.
.
"Ugh, I hate taking these pills," Morioka said.
She was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, wrinkling her nose with distaste at the little round compact of birth control pills in her hand. Once again, she forgot to take it - second day in a row, in fact - and she had to start a new pack.
Sakurai leaned through the doorway. "Do you want to go back to condoms?" he asked. Morioka shook her head.
"I couldn't ask that of you, didn't you say it felt better without the condoms?"
("You feel so good without the condoms!" was what he said the first time they had sex without them.)
"I don't mind them," Sakurai said. Morioka frowned at him.
They had tried to get an IUD earlier, but it was too painful to insert and the doctor had offered to reschedule the appointment. "My apologies, I don't think we want an IUD," Morioka said, while Sakurai marveled silently at how tight her cervix was even after giving birth. She was allergic to the adhesive in the patch and the ring was awkward to have to fish out whenever she had to change it. Sakurai brightened.
"Well, maybe we should just stop your birth control, then?"
"Eh?" Morioka said. Sakurai smiled.
"I mean, it took us a year before we conceived Lily. And we were much more active then." This was true: they were having sex practically every day back then, whereas now their sex life had dwindled to a still respectable two or three times a week.
Morioka considered. "I suppose we can just stop the pill then..."
"And I'll take responsibility if you get pregnant," Sakurai said. Morioka laughed.
"You have to take responsibility. We're married, silly. "
Sakurai blushed, happily.
xXx
.
"Um, Yuta?"
"Hm?"
"Can we buy some pregnancy tests? I haven't had my period."
"Eh?"
A few hours later, she sat on the toilet staring at the stick in her hand.
"That was quick," Morioka said.