"Nowaki, I-" Hiroki began, a protest hot on his tongue.

"Hiro-san," Nowaki interrupted, rolling onto his back and taking Hiroki with him. "Admit it. It's unsafe for you and Fuyumi to be here. The raiders keep finding us, no matter where we go. It's only a matter of time before they destroy this place, too."

Hiroki clenched his fist on Nowaki's chest, pinching his lips together.

"I don't want to be alone again," Hiroki choked through gritted teeth. Nowaki gazed sadly up at his poor fiancé and combed his bangs back.

"You won't be alone. You'll have Fuyumi with you. We can call each other, video chat, mail… whatever it takes. All I know is that it's gotten to a point where I can't protect you by myself anymore. It'll only be a few months."

Hiroki clutched Nowaki to him, pressing his forehead against the pale, bare skin of his chest and shaking his head.

"You'll miss all of Fuyumi's important firsts… you were sad that you missed her first feeding, you fucking idiot," Hiroki hissed, digging his fingernails into Nowaki's torso.

"I know I was. But I'd much rather miss Fuyumi's firsts than witness her lasts. She almost died tonight, Hiro-san. We've hardly had her for one day, and someone was already trying to harm her. I want to see her smiling, not suffocating on a pill. Sure, I might miss her first smile, and her first laugh, the first time she bounces in her papa's lap-"

Hiroki burst into tears.

"But when I come to get you, and I see Fuyumi's smile when she sees her daddy… that would be the most precious to me."

"Please don't send me there. Please… I can't take care of Fuyumi without you," Hiroki begged, quickly dissolving into soft sobs.

"Don't cry… don't cry, Hiro-san," Nowaki croaked, his voice gravelly. Hiroki looked up through his tears to see that Nowaki was also crying, silent teardrops dripping down the sides of his face. "Please don't cry."

Hiroki crawled up Nowaki's body and took his face into his hands. They wept together, grasping each other's faces, bodies, arms, anything they could grab onto.

"Please let me stay for Fuyumi's first Christmas," Hiroki sniffled. "I want you to be here for that, at least."

Nowaki nodded tearfully, stroking Hiroki's cheek.

"There will be plenty of time for that, I promise."

Hiroki calmed down for a split second, but when he looked up at Nowaki's face again, he blubbered once more and collapsed into desperate sobs, letting his head fall onto Nowaki's chest.

"Fuck you, Nowaki."

"I'm sorry."

"Making me leave… I hate you."

"I love you."

Hiroki looked up and frantically pressed his lips to Nowaki's, drinking in as much of his taste as possible, as if he were leaving at that very moment. Nowaki jerked and a few more tears slipped from his eyes as he pressed back up into Hiroki, wrapping his arms around his little fiancé.

"I don't hate you," Hiroki wept as he pulled away for a moment. His last word was smothered by another heated kiss. "I didn't mean it."

"I know," Nowaki mumbled into Hiroki's mouth. He reached up to hook his hands on Hiroki's neck and bring him in closer. They pulled away with a smack, and Nowaki tightened his grip on Hiroki and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"Nowaki," Hiroki whispered, lowering his head to kiss Nowaki's neck.

"No matter what it takes. I will never let anyone ever touch Fuyumi again," Nowaki hissed into Hiroki's ear.

"I understand," Hiroki breathed. He lifted his head. "I'll go."


Hiroki hummed to Fuyumi as Nowaki wheeled him out of the guest bedroom in the wheelchair that he had used for his leg. Misaki, who was at the kitchen table, feeding Hitomi baby food, looked up.

"Kamijou-san! Nowaki! Usagi-san told me about what happened, is Fuyumi okay?" Misaki asked, half-standing from his place at the table.

"Fuyumi is fine," Hiroki said with a gentle smile. Nowaki wheeled him up to the kitchen table, where Hiroki frowned down at Fuyumi. "Actually… I was wondering if you could help me change Fuyumi…? I think she had her first bowel movement."

"Mm?" Misaki hummed. "Yes, I can help you with that. Come with me."

Misaki put Hitomi into her playpen and led Hiroki and Nowaki to the large bathroom, where a diaper changing station was set up. Hiroki handed Fuyumi to Misaki, who calmly put her down onto the changing station and began unwrapping her from her pink blanket. Fuyumi squeaked, blinking up at the new man who was handling her.

"It's a good thing Hitomi's so small, too. These diapers will fit nicely," Misaki said as he stooped down to retrieve a little white diaper from the top shelf of the diaper changing station. He handed it to Hiroki, who took it and observed it curiously. Nowaki wheeled him up to the changing station as Misaki stepped back.

"This is kind of tall," Hiroki commented, laughing dryly as he reached up to run a gentle hand over Fuyumi's belly, carefully avoiding the umbilical cord stump.

"I know how to change diapers. Maybe I could do the first changing," Nowaki hinted. Hiroki tipped his head back to look at his hopeful fiancé's face. He laughed.

"Alright. You're the pediatrician, and Misaki has experience. Both of you can teach me."

"Actually, I think Nowaki has this all under control. He probably knows even more than I do; I could learn something from him. Take it away, Nowaki," Misaki said happily.

Nowaki cheerfully wheeled Hiroki off to the side, setting him at a good angle for watching the changing process. Misaki smiled and crossed his arms, watching from a distance.

"Make sure you have all of your supplies ready to go. Don't ever leave a baby unattended on a changing station," Nowaki instructed, smiling gently down at his daughter, who squeaked again as she stared up at her daddy. Hiroki felt warmth blossom in his heart as he watched his precious fiancé handle his equally precious daughter, his eyelids lowered with confidence.

"Oh, here's the diaper," Hiroki said suddenly, realizing he still had the diaper in his hands. He handed it to Nowaki, who chuckled and began to unfold it.

"Okay. Before you start changing, put the bottom flap of the diaper under the baby, to avoid making a mess of the changing station," Nowaki continued. He took Fuyumi by the ankles and lifted her lower body. She squealed.

"Doesn't that-" Hiroki began fearfully.

"Nope. Doesn't hurt her at all. Babies are very flexible," Nowaki said, smiling. Hiroki's hunched shoulders relaxed and he continued to watch Nowaki work. He undid the straps of Fuyumi's diaper and lifted her ankles once more to slide the dirtied diaper out from under her.

"Oh! What's that?" Hiroki exclaimed in horror. Nowaki glanced at the diaper, which had a black, tar-like mound on it.

"Ha, that's called meconium. Fuyumi had her first bowel movement after all. Don't worry, Hiro-san. It's supposed to look like that for the first time. I can understand your concern, though. Most people don't really think about this part of a newborn."

Hiroki gazed up at Nowaki, enamored by his gentle explanation. He looked so confident and graceful as he instructed, and although his hands were large, they handled Fuyumi with utmost care. Hiroki's eyelids lowered in adoration.

This man was born to be a pediatrician.

"Next, you clean her," Nowaki continued. He grabbed a baby wipe from the corner of the changing station and lifted Fuyumi's ankles higher. "Since Fuyumi's a girl, make sure the first few wipes are from the top to the bottom instead of from the bottom to the top. This way, she won't be in danger of getting contaminants inside of her."

Nowaki wiped her carefully, depositing the dirtied wipes on top of the soiled diaper. He used three wipes from top to bottom, then switched from bottom to top as he got to the fourth baby wipe. On his fifth baby wipe, it came up clean.

"Make sure you check under all of the folds of her skin."

Nowaki checked Fuyumi thoroughly with his free hand. When he concluded that she was clean, he gently set her lower body back onto the fresh diaper.

"Doesn't she need powder or something?" Hiroki asked. Nowaki pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Baby powder isn't really needed unless there are signs of chaffing," Nowaki said. He flashed a grin towards Hiroki. "Just more media hype."

"Oh," Hiroki said, furrowing his brows. He hadn't known as much about babies as he had thought.

"Finally, just pull the front flap up between her legs… fasten the sides… oh, make sure it's not too tight, and the ruffles are out to avoid any leaking… and… here we go!" Nowaki finished, grinning as he scooped Fuyumi up into his arms and presented her to Hiroki. She squeaked as Nowaki handed her to Hiroki. He cuddled her and danced his fingertips across her smooth skin.

"Thank you, Nowaki," Hiroki murmured, gazing up at his fiancé with unrestrained love. Nowaki smiled back down at him, caressing his cheek.

"No, thank you, Hiro-san. Thank you for giving me one of her firsts."