Chapter Forty-Four: Meeting
(3 months later)
"Stop your fussing," Takano murmured as he saw Ritsu brushing at imaginary specks on his coat. "You'll put yourself into labor doing that." The two were in the sitting area of a ritzy hotel and a very swelled Ritsu was fidgeting more than he should.
"I'm fine, Ta—Masamune," Ritsu replied, though he was still eyeing his clothes. He hoped he looked okay, this was an important meeting. An's wedding was only a week away and Ritsu was finally going to meet her groom to be, Hinajima Shousuke. Shousuke was also bringing his brother Shikijo and his American partner, Michael, as well as their infant son. Surprisingly, Ritsu felt more nervous about meeting the gay couple than An's fiancé. Despite the fact that he and Takano had been openly together for three months, Ritsu was still fussing over a set of worries that came with his eight and a half month pregnancy. What if he and Masamune weren't going to be good parents?
The brunet's hand automatically went to his bellybutton, and he breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't wet. The small pucker had begun changing into a slit, signaling that he was shortly going to burst. Takano knew this was well, and had trouble leaving Ritsu's side even for a quick trip to the bathroom, as he had his own set of worries.
Ritsu had become increasingly fragile as the twin babies stretched his stomach out. His organs were constantly compressed by the fetal sack, most noticeably his lungs, as he breathed in short, steady rasps. The doctor had explained that this could happen even with single babies, and as Ritsu was on the smallish side, the doctor had put him on bed rest until the birthing.
But, stubborn as ever, the brunet still managed to defy this in his own ways. He would work for the Emerald department from the couch and fax things to them, and he utterly refused to give up his place in An's wedding party, much to Takano's chagrin. Frankly, Masamune thought his partner was crazy for doing so much when he was about to blow, but Ritsu's stubbornness was one of the endearing traits he loved. So they'd compromised. Ritsu could meet An and her party today to review the venue and be in the ceremony, but if he so much as sneezed, Takano was pulling him out and hauling his baby bump ass back to the couch.
"Rit-chan!"
Ritsu glanced down the hall and his face lit up as he saw An waving. She immediately steered her group over to the sitting area and gave Ritsu a careful hug. For obvious reasons Ritsu couldn't stand to greet her, but she understood.
"How are you An-chan?" Ritsu asked with a smile.
"How am I? How are you Rit-chan? You look out of breath!"
"Oh I'm fine." He reassured her. An looked over to Takano and bowed.
"Nice to see you again Takano-san."
"You too An-san." He replied.
"Rit-chan, Takano-san," An said. "I'd like you to meet my fiancé Hinajima Shousuke."
"It's a pleasure," Ritsu said to him. Shousuke was a tall, fair-haired man who nodded to Ritsu with a quiet smile.
"And this is Shou-chan's brother Shikijo." An continued, gesturing to a slightly shorter man who also had fair hair. Behind him stood the startlingly tall African American man Ritsu had seen from the picture An showed him, who was wearing a front pack with their lovely son in it. The couple regarded Ritsu with amazement.
"Wow, and I thought I was big when I was pregnant." Shikijo ribbed good-naturedly. "Pleasure to meet you Onodera-san. I'm Shikijo, and this is my husband Michael, and our son Mark."
At the greeting, the tall basketball player came forward and dipped his head in a bow. He then let his lips pull back in a wide grin, his pearly teeth contrasting sharply with his ebony skin. Shikijo rolled his eyes.
"Pardon my husband," He said. "He's new to Japan and finds our customs 'cool.'"
Ritsu nodded and smiled at their baby, who was cooing quietly.
"How old is your son?" He asked.
"Nearly eleven months," Shikijo replied proudly. "When are you due?"
"Any day now," Ritsu laughed breathily. "These two are ready to come out."
"Do you know what you're having?"
"Twin girls," Ritsu smiled, looking up at Masamune, who returned his gleeful expression.
"Congratulations," Shikijo said.
"Thank you," Ritsu replied. "Now An-chan, are we going to see your reception hall?"
"Yes, it's just a couple doors down," She said. "But are you sure you're well enough Rit-chan?"
"I came all the way here," The brunet replied. "I feel just peachy. Lead the way."
Takano immediately leaned over and carefully helped Ritsu to his feet. The dark-haired man took Ritsu's elbow as the group began to walk, ever watching his partner's gait for signs of distress. But Onodera really did seem 'peachy' and made it to the expensive room, which was already being decorated for the venue with crystal and yellow roses.
"Oh An-chan," Ritsu said. "It's wonderful."
He looked over to his friend and saw her eyes filling with joyful tears. Shousuke leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, which made Ritsu smile. He too was happy for An-chan's special day, and that he could be a part of it.
"AH!"
Takano nearly jumped a full foot as Ritsu suddenly yelped and clutched his stomach, breathing heavily.
"I'm all right," He panted. "Just a kick."
After the brunet had straightened up and regained his breath, he looked over at the white-faced Masamune musingly.
"We'll have to name that one after you Masamune. I swear every time I let my guard down she kicks me right in the kidney."
Takano chuckled, but the worry didn't leave his eyes.
"Maybe now would be a good time to go back home."
"But we just got here," Ritsu protested. "And we were supposed to go to the chapel where the ceremony is being held."
"Maybe you should get some rest, Rit-chan," An said. "And I know this is a little hard to hear but, maybe we should talk about what you should do during the ceremony."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're hardly going to be able to stand during the whole thing." Takano commented.
Ritsu's eyes widened and he looked at An with a bit of disappointment.
"You mean you don't want me to be in the wedding party An-chan?"
"Oh heaven's no, Rit-chan. Of course I do! But I think Takano-san is right. You need to take better care of yourself. You'll still be in the wedding party, but I think you should be seated for the ceremony. You and Takano-san can sit right in the front row with my parents."
Ritsu sighed, but he knew they were right. But rather than try to hide his discouragement, he chuckled slightly and gave An a smile.
"We went through all that trouble to get my tux altered to fit around this balloon belly and now nobody's even going to see it?"
Everyone laughed at his words and began to head back down the hall to the lounge. Ritsu let Takano support him as they parted ways with An and went to the parking garage, but he had a firm look in his eyes. Babies or no, he was going to be a part of his best friend's wedding. He had been waiting for this for months, and birthing would just have to wait until after she was married.
But even while he had those stubborn thoughts of resolve, fate was busy crafting, and Ritsu didn't have the slightest clue about the amount of irony he was going to be put through.
And we're back! Next up is Artistica :) We're getting close to the Uke Flu SIH finale!
BTW, if anyone is wondering about the mechanics of the Uke Flu pregnancy process, I highly suggest reading chapter 20 of Cerberus Revised's Uke Flu...then again, just read the whole thing! There are more chapters up now and as always, it's utterly brilliant.
ElectricalStar, Puppyfacetwo, Annalisse Rubisher, Mrs. Ciel Phantomhive, loopyhutton, AllenMoyashiWalker, Kiyame Hikari-chan, RedPurpleRose, randomlycandy4life, Aiko chan, The Guy Below Me Sucks, fionamoto, Pheonix 555, Rowan xx, ladodato, inuyasha lover 33, memorymogul, Uchiha Riddle, Guests, and my darling Cerberus- GIANT GROUP HUG! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND ENDLESS SUPPORT. I LOVE YOU ALL! (but not too much or my dog will get jealous lol)
Tons of MPreg Love,
TBF101
