-Cantarella-
Epilogue: the later years II
December.
Her alarm went off at 9 a.m.
Reiichi shuffled sleepily, allowing the sound to beep for a minute more before it lapsed into snooze mode. She was on the edge of nodding off again when the second around started, and this time she blearily stretched her arm behind to reach for her clock. Kanda's alarm had already gone off much earlier but he had switched it off in favour of sleeping in more—last night had been particularly uh, exhausting. Creaking her eyes open she clutched the clock in her hands and clicked the alarm off, flicking her gaze up after to see Kanda sleeping soundly beside her. It wasn't an unusual sight anymore, not when they've been married for more than a year, but it was always something special to watch him sleeping, with no frown lines and the beautiful face at peace.
She absentmindedly placed her clock behind her and watched him for a few quiet indulgent moments. His hair was splayed over his shoulders, covering his neck but there was a slip of skin that peeked of finger lines. Gently she touched his cheek, and when he did not wake, she traced his jaw, fascinated by his long eyelashes and the gentle rise and fall with the slow breaths he took.
Then suddenly the hand from the arm over her bare waist stroked her ribs, causing her to shiver and blush at the sensation involuntarily.
"What time is it?" Kanda mumbled out with opening his eyes.
"Past nine," she replied, cheeks flushing when she realised he probably knew she had been staring and touching, like he had caught her a couple of times before.
He made some sort of acknowledgement noise, and then his other hand slipped to draw her in close to his chest. She met his bare skin—slightly sticky and smelling of sex from last night, but any thought about how uncomfortable it should be quickly fled when he moved to dip his head in to her neck, pressing his warm tongue against her sensitive skin. His movements were slow, like he hadn't fully woken up yet, but it did not hinder how good it felt. He groaned quietly before turning them slightly over, such that she was fully lying on her back and he was half on top, half-hard erection shamelessly pressed onto her hip.
She was still slightly sore but his gentle touches stirred a slow arousal, his palms sweeping over her frame with a particular warm place over her abdomen as he kissed her neck harder. A warm flush arose to her cheeks as she let him do what he wanted, arms encircling his neck as his knuckles found her clit and rubbed her excruciatingly slow, enticing a quiet drawn out moan.
"Ah…" she gasped, fingers gripping into his hair when he made a particularly pleasurable movement with his fingers, his tongue trailing down past her collarbone.
She could feel him smirking pleased against her skin. After a bit more of teasing he carefully aligned himself and pressed in, the action accommodated by both their pre-come, except that it wasn't as slippery as it should. Kanda stopped when she took a particularly deep breath at the intrusion, face lifting from her neck to watch her expression. It was the way he always stared so intently that she blushed harder in embarrassment and averted her eyes, and squeezed her eyes closed when he started to press in again, even slower than before.
His hands cupped her thighs to aid the movement, bringing them as closely as they could be, till his heavy breathing was heard right beside her ear. He groaned out her name at the final in thrust.
Ever since she was pregnant there had been no use for a condom, which greatly facilitated their sex life. Or at least, it greatly facilitated the convenience for them, because Kanda realised they could do it wherever they so wanted, but of course the bed was still the most comfortable of them all. But for him, the way she felt when he was sheathed in, the tight all-encompassing heat that never felt as imitate as ever never failed to test his control, because once inside he struggled to hold in before she came, keeping him breathless and exhilarated.
"Move…" Reiichi demanded softly after a few still moments, one arm practically locking his neck down and the other dragging across his back for purchase.
He took the wandering hand in one of his and pressed their palms together before he pulled out slightly and rocked in. He saw that she breathed harder but there wasn't the wave of pleasure like he wanted to see, so he angled his hips slightly lower and pushed in hard—there, she gave the quiet shocked gasp like he'd always sought.
"Y-yuu—"
He sucked on her neck again as he rocked again, accidentally biting on her skin when she wrapped her legs around his hips to enable their movement. The hot slow pleasure was building with every little moan that she made and his own groans, but of course, the door had to slam open at the opportune timing.
"Hey, are you guys—holy shit."
Lavi blinked with his hand still on the door knob, position awkward with a foot forward when he was rushing in.
Kanda and Reiichi jolted to stare at him, matching the shocked expressions all round.
Lavi blinked again. "It smells like really heavy sex in here."
"Usagi, get the fuck out!" Kanda growled, swiping his comforter to cover them both, face steadily turning red—mostly likely from anger. "OUT!"
"But—"
"NOW."
Kanda's tone broke no argument and Lavi turned on his heel and closed the door. And then both of them heard his loud and howling laughter which did not cease even after several minutes.
"Fuck," Kanda muttered, head grinding on the pillow.
Reiichi had a hand over her face as she shut her eyes tightly, trying to deny that her cousin just walked in on them—and this time the other wasn't even trying. Lavi had a really bad habit of interrupting them for fun, she knew, but so far he had only ever walked in, purposely or not, when they were kissing, or maybe heavy make out stage, never when they were actually having sex. Lavi left them alone on nights (like yesterday) for precisely those reasons, and well, they were supposed to be up by now.
Lavi would never let them live it down.
"We have to go in one hour!" Lavi yelled from the corridor. "If you guys want to come, better do it quick!" then there was a pause. "Pun not intended!"
"I will fucking strangle the asshole," Kanda muttered with dark promise. "We're not going anymore."
Reiichi sighed amidst her humiliation. "You're welcome to. But we are."
"Fuck no."
"I want to," she replied, and he grumbled.
"Then I get to come."
It took her a split second to realise what he meant when he jerked his hip, reminding her that he was still inside of her. She flushed at the lewd comment, but he was already putting fervour into pleasuring her body, this time with a determined aim—as quick as possible. In a few minutes he was murmuring for her to come and she did, unstoppable with his relentless ministrations, where he muffled his own moan into her neck when he followed after.
She lay dazed as he pulled out, flopping unto his back beside her, tired but obviously satisfied.
Lavi shouted something again outside their door and she groggily got up to shower first.
"Mornin', Rei-chan. And mini Yuu."
"Morning," she nodded.
Her cousin was grinning like he won the lottery when she stepped into the kitchen. He was sitting obediently at the kitchen table with a can of coke in his hand—she frowned at it disapprovingly—and stood up to hover around her when she came in. Reiichi busied herself with turning the kettle on and toasting a couple of pieces of bread.
"So, was that like, a routine?"
"Lavi," she warned dangerously, though the effect was ruined with how red her face was.
"No wonder Yuu's been in such a good mood in the mornings since he came back to work," he teased.
It had been rough in past months—Reiichi didn't take to morning sickness well, and he and Kanda took more than a month of leave to make sure she wasn't throwing up everything she ate. It was inevitable that speculation brewed from their absence at work, and was no sensible explanation but Reiichi's pregnancy that could've attributed to such a phenomenon. Luckily Reiichi's sickness eased up as time passed, and when all of them returned to work, they had to give a press release of the situation, and from then on, it had been hectic for everyone.
Which is one of the few reasons why they were going to have some fun today with Lenalee and Allen at the amusement park. It was a welcome break, not that Kanda thought it was, as usual.
When Reiichi continued to ignore his sentences, Lavi pouted and hugged her from the back. "How was your night, then? Was it…enjoyable?"
His cousin elbowed him hard in the ribs and he coughed in pain.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop digging into your kinky sex life," he huffed, patting the top of her head which was covered by a beanie. "But you missed a spot," he prodded a particularly dark red spot on the back of her neck, courtesy of Kanda last night.
Reiichi reddened and quickly dug through the bag she had placed on the table for foundation to cover it up. Lavi watched her flustered movements, amused.
"Come, let me," he shook his head smiling when she fumbled with finding the right spot, plucking the makeup powder off her fingers.
He soothed the power over her skin, covering the possessive mark—his best friend did it all on purpose, he knew.
"Does it hurt?" he asked absentmindedly, blowing the extra power off his fingers.
Reiichi shook her head and took the case back, refusing to meet his eye. He chuckled at her embarrassed stature—she was married, he didn't really think it was still such a big deal, but there was a charm in her modesty that he always thought was cute.
"You um…" Reiichi tilted her head curiously at him suddenly. "Have one here," she tapped her own neck.
He touched his own throat out and remembered why.
"I spent a night with Alma."
Reiichi choked, almost dropping her foundation case. "W-what?"
Lavi chuckled at her expression. "Just kidding. I told you I went to Noel yesterday, remember?"
"With Alma?"
"No, with the dudes from college," he replied, craning his neck to give his cousin better access to powder it. "It was an enjoyable night—probably less than yours, but we can't all have Yuu."
She ignored the last comment. "…Someone special?"
"If it was someone really special you know I'd tell you about her," Lavi shrugged. "Or him."
"I know," she murmured.
"Rei-chan…" he cupped her cheeks, expression looking like he intended to say something serious, but he winced when a hit connected with the top of his head. "Ow, fuck—Yuu!"
"Don't stand so close to her," Kanda grounded out, kicking the male redhead at the back of the knees just because he was still pissed about the morning.
Lavi would retort, but then he was caught in a similar situation as his cousin, who was blinking at Kanda's attire. Because they were going on in public that disguises were needed—he himself had shucked his hair into a black beanie and wore a breathable white medical eye patch instead of his usual leather one with an eye colour change to brown; there was not much he could do about clothes because it was December and it was fucking cold—a pullover and jeans, while Reiichi had her hair and eyes similarly done to his, and a loose dress and long pants.
Kanda on the other hand, chose to bun up his hair, with, surprise, surprise, his most hated pair of accessory, the spectacles.
"What are you two looking at?" he demanded, scowling as he turned away to pour himself tea.
"Rei-chan's checking you out but I'm wondering more about the lines on your neck," Lavi held up his hands causally when it seemed like Kanda was going to snap at him again.
Such irrationality.
"What lines?"
"Dude, did you even look in the mirror?" Lavi raised an eyebrow.
Reiichi grabbed Kanda's wrists and pulled the other out of the kitchen firmly, not once looking at him. He laughed.
"You're actually on time," Lenalee wondered out-loud when she clambered into the backseat after they pulled into Lenalee's driveway, accepting the cheery one arm hug from Lavi.
"I'm always on time," Kanda retorted, offended.
"No, you're always early," Lenalee corrected, smoothing her skirt down. "Today, you're actually—"
"—on the dot, how unusual," Allen completed as he got in last, closing the door behind him. "Hey, Reiichi."
"Hey."
"If you're going to complain, take the fucking bus."
"Woah, Brit, you look…really normal," Lavi commented when he looked over. "How boring."
For a rare occasion, Allen had his scar covered up and was wearing gloves to cover his arms, despite the weather. Lenalee gave a long suffering sigh at the gloves and turned back to the front. Allen shook his head and smiled.
"He looks more like a freak," Kanda commented, unable to not make a cruel statement towards the younger.
"You look like you need a glass of siphoned coffee, grandma hipster," Allen retorted easily, glancing out of the window as the car began on its journey.
"What was that, loser?"
"You can't be deaf as well as blind, can you?"
"Can you two not argue for once?" Lenalee sighed, groaning into her palms.
"The brat is the one who—"
"But you heard him say—"
"Children!" Lenalee barked, huffing. "Let's not start off this day on wrong side of the bed, hmm?"
"Oh, I'm sure Yuu started off the day on the best side of the bed," Lavi commented casually, grinning. "On top of Rei—"
"I will crash this car if you continue, usagi."
"Nah, you won't, not when Rei-chan's in front," the redhead sang, thankful that he was in the backseat so that neither of the two in front could bodily harm him.
"I'll fucking make it work," Kanda threatened, cocking a discreet glance towards Reiichi who hadn't reacted.
"Hey, Rei-chan—"
Reiichi watched the scenery as Kanda drove on, earbuds from her ipod plugged into her ears, humming to herself. She didn't need to know.
Lavi snapped a picture as the other four stood around, staring at the large billboards above the ticket queues. He wanted to laugh because all of them looked like high schoolers with their chosen outfits, but then he now had a picture to laugh at it forever. He came up whistling beside them.
"Are we gonna get the fast track tickets? It's pretty crowded today."
"It's only for some of the rides though," Reiichi noted. "Is it worth it?"
"I dunno. Yuu can afford it, so why not?"
"I am not paying for you assholes," Kanda put in, disgruntled.
He didn't even want to come to an amusement park—he's only been to one once quite a couple of years ago, when Lavi found out he never got to go to one in his childhood and quickly sought to rectify that. It was there that he found his dislike for roller coasters and the unreasonably disgusting junk food that was only sold there. Unfortunately when it was four against one and he was the one with the car, there was little he could do to not go, not especially when his pregnant wife was enthusiastic about it. Reiichi didn't show much excitement about some things (cute animals so far), and the past months had been hard on her, he knew. He wasn't being soft, he was just. It was just give and take, he supposed.
Fuck, who was he kidding.
"You know, you guys could get a family ticket," Lavi grinned, rubbing his chin. "Lena-chan and Allen can pose as Yuu's kids, I'll get a separate adult ticket. I think that's the best deal we've got."
"I hardly think I can pass off as seven," Lenalee rolled her eyes.
"The beansprout can."
Lenalee grabbed the back of Allen's collar just as the other lunged for the model. Reiichi elbowed Kanda instead.
"Stop it," she warned, giving him a stern glare to which he scoffed and turned away.
Lavi took a picture of the moment. "You guys are so easy," he chuckled, wiping a tear. "Come on, we're just wastin' time here. Let's go in!"
There was a bit of cursing (Kanda) as they joined the queue for tickets, crowd thick and excitement heavy. It was sweltering by the time they made it through—Lavi was just thankful that their disguises seemed to be working, or else it'd be a whole new disaster. He swiped his sweat off his forehead, vaguely wondering if he should've worn his bandana instead; he had no idea how Allen was surviving in this heat, and peered over Reiichi's shoulder at the map of the amusement park.
Good natured screams and laughter was abound—they had a whole day for this, he was mildly more excited than he should be for a twenty over year old.
"Ooh. That! Let's do that!" he jabbed excitedly at the largest rollercoaster at the corner of the map.
"We should follow a route," his ever logical cousin put in, scanning the map intently.
"Here," Lenalee pointed to the closest attraction, a water ride. "If we do this first and follow this path," she hummed, tracing the road. "We can dry off in the meantime and get to the rollercoaster. There's a couple of other rides around if we want to try them, and the food circle is here, pretty much in the middle of everything," she tapped.
"That sounds good," Allen nodded in agreement. "If we get separated, we can just meet in front of the pizzeria."
"Okay," Reiichi nodded, smile wide.
Lenalee and Allen walked off first hand in hand, with Lavi hugging both their necks. Reiichi gestured for Kanda to follow which he did, trailing after the three. He looked annoyed as he took off his glasses to wipe at his eyes because he wasn't used to the feeling—but she got distracted by his absentminded movement of taking off his spectacles that she bumped into Allen as they got into the queue of the water ride.
Screams tore through and a loud whoosh was heard, followed by the scattered spray of water.
"Oh fuck no," Kanda grabbed her wrist, pulled her out of the queue.
"Hey—"
Kanda was staring at the tiny boat that contained a couple of soaking wet individuals, all laughing as they floated closer to the start of the water track.
The grip on her wrist tightened. "You are not sitting that."
"It's fine," she told him, trying to push him back into the queue, but he was so much stronger and heavier. "Yuu," she frowned at him.
"I'm fucking serious," he stated, dragging her away further, ignoring the surprised calls from the other three.
"Why?"
"You're pregnant."
She sighed, looking down at the barely visible bump. Over the past few months she had to give it to him for being such a dedicated protector—he was intensely protective of anything she was about do and the sort of behaviour would've been unexpected from someone so rough and coarse as Kanda but she was talking about someone who was also just as stubbornly possessive, it was natural that he felt strongly about certain things that she was about to do. Sometimes it felt restricting but most of the times it made her feel safe, because she knew he was always watching carefully, even if she was talking two steps up to the lobby of their office.
"It's okay," she insisted. "I talked to Kumiko-sensei. She said any ride is fine, as long as it's not too jerky or jarring."
Which was a bummer because she really wanted to sit that death defying roller coaster, but she supposed she could settle for the less exhilarating ones.
"It just goes forward," she thumbed toward the water ride, where just at the same moment, a boat tilted on the slope down and its occupants screamed. "It'll be fine."
Kanda stared at her, face unflinching. "Rei. I'm serious."
She matched his stubborn gaze, frowning.
"Are you guys coming?" Lavi yelled from where the other three were already near the beginning of the queue, waving his arms.
She gave Kanda's flat expression once last glance and shook her head towards her cousin. Kanda's sour face relaxed a bit and he only let go of her wrist when they watched the rest squeeze into the tiny boat.
"Are you scared of heights?" she asked, slightly grinning at his offended expression.
"No."
"Then let's do that," she pointed at a particularly intimidating drop tower in the distance.
Kanda shuddered as they witnessed the riders at the top released to free-fall. "Are you fucking crazy?" he demanded, staring in horror.
"I was just kidding," she shook her head, amused. "I'm not a fan of that ride either. Well," she dug into her pocket for the map again and hummed. "What should we do? Bumper cars?"
"No."
"Teacups."
"Fuck no. That thing is jerky."
"Viking ship."
"Woman," Kanda glared at her, crossing his arms.
"No, really. It just goes forward and backward slowly. What's wrong with it?"
"It sure as hell does not go forward and backward slowly," he scoffed. "It'll make you puke."
"I haven't puked since—"
"I don't care."
Reiichi heaved a tired sigh. "Then you tell me what we can do," she held out the map for him.
Kanda bent to take a look at it and eventually jabbed at a spot. She peered over to see what he had chosen—the pizzeria.
"What," he scowled when he saw that she was giving him an unamused glare. "I said not to come here, you didn't listen."
Reiichi's expression darkened and Kanda regretted his words.
Kanda grumbled to the moving ceiling as he sat unwilling in a seat next to Reiichi, who was unabashedly chuckling to herself in amusement.
"Sorry, sorry," Reiichi grinned, leaning on her palm as cheery music blared through the speakers, and their ride gently rose and fell in tandem. "I thought it'd be—" she broke off into giggles again. "Funny."
"Shut up," he muttered, shooting a glare to a child who mounted on a plastic horse was watching them curiously as they twirled in a carousel.
Reiichi had dragged him into a chariot pulled by a couple of pigs, ignoring his protests at the sheer childishness of the ride—if Lavi had spotted them in this, he would never live it down in his next ten lives. The happy music and happy children in the other mounts were in stark contrast to his current mood, and Reiichi laughed again when she caught his sour expression.
"It's just a ride," she nudged him, relaxing into the seat.
"Fucking stupid ride."
"It's your fault. You were being picky."
"I wasn't."
Reiichi hummed patronisingly. "Hey, get up. The ride's over."
Thank fucking god, Kanda thought as he clambered out of the chariot, movements made ungraceful from the awkward size it was—both of them were clearly too large to enjoy a ride such as this, but the ride master hadn't stopped them from getting on. Reiichi caught his hand and pulled him towards some direction with such a determined force that he realised she was dragging him to another ride, and he balked when she stopped in front of it, grinning wide.
"I can sit on this, right?"
"Oh fuck no," he shook his head. "Rei—fuck—Rei!"
"Let's split up, yeah?"
Lenalee looked over at Lavi in surprise when they got off the water ride, dripping, but not as wet as she had expected.
"I'm giving you guys a free date," Lavi pouted. "Stop looking at me so suspiciously."
"That's precisely what's so suspicious," Allen commented.
"You wound me, little man," the redhead huffed. "I'm gonna stalk Yuu and Rei-chan," he admitted, tapping his camera. "It's been a while, I need to update my folder."
Lenalee raised her eyebrows. "How are you going to find them in this crowd?"
"Huh? They're there," Lavi pointed to a queue nearby.
And then they all saw what exactly the ride the other two were queuing for.
"I'll never let Yuu live this down," Lavi grinned.
"If you tell him, he'll know that you were following him."
"Shucks, you're right," he frowned. "Eh, I'll think about. Darn, the queue is moving fast—I gotta go! See ya kids later!"
"Lavi—!"
Allen sighed, watching the redhead run off into the distance. "Kanda is going to kill him."
"Nah, he's done this a million times—he's smart enough not to get caught," Lenalee observed. "I think."
"Hmm, you might be right," he commented as he watched the photographer abruptly duck into a corner when Kanda turned his head a certain way, but that caused the other to crash into a lamp pole. "But he's still going to get killed, Kanda or not."
Lenalee shook her head. "Well. Let's get moving in any case."
Allen took her hand and she smiled, leading the way.
The pain. The humiliation.
Granted, all the rides that he would grudgingly allow Reiichi to sit were kiddy rides, but it really didn't mean that she could drag him on them as well. He had endured a long suffering chorus of It's a small world after all in a draggy and immensely slow boat ride, another excruciatingly sluggish capsule ride that recounted a million fairy tale stories, not that he enjoyed any to begin with, and then he nearly had a heart attack when she pushed him off a Helter skelter, following the spiral slide after him—he had scrambled to catch her before she came sliding crashing into him.
She had to cover his mouth to prevent the string of vulgarities from being heard by their decidedly younger audience, pulling him to sit on a bench to cool off his fuming deposition while she disappeared to get whatever.
Reiichi came back with two ice-cream cones in hand, and Kanda squinted in disbelief.
"You're not eating this shit again," he reached for the cone she had already started to eat, but she pushed the other into his hand. "I don't want it."
"If you don't eat this one I'll eat it too," she replied, placing herself next to him as she continued to eat the cool treat.
The ice cold feeling in her mouth made her shudder pleasantly despite the cold weather. Kanda took the cone she offered and easily tossed it into the bin beside him.
"Hey—!" she startled, and jumped when he made to take the one she was eating. "Yuu!"
"It's bad for you," he insisted, scowling. "Throw it away."
Much to his disgruntlement, Kanda found out that it was all part of the normal process for pregnant women to have food cravings—and even if their gynaecologist had told him Reiichi's cravings were still particularly mild, he couldn't believe that he had let her eat three tubs of ice-cream in one particular sitting. Why couldn't she crave something less…disgusting, he wondered.
Or less suggestive, his dirtier mind whispered, because she was eating vanilla flavoured ice-cream, the melting white substance chiming something very different into his vision. Especially when she licked her lips.
"If you throw up I'm not going to care," he ground out, tearing his gaze away.
Reiichi ignored his comment and ate quietly, occasionally glancing over at him and smiling.
She called to him after some moments. "Yuu?"
"What," he muttered sourly, eyes closed as he leaned against the back of the bench.
"My phone is vibrating. It's probably Lavi."
"So?"
"Pick it up for me," she requested, cocking her head to her pants pocket. "My hands are sticky."
"Don't want to."
"Please?"
"No."
"I won't make you sit those rides again."
With a long suffering grumble he dug her phone out and flipped it open to his ear. "What do you want?"
"Don't take that tone with me, mister," Lenalee sounded unamused over the phone. "Are you that upset I interrupted your alone time?"
"We aren't doing anything," Kanda huffed, pulling himself to sit upright. "What do you want?" he repeated, with a less sour tone.
"Lavi found an attraction you might like."
"Bullshit. I don't like anything here."
"That's what I said, but well, we're waiting for you guys regardless. Come on, after this we're going to get something to eat. It's way past lunch time."
"Fine, whatever."
Indeed, Lavi was waiting for them with a smug grin and waggled eyebrows. "Ta da!" he presented with arms wide open, jumping in excitement. "It's a legit one this time!"
Reiichi took one look at the attraction and stepped back. "No."
Kanda looked at the fairly boring large structure in front of them, just a large white mansion with shut curtained windows, but there was a bloodied scrawl over one of the wall in a handwriting he couldn't figure out.
"Yeah, it's an actual haunted maze this time," Allen explained. "The last time was too easy."
"I heard you screaming," Lavi grinned.
"I heard you both screaming," Lenalee put in, shaking her head with a grin. "This one is bound to be even better."
"Come on, let's go!"
"Oh no, I am not going in that," Reiichi took another step back, shaking her head uneasily, but she was caught by Kanda's arm behind her waist.
She looked confusedly at him and spied the subtle smirk on the edge of his lips, bidding time for Lavi to grab her by the wrist.
"Don't worry, it's not that scary!" her cousin assured her as he pulled her into the rather empty queue, which meant that their entrance was automatic.
"Lavi, no! I don't like—"
"Relax, Yuu will protect you!" Lavi grinned cheerily as the attraction master let Lenalee and Allen first disappear into it.
"That's not—"
"Quit bitching," Kanda stated as he walked past them, rapping the back of her head.
"I'm not—" Reiichi fell silent when they entered the mansion, vision temporarily blinded by the sudden flare of yellow and red swirls that patterned the entire room.
She had expecting more of the ghostly dark and horror gore. How unusual. There were three doors in front of them, all neon yellow in colour. She stared uneasily at the doors—no matter how deceivingly bright it was now, she had not forgotten that she was inside a haunted maze.
"Shall we all take a different route?" Lavi hummed, prodding the middle door.
It unexpectedly swung open at the light touch. There was pure darkness within, and Lavi stepped into it curiously.
"Huh. I can't see a thing—"
The door slammed shut behind him, cutting off his sentence and Kanda and Reiichi jumped backwards in shock.
"I-I'm just going to go back—"
But Kanda was gripping her wrist tight in her attempt to escape. "No. Let's go in," he stated, smirking.
"Yuu, I don't want to—"
"I didn't want to sit all those stupid rides either," he shrugged, shoving the first door open.
"Yuu!" Reiichi shouted, startling him when he was half in step into the darkness. "I-I…I'll do anything else!….Anything," she repeated meaningfully, face half blushing, half looking at the space before them with extreme unease. "I mean it. Anything."
"Like what?" he cocked his head with a raised eyebrow.
As expected she didn't want to say anything out loud, staring at her feet. "…Please!" she huffed out, cheeks stained red.
"I want this," he said instead, yanking her in.
She yelped when the door behind them slammed shut like it did with Lavi and she gripped the side of his shirt.
"I will kill you for this," she grinded out, trying to steady her breathing.
"Whatever."
He snorted and tried to adjust his vision to the unaccustomed light, but as he did so, a bulb above them flickered dimly, casting a small path for them in front. Kanda walked forward without much thought, and the lights above them flickered as they moved. It was too quiet but it wasn't as eerie as Reiichi thought it would be, and after a few moments of walking in a straight line, she released the grip on his shirt.
They walked in silence until they came to another crossroad, with two simple arrows diverting left and right. Kanda moved to take the left and she followed quickly, sticking close to his heels. It was unfair how he looked so unaffected with the creepy atmosphere, but then she had seen him stare unfalteringly when he watched certain horror movies with Allen—one of the strange bonding activities she had seen the duo do, not that either of them would ever admit it.
They entered through a thick curtain and were met with a narrow way with high walls, with a sudden scream a few meters away. Reiichi jumped at the sound and proceeded to step back, except Kanda caught her by the arm and pulled her forward.
This was probably the start of the maze proper—the walls were lined with cobwebs and creepy paintings, with eyes that suddenly averted to the gazer. Reiichi tried not to touch her walking partner out of spite but when they nearly walked face first into a skeleton that dropped from above, she squeaked and grasped his right arm, burying her face into his shoulder.
She really didn't like these things at all.
"Rei, fuck, I can't feel my arm," Kanda tried to make her to let go, but she wouldn't budge.
"This is your fault," she muttered, creaking one eye open.
"What are you so scared of?" he snorted, kicking the wooden skeleton aside—she was sure they weren't supposed to touch the props—but oh well. "The whole thing is fucking fake."
"I know, but it doesn't make it less freaky."
He pushed to move on and there was no choice but to follow him. Kanda never stopped to muse about the route they were taking and Reiichi yanked him to pause and think because they were in a maze; they were likely just wandering around in circles and she really wanted to get out.
"Left," he decided again when there was another split.
"We took left just now."
"Yeah, and we're back to the same place," he pointed to a row of smiling porcelain dolls. "This weird thing was on our left previously. So we go left now."
Reiichi couldn't remember, because she was too busy trying not to take in her surroundings. There was occasionally some weird elevator music playing faintly in the background that cut abruptly. And then it played again. And cut abruptly.
And then something intelligible mumbled.
"What was that?" she asked, gripping his arm tighter.
"What?"
"I heard something."
"There's nothing," he stated, never once breaking in his stride. "Stop pulling my left arm, it's distracting."
"Sorry," she murmured, and two steps passed before she realised she was gripping his right arm.
Kanda laughed aka coughed like he wanted to die, and she wanted to kill him.
"Rei," he snorted into his palm as he coughed harder, smirk barely covered. "That was a joke."
"A horrible one, you jerk!" she yelled, because for that second her imagination had not been kind to her.
He rolled his eyes and coughed again at her flustered state.
"Yuu, can we please get out of here," she squeezed out, biting her lip. "Please."
He sighed. "Fine," he acceded, grabbing her wrist to walk on. "Stop freaking out. I saw the exit just now."
"You what?"
He ignored her indignant remark. She glared silently at his back as they moved, hoping that he was actually leading them to the exit and not another deliberate round in the maze. She slipped her fingers into his to hold his hand properly, slightly mollified when he took it. The rest of the journey was in relative quiet except for the background noises that were starting to ease into white noise and the creepy decorations started to become unsettlingly familiar—they had passed the same thing at least three times before, stupid Kanda. Lost in thoughts in her grumbles, she accidentally tripped over her own feet when she felt something touch her back.
Kanda caught her clumsily when she crashed into his back, and when she turned to look around, there was a black humanoid thing with white glazed over eyes reaching out towards her.
She screamed.
"I'm sorry, I swear, I—" Reiichi bowed profusely. "He didn't mean it!"
Maybe Kanda did, because he stood off at the side refusing to apologise, ignoring Allen and Lenalee who were trying to talk to him. The manager of the amusement park sighed.
"I have to say it's not the first time this happened, but," he glanced over at his employee, still in the creepy suit but was knocked out cold on a stretcher, courtesy of Kanda's violent fist, nose bleeding profusely as several attendants stood fusing over him. He winced. "He might really feel it when he wakes up."
"I'm really sorry," she bowed again. "We'll pay for any medical fees if needed."
"Okay," the manager nodded. "Well. I doubt Suzumura-kun will press charges, but I'll need a contact from you."
"Um, sure, um," she dug through her bag for her wallet, but her cousin beat her to it.
"Call my personal cell—I don't think he," Lavi thumbed to the scowling model at the side, "wants our head of departments to hear about this," he chuckled, handing over his name card. "Such a pity—Twi would fucking love it."
The manager took a quick glance at the name card, and then he took a double take, staring at Lavi with wide eyes.
"…B-bookman-san?!"
He switched his gaze to Reiichi disbelievingly, who smiled unsurely, and then looked at Kanda, pieces clicking into his mind.
Lavi pressed a finger to his lips. "If you can keep this low, I'll greatly appreciate it. If not, Yuu will be more angry."
"U-understood," the manager nodded hastily. "Er…er…" he fumbled, suddenly at a loss of what to say, "I heard the news. Congratulations, Kanda-san," he bowed towards Reiichi, who blinked in surprise.
"Oh, um, thank you," she quickly bowed back in embarrassment. "I'm really sorry about…" she gestured to the poor employee, wincing.
"Ah, no, don't worry about it!"
Lavi shouldn't have thought the situation was funny, but he really did. Fuck, best day ever.
After lunch Kanda found himself sitting languidly on one of the benches as he refused to go on anymore of the rides that he allowed Reiichi to—Lavi took his place happily and the redheaded cousins were off in their own world. Sometimes Lenalee and Allen would come by and drag him into a more exciting rides; sometimes he agreed since there was nothing else to do, sometimes he flat out refused, and vindicatedly watched Allen scream from the bottom of the tower drop.
This was one of the other times he refused vehemently.
"Come on, Kanda," Lenalee groaned, trying to push him off the bench. "We've tried it, it's not that scary."
"I'm not fucking scared," Kanda retorted, refusing to budge. "I just don't want to puke out my lunch."
"You ate like three hours ago, it's all digested," she retorted. "You'll love it, I promise!"
"Because that means so much," he rolled his eyes sarcastically.
"Lenalee, Kanda is clearly trying to maintain his visage of manliness here," Allen grinned, sitting casually next to him. "You don't have to prod too hard—it'll shatter soon enough anyway."
"What the fuck was that, you brat?"
"You can prove me wrong if you come with us," Allen folded his arms easily. "It's really not that scary, you prick."
The rollercoaster that they were referring was the one Lavi had pointed out in the very beginning, and it took a deep twist at the particular moment, causing the entire track to vibrate loudly with piercing screams.
"Keep bugging, beansprout."
Allen sighed at him but perked up when he saw the two redheads walking towards them in the distanced. He waved.
"What's up? Why are we standing in a circle around Yuu?" Lavi questioned curiously.
"It's a prayer circle for Kanda," Lenalee commented, giving Kanda one last futile shove. "He needs to sit that," she pointed to the ride in front of them, again with the roaring vibrations and the loud screams.
"Oh fuck yes," Lavi whistled.
"I want to sit that," Reiichi gazed at it.
"Fuck no," Kanda grounded out.
"Such a spoilsport," Lenalee grumbled, flopping down beside Allen.
"Hey, Yuu," Lavi began with a shit eating grin. "If you go on it I won't tell Rei-chan about the first time that we went to a sex shop and—"
"Actually, you told me about that already," Reiichi put in, non-pulsed.
"Oh yeah, I did. Sorry, bro," her cousin shrugged sounding not very sorry at all. "Then I won't tell Rei-chan about the second time we went to a sex shop—"
Kanda lunged forward to grab the other by the front of his shirt, nearly choking him. "What were you saying?"
"Ack—" Lavi coughed, grin still wide even as he gasped for air. "I won't say anything if you get up there."
Kanda tightened his choke and Lavi genuinely struggled for air until Reiichi forced him to let go.
"Well, Yuu?" Lavi smirked. "You see, Rei-chan, it was a nice and sunny afternoon—"
Kanda stood up and kicked at the male redhead, scowling darkly. "You're fucked," he grounded out before he tore off his glasses throwing it to Reiichi, and stalked towards the entrance of the stupid ride, with Allen and Lenalee hurrying after him, excited.
"No thanks!" Lavi shouted behind him, laughing.
Reiichi watched her husband storm angrily up the steps into the ride, figure disappearing seconds later.
"A second time?" she raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah, it was fucking hilarious," Lavi hugged her shoulders as they watched the other three clamber into the coaster train right at the very top. "Some dude tried to recruit Yuu to become a gay porn actor—fuck, I'll never forget it," he laughed, not even bothering to stifle his chuckles. "Oh man, don't tell Yuu I told you, okay? Well technically I didn't tell you the details, but—"
"WHY THE FUCK ARE WE GOING BACKWARDS?!"
Lavi and Reiichi blinked at the familiar voice, looking up towards where the coaster train was moving backwards up towards a particularly steep curve. Perhaps everyone forgot to mention that the ride was conducted in a new fashion for double the thrill—but then again, Kanda should've noticed it himself.
"FUCK, WHAT THE FUCK—"
Reiichi grinned—Kanda's agitation was almost tangible even from the distance as the train tipped over the edge.
"WHAT THE FUCKING SHITTTTTTTT—"
There were a loud bursts of laughter as the train whooshed by, twisting and turning quickly in its paces and she watched, chuckling with her cousin.
"I should've recorded that," Lavi snickered, eyes trailing the fast moving train. "Ooh better yet, let's buy the photo."
Reiichi kept the photo in her bag, because if Kanda saw it, he'd likely tear it apart.
"You okay?" she knelt by his knee as he sat hunched over. "Yuu?"
Kanda muttered something she couldn't hear, face still pressed into his palm.
"Do you need some water?"
He raised his head and she winced at the dark glare sent Lavi's way, not that the male redhead cared. He took the bottle of water she offered and drank it full, tossing it into the bin after.
"Aww, don't be a baby, Yuu," Lavi cooed. "Rei-chan will make you feel better! She accepts you whole heartedly! Even if you were almost a gay porn actor—"
"You fucking piece of shit—"
Lavi ran like his life depended on it, cackling all the way whilst being chased with someone of murderous intent. Reiichi sighed and watched as the two of them ran in circles, one snarling and one wheezing from amusement.
"We should be leaving soon," Lenalee commented, taking looping her free arm around Reiichi's. "But let's do one more ride. A slow one."
"The Ferris wheel is a classic," Allen put in, pointing to the large structure in the distance.
The three of them walked towards it—Lavi and Kanda were probably following (or at least Lavi would alter his running path to follow them) and they gazed at the numerous fairy light decorating the pathway towards the ride, made beautiful from the dimming sky. Reiichi smiled at the way Allen looked at Lenalee; anyone could see that the younger was so desperately in love with the female model, and also at the way that Lenalee met his gaze back, smiling brightly.
"You guys go ahead," she untangled her arm from Lenalee's hold, patting both of their backs.
"We can all go," Allen insisted, eye darting to the still chasing pair.
Reiichi laughed. "I've got this," she assured him. "Go on."
"Thanks, Reiichi," Lenalee grinned, pulling slightly blushing Allen along.
She waved at their disappearing backs, and jolted when Lavi hugged her suddenly from behind.
"Save me," he whispered into her ear as he panted heavily, refusing to let go.
"Usagi," Kanda growled, cracking his knuckles dangerously as he sauntered forward also breathing heavily, hair in slight disarray from how he had been chasing the other. "Don't be a fucking coward and get out from behind her."
"Rei-chan, please, he looks really serious," Lavi continued to furiously whisper, burying his face into her neck—which served to irritate Kanda further—it was all on purpose, Kanda fucking knew it.
"You kind of deserved it," Reiichi stated, unblinking as Kanda came closer.
"That's not fair, Rei-chan," he murmured. "Then I'll tell Yuu about the time when we went to a sex shop—"
Reiichi whirled on him so fast that he stumbled. "Do you want me to tell him about how you stalked us today?"
"You noticed?" Lavi blinked. "And you didn't tell Yuu?"
"Do you want me to?" she asked calmly in threat.
"We can go back and forth all day," Lavi commented, almost proud. "But you and I both know I remember more."
"What are you two mashing about?" Kanda scowled, eyeing them both suspiciously.
Lavi opened his mouth and Reiichi kicked him in the shins.
"Nothing," she muttered, grabbing Kanda's wrist. "Stop chasing him—you can get back at him later. Let's go on the Ferris wheel. Allen and Lenalee are already up."
Kanda frowned in confusion as he was forcefully dragged off, oblivious to the pleased wave that Lavi sent in reply to Reiichi's pointed look towards her cousin. It was even more suspicious when Reiichi sat beside him in a capsule and the ride took off, elevating at snail's pace.
"What did you say to the usagi?"
"Nothing."
His raised eyebrow was a clear disbelief, and Reiichi knew by experience that he was always curious about these things that shouldn't matter. And he always had some way to wring it out of her.
"Tell me."
"It's nothing," she huffed. "So, I heard you almost accepted the acting job?"
Kanda paused, taking a moment to curse his fucking best friend to the depth of hell. It was a lot of money offered for at a period of time when he was just breaking into the modelling scene, and jobs were spotty, unlike the unimaginable flow he had now. In his defense, he did not 'almost accept' it—there was no accepting, and there was also no almost. He told her that much.
"Okay, okay, I believe you," Reiichi grinned, amused at his heavy outburst as she patted his hand consolingly.
It was just a usual tactic of hers to change the topic—and it definitely worked this time. He scowled when he realised it, but Reiichi took his hand and entwined their fingers together.
"I still want to know what you said to—"
"Shhh, fine, I'll tell you later," Reiichi huffed as she leaned on his side and he grumbled, falling quiet. "Yuu?"
"What?" he glanced over.
"Thanks for today," she murmured, looking up at him.
It was ridiculous, but that smile still made his heart flutter and cheeks warm. He averted his eyes. "You owe me."
She rolled her eyes, deciding to humor him. "What do you want?"
He didn't bother to reply this time.
This time she felt him turn her waist and met her mouth smoothly. It was hardly a romantic gesture on his part but rather doing something he wanted since she asked, but she blushed slightly anyway especially when his hand came to rest on her abdomen. It was this little gesture that he started to do for the past few months despite that her stomach was still rather flat, but it was a profoundly intimate gesture that reminded her of the little life she was carrying for both of them.
She kissed him back with eyes closed. As always his tongue delved hungrily into her mouth, pulling her flush against him.
"Eh, give them a round two."
They jolted when they heard Lavi's voice, the culprit peering at them through the slightly ajar carriage door before it slammed shut again.
"Wait—Lavi—!"
April.
Kanda hadn't ran for anything faster in his life. Thank god there was no news about it yet, because the streets were relatively empty as he broke a million traffic laws to get to the hospital as quick as he could. The call came in just at the start of his shoot—hence why he was wearing eyeliner and inky chunky boots complete with a rather bizarre black layered outfit, but he didn't pay it much heed as he reached the reception after tossing the keys to Lavi to park the car.
"Where is she?" he ground out, slightly winded out of breath.
"K-kanda-sama!" The lady receptionist stood up abruptly in shock, immediately colouring slightly pink in his presence.
"Where is she?" he repeated impatiently, tapping the table.
"Fifth floor, second door on the corridor to the left—"
The lifts were too slow so he took the stairs, ignoring the weird and surprised looks sent his way. Now wasn't the time to care about such things, especially not when his wife was giving birth. The entire room stopped to stare at his entrance when he slammed it open. Reiichi was laying on the bed at the far end with her legs propped up and a cloth over her body, with two nurses by her side.
"Kanda-san," the doctor, Kumiko-sensei, came forward, smiling in relief. "You made it."
He nodded in acknowledgement, eyes set in Reiichi's form. She was sweating, though her facial expression wasn't twisted in intense pain like he expected.
"They said you were in labour," he started, coming to her side.
"I am," she replied, breathing slightly heavy. "Just not the late stage as of yet—" she winced when a contraction took a hit.
"Seven minutes," one of the nurses read.
Kanda looked at her with flat expression that didn't really convey in his inner panic, but Reiichi knew him well after all this time. She reached for his hand gripping on the bed handle and entwined their fingers together, giving him a weak smile as another contraction squeezed.
"Ow."
Someone came to give him a chair and Kanda sat quietly, watching her while the doctor and nurses murmured things at their side.
"What?" he grumbled when he noticed Reiichi smiling at him in a particular way that reminded him of his best friend.
"I like your outfit."
"Shut up."
"Is it a boy or is it a girl?" Lavi demanded when he pushed the doors open, but the silence that greeted him made him pout.
"Fuck. Fuck," Kanda groaned, leaning his head on the bed handle. "Fuck."
The male redhead let the doors swing close and came closer, noticing Reiichi's rather tired expression and his best friend's weird sounds of agony. Reiichi was squeezing of Kanda's hand, tightening particular hard whenever her facial expression twisted into pain.
"Nine centimeters," Kumiko-sensei announced calmly. "Kanda-san, get ready to push."
"Man up, Yuu," Lavi grinned, clapping Kanda on the back. "Rei-chan isn't screaming."
"That's because she's killing my f-fucking—hand," Kanda grounded out. "Fuckkkkkkkkk—"
Reiichi sucked in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut just as Kanda cursed loudly again, and Lavi roared into laughter.
"I'm so glad I didn't miss this," he chuckled, going over to Reiichi's other side.
"Ten centimeters. Alright, Kanda-san, take slow a breath," the doctor instructed, looking up from her position at Reiichi's feet.
"L-lavi," Reiichi whispered, lips rather pale at the exertion she was put through, fingers weakly gesturing for her cousin to hold.
"Hey, you can do this," Lavi assured, bending slightly down to take her hand, except he did not expect the crushing force that came with it. "Fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck—"
"Push, Kanda-san!"
Lavi sincerely hoped that his cousin wouldn't be stuck in labour for hours—because he was so sure the extremities of his fingers were going to die from the lack of blood it was receiving. He patted her hand and kissed it, watching the doctor and nurses busy at work.
It was surreal.
Nine months had passed since he discovered that his baby cousin was knocked up by his one and only best friend, and weirdly enough, those nine months had flown by so quickly. Passing five months Reiichi's abdomen had started to swell rapidly—there was much change to adjust to, for everyone. Especially for his best friend and cousin who were so young and at a loss of what to do when having their first child, Lavi tried to ensure they had as much privacy as possible to figure it out together, as well as having people around who could help. Much to Kanda's grudging acceptance, Tiedoll was around quite a bit to advise. All Lavi could do was to provide contacts he sought and to read as much as he could to help in any way, and it all accumulated to the phone call just as they were starting a way overdue for Hermès, not that Kanda cared at this point.
Lavi squeezed back the hand that was gripping him to death, and murmured comforting words, quietly watching Kanda watch his cousin intensely. Other than the repeated vulgarities, the model hadn't actually said anything else, expression painted with something more akin to worry than Lavi would ever be used to seeing.
It felt like they were stuck in time for hours, with Reiichi's pained groans and the doctor's encouraging words, and with them holding her hands as they both muttered strings of curses, and finally, finally, a cry broke through.
"Fuck," Kanda wrung out his hand when Reiichi released them both in exhaustion, breathing heavily.
"Congratulations, Kanda-san," Kumiko-sensei came forward, smiling softly with a bundle in her arms.
Reiichi immediately reached for it, pulling it close to her chest. Dark blue eyes blinked up at her with a small tuft of red hair, mouth yawning loosely.
"So is it a boy or is it a girl?" Lavi demanded, nearly tripping over his feet to get over to the other side.
"Boy," Reiichi murmured, brushing her baby's cheek with a finger. She smiled, looking at Kanda. "Hold him."
Kanda blinked, glancing at his child—his child—and took him into his arm, albeit a bit awkwardly, a strange picture especially with his eyeliner and outfit. He looked at his son quietly, those navy eyes watching him in equal measure. It was a moment that struck him as a feeling that he couldn't describe, not when he met Reiichi's eyes, not when he looked back at his son.
His son.
"Can I hold him, can I hold him?" Lavi murmured excitedly. "Fuck, he's so cute."
A slightly disturbing girlish squeal of excitement echoed in the room when Lavi cradled his nephew, grinning hard. "Hey, little fella," he cooed, and Reiichi chuckled at the sight. "Who's your daddy, huh? Not me, but close enough."
Kanda was watching her again while Lavi cooed more nonsensical words to the baby, and she caught his expression.
"I'm okay," she murmured, hand gently covering over his.
Kanda gave a snort and brushed back her hair, even though it was sticky with sweat. "I can't feel my hand anymore."
Reiichi rolled her eyes. "I can't feel my legs."
"That's what she said," Lavi put in, earning two flat looks in return. "What?"
He wasn't carrying the baby anymore, this time, the child in the arms of the doctor. "Kanda-san, if you'll follow me please? I have some paperwork for you to fill."
"Nah, I'll go," Lavi patted Kanda's shoulder, grinning. "You stay with Rei-chan."
He didn't give them time to say anything as he ushered the doctor out, leaving the other two alone and the nurses behind to clean up.
Kanda came to stand by him as he watched his nephew through the glass at the corridor later.
"So," he began. "What's mini Yuu's name?"
It was ridiculous but Reiichi and Kanda didn't want to tell him the baby's gender even though both of them knew pretty early on, as well as the baby's decided name. He figured it was some sort of payback or torture because he was dying to know—he had his whole the-best-uncle-in-the-world game plan planned out, and he couldn't prepare for it if he didn't know all the details.
"Come on, Yuu, I got to call the little fella something more than 'mini Yuu' all the time."
Not that he wouldn't get a kick out of it, but from the baby's red hair, it would seem that the child wouldn't look as much as Kanda as he expected, though those dark blue eyes were pretty killer.
"…Seiichi," Kanda spoke after a while, watching his son sleep in the cot. "Rei chose it."
"Seiichi," Lavi repeated, chuckling right after. "Ah, not unexpected. Seiichi. Sei-ichi. Hmm," he glanced at Kanda. "How do you feel?"
Kanda shot him a confused side glance. "What?"
"You're officially a dad, dude," Lavi rolled his eye. "How do you feel?"
Kanda shot his gaze back to his son and it took a while for him to answer. "…Weird," he said shortly.
The other glanced at him. "How so?"
"Fucking scared," he admitted, gripping his palm.
Lavi smiled.
It was dark and she couldn't really see except for the moonlighted contours of the hospital room, but she really needed to get off the bed.
"What are you trying to do?"
Reiichi paused guilty in her movements, but then she didn't need to feel guilty—she was just trying to get to the bathroom in the middle of night. Kanda got up from the chair he was laying on and walked over, barefoot.
"Toilet," she responded, trying to shift her legs off the bed so that she could get down.
He came over and hovered, and she knew that her slow movements were making him impatient.
"Wait," she held up a hand before he bent down in a move to carry her. "I can walk."
He raised an eyebrow and stepped back, but quickly rushed to steady her when her legs gave away slightly, wobbly from her weakened state.
"You were saying?" Kanda snorted.
He crossed the short distance to the attached toilet easily with her weight, and set her down in front of it. He looked like he wanted to follow her inside, but she closed the door in his face before he stepped in. He scowled annoyed when she opened it when she was done. Without a word he lifted her up again, crossing over with a few quick steps and put her sitting back on the bed.
"Thanks."
"Go back to sleep. You need it," he muttered, turning away to walk back to the chair.
On her right Lavi was sleeping soundly on the other chair that had been pulled out so that he could lie on, snoring softly. It didn't look comfortable but then again her cousin had a skill whereby he could sleep anywhere—not something Kanda possessed.
She looked over to Kanda who lay back down and stared at the ceiling. Even in the darkness, she knew that he didn't have his eyes closed.
"Yuu," she said instead, patting the bed.
Kanda craned his neck up. "Go to sleep," he repeated.
"I will. Come."
With a sigh he got up and pushed himself up to the bed—why were hospital beds so high off the ground—and settled in next to her as she shifted, leaning against the pillow. This was so much more comfortable then the pathetic chair he had been laying on earlier. He gave out a tired sigh at the ache in his back.
Reiichi was looking at him when he glanced over.
She turned over and curled her arm around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired."
"Then sleep, idiot."
"I'm too nervous."
He knew what she meant, because he felt the same.
"I feel weird," he said instead.
"I know," she smiled, closing her eyes.
It was the start of a new journey.
A/N: Wow wow wow it's been a while because I had a two month exam period, but my summer has begun :D
If you guys have to thank anyone for this chapter it'll be to the-hungry-pianist on tumblr in my first ever fic request giveaway~! The request was an amusement park date with a kiss on the top of the Ferris wheel, hope I did it justice :)
In truth I am having a really bad writer's block with Cantarella—this chapter was supposed to feature the birth scene and then I had no idea what to do (so thank the prompt!)—I have everything in my head but it's just not working out in words. I truly apologise because I might just really end it without Lavi's turn. I'm not satisfied at all with what I thought I had for him.
I'm just gonna contemplate about this for a while, and if it doesn't work out then, well. I'm sorry guys. I'll probably guilt myself into writing a LaviOC just because I want to try something out with him, maybe just a little spinoff from Cantarella verse with a fresher state, or something completely different.
Sorry about the relatively jerky flow of this chapter. I am terrible with pregnancy accuracies, please forgive me ;_;;
Peace out and later days y'll