Nowaki sighed as he crossed his arms and stared out the window of the guest bedroom. Hiroki sat on the bed nearby, sheepishly lowering his head. Nowaki hadn't been too happy after Hiroki had come out of the guest bedroom announcing that he would accept the check. Needless to say, the smile on Nowaki's face had faded rather quickly.
"Are you mad?" Hiroki asked slowly.
"I am, actually," Nowaki said shortly. Hiroki looked down at his hands, where he absentmindedly twirled the check for two hundred million yen. He glanced up at Nowaki, who had put on his leg brace and was standing before his wheelchair.
"Nowaki… it would have been rude not to accept it. Akihiko and Misaki wanted us to have it so bad," Hiroki coaxed gently. Nowaki shook his head slightly, pinching his lips together.
"That's not the problem, Hiro-san. I'm the one who is supposed to support you financially. I would have been able to figure something out with a little bit of time. We're not helpless," Nowaki said, his voice quiet and dangerous. Hiroki rolled his eyes and hauled himself to his feet. He waddled to Nowaki, instinctively rubbing circles over his baby bump.
"Stop being so stubborn. Be grateful. We've lost everything. There was no way that you would have been able to pull together enough money in time for the baby, especially when I'm not working myself," Hiroki said irritably. He stepped up behind Nowaki and crossed his arms. "What were you going to do? Wheel around the pediatrics building with children crawling all over your bad leg?"
Nowaki's jaw clenched and he scowled at the window.
"Don't get sarcastic with me," Nowaki said warningly. Hiroki bristled and walked briskly around to Nowaki's front, glaring up at him and pointing at him accusingly.
"Stop acting like you own me," Hiroki growled.
"You are my fiancé, aren't you?" Nowaki snapped immediately. Hiroki stared at him for a moment. Nowaki blinked, a slightly regretful look on his face. Before he could speak, Hiroki scoffed at him in disgust.
"Fuck off. You're an ass," Hiroki said flatly. Nowaki tried to take a step towards him, but Hiroki brushed him off with a wave of his hand. Nowaki turned around, outstretching his arms towards Hiroki pleadingly.
"Hiro-san… oh, Hiro-san, I'm sorry. It just slipped out. I didn't mean it. Please, Hiro-san?" Nowaki said as Hiroki walked purposefully towards the door. He put his hand on the doorknob, about to turn it.
He stopped however, as he recalled his encounter with Akihiko. If he walked out of the room now, it would just worsen the situation. Another unnecessary misunderstanding, and more stress for the baby.
Hiroki clenched his fist on the doorknob, then turned halfway to glower at his idiot fiancé.
"Nowaki, we need the money. We need to pay for the baby, and a new house, and furniture, and… and…" Hiroki trailed off. He glared at the floor, pinching his lips together as a blush rose to his cheeks. "And we need to pay for the trip for our wedding, so… so be grateful!"
"Okay, okay. Just… Hiro-san, please don't leave," Nowaki begged, taking a stiff step towards Hiroki. "I'm just really overwhelmed with everything that's been happening, okay? I'm really sorry that I said that. I really didn't mean it."
Hiroki's eyes softened and he let his hand slip from the doorknob.
"Idiot. Relax," Hiroki sighed. He waddled back to Nowaki, who outstretched his arms. They embraced, and Hiroki buried his face into Nowaki's shoulder.
"I am really grateful for the money. I'm not going to deny that we need it. It's just… you know, usually people don't hand out that much money. It uh... kind of freaked me out, you know?" Nowaki said, pulling away from Hiroki and holding him by the waist. Hiroki chuckled and drummed his fingertips over Nowaki's broad chest.
"That's Akihiko for you. He's too rich for his own good."
"I want to be the only person to take care of you. I'm jealous of Usami-san," Nowaki pouted. Hiroki flushed scarlet, a sharp retort hot on his tongue. He bit his cheek, though, warning himself to hold it back.
"I… why would you be jealous? May I remind you that you're the only person on this entire planet who can support me emotionally? Money can't do that. Only you," Hiroki said, challenging himself. He suppressed a grimace at his corny-as-Nowaki words. However, he couldn't help the smile that sprung to his face as all of the doubt fled from Nowaki's eyes.
"That was beautiful, Hiro-san," Nowaki said cheerfully, a wide smile on his lips. Hiroki's cheeks practically burst into flames. "Just like poet-"
"Don't say it," Hiroki snapped. He sighed and snaked his arms up Nowaki's chest, cupping his neck in his hands. "Just… kiss me or something, alright?"
"'kay," Nowaki purred. He slid his hands down to Hiroki's hips and lowered his head to gently brush their lips together. Hiroki shivered at the wave of comfort that immediately washed over him.
Warm lips suited him so much more than cold ones.
"Mmm," Hiroki hummed contentedly, smiling into Nowaki's kisses. They pulled away, and Nowaki took a shaky breath.
"Are you sure you don't want to have sex?" Nowaki asked sheepishly, swaying uncomfortably. Hiroki pursed his lips. As if on cue, the baby kicked his lower abdomen hard, making him wince.
"I seriously feel like I'll pop," Hiroki said. He frowned guiltily up at Nowaki. "I'm sorry, do you want me to…?"
"No, no, Hiro-san. Sorry, I'm being selfish. I'll wait until after the baby's born," Nowaki said, shutting his eyes briefly before breaking into a smile. Hiroki pinched his lips together.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Anything for you," Nowaki said. He pressed a kiss to Hiroki's reddening forehead.
"I-" Hiroki began. There was a knock at the door.
"Kusama? Someone's on the phone. They're asking for you."
Hiroki turned around in Nowaki's arms to face Akihiko, who was standing in the doorway with a troubled look on his face.
"Me? Do you know who it was?" Nowaki asked, releasing Hiroki and hobbling towards the door.
"They were asking for Doctor Kusama, so I'm just going to guess it was the hospital," Akihiko said.
"How'd they know he was here?" Hiroki asked, following Nowaki and peeking out from behind his shoulder.
"Oh, fuck," Nowaki suddenly cursed. He whirled around and quickly limped to the luggage bag. He stooped down with a bit of struggle and unzipped it. From its depths, he dug out a little black pager. He swore again.
"What is it?" Hiroki asked.
"They've been paging me nonstop for the past hour. They probably tracked my pager," Nowaki said.
"But you're on leave!" Hiroki protested as Nowaki followed Akihiko out the door and towards the phone. Hiroki waddled behind them, his eyebrows furrowed.
"It must be something really important then," Nowaki said. He went to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
Hiroki watched as Nowaki's brows knitted and he brought his hand to his lip, absentmindedly pinching it. His eyes widened suddenly, and he glanced at Hiroki before running a hand through his hair.
"I-I-I… she wasn't scheduled to get it done until January!" Nowaki sputtered. He paused and his eyes widened even more, panic flickering through his irises. "There's no way! I don't think-"
Nowaki stopped protesting suddenly, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration.
"Yes. Alright. I understand. I'm sorry. I'll be there soon."
Nowaki hung up the phone and groaned, tipping his head back and covering his face with his hands.
"Nowaki?" Hiroki asked, walking up to him and putting a hand on his arm. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"One of the little girls at the pediatrics building was scheduled to have surgery to get one of her kidneys removed in January, but her condition just plummeted and they're preparing for an emergency surgery up in Hokkaido," Nowaki said shakily. Hiroki tilted his head in confusion.
"What does that have to do with you?" he asked. Nowaki sighed.
"The surgeon assigned to her is ill and isn't eligible to lead the surgery. They're asking me to lead it tonight, Hiro-san."
