A/N: Ah, I'm so sorry for the two month wait! Had some trouble writing this chapter, but I hope it was worth the wait :)
"Was your shampoo bottle empty?"
Mimi looked up from her magazine as she watched Sora pat down her damp hair with a towel. Both roommates had opted to wake up early this Saturday morning after 'being lame' (Mimi's words) last night and falling asleep early. As weeks became busier and busier, weekends needed to feel longer.
"No?"
Sora ran some fingers through her damp hair before raising a curious brow in Mimi's direction and mumbling, "Weird…"
Mimi leaned back into the couch as she scanned the area. With balloon pieces still randomly scattered around the living room after yesterday morning's ordeal, the apartment seemed more unkempt than usual. At the moment, Miyako was still sleeping, and Hikari was still at Takeru's. Unfortunately, as much as Mimi would have loved to sleep in, she was too plagued by dreams of Koushiro to keep her eyes shut longer than necessary.
The cinnamon-haired girl fidgeted with the page of her magazine as she glanced up at her roommate, who had changed into casual jeans and a white blouse. Mimi was planning on coming clean to Sora about her recent secret, though she wasn't exactly sure how to bring it up. In all honesty, her feelings were so random that they didn't even make much sense to Mimi. The thought of trying to explain them to her best friend seemed absolutely ridiculous.
"Did you finish that cake you promised for Keiko's nephew?" Sora asked before taking a seat next Mimi.
The aspiring chef stiffened, "Yeah, I put the finishing touches on it a few hours ago."
"Why were you awake so early?" Sora's brows furrowed in concern.
Mimi bit her lip before putting down her magazine. Now would be as good of a time as any, right? All she had to do was blurt it out.
Right now.
Just blurt it out.
"Mimi?"
Mimi's eyes focused back onto Sora's concerned face and she quickly plastered on a fake grin. Okay, so maybe blurting it out wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. Maybe she'd have to gradually bring it up.
"I've been having weird dreams," Mimi recovered slowly, "So I haven't been able to get much sleep."
Sora chuckled, "I figured that much. You've been tossing and turning for weeks."
"I know. It's because I'm really freaked out," Mimi explained apprehensively. Sora must've noticed her odd behavior because she raised a brow at her roommate inquisitively.
"What's wrong, Meems?"
Mimi took in a deep breath as she formulated the right sentence.
This was it.
There was no going back.
Once she came clean to Sora, it would make everything that she was feeling absolutely real. Once it was out in the open, it would become something she'd actually have to deal with. There would be no erasing it.
"Sora…I think I—"
Mimi was cut off mid-sentence as Hikari burst through the apartment door and ran towards the bathroom. As the situation unfolded, both Sora and Mimi were brought out of their shock at the sounds of their younger roommate throwing up from behind the closed bathroom door.
Sora immediately stood up and made her way to the bathroom, knocking on the door softly as she reached it.
"Hikari, are you alright?!"
The Yagami woman coughed a few more times before the toilet flushed. She made her way out into the room with a pale face, still clad in her pajamas. Mimi quickly ran to get a cup of water as Sora slowly brought the younger girl to the couch.
Mimi walked back into the living room and handed Hikari the glass of water before taking a seat next to her on the couch. She softly thanked Mimi as she started to take small sips from the cup. Sora was rubbing her back soothingly, and Mimi could see that her motions were making Hikari feel a little bit better.
"Are you alright?" Sora questioned again.
Hikari closed her eyes, "Y-Yeah, I think I ate something weird at dinner last night."
Her small body leaned back into the couch, and Mimi was quick to notice the odd look imprinted onto her usually happy face. Sora must have detected it as well, because she shot her roommate a concerned frown before attending to Hikari, again.
"Where's Takeru?"
Hikari took in a few deep breaths, seemingly trying to fight off another wave of nausea, before responding back to Sora, "He was in the bathroom. That's why I had to run back here."
"Are you sure you're okay, Hikari?" Mimi queried as her eyes knit in concern.
The younger girl immediately perceived their worried frowns and forced a smile onto her uneasy face, "Positive. It's probably food poisoning."
"Why don't you go lay down on my bed, Hikari," Sora insisted.
Mimi nodded in agreement, "Yeah, and let me know if you want me to make you anything."
"Ugh," Hikari shut her eyes tightly at the thought of food and Mimi squealed an apology. After riding off another wave of nausea, Hikari chuckled slowly.
"Thank you, guys," she whimpered before making her way over to Sora and Mimi's room. As the door shut, both roommates glanced at each other apprehensively.
"Poor thing," Mimi stated, receiving a nod in agreement from her red-haired friend. Sora rubbed her forehead in concern before sitting back into the couch.
"I hope she isn't sick with anything contagious. Remember last year when half of us ended up getting the same cold?" Sora sighed, crossing her arms thoughtfully against her chest.
Mimi laughed, "Oh yeah, and the only one who could help was the sickest of us all."
Sora chuckled.
"For a future doctor, Jyou sure is helpless when he's the one who's ill," she grinned, causing Mimi to let out a few more laughs, "But anyway, what were you saying before Hikari came in?"
Mimi's laughter quickly ceased as she was caught off guard by Sora's question.
"I—I…um…" Mimi fumbled.
"Yeah, you're not getting out of this, Tachikawa," Sora smiled slyly, "I've noticed for a while that something 's been bothering you. Time to let it out."
Mimi groaned.
"We should probably take care of Hikari, though. This can wait—"
"Don't worry, I'll be taking care of her all day," Sora interrupted as she faced Mimi wholly, "Now spill, Mimi."
Mimi shut her lips tightly, alternating eye contact between Sora's eyes and the ground. Her stomach churned in anxiety as she fidgeted with the fabric of her pants. Well…this was finally it, wasn't it? She had to come clean now.
"Okay," she gave in, "I'll tell you."
Sora waited expectantly as Mimi fought with the words in her head. After a few seconds, Sora sighed obnoxiously, "Come on, Meems. You can tell me anything—"
"I think I have feelings for Koushiro."
Mimi's blurt had made Sora's eyebrows rise higher than the cinnamon-haired woman had ever seen. After a few moments, her eyebrows returned to their normal level, and all Mimi was left with was a puzzled expression.
"Is this because he used to have feelings for you?" Sora asked slowly.
Mimi groaned again, falling back onto the couch.
"I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me, either," Mimi started, bringing her hands to her face, "And I thought that maybe this was just a weird phase, but it won't go away! If anything, I like him more and more everyday."
When Sora didn't respond, Mimi peeked through her fingers to glance at her roommate's face. She was thinking about something internally, her lips pursed into a straight line.
"Sora? Please, say something. I'm going crazy, here." Mimi begged.
Sora's eyes met Mimi's, "I-I mean, I don't know what to say. Are you sure you have real feelings? Like you said, maybe it's just a weird phase."
"It's not, trust me. I have butterflies."
Sora raised a brow, "What?"
"Butterflies," Mimi reiterated.
"Yeah, I heard you. But…what?"
Mimi sighed loudly, "If my feelings weren't real, there wouldn't be any butterflies," she explained while motioning to her stomach. This made Sora gawk at her roommate.
"Mimi, butterflies can come and go. They can mean that you're infatuated. Maybe you just like how much attention Koushiro gives you—"
"Hey!" Mimi interrupted, glaring in resentment at the latter part of Sora's sentence.
"I'm serious! I-I mean after everything that happened with Taichi…" Sora paused awkwardly. Mimi stiffened while glancing at her roommate. When would the 'Taichi topic' become a comfortable one?
"Look," Mimi broke the silence, "I thought the same thing. I've been going crazy for days trying to figure this out. The only conclusion I've come to is that Koushiro has always been there for me. He's cared about me more than any of the other guys at this apartment, and even when it probably hurt him to do so, he listened to me complain constantly about Taichi."
"I understand, Mimi. I just don't want you to jump to any rash conclusions—"
"I've been dreaming about him, Sora. I've been going over old conversations in my head almost every hour of every day. It's gotten to the point where I don't even know how to act normally around him anymore."
"Mimi…"
Sora's rubicund eyes glanced at the floor as tried to formulate her thoughts, "I really feel like this is a temporary thing. You're definitely overthinking it."
"He's one of my best friends, Sora."
"Yeah, but—"
"And if you can fall in love with yours, then why is it so crazy to think that I could fall in love with mine?"
This shut Sora's mouth. She continued to look at Mimi with concern before letting out a small sigh.
"Let's say you're right. Then what, Meems?"
"What do you mean?"
"Koushiro is in a serious relationship right now. If your feelings are real, there isn't much you can do about them," Sora reminded.
Mimi's heartbeat quickened. She'd completely forgotten about Keiko. She was too busy daydreaming about Koushiro holding Mimi that she'd forgotten that he was already holding another woman.
"I-I mean, he used to have feelings for me—"
"Mimi," Sora groaned.
"No, I'm serious," she started, "Maybe he got involved with Keiko so he could get over me."
"Why are you talking like you'd actually tell him about your 'feelings,'" Sora scolded, shaking her head disapprovingly.
"Why not?" Mimi stated without thinking. Sora gawked again before playfully hitting Mimi's thigh.
"Ow!"
"Mimi, you cannot tell him."
"I've never even thought about telling him before, sheesh," she pouted, rubbing her thigh.
Sora glowered, "Good. Promise me you won't do anything without coming to me first."
Mimi pursed her lips and gazed innocently around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with her best friend. Sora caught wind of what Mimi was trying to pull and yanked her arm to get Mimi's attention.
"Mimi!"
"Okay, I promise!"
"Look, I love you, Meems. But, Koushiro is really happy right now. And I honestly don't think your feelings are legitimate. So, even if you have to talk to me every hour of every day to get it out of your system, please do it."
Mimi slumped her shoulders in defeat as she pouted at the floor. As much as she hated to admit it, Sora was partially right. Koushiro was really happy with Keiko…
"Fine."
Working on Saturdays had become a usual circumstance for Taichi these past few weeks, but today's three-hour shift were the slowest and most excruciating yet. All that was on his mind were two blue lines…two blue lines that could forever change his life. As he bustled out of his office building, he shook his sleeve up to look at his watch.
It was early afternoon. Daisuke had to be up by now.
Taichi had been calling his protégée's cell phone randomly throughout the morning, but the younger man had yet to pick up. He was probably still sleeping, and Taichi envied him. How could he sleep during a predicament such as this one?
Taichi dialed Daisuke's number on his cell phone as he hailed down a cab. There was no time for public transportation this morning. As the line rung a few times, Taichi's let out a sigh of relief when his friend finally answered.
"Hello," Daisuke croaked out on the other end.
"Wake the hell up, Dai."
Taichi could hear Daisuke bustling around on the other end.
"Dude, it's noon—"
"Daisuke! I'm on my way home. Make sure you're awake and functioning by the time I get back."
With that, Taichi ended the call and sat back in his seat. The cab driver bustled through the light traffic on the streets, but the swerving motions didn't interrupt Taichi's thoughts. Those damn two lines…
It couldn't have been Sora's test.
It couldn't have.
Could it?
Taichi ran some nervous fingers through his bushy hair. They had been so careful, and they always used protection. And, even if it was Sora's test, she wouldn't keep something this big from Taichi. She wouldn't.
Would she?
He had to repress a groan as the cab driver pulled up to Taichi's apartment complex. After paying the fare, he walked as quickly into his building and prayed that he didn't bump into anyone. The last thing he needed was to see Sora before he was even ready. Trying to seem as nonchalant as possible, Taichi sped up the stairs and scurried to his apartment. Once inside, he dropped his suitcase and ran to Daisuke and Koushiro's door without bothering to shut the front door.
"Daisuke!" he called as he barraged the door with bangs, "You better be awa—"
"Woah!" Daisuke exclaimed as he dodged Taichi's curled fist while opening his bedroom door, "Dude, relax!"
Taichi gaped for a split second before pulling the younger man out of his room.
"Relax?" he asked incredulously as he pushed Daisuke onto the couch with a glare, "Did you forget what happened last night?"
Daisuke groaned as he looked up at his mentor's agitated body from the couch.
"Of course I didn't forget, Tai."
At the tone of his indifferent voice, Taichi spread his arms out wildly, "Why are you so calm right now?!"
"Because I got nothin' to worry about," Daisuke paused to grin and fold his arms behind his head, "Seriously, Tai. Haven't you heard of condoms?"
When Taichi threw Daisuke an icy glare, the mahogany-haired man shrank into the couch.
"What if it was Kari's test?" Taichi spat.
"Then I still got nothin' to worry—"
"Finish that sentence and I'll kill you."
"Why?! It's what you want to hear, isn't it?" Daisuke retorted.
Taichi wasn't amused. The thought of Daisuke and his baby sister doing anything physical made his fingers clench into a fist.
"What I want to hear is that both Sora and Hikari aren't pregnant."
Daisuke looked at him sympathetically. Unsure of how to calm down his friend, he stood up and walked towards the fridge to pull out two beers. He threw one casually to Taichi from across the room, who caught it effortlessly. With a sigh, Taichi walked over to the counter and opened his can. Daisuke followed suit.
"Everything's gonna be okay," Daisuke consoled naively, "We don't even know if the test is Sora's."
Taichi sighed, "I love her," he stated blatantly.
Daisuke raised both his brows at Taichi's confession. He looked deep in thought, so Daisuke took a slow sip from his can before responding.
"Well, I've never heard you say that about any woman before," Daisuke joked with a grin. Taichi glanced at him with a smirk before taking another gulp from his beer and loosened his tie.
"This is driving me crazy. Should I just ask her?"
"I guess that's the only thing you can do," Daisuke responded.
Taichi shut his eyes tightly, "Holy shit, Daisuke. I can't believe one of the girls is pregnant."
Both men turned their heads automatically when they heard a clang by the front door. They were met with Koushiro's wide eyes and frozen body standing under the doorframe. Almost immediately upon noticing their third roommate, Taichi and Daisuke stiffened.
"P-Pregnant?" Koushiro lamely called out.
For what seemed like forever, there was an awkward silence between all of them. No one said anything, unsure of what to respond with. Instead, Taichi let out a loud groan and dropped his head onto the countertop.
"I-I'm sorry. The door was open—I-I just happened to walk in as you spoke, Taichi—"
"Just close the door, Kou," Taichi grumbled, his face still squished onto the counter. His third roommate complied and uncomfortably walked over to Taichi and Daisuke.
"…So, who is it?" Koushiro asked softly. Daisuke patted the stool next to him, and Koushiro took a seat immediately. He was wearing a new set of clothes, already showered from Keiko's place.
"We don't know," Daisuke responded with a pout, "We found a pregnancy test in the girl's bathroom last night. It was positive."
Koushiro shot Daiuske a curious look, but the younger man waved it off with a "don't ask".
"Do they know you guys found it?" Koushiro queried, this time turning to Taichi.
"If they knew, do you think we'd be sitting around playing guessing games?" Taichi spat, lifting his head to glare at his friend. Koushiro let it roll off his shoulder, unfazed by Taichi's snap.
Taichi's gaze softened automatically, "Sorry…" he mumbled.
Koushiro waved it off before glancing at Daisuke with concern. Daisuke returned it with a look of disdain, as well. They both could sense that Taichi was extremely stressed about the child being his.
"Okay," Daisuke started with a chirp, "Let's narrow this down."
This seemed to brighten Taichi's face.
"Good thinking," Taichi started as he thoughtfully pursed his lips, "It's obviously not Meems."
Koushiro nodded in agreement, but Daisuke snickered.
"I mean, we don't know that for sure," he retorted.
"It's not Mimi," Koushiro stated adamantly.
"Hey, it could be," the younger man argued, "She's smokin' hot! Who knows what kind of action she's getting."
Koushiro shot his younger roommate a glare, "She's not like that."
Daisuke put his arms up in defense before grinning mischievously at Taichi. Even the bushy-haired man was trying his hardest to keep a straight face. Clearly they both were sniggering at how quickly Koushiro had come to Mimi's defense, but it wasn't until Taichi remembered that Daisuke wasn't supposed to know of Koushiro's old feelings that he cleared his throat.
"But it's safe to say that Mimi's the least likely candidate," Taichi offered. The other two nodded in agreement.
There was silence as they pondered about the other three women. Koushiro pursed his lips tightly and crossed his arms, which quickly peaked Taichi's interest.
"What are you thinking, Koushiro?"
The redhead was caught off guard by Taichi's frankness, "Um…It's nothing."
"Well, it's clearly something," Taichi refuted.
"…You're not going to like what I have to say," the readhead admitted with a frown.
Taichi's face paled slightly before he straightened his back and chugged a good amount of his beer. As he finished it off, Taichi wiped his upper lip and crushed the can in his hand.
"Lay it on me, Kou."
"Alright," Koushiro sighed, "Let's say that whoever it is, she's a few weeks pregnant. Hikari and Takeru just recently fixed their relationship. They weren't together a few weeks ago—"
"You're right! Thank god, that means Hikari's probably not the one, either," Taichi sighed, relaxing into his seat for a split second.
"But," Koushiro continued wearily, "It's important to note that Ken's shifts at the department have increased. He and Miyako probably don't see each other as often as you and Sora do…" Koushiro finished with a blush.
Taichi's jaw dropped slightly as he processed everything into his head. Koushiro was right. Out of everyone, Sora was the most likely candidate…
"Dude…" was all Daisuke could let out.
"I mean, the frequency of intercourse doesn't necessarily mean that—"
"Shit," Taichi shoved his face into his hands before Koushiro could finish, "I'm gonna be a dad."
"I mean, don't jump to any conclusions—"
"You're the one who got me to this point, Koushiro!"
"I just wanted to warn you that the chances of it being Sora are quite high. But, that doesn't mean she is the one who's pregnant. You need to ask her," Koushiro stated with a stern frown. He was never a fan of conjecture. This time, Daisuke nodded in agreement.
They both waited for Taichi to respond. For a while, he just stayed in his position before slowly pulling his face away. Daisuke flinched at the sight of Taichi's weirdly calm face, and he cautiously shot a warning look to Koushiro.
"…Taichi?" Koushiro whispered.
"You're right, guys," Taichi stated as he let out a slow breath.
They earnestly waited for him to continue.
After one more shaky breath, Taichi spoke.
"There's nothing left to do but ask her."
"Oh my, Mimi. It looks amazing!"
Keiko fawned over the zoo themed cake with the clap of her hands. The different animals made out of fondant, the wild colors and patterns…it was perfect. Mimi tried not to stick out her chest boastfully, even though she was so proud of the work she had done.
Keiko continued to fan over the cake. Her honey hair was in a loose French braid, and her freckles looking adorably cute on her small face. Mimi had to ignore the burning feeling in her gut and force a smile.
"Thank you," she stated stoutly with a fake grin. Keiko didn't notice as she took a picture of the cake on her phone.
"I'm sending this to my sister. She's going to love it," Keiko praised again with a smile.
The two girls were standing in kitchen as Keiko continued to take more pictures. Mimi took this as a chance to look the petite woman over. She wasn't that great, Mimi noticed. Her small frame lacked curves, and her short hair didn't leave Keiko with many styling options.
"Koushiro definitely wasn't lying when he said you had talent," Keiko adored, typing away on her phone as she tried to send her sister a picture of Mimi's cake. The sound of Koushiro's name instantly straightened Mimi's back. Suddenly, the fact that Keiko was Koushiro's girlfriend was more apparent than ever.
"Please, he always over-compliments me," Mimi waved off. As much as she didn't want that comment to sound snide, it did anyway. Mimi immediately bit her lip, hoping that Keiko didn't notice her slight hostility. This time, however, Keiko did notice. The petite woman glanced at Mimi shyly before smiling, again.
"Koushiro always talks about you," she mentioned nonchalantly. Mimi froze.
"I'm sorry?" she squeaked.
"I know you two are really good friends," Keiko mentioned as she packed up the cake in a box, "So, I'd love to get to know you better, Mimi. We should grab dinner one day."
"Oh…uh," the cinnamon-haired girl fumbled, running a few fingers during her hair, "S-Sure. That sounds great!"
Mimi was lying.
Keiko noticed.
"Well…thanks for the cake, again. It really is amazing," she complimented one last time with a small smile as Mimi stumbled to lead her to the door. Gosh, this situation couldn't get anymore uncomfortable, could it?
"It was my pleasure," Mimi added quickly, opening the door a little faster than she probably should have. Keiko walked out but turned to give Mimi one last grateful look.
As her petite frame made itself out of the apartment, Mimi shut the door with a frustrated sigh. What was wrong with her? Keiko was nothing but kind and respectful; she had done absolutely nothing to make Mimi despise her, but for some reason, she did. Keiko's effortless smiles, her adorable freckles, her sweet personality. It was all making Mimi sick.
"What's wrong with you?"
Mimi immediately glanced up at the new voice in the room. Miyako was making her way out of her room with a raised brow.
"W-What do you mean?" Mimi asked quickly, scared that Miyako had caught her being jealous of cute, little Keiko. Miyako straightened out her sweatshirt and pushed up her glasses.
"You look stressed out. What's wrong?"
It took all the strength Mimi had not to sigh in relief. God forbid Miyako found out about Mimi's feelings for their mutual best friend. The whole apartment knew that she had the biggest mouth.
"Oh," Mimi started, walking over to the couch and taking a seat, "It's nothing. Just thinking about my culinary classes."
"Mm," Miyako responded. The younger girl trudged towards the kitchen and pushed through the swinging door. Mimi raised a brow at Miyako's sluggish behavior. What was going on with everyone today?
"Are you alright, Miyako? You're the one who seems stressed out," Mimi called from the couch.
"I'm fine!" Miyako shouted, her voice piercing through all the walls in the apartment. Mimi flinched and pouted her lip. Should she press on? Yes.
"Is everything okay with Ken?"
After a few moments of silence, Miyako marched out of the kitchen and plopped herself onto the couch next to Mimi. She held a bowl of ice cream, and helped herself to a whopping spoonful.
"Yeah, everything's fine," she mumbled through her full mouth.
Mimi looked at her cautiously, but decided not to pester her. Miyako's mood swings were normal. Steering clear of the woman was key to surviving them.
"Where's Sora?" Miyako asked, changing the topic.
"In her room taking care of Hikari."
"She's still sick?"
"She's fine, but Sora insists on making sure. You know how she gets," Mimi replied with a smile. Miyako nodded her head slowly with a sigh. Typical, caring Sora.
"Where's Momoe?" Mimi asked in response.
"She found a way to get Jyou to have lunch with her," she answered with a mischievous grin. Mimi's eyes widened.
"No way!"
"Yes!"
Both girls sniggered to themselves as Miyako took another spoon of her ice cream.
"You think he'll make any moves?" Mimi queried with a grin.
Miyako scoffed, "They've hooked up before. Last time she was here."
Mimi's eyes widened even more, and Miyako couldn't help but laugh at her adorable expression.
"Jyou was as drunk as a skunk that night, and my sister's had her eye on him since we were in school," Miyako clarified. Mimi couldn't believe it.
"Really? I mean, no offense, Miyako, but she's not the most pleasant person in the world."
"Tell me about it. I lived with her as a child. It was emotionally scarring," she joked before finishing up the contents in her bowls, "But, Jyou's still hung up on Jun. I don't think anything will happen this time around."
"Poor guy," Mimi mumbled as Miyako stood up to place her bowl in the sink. When the younger girl made her way back, she handed Mimi an object before sitting back down on the couch.
"You forgot your phone in the kitchen. Someone just texted you," Miyako explained. Mimi raised a brow and browsed the illuminated screen. The sender of the text brought a smile to her face.
"It's Willis," Mimi announced as she opened the message and read its contents, "He said Michael's party is next Saturday. We're all going, right?!" she squealed.
Miyako raised a brow, "And why would we go to that? Aren't we supposed to hate Michael?"
"I don't hate him," Mimi countered with wave, "We cleared the air, remember?"
Miyako didn't seem fazed.
"Well, I don't like him."
"That's fine. Sora doesn't either, you can hang out with her all night."
"You're not trying to make a move on him, are you?" Miyako asked abruptly and sternly, as if she was the older one of the two of them.
Mimi groaned, "Why do you all think that? We're just friends."
Miyako scrutinized her to the point that Mimi was weirded out. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and cleared her throat.
"It's just a party, Miyako. Besides, we all haven't gone out since Daisuke's parents' anniversary party, and that was a disaster."
"This is not a good idea, Mimi," Miyako announced one last time before sighing with disapproval. The lavender-haired woman got up and walked towards her room, her mood swing kicking into gear again. Mimi watched her go and pouted her bottom lip.
It wasn't that bad of an idea, was it?
Taichi bit his thumbnail nervously as he watched his apartment door with the utmost concentration. He had texted Sora to come over a few minutes ago, and now he was just waiting for his girlfriend to make her way over. Daisuke and Koushiro agreed to stay in their room while the confrontation occurred, but knowing Daisuke, he'd probably have his ear pressed against his door the whole time.
The anticipation was killing him.
What if Sora was the one who took the test?
For the past three hours Taichi contemplated every scenario, and it only drove him even more insane. Gathering up the courage just to text his girlfriend was hard enough, but the fact that she hadn't reached out to him all day was even scarier. Was she avoiding him? Was she avoiding him because she's pregnant? Taichi groaned and rubbed his face agitatedly. With everything happening at work, and now with the added stress of this pregnancy-test dilemma, he was sure his head was about to explode.
At this point, Taichi had convinced himself that Sora was pregnant. It was the only way to deal with the situation.
The sound of footfalls approaching perked up Taichi's ears. The sound of her light footsteps was undeniable. She was coming. He immediately stiffened as the doorknob jiggled. He'd never felt his heart race this quickly before.
Sora walked through the door and jumped at the sight of her best friend sitting at the counter, waiting for her impatiently.
"Oh, my god," she breathed, holding her chest, "You scared me."
"Sorry," he answered quickly. He could tell that he looked peculiar, because Sora immediately raised a brow and straightened out her casual white blouse. Damn it, why couldn't he at least play it cool?
"Why are you being weird…Is everything okay?"
Here goes nothing.
"Sora," Taichi started, "I hope you know that I love you."
The redhead didn't move any closer to him. Instead she crossed her arms at her chest and sighed.
"Taichi, if this is about my parents, I told you not to worry about me—"
"We both know this isn't about your parents."
Now Sora was curious. She knit her brows and scanned her casually dressed boyfriend. Usually Taichi was well put together—a circumstance that still surprised her, considering that he was a slob back when they were in school—but today Taichi looked completely disheveled. His hair was out of control, more than usual. His button-up shirt wasn't tucked in. The belt holding up his jeans was unbuckled. Now, she was worried.
"Then what is this about?" she asked slowly.
Taichi stood up from his seat and ran a few fingers through his hair nervously.
"Daisuke and I tried to play a prank on your apartment last night. We went into the bathroom to put mayonnaise in your shampoo bottles—"
Taichi cut himself off when Sora shot him an annoyed glare.
"Spare me the disapproving look, Sora. I-I found it, okay?" Taichi stumbled with his words, nervously drumming his fingers on the counter. Now Sora was completely lost, and she curiously put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
"What are you talking about, Tai?"
Taichi let out another sigh. This wasn't working. He had to just spit it out. So, the daring businessman took in a deep breath, and before he knew it, words were spilling out of his mouth without any restraint.
"I-I want you to know that I love you, and that I'm gonna be here for you throughout this whole thing. I would never abandon you—"
"Woah, Taichi. Slow down—" Sora put up her hands to motion for him to stop.
"A-And whether you decide to keep it or not, I'll support your decision one-hundred percent."
"Wait, what—"
"And I know that both of us are going through some stressful times right now, but if you do decide to keep it, then we'll figure it out together."
As Taichi paused to take another breath, realization suddenly hit Sora as to what he was talking about. Her eyes widened, and before she could even speak a word, Taichi continued blabbering.
"You mean more to me than I can even explain," he paused to walk over to Sora and hold onto her hands tightly, "So, having a baby with you wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. O-Okay—that came out wrong."
"Taichi—" Sora desperately cut in, but he wouldn't let her finish.
"What I meant was that sharing a kid with you—I-I can't imagine anything more amazing than that—"
"Taichi—!"
"A-And if your parents disapprove of having a child out of wedlock, then I-I will marry you right here, right now—"
"TAI."
Sora yanked her arms away from his and grasped his shoulders tightly before any more foolish things could spew out of his mouth.
"I'm not pregnant," she stated adamantly, her eyes frantically begging him to stop speaking. Taichi's mouth was still open as he processed her words. His tanned face slowly started to turn red; it was the darkest shade of red that Sora had ever seen. She was blushing now, too.
"You're…not?"
"No," Sora affirmed, shaking her head slowly.
Silence enveloped the two best friends as Taichi continued to process what had just happened. Before Sora could even try to snap him out of it, the bushy-haired man crushed her into a desperate embrace.
"Holy shit, thank god," he breathed into her hair, tightening his arms around her waist. Sora chuckled awkwardly before wrapping her arms around him, as well. For a moment, they both stayed in that position.
"This was one of the scariest moments of my life," he admitted dramatically, still holding her.
"And definitely the most embarrassing," Sora added with a chuckle. Taichi pulled away immediately and blushed again. This only made Sora smile and rub his cheek affectionately, even though her heart was beating just as wildly as his.
"Why did you think I was pregnant?"
"Daisuke and I found a pregnancy test in the trashcan last night," he explained shakily, still recovering from his episode.
Sora raised a brow, "Why were you two going through the trash—"
"Long story. Not the point," Taichi interrupted, "But, the test was positive."
Sora's eyes widened again and she quickly held her head, feeling queasy. Her mind immediately started reeling with questions, especially as to which one of her roommates was pregnant.
"Oh, my god…"
"I know," Taichi sighed, clearly exhausted with this whole ordeal, "Now that you're out of the picture, I can only hope it's not Hikari. She's too young to have a kid."
Sora suddenly remembered Hikari's incident from this morning and stiffened. Taichi noticed this instantly.
"Oh no, what's wrong?" he asked wearily.
Sora looked into his dark eyes and suddenly felt guilty. Taichi's face was so exhausted, and she could tell that this ordeal, on top of the stress from his job, had clearly gotten to him. She couldn't admit to Taichi that Hikari's probably the one who's pregnant after this morning, especially if Sora wasn't positive.
"Nothing," she replied, placing her hands on the sides of his face softly, "Look, I'll figure out if it's Hikari or not, okay? Don't worry about this anymore."
"But—"
"I'm serious. You have a lot on your plate right now as it is. Besides, they're my roommates. I'm sure I can find the answer faster than you can," Sora explained with a smile before pecking him on the lips.
Taichi pouted and nodded his head in compliance. She was right. He was too tired to investigate this any further, especially after it had taken so much out of him today.
"Fine. But I want updates, okay?" he ordered mockingly. Sora's laughter in response to his order instantly made him grin.
"Alright, now go take a nap. You look horrible," she stated, earning a teasing glare from her boyfriend as she headed towards the door.
"Sor?"
The redhead paused to turn around, but Taichi had already made his way up to her. He brought Sora's lips perfectly to his, and kissed her in that way that he knew made her knees weak. As he pulled away, he didn't move his hands from her blushing face.
"I-I meant every word I said during that outburst," he confessed softly, a blush still present on his cheeks, too.
As much as that scared her, Sora couldn't help but smile.
"Stupid, Tai."