A/N: WOW! Like I said before, VERY flattered and totally overwhelmed by the review. Onegai SOOOO MUCH! You like me, you really like me! ::throws kisses and hugs reviewers:: Onegai! Without you this story would not be possible!

Thanks to: Clueless97, dendez-puppy-luv, Little Fox Kit, mariklover12, blackrosebunny451, Kibethan, KendoSakuyamon, Soralover1, tokyo kitsune, Kitting in the Box, Kloudy Reignfall, Juli, the one who posses Insanity, and lordkagome.

zafiro a carrillo: I'm glad for that too. I don't think Yuki would be so shallow and unfeeling. I TRULY believe that Yuki loves Shuichi, but as has been said, he has a hard time expressing his feelings because of how he was betrayed years ago. (If anyone's seen the anime?)

raenef: Yes, that last line was spoken by Yuki.

Stage 5

:: A Month Later::

"What're you doing here?" Yuki asked, looking angrily at his brother.

"What I always do when I come by.... What do you think I come here to see your ugly mug? Oh, Shu-chan!" Tatsuha hollered, carrying a bouquet full of roses.

The novelist frowned. "What the hell are those for?"

"The expectant mother."

"And why the hell did you all the sudden start bringing flowers?"

"No special reason..." He grinned. "Oooooh, could the great Eiri Yuki possibly be jealous?"

"Shut up!" He turned around. "Anyway, you can't see the brat.

Tatsuha's face fell. "Why not?"

"The bunny is still sleeping..." He took a drag of his lit cigarette. His younger brother's eyes widened. "I'm gonna tell, Shu-chan!" "Like hell you will!" "You're not supposed to be smoking with the baby coming, Aniki." He took the cigarette out of his brother's mouth and ran it under the faucet. "You know that." Yuki sighed. "I can't help it; this new novel has got me so stressed out." "So do something else, instead polluting your baby's lungs..." "What do you-?" He tightly started to say when....

"Yuki!"

He didn't respond.

"Yuuuuukiiiiiiii!"

"Great, the bunny's up. Stay right here!" He stalked over to the bedroom and flung the door open. "What?"

Shuichi, very much pregnant, his stomach as big and round as a beach ball, struggled to sit up. "You-you weren't here in bed with me and I got worried..." He was trying to draw his knees up but wasn't succeeding. "Baka. You know I have to write." "I was thinking...." "Hm?" "I don't like the name!" "What?" "I don't like the name we decided on a week ago..." "We decided? You mean, you decided. We didn't decide anything..." "Whatever..." The bubble-gum haired young man shrugged his small shoulders. "I still don't like it..."

"Yuki?" He said, lifting his head from the baby names book he'd been looking at.

His lover was lying on his side, obviously trying to shield his eyes from the light.

"Yuki!" He leaned over and poked him.

"Hm-What?"

"What do you think of the name Mariko?"

No answer.

"YUKI!" He poked him again more forcefully.

"What!?" His lover rolled over to his left side to face Shuichi.

"I said, what do you think of the name Mariko?"

Blank look.

"Or how bout..." He flipped a couple pages. "...Sumi, or Keiko, or, Tomiko...."

"Quiet!"

"Well?"

He closed the book.

"I know! How about Sakura!? Sakura's a wonderfully lovely name! Don't you think so, Yuki?" "Whatever you want.... Just let me sleep...." The pink-haired sprite smiled. "Sakura Uesugi it is then!"

That had been a week ago. Now he didn't like the name Sakura so much. He had a better one. "Ichigo!" "What?" I like Ichigo, Yuki! Ichigo Uesugi!" "Remind why the kid has to have my name...." "YUKI!" "Oh right, now I remember..." He touched his head. "Fine! Whatever you want..." "Mmm-hmm. I like it a lot!" "That's great... Your fan-club is waiting for you...." "Fan club?" "Shu-chan, are you up yet!?" Tatsuha stuck his head in the door. He grinned and walked lazily over to the rock-star. "So, Shu-chan..." He sat down on the bed. "How are you today?" Shuichi rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, a hand reflexively going to his abdomen. "I'm fine..." "No movement on the homeward front?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Still a month to go."

"Ah! That's right, but you never know. The koi could be early," He patted Shuichi's tummy.

"You think so Tatsu-chan?"

"Never know."

WHACK! "Don't fill his head with ideas, you pain! Or he'll be running around worrying like a chicken with his head cut off." "The doctor DID say that was a probability, Yuki." "It hasn't happened yet, has it?" "No..." "Then don't think about it.... So far the baby isn't due for another month." "Just relax, Shuichi..." "I can't." He shook his head. "Could someone help me up!?" Tatsuha complied, leaning over and supporting Shuichi by the small of his back. "Great! Now I'll never here the end of this! Nice going, Tatsuha!" Yuki growled. "Be nice, Aniki..." His younger brother murmured as he passed him. "You wouldn't want Shuichi to know what you've been doing, would you?" "That's blackmail." Yuki's eyes were steely. "I know."

They hobbled down the hall way and stopped at the study. "Wow!" Tatsuha smiled. "Was the design your idea, Shuichi?" He blushed and nodded. "Yeah... Aren't bunnies cute?" "Adorable. Your daughter will love it." "You guys keep saying she, what if it's a boy." Yuki interjected. "It's not going to be." His voice was firm; he sounded so sure. "You're sure about that..." "Yes! The tummy's all wrong, Yuki." "Tummy?" He arched an eyebrow. "Yes. Tatsuha would you fetch me that book of the white dresser?"

"Sure, Shu-chan."

He rushed off into the nursery, leaving Shuichi to lean against the wall, breathing heavily. Yuki noticed this, his lover's face ever so pale. "Hey! Are you all right?" He walked forward and put a hand to his head, searching the other's amethyst eyes. "You don't look so good. Maybe I should call the doctor..." He started to walk off. The smaller man grabbed his wrist. "No. That's not necessary. I'll be fine, Yuki... I'm still just very sleepy, I guess." "Have it your way..."

"Here it is, Shuichi!" Tatsuha held out the thin hardcover book. "Is this what you wanted?"

"Yes, Tatsuha.... Thank you...." He took it and flipped. "It says in here there are ways to tell if your baby is gonna be a boy or a girl. There's one way I'd stake everything on!"

"Which way is that?"

"This one!" He pointed to a passage in the book.

He read it. "I don't understand."

"Americans believe that if it's a boy it looks like what they call a foot ball," He pointed to the picture of the football. "If it's a girl it looks like a beach ball or basketball." He touched his stomach. "And I'm pretty big; but more round like a beach ball than anything else."

"Oh..."

"Now if you don't mind...." He pushed passed Tatsuha, hobbling his was into the livingrooom. "What's with him?" The young Uesugi asked. "Beats me."

They followed Shuichi into the livingrooom where they found him in the closet where Yuki stored the cleaning supplies. "Shuich no baka, what're you doing now?" He turned his head. "Could you get that rag for me? The spray for dusting?" The novelist sighed. "Fine..." He walked over, one hand in his pocket and reached up with the other to bring down the objects his young lover had asked for. "Here."

"Thank you, Yuki..."

The two brothers then watched as Shuichi started to dust the furniture around him. Swabbing everything carefully yet manically; being very thorough to say the least. He stepped it up a pace when he went to get a kerchief for his head. Tatsuha seeing Shuichi wasn't up for anything fun left at this moment.

The blonde, on the other hand, watched his young lover scurry around, gathering magazines that were thrown carelessly about and such. He snorted. "I'll be in my office if you need me." "Whatever, Yuki...." He continued to clean, his back to the older man.

He made it to his office (his child's nursery) and turned on his laptop, waiting for it to warm up. As he did so he went back out to the kitchen to fix himself some coffee. He decided that he would have at least ten chapters done by the days end. Letting Tatsuha into his home had all ready set him back by a half an hour. He looked to his left and found Shuichi on his knees, scrubbing the floor old-style with yellow oven gloves up to his elbows. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" He yelled, rushing over to drag the rock star off his knees. "You're such an idiot!"

"Yuki! The floor's filthy! I have to clean it!" He grunted as he pulled at the resisting Shuichi. "You can clean the damn floor all you want when you're NOT pregnant!" The pink-haired sprite struggled with him; Yuki's size winning over poor Shu-chan's impregnated state. "Now, sit down and watch some TV, maybe your music video will be on." He lifted the remote and clicked on the television. "There! Now, don't move."

He then headed for the kitchen to prepare his java. Shuichi stayed on the couch all through the coffee was being made. Silently, watching the music channel, humming to himself to pass the time with eyes ticking back and forth between the TV and his lover. It wasn't until Yuki came out of the kitchen and locked himself in the office that he got back to the brisk cleaning of the house. He dug into the coat closet and pulled out the vacuum sweeper and started vacuuming the hardwood floor.

The blonde listened as the noisy sound the sweeper made, gritting his teeth. Damn him. Hadn't he said-! Why didn't the little bonehead listen! He slammed his palm against the desk and got up, throwing open his study door. "Damn it, Shuichi! I thought I told you to rest!" The vacuum cleaner turned off miraculously and Shuichi barged over to Yuki, sponge in one hand, bucket filled with water in the crook of his arm and other cleaning supplies balance on top of that.

He swept passed his lover and immediately got down to business. Yuki turned around. "What do you think you're doing?" "Cleaning. Don't you know it's filthy in here? Don't you clean, Yuki?" Shuichi set to first scrubbing the floor... "I told I don't want you down there, damn it!" "Excuse me..." He pushed past the other man and began to dust the top of the desk, laptop and all. He lifted it to clean under. "Hey, watch it!" The whirlwind left as quickly as it had come, taking with him all the supplies, leaving the room with a fresh piney scent.

"What the hell..." He murmured, slumping down in his chair and putting his hand through his blonde hair.

The vacuum started up again.

"Oh, no," He clutched his head, feeling a migraine about to occur.

He set back and pinched the bridge of his nose, the pregnancy books on his bookshelf being caught out of the corner of his eye. Hmmm. Yuki got up and crossed the length of the room, taking off a particular book from the shelf. The Nesting Period. The title intrigued him. He cracked open the book and went back to his desk to read: "When a female becomes pregnant, there is a stage during this pregnancy in which the she begins to clean the house voraciously, preparing for her child. This is called the nesting period." The novelist smiled and shut the book.

So that's what the big fuss was all about.

The brat was nesting.

The door opened once more, Shuichi barging once more into the room. He pushed Yuki away from the desk, sliding the vacuum sweeper under it, humming. The older man gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Shuichi..." "'Excuse me, Yuki!" He pushed the chair back forward and began to vacuum behind the novelist. How ever the hell was he going to finish his book with-with...This! His teeth clenched.

Let this child come, and let her come quick!

Next Chapter: Stage 6: The Birthing

A/N: Okay! Chapter 5 done! Hope you liked it! You know what to do! Review onegai!