Hiroki muttered to himself as he laid out two suits on the bed, pursing his lips. He knew Nowaki was taking him someplace special, but Hiroki didn't know how special. His eyes lingered on his fanciest dress suit, a black tuxedo. His concentrated gaze then went to his grey felt suit, less formal but still dressy enough to be considered as 'fine clothing'. Sighing, Hiroki went to the black tuxedo and began taking it off its hanger. He hummed as he stripped himself of his clothing and began the tedious process of putting on the tuxedo.
When he pulled the pants up and tried to button them, however, he couldn't get the two flaps of the pants close enough to clasp the button. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion: he had known that the waistline of his tuxedo pants had been rather snug before, but not as tight as Hiroki was experiencing.
Frustrated, Hiroki stomped to the mirror in an attempt to find the problem. Finding nothing, he turned to the side.
And there it was, the bump on his stomach that he had waited so impatiently for.
Hiroki's eyes widened as they caught the slight rise of flesh. To anyone else, it would have been invisible. To Hiroki, however, had never seen anything so gorgeous in his life. His eyes watered as, for the first time in his life, he saw the beauty in himself that Nowaki had always spoken so fondly of.
"Nowaki," Hiroki breathed, his voice wavering as tears rolled down his cheeks. In a split second, pounding footsteps filled the house.
"Hiro-san? Hiro-san, are you okay? It sounded like you were crying!" Nowaki exclaimed as Hiroki heard him practically crash into the doorway. Too enamored by his baby bump to wonder how Nowaki had heard his whisper from across the apartment, Hiroki turned on the spot to face the door. His tears glittered in the dim light of the room, and the glow of the lamp hit his hair just right to give it a halo-like glow. Hiroki gazed at a very concerned-looking Nowaki, who was panting as his hair dripped with shower water and his sweatpants hung loosely from his hips.
"Hiro-san, is something wro-"
"This isn't a dream, is it?" Hiroki asked rhetorically, more tears cascading down his face. Nowaki stepped towards him with a confused look on his face, but froze as Hiroki put his hand on his stomach and rubbed. Nowaki's gaze snapped down to stare at his lover's belly. All of the concern instantly left his face, his frantic, sharp eyes softening.
"Oh, Hiro-san… it's so beautiful," Nowaki murmured. He went to Hiroki and cupped his face in his big hands, leaning down to pepper kisses all over his glowing lover's face. He brushed away the tears with his lips.
"We're having a baby," Hiroki breathed, nuzzling against Nowaki.
"Yes."
Nowaki pulled away, only to trail his hands down Hiroki's shoulders and torso. He held Hiroki by the hips, bringing him in closer. He looked to the side and into the mirror, where the reflection of him and Hiroki stared back at them.
"Whose face do you think the baby will have?" Hiroki asked softly. Nowaki smiled and coiled his arms around his little lover, resting his chin on Hiroki's head.
"I don't care whose face- all I know is that I'll love that baby with all of my heart, no matter what."
"I wish it was summer already," Hiroki complained as he tipped his head back in the taxi seat, blowing a stray hair out of his face. Nowaki laughed beside him, subtly bumping his knee against Hiroki's.
"Why's that? Are you cold?" Nowaki asked. Hiroki snuggled further into his coat in response.
"Not really."
"You're shivering."
Hiroki scowled, pursing his lips.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm just excited to see what restaurant we're going to. What restaurant within your price range is so fancy that I need to wear a suit?" Hiroki asked, shifting uncomfortably in his grey suit as he yanked on his tie to loosen it from its vice grip on his neck.
Hiroki flinched as he felt Nowaki's big hand take his, nervously glancing at the taxi driver. The driver didn't seem to be paying attention though, as he was too busy glaring at a green van that had cut him off.
"Nowaki…" Hiroki murmured warningly. Nowaki squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"It's okay, Hiro-san. You'll love this restaurant- I promise."
Hiroki shut his eyes briefly, allowing Nowaki's words to soak into his mind and comfort his slight anxiety. They sat in silence for the rest of their drive downtown.
When they arrived and got out of the cab, Hiroki wrung his hands, glancing around at the towering buildings surrounding him. Nowaki was leaning into the car, paying the taxi driver. He made short conversation with the man, and unintentionally earned a small discount on the cab fare.
"That man was nice," Nowaki said as he straightened and shut the taxi door. He waved to the cab as it drove off.
"Yeah," Hiroki muttered, frowning. Nowaki turned to him, his ebony brows furrowed.
"Is something wrong, Hiro-san?"
"N-No… I'm just… these buildings are making me kind of nervous," Hiroki chuckled sheepishly. Nowaki chortled, stepping forward to caress Hiroki's cheek. Hiroki jumped away immediately, scowling as his face heated up. "We're in public, Nowaki!"
"But Hiro-san, I want to shout our love for the entire world to hear!" Nowaki exclaimed, attracting a few stares from nearby passersby.
"Nowaki!" Hiroki barked, grabbing Nowaki's arm and dragging him down the sidewalk. "You're pissing me off!"
"Hiro-san, the restaurant is the other way," Nowaki said slyly from behind. Hiroki immediately halted in his tracks and looked over his shoulder, his wide eyes searching maniacally for the restaurant Nowaki had spoken so excitedly of.
"Where? Where?"
"If you'd let me lead, I'll take you there. We can take our time though; our reservation isn't until nine thirty," Nowaki hinted with a wink. Hiroki huffed, rolling his eyes.
"Fine. This restaurant better be good," Hiroki muttered, crossing his arms as he allowed Nowaki to put a big hand on the small of his back and led him in the opposite direction.
"Are you sure you're not cold?" Nowaki asked after a brief silence. Hiroki, who had been shivering and rubbing his arms, glanced up at Nowaki.
"I'm fine," Hiroki lied. As if on cue, however, his face tensed and he let out a little sneeze. Nowaki immediately took his arm and pulled him into the closest building: a jewelry store. Inside, it was warm, but Hiroki flushed crimson as several patrons in the store turned to look at him. Most were women, with a few disgruntled-looking men dotted around the room.
"Stop being so conceited," Nowaki said sharply. Hiroki looked up, catching the slightly irritated tone in his lover's voice. "Seriously. Think about the baby."
Hiroki guiltily put his hands on his belly, apologetically rubbing the bundle of life hidden under his skin.
"I'm sorry," Hiroki mumbled to both his stomach and Nowaki, looking down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nowaki turn to him.
"It's okay, Hiro-san. I'm not angry, I was just concerned for your health," Nowaki said, the cheerful smile returning to his voice. "Let's just stay in here for a while, so you can warm up a bit."
Hiroki nodded and began to walk absentmindedly around the store, his hands shoved in his pockets as he leaned over the glass cases to look at the various gold and silver necklaces. He browsed without much interest, and instead his mind wandered aimlessly. He thought of Nowaki, then of the restaurant, then of the baby. He thought about food, and his jelly-and-corn omelet that Nowaki had looked at with a strange mixture of the expression he had on his face whenever Hiroki did something 'cute', and disgust.
A piece of jewelry caught Hiroki's eyes, and his gaze snapped to the shimmering piece of silver. It was a shimmering baby bracelet with small diamonds encrusted on its band. Hiroki touched the glass case guarding the bracelet, running his fingers across the smooth glass as his eyes glossed over in thought.
"Excuse me, sir, do you need any help today?" asked a voice in front of Hiroki, forcing him to jump out of his trance. He blushed slightly, self-consciously pulling his coat tighter around his body.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you," he said quietly. Hiroki turned to walk away, but found himself walking straight into the large chest of Nowaki.
"What were you looking at?" Nowaki asked. Hiroki blushed.
"Nothing," Hiroki answered hastily, averting his eyes. Nowaki, however, looked up and over Hiroki's head, spotting the baby bracelets.
"Oh. I see," Nowaki said softly. Before Hiroki could protest, Nowaki waved down a jewelry store employee. "Excuse me, miss? How much is this baby bracelet, here?"
Hiroki stiffened, speechless as he watched Nowaki talk to the cashier and pick out the baby bracelet with the diamond-encrusted band.
Ten minutes later, Hiroki marched down the street, his clenched, rigid fists holding a newly bought, very expensive baby bracelet. He heard Nowaki struggling to keep up from behind.
"Hiro-san! Wait up!" he called.
"No! Why'd you buy this bracelet, idiot?" Hiroki asked lividly.
"Because it looked like you wanted it!"
"That shouldn't be the only deciding factor in making big purch-"
"I wanted it, too, Hiro-san!" Nowaki exclaimed. Hiroki slowed his angry steps and gradually came to a stop.
"You're so dumb," Hiroki whispered, cupping in hands in front of him and staring at the baby bracelet. It twinkled in the lights of nearby stores, the facets of the diamonds glittering beautifully as Hiroki stroked the band with his thumb. "For… buying something as expensive as this… you're such an idiot… b-but it's s-so… beautiful."
Tears plopped into Hiroki's hands as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hands around the baby bracelet, pressing it hard against his chest. He trembled, lowering his head further when he felt Nowaki's big arm squeeze his shoulders.
"Th-This really isn't a dream, is it?" Hiroki sniffled, his voice small.
"No, Hiro-san. This isn't a dream."