"Are you getting tired, Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked, stopping and looking over his shoulder at Hiroki, who had slowed down significantly and was trudging along the sidewalk.
"No, I'm fine," Hiroki said, speeding up a little to catch up to Nowaki. He panted slightly, embarrassed. Nowaki had two big bags in each of his hands full of baby blankets, stuffed animals, and a mobile set. Yet Hiroki, who had nothing to carry, was the one with the sore feet and throbbing back.
"Let's stop and get something to eat. Is that café you mentioned around here somewhere?" Nowaki asked. Hiroki furrowed his eyebrows and laughed between pants.
"Ha… I'm absolutely fine, we can keep going. I'm not an old man, you idiot. I was just slowing down to look at a store is all," Hiroki lied. Nowaki sighed.
"Hiro-san, please don't strain yourself. You being tired right now has nothing to do with your age. It's perfectly normal to feel fatigued. You're carrying another human being, you know. I'm not going to judge you for wanting to take a break. I'm already incredibly impressed that you've made it this far," Nowaki said soothingly. Hiroki looked up at him, wringing his hands as he blushed.
"Th-Thank you," he muttered. Nowaki smiled.
"Now, that café. Where is it?"
Hiroki looked around.
"Oh, right there. The next block over and across the street," Hiroki said, pointing. Nowaki followed his finger. "See it?"
"Um… Choco-Chan's? Is that it?" Nowaki asked.
"Yeah, that one."
"Hehe, sounds cute. Alright, let's go to Choco-Chan's, Hiro-chan."
Hiroki flushed scarlet. He hadn't thought of it as childish or cute until Nowaki had made it that way. Pouting, he walked alongside Nowaki, who walked especially slow just for his little lover.
"What's wrong, Hiro-san?"
"I wasn't the one who named that café. Don't call me Hiro-chan," Hiroki grumbled. Nowaki laughed.
"You really need to stop taking my teasing so seriously. The café looks good, so who cares if it has a silly name?"
Hiroki blushed more, scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, Hiro-san. Lighten up. I'm a pediatrician; I pretty much roll around in daycare rooms with little children all day. I assure you that I do more embarrassing, childish things in one day than you have in your entire life."
Hiroki smiled waveringly.
"There we go. Today is Sunday Shopping day. We're out in this beautiful snow, we have baby toys, and we're here with each other. This is not a day to get embarrassed over trivial matters."
"Okay," Hiroki said after a short pause, openly smiling down at the sidewalk before him. "You're right."
"I love you, Hiro-san."
"I love you too."
They made their way to Choco-Chan's and went inside. It was nice and warm, and the ceiling, floor tiles, and walls were soft shades of dark brown and burnt red. It was the ultimate chocolate café.
Nowaki led Hiroki to one of the tables that was more off to the side than the other tables, away from the few other patrons of the café. They chose a two-person booth that was next to a window, giving them a nice view of the falling snow outside. A waitress brought them menus, and although she glanced at Hiroki's protruding belly, she smiled at them.
"Wow, there's so much chocolate on this menu," Nowaki said, flipping through his menu while Hiroki struggled out of his coat. He crammed it between him and the window-wall, giving it a final scowl before turning to Nowaki.
"Really? I'm sorry, I didn't know. I thought it would have more regular stuff," Hiroki said sheepishly. Nowaki glanced up at him.
"It's fine, Hiro-san. Don't worry, I found a little section that has tempura udon in it," Nowaki said, flipping the menu around and pointing to it. "See?"
"Oh, okay. Thank goodness."
"What are you getting?"
Hiroki sighed as his belly grumbled and the baby fluttered hungrily. He glanced down at his menu.
"It all looks so good… I might just go back into the kitchen and eat their entire stock."
"Craving chocolate again?"
"Like you don't even know," Hiroki said. His eyes rested on the chocolate lava cake, and he was reminded of his and Nowaki's dinner date all those months ago.
"This is kind of like our dinner date, isn't it?" Nowaki suddenly asked. Hiroki snapped his gaze up to his lover. He blushed. They were perfectly in sync with each other.
"Yeah."
A waitress brought them mugs of hot chocolate, and Hiroki was careful to make sure he blew on his before trying to drink it. Nowaki simply watched his little lover, sighing dreamily and leaning his head in his hand.
"What?" Hiroki asked sharply after taking a sip of his hot chocolate. Little did he know, he had a whipped cream mustache. Nowaki practically melted into his seat, and Hiroki scowled at him. "What is it? Nowaki!"
"I can't wait to see how cute our baby is. If the baby is half as cute as you, I might just explode."
Hiroki held the door open for Nowaki as he shuffled inside, stomping the snow off of his shoes. He set down the five heavy bags in his hands.
"I'm glad we went home when we did, the wind is really starting to pick up!" Nowaki said, slamming the door behind him to stop the freezing wind from billowing into the apartment.
"Yeah," Hiroki said, shrugging out of his coat and handing it to Nowaki for him to hang up on the coat hanger. Nowaki slipped out of his own overcoat and untangled his scarf from his neck. Hiroki glanced down at the bags on the floor and stooped down to take the handles of two of them. "I'll take these bag into the guest room, okay?"
"No!" Nowaki exclaimed rather suddenly. Hiroki straightened, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Nowaki blinked. "Uh… no, I'll take them. I don't want you to strain yourself, Hiro-san."
"No, I'm fine," Hiroki said, moving to take the bags again. However, the baby kicked him hard and he yelped.
"Seriously, Hiro-san. I'll take care of them!" Nowaki snapped, shooing Hiroki away from him. Hiroki scowled at him.
"I just wanted to see the stuffed kitty," Hiroki grumbled. Nowaki looked at him, his eyes softening.
"Oh. I'm sorry I snapped, Hiro-san," Nowaki said sheepishly. He dug through the bags and grabbed a stuffed cat plush toy, handing it to Hiroki. Hiroki took it with a slight flourish and marched into the living room. He flopped down onto the couch with a grunt and folded his legs to the side. He leaned his head against the armrest and pouted as he stroked the soft fur of the stuffed animal. It was a light orange color, with a snow white belly, chin, and paws. The orange was decorated with streaks and swirls of a darker orange color, creating beautiful, stimulating patterns. The marble eyes were dark with traces of green within them, creating depth. The dark eyes were made less intimidating by the big, pink nose. A thread that made the mouth of the cat curled into a cute kitty face, making Hiroki smile. He cuddled with the toy, nuzzling his nose into the soft fur.
Hiroki could hear Nowaki shuffling down the hall and into the guest room. He heard him shut the door behind him on both his way in and out.
"Hiro-san?" Nowaki asked. Hiroki shifted slightly, but didn't respond. He shut his eyes and curled up as best as he could on the couch. A warm hand stroked his bangs back. "Are you sleeping?"
"Of course not!" Hiroki barked, snapping his eyes open. Nowaki was squatting in front of him, his ebony brows furrowed.
"Hiro-san, I'm really sorry I snapped at you. I just don't want you to strain yourself," Nowaki said, caressing Hiroki's cheek. Hiroki sighed through his nose, rolling his eyes.
"It was just a few bags," Hiroki grumbled, reaching up to coil one of the yarn whiskers of the soft cat toy around his finger.
"I know."
"I only wanted to help."
"I know, babe. I'm sorry," Nowaki apologized again. Hiroki blushed and looked down. He buried his lips in the back of the stuffed cat's head.
"This is really soft," Hiroki mumbled against the fur. Nowaki smiled gently at him, leaning forward to press a kiss to Hiroki's forehead. Hiroki tilted his head up, searching for Nowaki's lips. Nowaki didn't leave him waiting, and they slowly kissed each other, their lips moving tenderly.
"I loved spending time with you today, Hiro-san," Nowaki whispered when he pulled away, trailing his hand down Hiroki's cheek and to his neck.
"Me too," Hiroki said, giving Nowaki a little smile. Nowaki gave him one last brief peck on the lips before hauling himself to his feet.
"Want a snack?" he asked. Hiroki thought for a second.
"Do we have any oatmeal raisin cookies?" he asked shyly. Nowaki grinned.
"I just got a new package," Nowaki replied. "Stay right here, I'll get you it."
"Thanks, Nowaki," Hiroki said. Nowaki turned away and walked towards the kitchen, and Hiroki reached out to grab the remote from the coffee table. He switched the television on and settled in the couch. Nowaki returned a few moments later, a sleeve of oatmeal raisin cookies in hand. Hiroki moved his feet up so Nowaki could sit on the opposite end of the couch.
"Here you go, Hiro-san," Nowaki said, handing Hiroki the cookies and a napkin. Hiroki took them with a grateful smile. He opened them and hungrily munched on the first oatmeal raisin cookie that fell out. They sat in comfortable silence, watching a random reality show. Nowaki absentmindedly rubbed Hiroki's calves, trailing his hands up his pant leg and affectionately stroking the smooth skin underneath.
"Nnn," Hiroki whined, wriggling his feet against Nowaki's thigh.
"Do your legs hurt?" Nowaki asked. Hiroki nodded.
"Yeah, my ankles and my feet."
Nowaki took Hiroki by the ankles and hoisted his legs onto his lap. He peeled off Hiroki's socks and laid them over the armrest. He gently took Hiroki's right foot into his hands and kneaded the sore appendage, his thumbs working magic on Hiroki's muscles.
"Nooo…" Hiroki protested, trying and failing to pull his foot away. "My feet are smelly."
"No they're not, Hiro-san. Just keep eating your cookies, I'll take care of everything," Nowaki instructed soothingly, lightly pinching Hiroki's pinky toe. Hiroki huffed in annoyance, but silently allowed Nowaki to continue massaging his foot. He was extremely talented with his hands and fingers, and soon Hiroki was shifting and sighing in pleasure.
"Have you done this before?" Hiroki asked when Nowaki switched to the other foot.
"Yeah. One of our boys at the hospital has a muscular problem in his feet, and we give him foot massages to loosen up the muscles so it's not so painful for him," Nowaki said, smiling. "Does it feel good?"
"Yeah," Hiroki sighed. "Do those foot massages help that boy?"
"Yes. He's recovering slowly but surely. He's a very nice kid; I want to send him home to his family as soon as possible."
Hiroki frowned and hugged the stuffed cat closer to his chest. He put a hand on his belly and rubbed.
"He must really miss his mommy and daddy. I bet visitation is an exciting time for him," Hiroki said. Nowaki glanced up at him, a sad look in his eyes.
"He actually has two moms. And yes, he does miss them very much. The government is blaming them for the disease though, and isn't permitting them to meet him at the hospital."
Hiroki froze, his eyebrows furrowing.
"What? How the fuck would they pass a muscular problem? That's fucking stupid!"
"I know, Hiro-san. The whole hospital knows, but the only thing we can do is let the boy talk to his moms on the phone whenever he wants. One of our frequent graveyard shift workers tells us that he wakes up every few hours crying for them."
By the end of Nowaki's explanation, Hiroki was shaking with rage, tears forming in his eyes and threatening to spill over.
"That's not fair, did the child have any say in this? It doesn't matter who the fuck the parents are, as long as the kid is happy, right?" Hiroki asked, blinking rapidly and furiously scrubbing away his tears with a balled fist.
"Hiro-san…" Nowaki murmured, moving out from underneath Hiroki's feet and standing. He went to Hiroki and knelt by his side. "Don't cry, Hiro-san. We're working hard to make sure that boy recovers so he can go home. They're not taking all of the rights from his parents."
"You shouldn't have to work hard!" Hiroki exclaimed. "I mean… you should work hard, but you shouldn't be in this situation! The boy's already miserable, and then they go and take away visitation rights? It's… It's…"
Hiroki let out a strangled sound from the back of his throat and cried softly into his hand. Nowaki sighed and took him into his arms, rubbing his back soothingly.
"Shh, Hiro-san. That boy will see his moms again, don't worry. Shh," Nowaki said. Hiroki sniffled and nodded his head into Nowaki's shoulder.
"It's really not fair," Hiroki breathed, feeling his eyelids get heavy with the warmth of Nowaki's arms.
"I know," Nowaki said. He gently slipped his arms under his little lover and lifted him off of the couch. He carried him to the bedroom and set him down on the edge of the bed. There, he carefully pried the stuffed animal out of Hiroki's arms and helped him out of his maternity sweater. A night shirt replaced the sweater, and Nowaki aided Hiroki in getting his arms through the sleeves. Warm hands eased him back onto the bed, then moved to unbutton his pants and slip them off of his body. Hiroki murmured incoherently as he was re-positioned. Blankets were laid over his body, and he naturally curled into a ball. He felt something tickle at his cheek.
"Nnn?" Hiroki whimpered, reaching up and grabbing the soft, plush leg of the stuffed cat. He brought it down to his chest and hugged it tightly. There was a pause, then he felt a warm presence slip in behind him and mold to his body. An arm draped over his waist and stroked his baby bump.
"I won't let anything happen to our baby," Nowaki whispered against the back of Hiroki's neck. "Our baby will grow up in a healthy, loving family…"
Hiroki tightened his hold on the stuffed animal in his arms.
"…we'll give our baby precious memories…"
Nowaki's hand traveled up to Hiroki's chest, resting directly over his heart.
"…and we'll watch our baby get married and start a new life. We will love and protect our baby until the very end, Hiro-san. I won't let anyone or anything take that from us. I swear on my life."
Hiroki squeezed his eyes shut tighter as Nowaki went silent. He tightened his hold on Hiroki.
"Goodnight, Hiro-san."
