"Damn, Kamijou."
Hiroki gritted his teeth as beads of sweat dripped down the sides of his face, pooling in his sweatband. His entire body flexed, his toes splaying in his tennis shoes and lifting off of the ground slightly with the effort he was exerting upwards.
"One more!"
Hiroki huffed, bending his arms before pushing up again, straightening his arms.
"Good!"
Exhaling, Hiroki let Miyagi guide his barbell back onto its stand. He let his limp arms flop to his sides as he panted.
"You've never benched two-fifty before! For someone so small, you sure are strong," Miyagi praised as Hiroki sat up and hunched over slightly, airing out his tank top. Hiroki glanced up at Miyagi, blowing a sweaty stray lock of hair out of his face.
"No… it's not because I'm strong. I'm just pissed," Hiroki muttered. Miyagi frowned as Hiroki stood and windmilled his elbows to stretch them out. Hiroki then headed towards a nearby treadmill, where its previous occupant had stepped off to take Hiroki's place at the bench press.
"Kamijou, don't overexert yourself," Miyagi said gently as Hiroki stepped onto the treadmill. He flicked his gaze towards Miyagi before turning on the machine and setting the speed to a rather fast pace. Miyagi came around to the front of the machine to rest his elbows on the control panel. "Seriously. It's already been almost four months since Fuyumi was born, but your body still might be realigning itself. You don't want to disrupt that process."
"You… sound… like Nowaki," Hiroki panted. Miyagi made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat and pursed his lips.
"Well, it doesn't take a doctor's degree to see that you're putting your body under a lot of strain. Exercising is healthy to a limit, Kamijou."
"I'll stop when I have the strength to rip Nowaki's dick off."
Miyagi slapped his forehead.
"Come on, Kamijou. Let's go get something to eat. Let's go shopping. Let's get our hair done."
"I'm not a woman, Miyagi."
"You're acting like one."
Hiroki sighed loudly and shut off the treadmill, jogging along with the machine as it slowed down.
"Miyagi, exercising like this makes me feel better. It's-"
Hiroki wavered on the treadmill and slumped against the control panel, holding his head as the world spun around him.
"See, I knew this would happen. We've only been to the gym a few times, Kamijou. This isn't something that you're going to get used to overnight," Miyagi scolded.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Just get me out of here. I feel like I'm going to puke," Hiroki groaned. Miyagi eased him off of the treadmill and helped him out of the gym, bringing him out into the fresh, pine-scented air.
"Better?" Miyagi asked.
"Is there a place to sit down?"
"Uh…" Miyagi trailed off. Hiroki blindly stumbled along with Miyagi as he was led out of the bright sunlight and into the shade. Miyagi let him slowly sink down onto the ground and flop down onto his back.
"That's better," Hiroki breathed. His spinning world slowly came to a stop and his vision cleared. He was sprawled out under an oak tree, lying in a patch of soft grass.
"Good," Miyagi sighed, sitting down beside Hiroki. "I texted Shinobu earlier for him to head this way with the kids- he should be here soon. He made some lunch so we can have a picnic in that park over there."
Hiroki looked up as Miyagi jerked his thumb over his shoulder, where there was a small park just before a forest of pine trees. There was a pond with benches around it, where a father and his daughter were playing with a remote-controlled boat. There was a gazebo, where two squirrels ran along its white railing. There were a couple picnic tables where a family was sitting at one, and a group of students from a nearby college was studying at the other. Hiroki let his head flop back down into the grass.
"I love this country," he gushed, making a snow angel in the grass. Miyagi laughed.
"It's nice, isn't it?"
"Yeah…"
When Hiroki recovered from his mild bout with illness, he returned to the gym to take a much-needed shower. Then, when he reemerged from the building, he was pleased to see that Shinobu had arrived with food, the kids, and a change of clothes for Hiroki.
After changing in a nearby outhouse, Hiroki returned to the oak tree. Shinobu and Miyagi had decided to set up the picnic underneath its shade to protect Fuyumi and Eiji from the bright sunlight. On top of a large blanket sat a cooler, picnic basket, and a translucent bin full of baby toys.
"Beer?" Hiroki asked excitedly as he approached, pointing to the cooler. Shinobu, who had taken a seat beside Miyagi on the blanket, laughed.
"It's mostly formula and water for the kids, but I did hide a couple cans in there for you and Miyagi," Shinobu replied with a wink, turning to the cooler. Hiroki grinned blissfully and sat down across from his two friends. He looked at Miyagi, who was taking off Fuyumi's and Eiji's baby booties.
"I think they like spring more than winter," Miyagi commented as Fuyumi and Eiji glanced around jerkily with identical surprised looks on their faces.
"Mm," Hiroki agreed as Shinobu handed him a can of beer. He opened it and took a much-needed sip. "Well, Fuyumi's papa hates snow unless he's not in it, so it's understandable that she's relieved that winter's over."
Hiroki reached out to pinch Fuyumi's cheek and make kissing noises at her, earning a squeal of delight. Shinobu smiled at him before he too reached out to press the back of his hand against Eiji's forehead.
"Eiji-kun won't overheat, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi murmured gently, leaning over to press a few kisses to Shinobu's temple. Shinobu blushed in response, looking away bashfully. Hiroki furrowed his eyebrows and slowly lowered his beer, glancing at Miyagi, then to Shinobu, then back to Miyagi.
"I was just checking," Shinobu replied, scooting closer to Miyagi to lay his hand over his and lean against his shoulder. Miyagi smiled and flipped his hand over to interlace their fingers.
"You two are the strangest couple I've ever met," Hiroki sighed exasperatedly, setting down his half-empty beer can to scoop up Fuyumi and set her in the crook of his lap. She gurgled and fisted the folds of the pant leg of Hiroki's jeans.
"Nah, Yōh's just stupid," Shinobu teased, smirking up at his fiancé.
"Shinobu's just a brat," Miyagi countered, dipping his head to nuzzle Shinobu's hair. Shinobu hummed in content and snuggled up to Miyagi. Hiroki rolled his eyes at the lovey-dovey couple and picked up his beer. He paused just before taking a sip.
"Alright, what are you two hiding from me? You two are ridiculously idiotic today."
Hiroki began chugging his beer as Shinobu and Miyagi glanced at each other. Shinobu grinned at him shyly and Miyagi gazed lovingly back at him, a tender smile on his face.
"Do you want to tell him?" Miyagi asked softly. Shinobu gave him a tiny nod and turned back to Hiroki.
"Kamijou, we wanted to tell you first," Shinobu said, grinning slightly. Hiroki raised his eyebrows as he lowered his beer and swallowed.
"Yeah…?"
Shinobu took a deep breath, glanced at Miyagi one last time, then made his announcement in a long sigh.
"I'm pregnant."
