Hello everyone! It's time for a new chapter! This one has a small graphic moment, but you can skip it if you want. I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 6: Fate
Hikari opened the door from her apartment that Monday night and was surprised to see Taichi on the other side. He never showed up without telling her, so she knew right away there was something wrong.
"What happened?" She asked when she stepped aside for him to walk in and closed the door.
"What? Can I come by to visit my sister?" He looked over his shoulder and then spotted Takeru in the kitchen while he turned his head back. "Hello, Takeru."
"Good evening, Taichi. I'm going to make extra food for us."
"I won't take long, so you don't need to bother with me."
"Please, stay for dinner." Hikari pleaded. "It's been such a long time since you did. Yamazaki would love to have his uncle over tonight."
"That's such a low move, Hikari." Taichi said lightly. "Using my nephew to bribe me."
"It's not something I'm proud of, but that's the only way you stay more whenever you come here, so…"
"And it works everytime." Takeru added. "It used to be the same with Yamato until…"
"Until what?" The brunette man asked with his eyebrow raised.
"Nothing." The blonde eventually shook his head. He didn't know if the others already knew about Sora's return.
"So, what brings out over?"
"Right." Taichi turned his attention back to her sister. "I actually wanted an advice."
"Advice on what?"
"Here's the thing…"
"Oh God, you got a woman pregnant by accident."
"No. It's something like this though."
"Something like this?"
"Mimi came to talk to me and Koushiro and had a proposal to make."
"What kind of proposal?" Hikari didn't even bother hiding her concern and apprehension.
"She wants to have a child and asked me and Koushiro to be the fathers."
"What?!"
Takeru dried his hands on a cloth and walked into the living room to listen to the conversation.
"What did you say?"
"Well, we've talking about it and we agreed to it."
"This is insane, Taichi."
"If you think about it, it might be our only chance of becoming parents."
"So you two are going to be the baby's father?"
"That's right."
"And how exactly are you going to do it? Naturally?"
"No, our relation is going to be only professional."
"Taichi, I doubt you can keep something like this professional. You're having a child together. Only mentioning it is already crazy."
"So if you're not going to do it naturally, how are you?"
"We are going to donate our sperm and hope it works."
"Isn't there any other way?"
"I'm sure there is, but like I said, this could be the only chance Koushiro and I have to become fathers."
"What happens if you find a girlfriend and get married?" Takeru asked.
"I'll just explain the situation to her and hope she's okay with it."
"Taichi, don't you want to think about it a little more before you make your final decision?"
"We already decided, Hikari."
"But clearly you're still unsure with it." She insisted. "Otherwise you wouldn't turn to us for advice."
"I was just informing you, actually." He tapped his thighs and stood up. "Alright, I should go now."
"Aren't you going to stay for dinner?"
"I'm afraid not. I have…"
"Please, uncle Taichi." Yamazaki ran into the living room and hugged him on the legs.
"I guess I have no choice now." Taichi ruffled his nephew's hair and smiled.
.
Yamato was driving to his father's apartment to drop Aiko for the weekend. She had been telling him how much she missed her grandfather and wanted to see him. So Hiroaki suggested she could stay there on the weekend, which Yamato agreed to with some reluctance.
"Alright, sunshine." He said when he parked his car in front of his father's building. "Here we are."
Aiko started swinging her legs excitedly while she waited for Yamato to open the back door on the passenger side and take her out. She threw her tiny arms around his neck as he did his best to keep her from hitting her head and getting hurt and also tried to get her light blue bag with things she would need during her stay with Hiroaki.
About ten minutes later, Yamato was already knocking on the apartment's door. Aiko had the brightest smile on her face when Hiroaki opened the door and immediately threw herself towards him.
"Grandpa!"
"Hello, princess." He greeted her with the same bright smile. "How are you today?"
"I'm great!"
"That's good to hear." He turned to Yamato. "Come in."
"Thank you, but there's something else I need to do." Yamato apologized and pulled Aiko's bag off his shoulder and handed it to his father. "Are you sure you will be okay alone with her?"
"Of course!" Hiroaki said quickly. "I've taken care of you and Takeru when you were children."
"Dad, that was over twenty-five years ago."
"I know, but I still think I got it."
"Okay, everything she needs is in the bag. Diapers, pacifiers, tissues… there are even some small pots with cut fruits. Those you need to put in the fridge."
"Got it."
"If you need anything you can call me anytime."
"Don't worry, we will be okay." He looked at Aiko. "Right?"
"Right!"
"Alright, I'm going then." Yamato kissed his daughter on the cheek. "Be good to grandpa, okay?"
"Okay, daddy." Aiko threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. "I love you."
"I love you too, sunshine. I'll come to pick you up tomorrow night."
"Awesome. We're gonna have a great time together, don't you think, Aiko?"
"Yes!" She replied excitedly.
"Thank you so much, dad. You helped me a lot."
"I'm glad to help, son. I hope you can solve whatever you have to."
"What?" Yamato asked with his eyebrow raised.
"I assume you have something important to do tonight. Maybe a date?"
"Dad, uh…" He quickly glanced at Aiko.
"Oh right, I got it. I'm sorry."
"Well, I should really go now. Anything you need, I'm just a phone call away."
"Bye, daddy! I'll see you tomorrow."
"I'll see you then, sunshine."
.
"So, Yamazaki, how's school going?" Taichi asked while he put some food in his plate.
"It's going good. Soon I'll be in summer vacation and I'm really excited about it."
"That's always a good thing."
"Your uncle used to love summer vacation when he was in school."
"Really?"
"Who doesn't love summer vacation? It's the best thing ever!"
"I know!" Yamazaki said excitedly. "Mom, dad, are we going to travel on summer?"
"I don't know, sweetie." Hikari replied. "We haven't really talked about it."
"Maybe, we'll see."
"Will you be able to?" She looked at Takeru.
"Maybe. Actually, there's a very strong possibility."
"Cool! Did you hear that, mom?"
"Yes, I did." She smiled. "I guess we'll talk about it then."
"Dinner was delicious, sister." Taichi stood up and took his dishes to the kitchen. "Thank you for it, but I have to go now."
"Can't you stay for dessert?" Hikari looked up at him when he returned. "There's mom's pudding in the fridge."
"As much as I love mom's pudding, I really can't stay. Mimi's going over for dinner."
"Oh I see. I'll save you a slice of it then."
"Thanks, Hikari."
"You're welcome. I'll walk you out." She stood up and took him towards the door. Takeru and Yamazaki followed them. "Thank you for staying for dinner. We should do it more often."
"I agree. It's been fun." Taichi glanced towards the hall. "So I'll see you all soon. Good night."
"Good night, Taichi."
.
When Taichi arrived home, he was immediately welcomed by the delicious smell of cheese pizza and his stomach automatically growled.
"Koushiro, I'm home."
"Oh welcome home." Koushiro walked into the living room seconds later holding a bottle of soda. "How did it go at Hikari's?"
"Great." He looked at the food on the table. "So what's the deal with pizza on a Saturday night?"
"Mimi was coming over for dinner and I just thought we could eat something different. Well, I know we ate it yesterday, but still..."
"She isn't coming over anymore?"
"No, she said something came up and couldn't come."
"Oh good." Taichi shook his head. "I mean, that's too bad. So listen, I was thinking maybe we could talk."
"Sure. What do you want to talk about?"
"Do you really think it's a good idea for us to be the fathers of Mimi's baby?"
"Why's that so suddenly? Are you changing your mind?"
"I don't know." He grabbed a slice of pizza and ate a bite. "I told Hikari about it and she thinks it's insane."
"I wouldn't call it insane, but unusual. At the same time, I can understand Mimi's reasons. Don't you want to do this anymore?"
"I do. I mean, I don't know. To be honest, the idea scares me a little."
"Being a father, you mean?"
"That's right."
"But it's a scary thought when you only think about it. I suppose it will change as her pregnancy advances and we get more used to the idea. That's what I hope, anyway."
"I hope so too." Taichi sighed. "I can't help but think it's going to be a messy situation."
"Taichi, you can change your mind if you want to, that's totally fine. It's a life we're talking about, so if you have doubts about it it's better not to do it or to think things thoroughly first."
"I know." He bit his lower lip before continuing. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, I am." Koushiro said firmly. "I think she's a little desperate to have children since she's almost thirty now. I can understand her and have the same opinion. I may not find a girlfriend or have a child so… it would basically be a mutual favor, to put it into words. I didn't realize you were having second thoughts about it."
"They started after I left Hikari's apartment."
"I see. Maybe talking to a professional will help you see things more clearly."
"Maybe." Taichi nodded.
"Let's not worry about it now, okay?" Koushiro suggested. "Let's just enjoy our pizza and then play some videogames, what do you say?"
"I would love that. I had dinner at Hikari's, but I can never say no to pizza."
.
Hikari was in her balcony enjoying another warm evening. She couldn't stop thinking about what Taichi had told her earlier and it was starting to bother her.
"Dishes are clean." Takeru said with a smile when he joined her. "Hikari?"
"Yes?" She shook her head and turned around. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"
"I already washed the dishes."
"Oh great. Thank you."
"What are you thinking?"
"Ah…" She looked at the horizon again. "I was just thinking about Taichi's decision of becoming a father."
"What about it?"
"I'm still not convinced about it."
"Why not? You don't think it's a good idea?"
"I do, but… I don't know. Having a child with no love wasn't something I wanted for him."
"But that's not your decision, is it?" Takeru stopped near her. "He chose what's best for him. In a way, I agree with him."
"How can you agree with him?!" Hikari asked surprised. "Sharing the fatherhood with Koushiro seems crazy."
"But they are okay with it. All we can do is respect their decision. You're gonna be a blood aunt."
"Yeah, I know." She smiled and looked at him. "So I was thinking about something."
"What?"
"Maybe we could give Yamazaki a younger brother and sister."
"Really?" He asked with his eyebrow raised and a rather mischievous tone. "How long have you been thinking about it?"
"Not much. I actually started thinking about it a couple of days ago." Hikari approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him. "And last time I check I am in my fertile time of the month."
"Is that so?" Takeru also wrapped his arms around her and saw her nod affirmatively. "In that case we can't really waste time, can we?"
"Absolutely not." She stood on her toes and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her legs around him and he held her legs to keep her from falling and guided them to their bedroom.
Takeru gently laid her down in their bed and removed his T-shirt, tossing it aside before leaning over his wife and kissing her again. He grabbed the tips of her shirt and slowly pulled it up. Hikari arched her body forward so he could fully take it off. Once again, he threw it somewhere in their room and leaned down towards her neck and shoulders. She tilted her head to her left to give him better access to the area. She released a small moan and dug her nails into the lower of his back.
.
Yamato was walking by the Tokyo Bay with a bottle of beer in his hands. It didn't take him long to spot Sora not too far away, staring at the course of the water. Well, what could be seen of it. He couldn't help but curse mentally, but approached her anyway.
"So we meet again." She said in a low tone; her eyes still focused on the water ahead.
"Yeah." He stared at the ground. "I should have known you'd be here."
"This became our place after all." Sora embraced her knees. "You can sit down. Last time I checked it's free."
"You still have the witty mood, I see."
"It's part of my charm.' She couldn't help but smile. "You used to like it."
"I still do." Yamato sat down beside her and rubbed his face with his hands when he realized the words that slipped from his mouth. "I mean…" But he chose not to say anything else; simply took another sip of his beer.
"I owe you an apology."
"What for?"
"For introducing you to our son so abruptly. I should have been more thoughtful about it."
"Sora, it's…"
"Please, I have to finish this." Her tone was a little desperate. "I guess I just wasn't thinking about your feelings the way I was supposed to."
"That's alright." He said after a long moment of silence. "I don't hold it against you. It wasn't an easy situation for you as well."
"Yeah. I was hoping maybe it would help you put your guard down a little and allow me to make another attempt to get you back."
"In honesty, that worked a little." Yamato placed the bottle of beer next to him and hugged his knees. "But I still hold a grudge against you for leaving me and Aiko alone for two years."
"I know." Suddenly she knelt down beside him and wrapped her arms around his forearms.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't think we both are here by coincidence, do you?" Sora started kissing his neck and gently turned his face towards her when she reached his lips and kissed him.