Bumps and Babies

The room was silent, the insulated walls muffling the sound of morning birds chirping happily outside and silencing the quiet chatter from the housecleaners and cooks busying themselves for the day. Soft morning light filtered in from a crack in the curtains and cast a small pool of light across the floor. All was motionless until one of the two figures enveloped in the soft white bed began to shift, rolling onto his side and mumbling to himself.

Hikaru frowned and scrunched his eyes shut to block out any sign of light, burrowing his face stubbornly into his pillow. Ugh… morning already? Stupid morning.

He yawned luxuriously and, after a groan of complaint, sat up sleepily, stretching out until his fingers crackled in satisfaction. He sat still for a moment, blinking dopily in an attempt to wake himself up, and then looked over at the small clock on the bedside table. It was, it happily announced to him, half six in the morning.

Hikaru stared at it.

"…The hell…" he groaned to himself, falling heavily back into the pillows with a tragic expression. "What am I doing up this early? I shouldn't even exist this early… Work isn't until ten…"

Grumbling to himself a bit more, he closed his eyes in an attempt to steal another hour or so of laziness, but his mind had officially woken up and refused to shut off. Pouting, he rolled over and stretched a hand out. He smiled when his hand reached something warm and soft, and he happily cuddled into it.

Haruhi barely reacted when Hikaru shifted over to wrap an arm snugly around her, just above the bump of her stomach, and bury his face in her messy hair; she simply sighed softly, still fast asleep.

For a few long, lazy minutes, Hikaru stayed like that, lying next to his wife and breathing in the vague musky scent of her hair and skin. He smiled fondly as he listened to the subtle hush of her light breathing, indulging in the moment. If mornings were like this, then maybe they weren't so bad after all. Sure, it'd be even better if she was awake and cuddling him back, but beggars couldn't be choosers and like hell was he about to wake her up.

He breathed out slowly, so soft that her hair barely fluttered.

Two weeks ago, they were living in a penthouse, Kaoru was always close at hand, and Haruhi was still going to work. Now they were living in his family's mansion, Kaoru was a fifteen-minute drive away, and Haruhi was bedridden for at least another week or so. It was all so different. It was almost scary when he stopped to think about, but exciting as well; if life could change so fast, what would it be like in a year?

He'd have two little substitutes for an alarm clock.

Hikaru smirked slightly and stayed motionless for another few minutes, cuddling next to Haruhi, until a sudden urge came over him. After glancing at her searchingly to make sure that she was still asleep, he got up and sat Indian-style next to her, carefully ensuring the bed sheet didn't pull away from her sleeping form. Then he slipped a hand under the cover and lightly brushed away her bed shirt, so he could place a hand directly on the smooth skin of Haruhi's bulbous stomach, as close to his precious twins as he could get.

He stared at his hand for a moment, before leaning down slightly and muttering almost awkwardly, "Hey… babies. It… it's daddy."

The name felt alien to his tongue. Hikaru paused for a moment before smiling sheepishly and continuing.

"Can you hear me? I don't really talk to you all that much but… I'm always thinking of you. What you'll both be like. I'm really exited to see you; when you're ready, that is. Don't even think of coming out a second earlier, because you'll give me a heart attack. Another one." He gave the bump a reproachful look. It, not surprisingly, didn't react, looking innocent.

A bump looking innocent? My God, I really do sound like a dopey new father. I'll be reverting to baby talk next. At least Haruhi can't hear me…

After shaking his head at himself and once again glancing at Haruhi to check she was definitely still asleep, he carried on, oblivious to the fact his voice had now risen to a normal talking volume and was unashamedly layered with emotion.

"…I love you. Both of you. So much. I'll try my best to be the best dad I can be, because you deserve it. I might get things wrong, or forget things… but bear with me, okay? I'll keep trying and I'll make sure I'm always there for you. I won't leave, I promise. We'll all be a proper family. Me, Mommy and both of you. And Uncle Kaoru too." He beamed. "I'm getting really excited. I love you two so much already. And… I'm not usually this sappy. I think Haruhi's hormones are transfusing through the air…"

He paused to give this a serious thought. It would definitely explain a lot… After a minute, he shrugged it off gruffly, absentmindedly rubbing a thumb softly and rhythmically across Haruhi's skin. He gave the round bump a quirky grin.

"Are you even awake? Maybe I'm talking to myself. It's weird to think you two could be awake in there, while Haruhi's asleep. Well? Are you awake, my little aliens-?"

Bump!

Hikaru froze.

He stared at his hand in shock, his mouth falling open. After a long moment, he swallowed shakily and kept his hand solidly in that place, concentrating with all his might. And then…

Bump!

There it was again. A sudden movement, which was undeniably a little hidden foot kicking out against his palm. He was feeling one of his babies move for the very first time.

Hikaru actually laughed out loud in delight, beaming uncontrollably down at Haruhi's bulbous stomach. A mad feeling of amazement overcame him as he rubbed a thumb rhythmically across her skin again, grinning. He leant over and whispered happily, "I take that as a yes?"

He softly kissed the sheet that covered the bump. Haruhi smiled happily to herself and carried on pretending she was asleep.

Kaoru hadn't been to his bakery since Haruhi had first collapsed. He'd been much more worried about her and Hikaru than he'd let on, secretly fretting so anxiously about them that he'd went to visit them almost every day, not allowing himself even one spare afternoon to indulge himself with a coffee, a cake and a chat with his new friend. Things like that just set him on edge. But now that the crisis was definitely over and done, and Hikaru had stopped feeling so down about how to treat Haruhi, Kaoru finally had some free time.

He smiled contently to himself as he pushed open the painted wooden door to the quaint bakery, a small bell announcing his presence.

It was busier than normal today, he noted. Though for once the old man wasn't occupying his usual haunt in the corner, a man trying to calm down two hyperactive toddlers had claimed one table, while a serious-looking woman typing furiously on a laptop had claimed another. A teenage couple had unknowingly taken over the old man's table and were blushing awkwardly and talking in quiet voices.

Being amusingly reminded of Hikaru as the boy flushed deeply before bravely reaching for the blonde girl's hand, Kaoru turned his attention to the counter, walking slowly over to it so he wasn't hovering there aimlessly as he took everything in again.

He was surprised by how disappointed he was when he saw that Mari wasn't there. Instead, there was a bony boy with a mop of dyed blonde hair who, Kaoru decided sulkily, didn't look cute in the uniform at all. The apron was yellow today, and made him look like a dried out weed. Nevertheless, Kaoru still smiled politely at him as he reached the counter and quickly scanned today's selection for something to order.

To his confusion, the moment the boy saw him he rolled his eyes, turned on his heel, and walked straight into the backroom without a word. Kaoru stared after him, baffled, and simply stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, wondering what he was supposed to do. He thought he heard some muffled talking until someone suddenly drifted out of the backroom and stood in front of him, as smoothly as if they were gliding on skates.

It was, of course, Mari, who was wearing the uniform; a plaid apron and bandana in the same shade of yellow as the earlier boy. Kaoru smiled at her, feeling amused at her sudden entrance and a strange rush of relief that she was there - an emotion which, once again, surprised him. He must have missed their little meetings more than he thought. All the things he could afford, and this was what he considered to be his occasional luxury.

Her grey almond eyes regarded him with a serious look.

"You're here," she observed gravely.

"I am, indeed," Kaoru agreed, sniggering despite himself.

She paused for a second then finally smiled up at him, in that vague, dreamy way she did. "You didn't come all last week, after stalking our cupcakes for so long. I thought it might be the apocalypse," she said seriously, causing Kaoru's little smile to falter slightly as he thought back to it, a ghostly feeling of worry at the edges of his mind.

"It almost was," he commented dryly, instantly spotting the wave of innocent curiosity that flashed momentarily behind her eyes.

She paused and Kaoru watched in amusement as she inwardly wrestled with her childlike curiosity, the heated debate clear on her face; evidently, she would suck at acting. After a moment, she opened her mouth and, rather than asking for an explanation, she for once resisted the urge and asked instead, "So… what would you like today?"

Kaoru paused thoughtfully, cocking his head as he glanced first at the fresh selection of sandwiches and then at the dreamy girl in front of him. Ah, what the hell.

"That depends. When's your lunch break?"

"In about five minutes."

"Then I'll have two lattes and two cheese toasties, please."

If Mari was surprised by this, she didn't show it and simply commented, nonplussed, "I'd prefer ham."

Kaoru smiled. "Whatever you like."

Approximately eight minutes later, Kaoru was sitting at a table and staring blankly into space, letting his mind wander over whatever it wanted to as he waited for Mari to finish her shift. Occasionally, he glanced over at the teenage couple with a small smirk, unable to help being reminded of his adorably idiotic big brother; when Hikaru and Haruhi had first started going out, they'd gone to a small café not dissimilar to this one and Kaoru had, of course, decided it would be a fun idea to follow them.

Ah, such wonderful blackmail photos he'd snapped that day…

He sniggered quietly to himself at the thought of it, making sure his gaze was now far away from the flustered couple so they didn't misunderstand and think he was laughing at them (he didn't think the poor boy's nerves would be able to take it).

"Are you laughing at them?"

Kaoru jumped and would have probably been fearing an indignant lecture if he didn't instantly recognise the bemused voice as Mari's. After making sure the two were still blissfully oblivious that they'd been noticed, he smiled sheepishly at her and muttered casually, "No, no. I was just thinking of something Hikaru once did. Finished your shift?"

Mari nodded thoughtfully, her lack of baggy apron plainly signalling that she was now on break, though the tea towel-like bandana was still wrapped around her head. He glanced, amused, at her navy parka and the food and drink in her hands, which was residing in to-go bags and paper cups. He could have spoken her next words along with her.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" she asked brightly, apparently oblivious to the fact she wasn't exactly giving him much choice.

He smiled at her then quickly jumped up to take what he assumed was his half of the food. "Sure, sounds good. I suppose it must get stuffy being in here all day working."

"No, I like it in here," she corrected lightly, looking outside with a slightly whimsical smile. "But it's such a nice day today. It's a shame to stay inside."

As they left, Mari made sure to wave causally at the counter, though she was too busy sipping the top of her drink so it didn't spill to look to see if there was actually anyone there to wave to. There wasn't, but Kaoru didn't have the heart to point that out.

It was the midst of December, so despite the clear, cloudless sky and low white sun, it was still crisp and cold, the bracing wind making them both hug their coffee and hunch their shoulders. That hardly seemed to matter to them however, and Kaoru found he was happily enjoying himself. Conversation was regular and refreshingly light, while the silence was comfortable and thoughtful. They walked in a large loop until they came to the park that Kaoru had walked around that time he'd been feeling so lonely. As if to prove to the park that that wasn't the case anymore, he lightly suggested a walk through the frosty greenery.

Mari nodded in agreement before continuing what she'd been saying. Though she seemed to find herself a disinteresting subject, preferring to learn more about the things and people around her, he'd finally coaxed her into elaborating on her family slightly.

"I have a younger brother," she told him almost awkwardly, speaking into the fluffy hood of her coat, "and an older sister. My sister is twenty-three. She's married. I also have a mother and father, and one set of grandparents."

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at the textbook way she listed off her family members. If he'd been the one asked 'tell me about your family', he would've spoken for ages about his twin and Haruhi, and maybe even everyone else if he remembered.

"What're they like?" he prompted.

"They are all very nice," she confirmed vaguely as if she was reading aloud from a book, before pressing her lips together into a firm line, successfully creating the first awkward silence of the day.

Strange. He tossed his rubbish in a bin as he passed before taking another sip of coffee and glancing over at her. Her round nose was slightly flushed - from the cold or the topic? - and she was staring blankly into her cup, as if she expected to find some wisdom floating around in there.

Kaoru paused for another second, and then courteously decided to change the subject onto something more comfortable, like art or cupcake toppings. Before he could speak however, Mari had glanced up at him and blurted, "Did something bad happen last week? When I mentioned it you… you looked upset." She hesitated in an extremely rare moment of self-awareness and then looked back down at her coffee, adding quietly, "…You don't have to talk about it. All the magazines say it's better if you talk about things, but they could be lying. I don't know."

It's better if you talk about it. Tell me what you're thinking, Haruhi.

"What better advice to follow than your own?" Kaoru mused to himself dryly. Though Mari obviously had no idea as to what he was referring to, she still nodded wisely in agreement.

He smirked widely and leaned over to her so they were face-to-face, his eyes bright. "You know, I think I'd like to talk about it," he informed her quirkily. "Telling someone makes it seem more final and in the past, so I'll stop worrying about it and I'll feel better. …Does that make sense?"

She smiled. "Everything makes sense in its own little way," she said lightly, before gliding over to a bench they were passing, apparently deciding it was time to sit down.

Kaoru paused and frowned at that comment for a second, before shrugging it off and going to sit next to her on the bench. She looked up at him attentively, with a look which made him feel very singled out, in a good kind of way. Smiling slightly, he swirled his coffee and took a sip, just so it didn't feel neglected, then said to her, "You know Hikaru?"

"Not personally, but you talk about him a lot."

"Yeah… well, his wife-"

"Haruhi?"

"Yeah, Haruhi - I don't know if I told you, but she's almost five months pregnant now."

Her reaction to this surprised him; she wasn't the type to display loud shows of emotions, preferring a vague smile before her mind wandered again, but when she heard that her eyes shone, her cheeks flushed, and she all but squeaked, "Oh! Pregnant! Really?"

Kaoru blinked. "Yes," he confirmed slowly, trying to hide his amusement. "With twins," he added almost teasingly, just to see her reaction.

"Twins!" she repeated, looking weirdly more excited than he'd ever seen her. "Wow. Baby twins - how cute!"

He snorted as she beamed to herself happily, apparently forgetting they were supposed to be talking about something else. His smirk softened as he poked her round nose teasingly to regain her attention. "That's surprisingly girly of you," he commented.

Mari blinked at him, suddenly looking lost. "…Huh?"

"You sound like you really love babies."

"Oh," she gasped, her cheeks uncharacteristically flushing again as she quickly averted her eyes to her lap. "Um- no, no, I don't love them, really I… Uh…"

Kaoru quirked an eyebrow in bemusement; he had never known her to trip over her words so uncertainly before, though he'd be lying if he said he didn't find her sudden fluster rather cute. Grinning as he mused back to his own reaction to first hearing the news, he added teasingly, "Are you sure? Didn't you just say how cute they are?"

Mari squirmed. "Yes, but… their cuteness… is an evolutionary trait, not a personal opinion…" she explained lamely, seemingly deciding to blame Darwin instead of give up and admit how adorable she found them, for whatever reason.

"I see," Kaoru said, raising his eyebrows in a way which added '…not'.

She frowned at her lap awkwardly for a second, before she suddenly looked up at him, her expression clearing as suddenly as if someone had crossed her face with an eraser. "You were talking about something," she informed him, apparently finally remembering. "About… Haruhi being pregnant. Pregnant with… twins…"

"Yeah…" Kaoru muttered, frowning slightly. "She… almost had a miscarriage." He peered at her sideways as a shocked look came to her face. He hurriedly continued, "I mean, they were all okay in the end. It's just that Haruhi has to stay in bed and take it easy or… or it might happen again. And… if it did, they probably wouldn't survive."

He paused to bite his lip at the thought, vaguely noting that Mari's expression had turned from shock to one of mild interest as she watched his face. She stayed silent as he got his irrational worry of his chest.

Kaoru laughed sheepishly before carrying on. "…I suppose it's stupid for me of all people to still worry about it - it's not like I'm the dad or anything - but I can't help it. Because I don't think Hikaru would be able to handle it if they really did… you know. He totally lost his confidence after it happened."

"You care for him a lot," Mari observed randomly.

He blinked and looked over at her. She cocked her head and peered at him for a second before commenting, "You're really close to Hikaru, huh?"

"Ah… well, yeah." He hurriedly recovered and laughed quietly, before smiling wearily at her and adding, "We're brothers. It comes in the job description."

"Not all siblings are close," she pointed out.

"…I guess not…" He paused and it was a few thoughtful moments before he spoke again, feeling a weird urge to try to explain their bond, however fruitless that may be. "We were very co-dependant when we were younger," he said. "We spent every day together and did everything together; never anyone else. It wasn't until the end of middle school that I really had any other friends. Even now, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Run out of topics of conversation?" Mari suggested airily, her dreamy tone sounding almost teasing. "You talk about him more than you talk about yourself."

Kaoru laughed sheepishly, all of a sudden painfully aware that he honestly couldn't deny that. Mari paused, then smiled and added quietly, "I think… it's sweet that you love your twin so much."

He hurriedly took another sip of coffee, suddenly feeling strangely embarrassed. He was so preoccupied with trying not to act flustered and moving the conversation onto the 'lovely weather we're having!' that he didn't notice his friend's particular choice of words.

Not once had Kaoru ever specified that Hikaru was his twin.

8)

I like lame foreshadowing. 8D

This might sound weird, but when Kaoru and Mari are together does it seem… Kaoru-ish? Not as in she's exactly like him, but while Haruhi appeals to both twins' personalities, I wanted Mari to appeal more to the most individual part of his personality, that's indefinitely Kaoru (I think Hikaru would get annoyed with her after a while;;). Does that show through at all or do I need to work more on that?

Ne'way, thank you very much for reading, and thank you very, extremely, extraordinarily, incredibly, enormously, fantastically, dreadfully much to everyone who has reviewed. I'm very grateful, and my story honestly doesn't deserve such attention…;; Thank you again!;;

Constructive criticism makes the world go round!

xxx