As soon as Hiei was out of the tub, Kurama wrapped a towel around him in the most loving of ways. It was so sweet how even though Kurama was much more likely to feel cold, he cared enough about Hiei that he would towel him off first. Another good thing was that if Kurama was toweling Hiei off, he couldn't put a towel on himself, and Hiei had no complaints about a naked Kurama.
"I love you, Hiei," said Kurama, hugging his husband and kissing him again. "Now you're all clean, and after you put on some fresh warm pajamas, I'll tuck you in for a nap. Okay?"
Hiei didn't know whether to feel embarrassed, pleased, or annoyed at Kurama's fussiness; he felt that a lot of the time, Kurama just loved to spoil him and dote on him. It was nice in moderation, but it could be quite smothering in excess. But Hiei did like the sound of a nap, so he said, "Okay."
So after Kurama had dried Hiei off, he toweled himself off and put on his bathrobe. Hiei was feeling dizzy again, so Kurama helped him walk to the bedroom. Once there, Hiei noticed that the chamber pot and the throw-up pot were empty and completely clean. Kurama helped him into bed and started tucking him in.
"Have a good nap, love," Kurama whispered, kissing Hiei on the forehead, and Hiei smiled as his beloved left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Since it was October, the sun was going down earlier and earlier—but that was good for Hiei because he wanted it to be darker in the room, therefore easier to sleep. It was the eighteenth today, and an elemental demon pregnancy took nine months. Hiei counted nine months from October 18 and got July 18. So the baby would be born in July…if there was a baby coming at all.
If Hiei was pregnant, what were they going to do? They couldn't keep it, of course, but they couldn't exactly leave it in a box that said "Free to a Good Home," either. Hiei had been abandoned as a baby, and he couldn't do that to his own child. His own child…that sounded weird! How could he have a child? How? And could he find a good home for it? There were plenty of families in Makai that longed for children but couldn't have any, for whatever reason, so the baby could go to them, couldn't it? But what if Hiei's pregnancy hormones forced him to love the baby, and he couldn't give it up when the time came, even though they weren't ready? Because they definitely weren't ready! Hiei was sure he would be a terrible parent. He didn't even have an example to follow!
Besides, Kurama wasn't acting excited about this in any way. It looked like he was working on keeping his calm, and who knew what was underneath that? Could he be worried, too? Maybe he wanted the baby even less than Hiei did! Maybe he blamed Hiei for the pregnancy, because Hiei was the one who had insisted upon having sex that day, four weeks ago exactly! Maybe he was secretly furious! Hiei felt his eyes watering again at this thought, and he didn't understand why.
Hiei thought of going through the rest of fall, all of winter, all of spring, and two-thirds of the summer as a pregnant youkai. If he thought his symptoms were bad now, they could only get worse, he was sure! One thing was that he would be fat. What if Kurama didn't find him attractive anymore, after his body went through all those pregnancy changes? After all, Hiei was pretty sure that he wouldn't feel very attractive.
Was it just being pregnant he feared, or was it actually being a parent that he feared? How would it be if he was pregnant, but he was able to give the baby to someone who wanted it? As glad as he would be to get rid of the baby, its new family would be even happier to adopt it. Every baby has a loving home somewhere, Hiei reminded himself, even if they never find it…which happens all too often in the demon realm.
Going through pregnancy would be hard, but they could probably get back to their lives once the baby was out of their hands. Maybe the nine months would be hell, and his body would change in ways he didn't want it to, but at least after it was over, they could forget about the baby, still with the knowledge that they had nurtured it while they could, and given it a good home. As the baby's mother, Hiei did know that there was one thing he owed the child: its life. But that was as far as it went, morally. Hiei would give birth to the baby and, with Kurama's help, find it a good forever home, but nothing else. After that, the baby was no longer his problem. He would not throw the baby off a cliff in the hope that it would die, which is what his mother's people had done to him. But neither would he keep it and raise it as his own.
Hiei drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the night. At one point he was aware of Kurama coming into the room, putting on his pajamas, and joining him in bed, but Hiei pretended to be sound asleep. And eventually, listening to Kurama's soft breathing and soaking in his wonderful scent, Hiei fell asleep, too.
…
Kurama smelled it before he saw it.
It was a beautiful aroma, one that seemed to float through the window and tempt his nose, one that resembled the freshly turned earth under which it was planted. And that made sense, because that was what the tree signified: something wonderful and new—life. And that was why it was called the Tree of Life.
However nice the smell was, though, Kurama couldn't keep his eyes shut for long. As soon as he was fully awake, his eyes flew open and in one quick move, he sat up and turned around, staring out the window. And there it was, the tall, majestic Tree of Life, its branches swaying slightly in the October wind, its petals fluttering slowly down to the ground.
Kurama was just barely able to keep from crying out, but he held it in, for fear of waking Hiei. When had it ever felt so amazing to be correct? This had to be the happiest day of his life! Well, that and the day he married Hiei. Speaking of Hiei, Kurama stared down at his beloved, fast asleep on his side. Naturally, the fox-demon's gaze drifted down to Hiei's still-flat, still-extremely buff abdomen, where it was now confirmed that a baby was growing.
Many people would say that with a male youkai, the baby's nest was in the stomach—but the truth was, it was actually in its own sort of compartment just above the bladder, with a built-in canal that led right to the posterior. It wasn't the same tract that came from the stomach, because the reproductive and digestive tracts were never connected. And the baby was never in the stomach, because otherwise it would have the whole digestive system in between it and its exit point, which just wasn't plausible.
Anyway, that meant the baby was located in the lower part of Hiei's abdomen, right underneath his belly button. Kurama placed one hand there, softly, so as not to wake Hiei up.
"Hi, baby," he said, tearful once more. "I love you so much, and I can't wait to meet you. I promise I'll be the best father I can be."
Kurama wanted to give the baby a kiss, but he thought that might wake Hiei up, so he didn't. Instead, he smoothed his beloved husband's bangs back with his other hand and kissed him on the forehead. Hiei was sleeping so peacefully, but in his slumber, his hand drifted over to his abdomen, so it was right on top of Kurama's. As he looked at the grubby little fingernails, at the small hand so calloused for such a young demon, weathered from years alone in Makai and countless swordfights, Kurama couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.
"Thank you, Hiei," he whispered, kissing Hiei again, this time on the lips. "Thank you for bringing our precious new baby into the world."
Kurama took a shower, fixed his hair, and got dressed as fast as he could. Since he and Hiei lived out in the sticks, Kurama had a car, which was his wedding present from his parents. Normally, he would drive the car to the train station and finish his commute to work on the train, then drive the car back in the evening, but he wasn't going to work today, at least not in the morning. That was out of the question. This morning would be devoted entirely to Hiei, and to the celebration and planning. So the first thing Kurama did in the car was call his stepfather, Kazuya Hatanaka, who also happened to be his boss.
"Hi, Dad," said Kurama. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to come into work today."
"What's wrong?" asked Kazuya.
"Nothing's wrong," said Kurama, preparing to launch into his "human" explanation of their new situation. "You see…Hiei and I were planning on adopting, but we weren't telling anyone until it got finalized, since we didn't want to disappoint any of our family or friends. But everything got finalized this morning. There's some teenager a few cities over who's going to have a baby for us, and I was hoping to celebrate with Hiei. He doesn't know yet, because he was sleeping when she called."
"Well…congratulations!" said Kazuya. "But the adoption agency called you at six in the morning?"
"No, the mom called us herself," Kurama replied. "She's having really bad morning sickness, so she probably called as a distraction. So anyway, don't you think I should take this day off?"
"That's acceptable. When can I expect you in next?"
"Tomorrow or Wednesday."
"Very well. And again, congratulations."
After the call ended, Kurama tuned the car radio to a station that was known for playing happy, upbeat songs. Then he did something he had never done before, and sang along to the music. He'd been told he drove like an old lady, but today he drove at a normal pace, and instead of driving to the train station as usual, he drove a little closer to the heart of the suburbs, where there was a nice town with a few shops. One of them was a sort of trinkets shop, owned by a nice old woman.
"Hello, Hana," Kurama said as he entered the shop, the bells above the door chiming to signal his arrival.
"Oh, why hello, Shuichi," said the owner sweetly. "How's my favorite customer this morning?"
"Never better!" Kurama beamed. "I just found out I'm going to be a father!"
"Congratulations!" Hana looked almost as happy as Kurama did. "That's wonderful! Let me see what I can do…"
Kurama ended up getting balloons, flowers, a giant stuffed gorilla, and a bunch of baby clothes (his favorite was a onesie that read, "My Daddies Love Me"). Then he stopped at the drugstore and got some diapers. Of course, he didn't get any congratulatory food for this occasion. With any other accomplishment, Hiei would love to get chocolates, but not this time. Kurama was very well aware that they wouldn't need the baby clothes or diapers for a long time yet, but he couldn't help himself.
Once he bought everything he needed and much more, he got back in the car and drove home with all his new stuff in the trunk. His happiness was only growing, because he was sure Hiei was awake by now, and as happy about the good news as he was.