The Uke Flu
Chapter Twenty One: Heartbeat
Hiroki and Dr. Suzuki entered the ultrasound room.
There was a technician in the room already who had been setting things up and helping Nowaki get prepared for the test. Nowaki was reclining, slightly propped on the examination table, his feet hanging off, even though the attendant had pulled out its extender. The expecting semuke was now wearing a patient frock, closed in the front, and had a thin sheet draped over his legs.
This sight all but paralyzed Hiroki.
He was used to seeing people dressed like this: he saw them all the time when he went to visit Nowaki at the hospital. But this was different; this was his partner: always strong, always healthy. This was what Nowaki would look like if there was something seriously wrong with him, if he ever ended up in the very place he spent so many hours dedicated to healing others. This realization was almost more than Hiroki could bear.
"Hiro-san?"
Nowaki's voice pulled him from these thoughts. Hiroki looked up and saw his lover's kind eyes looking at him questioningly.
"Do you want to come over here? I think they're about ready to start."
"Uh, sure."
Hiroki moved over to the side of the table, though he felt a numb. Nowaki looked up and smiled as if to reassure him. Hiroki could tell, however, that his giant was nervous. This startled him too, because usually Nowaki was so calm about everything. Hiroki couldn't help himself, for the second time that day he reached over and took Nowaki's hand.
The gratitude in Nowaki's anxious eyes pierced him: it was really such a small gesture he offered. It only reminded Hiroki of how stingy he could be with his displays of affection. Feeling convicted about his numerous shortcomings as a partner, Hiroki turned away to watch what the technician was doing.
Kimura, the ultrasound operator, asked Nowaki to open his gown and pull the blanket down a bit so that his abdomen would be freely accessible.
Nowaki had rolled his boxers down to just below the area that Hiroki liked to refer to as "the dip." That gentle curve where the base of the low belly joined the smooth flat plane of the groin. It was one of his favorite parts of Nowaki. Hiroki shifted uncomfortably and looked up only to catch his lover's blue eyes shining delightedly back at him.
Damn it.
Nowaki had caught him staring; Hiroki knew he would pay for this indiscretion later.
"Okay," Kimura said, "I've warmed the gel up, so it shouldn't be too cold." He slathered Nowaki's stomach with the ultra sound fluid. Hiroki found himself feeling a bit jealous.
Nowaki, let out a small laugh, he was a bit ticklish. But his eyes followed every movement the technician made. He had been present for numerous ultrasounds for his patients but had never had one of his own. Kimura turned on the screen and began moving the sensor over his stomach.
It took a few minutes, but for Nowaki it seemed like forever, his anxiety grew with each second that passed. He knew enough about the "Flu" to know that occasionally the womb would attach in the wrong place, get stuck amongst the internal organs or connect to the wrong part of the abdomen. He had read about instances where men had died when a mis-attached tendril had matured to the point that it tried to create a portal in an organ it had latched onto, causing the organ instead to rupture or fail.
Finally, Dr. Suzuki found what he was looking for. "There it is, Kusama-san, just as it should be."
Both fathers simultaneously released deep sighs, neither aware that he had been holding his breath.
Dr. Suzuki studied the image intently, directing Kimura's hand over Nowaki's abdomen. Nowaki was shocked at how small it looked. "Yes," Suzuki said, taking the pen back out of his pocket and using it as a pointer, indicating things on the screen. "The position is perfect and you can see the anchors, here and here, they look a bit like blood vessels so it's sometimes hard to tell. My guess is that this one is going to become the birth channel here."
The doctor paused a minute. "Kusama-san, are you sure that you're around nine weeks now? The embryonic sac looks bigger than what I normally expect at this age."
"Yes," Nowaki voice was firm. "I'm certain."
"Oh, yes, right… so sorry… I forgot," Suzuki apologized uncomfortably. "It's just with so many of my ukes, their 'activity' is so frequent, wanted or not, that they sometimes have difficultly pinpointing the time of conception. I'm sure that your baby simply is taking after you in the size department."
Suzuki noticed that Kamijou-san was looking particularly unhappy with his commentary, so he diverted. "Ummm, alright now, let see about finding your sweet baby's heart now shall we? Kimura-san."
The technician began to move the instrument again. "My, Kusama-san, but your little one's active. I'm having trouble pinning it down, it keeps jumping around." Kimura commented. "But I can increase the sound and you can hear it." He turned up the volume and the room was filled with a fluttering beat that sounded like the distant hoof beats of a galloping horse.
"Is it supposed to be that fast?" Hiroki voice betrayed his concern.
"Oh yes, by nine weeks, which is where Kusama-san is now, the baby's heart beats between 155 to 195 times a minute," Suzuki assured.
"Sensei…" Kimura started, taking a closer look at the monitor.
Hiroki looked at the monitor; it didn't really look like anything at all to him. Then he looked at Nowaki and his stomach dropped: there was something definitely wrong with his giant. Nowaki hadn't taken his eyes off the screen since they'd started. As soon as he'd heard the heartbeat, man had begun biting his lower lip. His eyes were shiny. Hiroki suddenly realized Nowaki was in distress.
"Umm… excuse, me gentleman." Hiroki blushed furiously, interrupting the conversation between Suzuki and Kimura. "I know this may be inconvenient, but would it be possible for you to give my partner and me just a moment alone?"
Dr. Suzuki offered the couple an understanding smile. He had worked with enough "Flu" couples to know that not all men were comfortable showing their feelings in front of others and this part of the examination could be a very emotional experience. "Certainly, Kamijou-san. Kimura-kun, would you accompany me. I'd like to discuss your observation further."
"Are you sure?" Hiroki heard Suzuki ask the technician as the two men stepped out into the hallway.
As soon as the door closed, tears started rolling down Nowaki's cheeks. He leaned forward and covered his face with his large hands. He didn't make any sound, but Hiroki watched Nowaki's broad shoulders shake.
Hiroki was beside himself: Nowaki, his Nowaki, the man who hardly ever cried was sobbing.
"Nowaki?" He didn't know what to do; he had always so sucked at this stuff.
The situation was desperate and obviously required a drastic measure. It was going to cost some Kamijou pride, but Hiroki took a deep breath and stepped up.
"Nowaki…" He gently clasped Nowaki's wrists, pulled Nowaki's hands away from his face and took it in-between his own. Then, he leaned in and kissed his partner deeply.
Initially Nowaki was shocked and stiffened at the unexpected touch, but then just as quickly he relaxed into the kiss. He grabbed a hold of Hiroki, pulling him over on top of him. Hiroki could feel the gel on Nowaki's belly slicking his shirt, but he didn't care. The fervor of the kiss grew, lips meeting lips, tongue greeting tongue. When the kiss finally broke, they were both breathless.
"Why did you do that Hiro-san?" Nowaki gasped.
"I didn't know how else to make you stop crying." Hiroki panted, pulling himself up.
Nowaki's expression remained stunned.
"Well, it worked didn't it?" Hiroki growled, he was not going to disclose where, however, he had learned that particular trick.
Misconstruing the reasons for his giant's tears, Hiroki muttered, "Nowaki, I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this."
"Oh, Hiro-san," Nowaki shook his head; he couldn't believe how far off his lover was, but then he realized of course, exactly how Hiroki would be feeling if he'd been the one in his situation. "You don't understand…"
Nowaki sat up and swung his legs over the side of the table. He pulled Hiroki into him, wrapping long arms around him, pulling Hiroki in between his parted thighs, until they were resting almost chest to chest. He leaned his forehead against Hiroki's and looked into his eyes.
"My whole life I have never belonged to anyone." He raised a finger to Hiroki's lips, silencing the protest his partner had been about to offer.
"Hiro-san, we have been together for almost nine years, but what do we really own together? Even our new apartment is just in your name. Their last apartment had been in his name and even though he wouldn't admit it, it still bothered Nowaki this was no longer the case.
"I was so happy when you finally agreed to marry me, because then we would have something concrete, even if it was just a piece of paper, saying that we were together. That we belonged to each other…
"… And now I have this too, I belong to this baby and it belongs to me… this baby is a part of me, a part of us, and I have never known anything like this before. There is no way that you and I could ever be closer Hiro-san. In this baby, we are two halves becoming whole…and we are going to be what I have always wanted and never thought I would ever have… a family of my own.
"Hiro-san… My tears are because I have never been so happy." Nowaki's eyes filled with new tears as he said this.
Hiroki was at a loss for words. He'd never heard Nowaki express his feelings about all these things so clearly before. Rather than try and form some verbal response, he took Nowaki's face in his hands once more and kissed his inky forehead. Then he pulled Nowaki into him, tucking his partner's dark head under his chin. As Nowaki tightened his grip around Hiroki he could feel his giant resume sobbing silently into his chest. He stroked Nowaki's thick hair.
"Ah, Wa-kun," He sighed under his breath, his own tears threatened to fall now. "You're such a romantic idiot." Hiroki, however, could not recall ever loving Nowaki more than he did at that instant.
A few minutes later a soft knock came at the door. The two men reluctantly pulled apart and Hiroki went to open it while Nowaki composed himself.
"Ah, yes," said Dr. Suzuki, he very politely avoided making immediate eye contact with Hiroki. "Is everything all right, Kamijou-san?"
"Ummmm, yes, thank you for your patience." Hiroki stepped back away from the door.
"Good, good…Um, Kimura-san would like for us to look at the ultrasound once more, before I let you two go… If that's acceptable? It shouldn't take much longer."
"Is everything okay?" Nowaki was still sniffing a bit.
"Oh, yes," Suzuki smiled kindly at his fellow physician seeing the man's wet eyes. "It's just Kimura-san thought he noticed something, nothing serious, mind you, and we just want to be sure."
The technician came back in and with practiced efficiency wiped down Nowaki's stomach and applied fresh gel. He raised an eyebrow at Hiroki's sodden shirt front, but tactfully said nothing. It took him no time to relocate Nowaki's new womb. He pointed an area out to Dr. Suzuki,
"See?"
"What?" Nowaki and Hiroki asked in unison.
Dr. Suzuki leaned in and squinted at the monitor. "Oh, my."
He turned the audio up louder. "This explains why your baby seemed to be moving around so much and why your fetal sac is larger than usual, Kusama-san."
Seeing the confused expressions on the couple's worried faces he continued. "It is hard to see at this stage. So Kusama-san and Kamijou-san, it will be easier for you to understand if you hear it. Listen closely."
It took both men straining a minute or two to hear and understand what was going on. While initially it sounded like just a single heartbeat, over time one could hear a just the slightest discrepancy in synchronization. Two beats, almost but not quite perfectly in time with each other.
The doctor looked over at the two men and cleared his throat. Somehow he managed to beam and look uncomfortable at the same time.
It was Kimura who finally put into words what none of the other three was ready to say. "Congratulations, Kusama-san and Kamijou-san, you're having twins."
The sound of the babies' heartbeats was temporarily lost in the crash that followed when Hiroki fainted and fell to the floor.
New AN:
Kristin XX, if you're re-reading, sweetheart, know that your note brought me huge smiles.
Silent Stare, Thank you for your comments. It is important to me that even my crazy fiction carry a thread of rationality through it.
Lionfish13, I always love your comments. And yeah, it is kind of gross. Heh.
Clobojojo, Glad you are enjoying the story and I am very much enjoying all your reviews. Looking forward to more.
BabeBlkBear, Glad you're pulled in. Hope to keep you enticed.
Lonely Red Panda, So glad you're enjoying this. Keep an eye out because more yaoi cameos will be forth coming.
Ashley Tangerine, Glomps back to you! I know you reviewed Bedside Manners, but if you're here too, know that I appreciated the homecoming.
Thanks to all those silent readers too for the alerts and the favorites.
OLD AN: Okay, the readers spoke and the result of the sprout poll is in. Tell me what you think... Review, Review (see, twin reviews).