember why he'd decided to stay with Tetsuhiro. Then he remembered how much it hurt to have him gone. As confusing as his life had become, he still couldn't say whether he was really happy being with his kouhai. He did know that he was unhappy when they weren't together. When Tetsuhiro was around, everything just seemed to fall into place even as it all fell apart. The apartment was spotless, and his mind was a mess. He was well fed and utterly confused. Tetsuhiro's smile made him feel warm inside, and that put him on guard.

He didn't fall asleep for a long time that night.

TBC