A week later, Hiroki pondered as he thumbed the silk material of a woman's maternity shirt. He rested his hand on his protruding belly, rubbing absentminded circles over the precious sleeping baby. Ever since his willingness to eat anything and everything Nowaki brought, made, or ordered for him, the balloon of flesh had rapidly swelled. While only five months through his pregnancy, Hiroki's belly was surprisingly large, much to Nowaki's delight.
There had been a concern of error in the baby's development for a while. After another ultrasound and a few tests, it was concluded that the baby was, quite simply, growing quickly. Nagasaki had related this information back to the other pregnancy doctors, and the term 'The Appendix Theory', or the rapid development of babies in men because of pheromone levels and the structure of the appendix, was created. Hiroki had been ecstatic, but Nowaki had been torn between his desire for a pregnant Hiroki and his desire to meet his child.
That was until the doctor announced that, even though the baby developed quickly, Hiroki and all other pregnant men would most likely complete a full nine-month pregnancy, unless the babies were born prematurely.
Needless to say, Hiroki groaned and complained about his yearning to see his baby, while Nowaki simply walked around with an idiotic grin on his face.
Despite the whole medical fiasco, once again, all was well within the Kusama-Kamijou apartment.
"Hiro-san, how about this?" Nowaki offered suddenly. Hiroki turned to his lover hopefully, but his half-smile turned into a scowl the second he saw the burgundy maternity sundress in Nowaki's hands.
"Damn it, Nowaki, can you please take this seriously?" Hiroki bark-whispered. "I'm embarrassed enough as it is. Some bitch keeps passing by this aisle to stare at me. She probably thinks I'm a wannabe pregnant cross dresser or something."
Nowaki grinned, hanging the sundress back up. He reached out to caress Hiroki's cheek.
"Maybe she's jealous because you're so pretty," Nowaki murmured.
"I'm a man!"
"A pregnant man," Nowaki corrected with a teasing smirk. Hiroki pouted, crossing his arms and turning away.
"You want me to look like a woman, don't you?"
Nowaki laughed and coiled his arms around Hiroki from the side, splaying his fingers across his little lover's not-so-little belly.
"Nope, I'm two-hundred percent gay for Hiro-san," Nowaki cooed. Hiroki couldn't help but to chortle at Nowaki's idiocy. He reached up to lay his hands over Nowaki's on his baby bump.
"You're so dumb," Hiroki said. There was a long silence in which the two lovers basked in their affection.
"Hiro-san, maybe we can find maternity shirts for lesbians. A lot of them are neutral shirts or just t-shirts," Nowaki suggested. Hiroki sighed heavily.
"I don't know… I guess that would be fine. My clothes just won't cut it anymore," Hiroki grumbled, looking down at his light blue dress shirt, where the buttons were straining against the thin threads holding them to the cloth.
"Come on. Let's just take a look. We might find something," Nowaki coaxed gently, releasing Hiroki and taking his small hand in his larger one.
"Alright," Hiroki sighed tiredly. His feet hurt from walking around the mall all morning, and his back creaked in protest. He almost whimpered at the thought of going to the alumni concert rehearsal later that Saturday evening. He had yet to come up with a believable excuse for his fainting during the last rehearsal, much less his gigantic belly.
Nowaki led Hiroki out of the aisle, but without warning, they bumped into another man who was turning into the maternity clothing aisle.
"Oh! Sorry!" Nowaki exclaimed as the man reeled back slightly. The man dusted himself off and opened his mouth to say something, but his gaze locked onto Nowaki and Hiroki's joined hands. His mouth closed and he pinched his lips together.
"Are you okay, sir?" Hiroki asked, wriggling his hand out of Nowaki's in embarrassment and stepping forward to put a hand on the man's shoulder. He, however, slapped it away and stared at Hiroki in horror.
"Don't touch me," he said bitterly, looking down upon Hiroki and glowering. "You dirty fucking fag."
Hiroki's mouth fell open in surprise as he stared up at the man. He felt Nowaki take his shoulders and defensively bring him back into his broad chest.
"Excuse me sir, but you don't know us, and your comments are unnecessary," Nowaki said, his usually gentle voice taking on a sharp tone. The tall man snorted.
"Don't you know what's happening to queers who took that ass pill? They're getting their homes raided, some are getting lynched. Others get forced abortions, if you know what I mean."
Hiroki gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth. Nowaki protectively laid his hands over Hiroki's belly.
"Leave us alone!" Nowaki barked as Hiroki trembled. Nowaki tried to sidestep the man and rush Hiroki away, but the persistent man blocked them.
"Male pregnancy is unnatural on all levels! It's wrong and disgusting! Enjoy your lynching and burn in Hell, you sick fucks!" the man shouted, attracting stares from other patrons of the store. He turned on his heel and walked away stiffly.
"Hiro-san…? Are you alright?" Nowaki asked softly. Hiroki nodded dazedly, shivering against Nowaki. Nearby customers wandered over to see what was going on, but the majority of the others hurriedly walked away, casting disapproving glances over their shoulders.
"I don't understand. What is it about us that's so disgusting? What have we done wrong?" Hiroki asked slowly, turning in Nowaki's arms and resting his hands on his lover's chest. Nowaki sighed and frowned sadly down at him, reaching up to coil a lock of Hiroki's hair around his finger.
"Nothing about us is disgusting. We've done nothing wrong. I suppose that there are just people in this world that don't like the idea of human love. And then there are other people who are so against the idea that they would call us vulgar names and threaten us in public. I don't understand it either, Hiro-san," Nowaki said lowly. He craned his neck to kiss Hiroki's forehead.
"Thank you for protecting the baby," Hiroki said softly. He leaned into Nowaki. Disgruntled and rather angered by the man's outburst, he couldn't care less if people saw him with his lover. Nowaki wrapped his arms tightly around Hiroki, running a hand over his silky hair.
"Of course. As I've said before, I'd give up my life to protect you," Nowaki murmured.
"Excuse me… are you two alright?" asked a female voice behind Hiroki and Nowaki. Hiroki looked over his shoulder and Nowaki looked up to see a red-haired woman standing before them. She had a book bag full of papers that were messily clipped together, and she wore a frilly white blouse with a dark grey knee-length skirt. She had thick lipstick on, but it was strangely flattering on her face. Her large eyes glittered with adoration towards the cuddling couple.
"I've seen you before… you're Aikawa Eiri, right? Akihiko's editor?" Hiroki asked, turning around fully. The woman smiled.
"Yes, that's me. I couldn't help but to notice the little spat over here- I'm so sorry that happened to you two," Aikawa said, sympathetically reaching out to pat Hiroki's shoulder.
"Don't worry, we're okay now," Nowaki said, gently smiling at Aikawa. He reached over Hiroki's shoulder, sticking out his hand. "I'm Kusama Nowaki, I'm a pediatrician at the Musashino Medical College, and this is Kamijou Hiroki. He's an assistant professor at M University."
"Nice to meet you, Kusama-kun and Kamijou-kun," Aikawa said. She looked them over, then burst into a huge smile. "I guess we all know who the uke is!"
Hiroki's entire body lit up like a Christmas tree as Aikawa laughed with loud guffaws and Nowaki chuckled nervously. Aikawa shot out with her hand and grabbed Hiroki's wrist, her eyes sparkling.
"You're here for maternity stuff, right?" she asked excitedly. Hiroki sputtered speechlessly as Aikawa began dragging him away from the maternity clothes. Nowaki grabbed Hiroki's other wrist, stumbling after them.
"Uh… Aikawa-san? Where are you taking Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked, trying his best to sound polite and firm at the same time. Aikawa smiled over her shoulder.
"Let's go to my house- I've got just the thing for both of you!"