"Are you okay...?"
Yato brushed a few sweaty strands of her hair out of her face. Hiyori, exhausted, collapsed into the god's arms, panting.
She nodded slowly, closing her eyes.
Masaomi knelt down beside them, flushing the toilet for them. Yato kissed his lover's temple while Hiyori stroked her stomach.
"Hiyori," Masaomi called gently, to which she weakly looked at him through her tired eyes, "at any point you're worried about the baby, you can visit the ER."
Hiyori swallowed hard and cringed at the unwelcoming taste of her bile. She shook her head.
"I can't-..." she heaved in a breath, "let Mother or Father see me," she answered.
Her brother sighed and pushed up his glasses. "They already know; what're they gonna do?"
Yato intervened to stop what could've been an argument. "W-why don't we just let her rest for now?"
Yato carefully picked up Hiyori and carried her back to her brother's bed. He brushed some hair behind her ear with his fingertips, and Hiyori smiled weakly at him.
"I'll go get you a washcloth," he told her softly, matching her gentle smile. "Just rest your eyes for a bit."
Hiyori nodded. While Masaomi cleaned up the mess in the bathroom, Yato crossed over into the kitchen. When he came back into the bedroom with the wet hand cloth, he noticed Hiyori's brother sitting at the bedside. He approached them quietly, and that was when Yato noticed Hiyori was already asleep.
Masaomi turned and chuckled quietly to Yato, who shared a laugh as well. He got up from his seat to allow the god to aid his lover. He continued to place the cold washcloth on Hiyori's head. She flinched, but didn't wake up. Yato then kissed her cheek and past Masaomi in the doorway as he headed out.
"M-matte…!" He called after him, keeping his voice down as he closed the bedroom door. "Where are you going?"
Yato stopped in his tracks and looked at him over his shoulder. "Just going out real quick."
Masaomi blinked in confusion. "But-" he glanced at the bedroom door where his sister was sleeping, "w-what about-?"
"Relax!" Yato scoffed, running his fingers through his dark hair. "Hiyori's carrying our child - trust me; I'll be back."
He gave Masaomi a half-smile and a small nod. It was enough to calm the man's nerves. He somehow just knew.
"Oh!"
Just as Yato placed his hand on the doorknob to leave, he spun around and handed a small card to Masaomi, confidently smirking at him a bit.
"Maybe you seem to've lost my card? So, here's another."
Masaomi looked at Yato with suspicion and confusion. "Um…" he hesitated, but took the card, "thanks...?"
He stared down at the card, skimming it and turning it over. When he looked up and opened his mouth to ask a question, Yato was gone.
Did he even use the door?
. . . .
There was a knock at the door.
Hiyori yawned, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door. "Hai…?"
She heard someone sniffle, and blinked, looking up at them. Right in front of her was the god holding a colorful bouquet of freshly-bought flowers, and a plastic bag of something from a store. Hiyori, unable to withhold the sight, blinked a few more times before looking at Yato.
It was only then that she realized the god was sobbing big, childish tears.
"Yato? What's wrong? Did something happen?" Hiyori asked in both surprise and worry.
"H-Hiyori, gomen'nasai!" He cried.
The brunette took a step back, holding a hand over her slight baby bump. "W-what are you talking about?"
Yato dropped to his knees and cried dramatically. "I-I went to go get you some presents to cheer you up," he replied between his sobs "b-but then I realized that I-I didn't have any money left to get something for our lil' baby…"
Hiyori felt her heart tighten, and she felt her face warm up. "Y-Yato…"
"I'm sorry..."
He has such a big heart. And he's so thoughtful...
Hiyori sighed. "Jeez, I didn't realize I was already raising a big baby," she joked lightheartedly.
"Huh?" Yato looked up at Hiyori.
She knelt down beside the god, wiping away his tears on her sleeve. "Thank you. My god…"
Hiyori wrapped her arms around him, and soon after, Yato regained his dignity enough to hug her back.
"We love you nonetheless, Yato."
Yato felt tears build up in the corners of his eyes, and he cleared his throat to speak.
"I love both of you, too…"
Hiyori sighed happily and melted in his arms. They both sat there for a moment and enjoyed it.
There was the sound if someone approaching them, and they both looked up to see Hiyori's brother.
"Y-you...- actually came back," Masaomi murmured.
"Of course I did." Yato rolled his eyes. "Did I ever have a reason to leave?"
Hiyori giggled a bit, and Yato helped her stand up again. He closed the door behind him and set the bag on the kitchen counter.
"By the way-" Masaomi pulled out the card from his pocket and showed it to Yato, "you said this was your business card? Why isn't your last name on it?"
"Oh, I don't have a last name," he replied casually.
"That so...?" Masaomi asked in surprise. "Why not?"
Hiyori, who had been busy sniffing the flowers Yato got for her, quickly felt herself tense up at the turn in conversation.
"U-umm…"
Yato nervously turned to look at Hiyori, who matched his anxious appearance. Hiyori put down the bouquet of flowers and cleared her throat.
"Uh-" she sighed, taking on a serious tone. "M-maybe we should all take a seat before I explai-"
"No. Hiyori, let me," Yato interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Hiyori blinked in slight surprise, but then she nodded a bit in response.
Yato turned to her brother. "Look at the card again. Does... anything stick out to you...?"
Hiyori clutched Yato's hand for comfort. He held it back.
Masaomi scrunched his nose in confusion, but then lifted the card to his eye level to read it again.
"The fast, affordable and reliable Yatogami; Delivery god," he read aloud.
There was a slight moment of silence while the couple waited for his reaction.
Masaomi scanned it again curiously, then flipped it over, but it was blank. He looked at the front of it again.
"Is..." he finally spoke up, "-there something I'm supposed to see?"
"S-... seriously? You don't notice it?" Hiyori's sweat dropped on her forehead.
Masaomi looked at his sister oddly. "W-why? Am I not getting something…?"
Hiyori and Yato shared glances with each other. Then the god sighed in defeat.
"Not even the fact that it says 'delivery god?'" Yato pointed out.
The young man glanced down at the card in his hand again, raising an eyebrow. "W-what're you talking about?" He scoffed. "That's a joke, isn't it? To get more customers?"
Yato let go of Hiyori's hand to clutch his chest and gasped dramatically. Hiyori laughed weakly as she scratched her cheek.
"It's-... n-not a joke…" she replied.
This is gonna be harder than we thought, Hiyori thought to herself.
Masaomi raised both his eyebrows suspiciously. He glanced at the overreacting god, to his precious sister.
"Y-... you're not serious?" He blinked in surprise.
Masaomi pointed and glanced over at Yato, who turned towards Hiyori's brother when he felt his stare. "So what you're telling me is-" he stared at Yato skeptically, "this guy is a god?"
"Um... y-yes." Hiyori answered.
Masaomi broke out into laughter. Hiyori and Yato tended up.
"Oh yeah?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Can you prove it?"
Hiyori crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, displeased by her brother's reaction. "Onii-chan, it's true!"
Yato laughed nervously and leaned in for his lover to hear him. "Uh, it's gonna be pretty hard to do anything when Yukine's not here."
Masaomi rolled his eyes. "So what I'm hearing is; you don't have any actual proof?"
Yato glared in his direction, then placed a hand on his hip. "Look, I have my methods, but I can't trust they'll be quite glamorous."
"Yato, don't," Hiyori scolded.
The god crossed his arms. "I was just saying!" He whined childishly.
Hiyori exhaled audibly. "Onii-chan?"
Masaomi turned to see his sister looking at him with a stern expression.
"You know those creatures exist. And you know I can see them, too. Why can't you believe this?" she explained, gesturing between her and Yato.
Masaomi remained silent, but his gaze dropped. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Please. Believe me…" she said softly.
Masaomi didn't seem to know what to think. He stuffed his hands in his khakis and shrugged slightly. "Well…" he mumbled with uncertainty.
There was a slight silence while he continued to think. Suddenly, Hiyori felt her sight blur. Her knees weakened, and they almost gave out on her if she hadn't quickly held onto the kitchen countertop to keep herself upright. She nearly stumbled into the wall. Yato noticed her startled expression and immediately came to her aid. He helped her balance herself.
"H-Hiyori? What's wrong?"
Masaomi came to her side as well, but by then, Hiyori was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with her boyfriend and her brother on both sides of her.
That was... strange... Hiyori thought to herself, slowly catching her breath.
"I-I'm fine," she managed to answer. "I-I just got a bit dizzy for a second."
"Are you sure?" Masaomi asked.
Hiyori rubbed her temple with her fingers. "Y-yeah. I just think...- maybe, I should sit down."
Yato took up the initiative, and he led Hiyori to the living room to sit on the couch. Masaomi followed them as well.
"Are you sure it wasn't one of your sleeping spells again?" Her brother asked as he knelt down to meet her gaze.
"I'm not asleep, am I?" She pointed out.
Yato tucked a pillow behind Hiyori's back and draped a soft blanket over her legs. He placed the back of his hand up to his lover's forehead.
"Did the doctors say anything about it?" He asked, carefully removing his hand.
Hiyori felt herself sink into the cushions. She shook her head, her eyes fluttering shut.
"The nurse excused it. She said my blood pressure was a bit lower, but it wasn't enough to cause me to get dizzy and weak. She says it's my 'narcolepsy' fighting with the pregnancy," she explained to Yato.
"But that's impossible!" Masaomi intervened, causing Hiyori to open her eyes to see him. "None of the tests show anything physically wrong with you."
"That's 'cuz it's not narcolepsy. She's fine, trust me."
"Huh?"
Yato groaned as he stood up. "Nothing. I'mma go get some air." He turned to Hiyori. "You get some rest, then I'll help out with dinner, okay?"
"Yato-?"
Yato shook his head. "You're not feeling well. Don't pass up the chance to sleep."
"Yato, c'mon. I'm gonna be like this for another six months. Not feeling well is about as good as it's going to get for me," Hiyori rolled her eyes, giving him a lighthearted grin.
Yato heaved out a sigh. He knelt down and reached for the girl's hand. He tenderly pressed his lips to her knuckles, then looked at her with a small, sad smile as he pulled away.
"I know, my goddess…" he said softly. "I just need to clear my head. Sorry..."
He then silently retreated from the living room, and left through the front door of her brother's apartment.
