A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! It makes me happy to know that you guys are enjoying the story. Now, on to the next chapter!
Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this every time? I (sadly) don't own this series or any others at this moment in time.
It had been two months since they left Haruka's house. The morning after Kei left had been awkward, spent in almost absolute silence from the time everyone awoke until they got back to the Master Course dorms. Once they were home, everyone had disappeared into their rooms, lost to their thoughts.
After another day had been spent with everyone not knowing how to feel or what to think, Reiji had decided to cheer everyone up. He dragged his kouhais to the park, and by making some blatant passes at Haruka, he had gotten the guys fired up and Haruka blushing pinker than her hair. The guys were just about ready to kill him when he revealed his intention all along was to get them back to acting like themselves.
After he helped, things got back to being relatively normal in the Master Course, well, as normal as things get for these seven world-famous idols and their composer. The guys immersed themselves in work and taking care of Haruka's newfound cravings.
Tokiya couldn't understand it. Most women wanted sugar or meat, but Haruka was craving weird things like pasta primavera or a hamburger, basically anything that was hard to find in Japan. But the guys helped regardless. Ren would cook for her when he could, and Tokiya would take care of her cravings otherwise. This often entailed many late night or early morning trips to the convenience store in disguise.
Cecil spent his days telling her belly the stories of the great kings of Agnapolis and the battles they fought. He told them like bedtime stories, and Haruka would find herself immersed in them as well, her honey colored eyes widening as his words enthralled her. His teal eyes would sparkle and his hands gesticulated despite the audience not being able to see them. One day, a letter had come in the mail for him, but he had tossed it to the side without opening the royal seal. He wasn't ready to deal with his parents yet.
Otoya would play guitar and sing to the babies; he said that he wanted to make sure they would love music as much as their parents. Masato was still having trouble loosening up around Haruka, sometimes his blushes put hers to shame. However, one night he finally, truly, mastered the art of embracing. Let's just say that the others were impressed, and some sake was passed around in celebration.
Now that two months had passed, the incident with Kei was mostly forgotten by the guys, and Haruka had already forgiven him in her heart; she would just have to tell him that in person next time she saw him.
Syo had landed another acting job with Hyuuga-sensei, so he was gone more often than the others. He felt guilty not being there to take care of Haruka, but at night, he would curl up with his head on her lap and she would encourage him to keep working toward his dream as her fingers played with his soft, blonde locks.
The guys had written the lyrics to the new song she had composed while at her childhood home. It was called "Dream of the Shining Future", and it was dedicated to their babies. Shining decided that they would debut the song once the babies had been born by holding another concert.
For the first time since they returned from the trip to Haruka's, all of STARISH was gathered with Haruka in the living room. Her belly was quickly growing larger, but that was to be expected since they were going to be having at least seven babies. Now that she was five months in, her stomach was the size of a beach ball. She had started to feel self-conscious, but her lovers were always there to remind her how beautiful she was in their eyes, but the June heat did nothing to ease her discomfort, so she spent most her time inside now, enjoying the cool air.
They were sprawled out around the living room, chatting about work and the babies. Syo's movie shoot was finally over, and he was excited to spend more time with Haruka. Suddenly, Haruka's stomach started to growl, making the boys laugh and Haruka blush in embarrassment. "So, Lady, what would you like for lunch today?" Ren inquired with a laugh.
Haruka thought for a minute before her face lit up. "I would like to have pizza today, if you would."
"Of course, my lady," Ren said with a flourish that made his dark, golden locks form a curtain around his face briefly before he disappeared into the kitchen.
Otoya rubbed Haruka's stomach gently while Cecil recounted the tale of King Amir of Agnapolis. Meanwhile, Syo and Masato were reading the newspaper headlines over Tokiya's shoulder.
The headlines screamed, "STARISH ON BREAK?!" in massive letters. Underneath was a short blurb, "The hot group seems to be taking some down time, and the world wants to know: Where is their composer?" The article went on to talk about how Haruka had not been seen in public since she was hospitalized three months ago at their last concert. The journalists were theorizing that something had happened to her and that was why the group had not held any concerts since, or that something bigger was going on. Tokiya's brows furrowed as he read. This was not good, suspicion was already causing questions to be asked, questions that were expected after the babies were born, or if Haruka were recognized in public.
Bright emerald eyes scanned the living room. With QUARTET NIGHT being busy today, and the rest of STARISH being occupied, Natsuki was a bit bored, so he stood. "I'm going to help Ren in the kitchen!" he announced excitedly. He hadn't cooked anything for Haruka and the babies yet, so he wanted to feed them the best possible homemade food.
But instead, everyone looked up and simultaneously shouted,"NO!"
He looked down at his friends and lover in confusion, green eyes widening innocently. "Why not? I wanted to try out my new Piyo-chan spatula." Sure enough, he held up a pink spatula with Piyo-chan figure on the top of the handle.
"That's alright Nacchan," Otoya started. "I'm sure Ren has it covered, besides, why don't you show Haruka the scene you have been working on for that theater job you landed?"
Natsuki's eyes lit up. "Of course!" He spent the next half hour acting. He had landed the role after he had become whole again. It was more serious than anything Natsuki had done before, even more than the gravure shoot a couple years ago. In this play, he was the orphaned apprentice to a master sword-smith for the emperor. The city was on the brink of war, and Nishimura (his character) was being pushed to the limits as the army demanded more weapons than the sword-smiths could provide. After mercenaries from the foreign army attacked his master, killing him and leaving Nishimura seriously injured, he vowed vengeance against the assailants, joining the army front lines until he could take revenge on those who wronged him.
As Natsuki acted, more of Satsuki came out. His eyes lost their gentle radiance, becoming hard as steel. He played the character perfectly; a man who was once kind, turned to stone by the cost of war. Haruka was moved to tears when he acted out the last scene before taking a deep bow.
They heard clapping behind them as Ren emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a burgundy towel that he threw over his shoulder. "Lunch is served," he announced.
Haruka tore into the cheesy pizza, savoring the masterful way Ren had combined the flavors into one. The guys watched her with wide smiles, enjoying their pizza as well.
Cecil had poked it at first, not knowing what to make of the foreign food, but when he saw how much Haruka was enjoying it, he took a tentative bite, his eyes lighting up as the swirl of flavors hit his tongue. "This must be the food of the Muses! It is godly!" Cecil bowed to the slice of pizza on his plate, making Haruka and the others burst out laughing. Cecil looked at his princess and companions in confusion. "Is this not the food of the Muses?" Haruka just laughed harder. Every time Cecil opened his mouth to say something, she lost herself in another fit of laughter.
When she finally stopped giggling, she rubbed tears of laughter out of her eyes. "Gomen, Cecil, but I have never heard pizza described that way before. It isn't a Japanese dish, I think it is a more western food, farther west than Agnapolis."
Cecil looked embarrassed as he continued nibbling on his slice of pizza. Even Tokiya had laughed at him, so he must have done something very silly by Japanese standards.
Soon Cecil was pulled from his mortification as Shining's laughter echoed around the spacious room. They didn't react this time, they just sat waiting for him to show himself. When he appeared out of thin air, ready to take a bow, the boys and Haru didn't react, they just kept eating their pizza and doing other things.
He looked down at them in confusion. Damn, he needed to get more creative, they weren't surprised anymore! Putting that aside, Shining lowered his arms back to his sides and cleared his throat. "Big, big news!" he announced in his usual booming voice.
He finally got everyone's attention. Tokiya even closed his new book on parenting with a reluctant sigh. "Yesterday, your mansion was finished being constructed! As I speak, movers are gathering your belongings and escorting them to your new place of residence. It will be done being painted and decorated in two weeks time." He paused, "So, I am sending you on vacation for the time being. You will be staying at my private villa in Fiji. There is a bus waiting outside to take you to my private jet. Anything you may need is waiting for you at the villa already." He gave a flourish that read, 'You may clap now.'
"Fiji! Sweet!" Otoya cheered. His ruby eyes grew as wide as saucers in excitement. Cecil was excited for a vacation, not realizing the close proximity that it would put him to water and fish.
"Oh, but first, you will be stopping by the obstetrician's office for a check-up, Miss Nanami. Please enjoy your vacation." Shining then vanished behind a trap door in the wall.
"Did you know about that secret passage?" Syo asked Natsuki. The older blonde just shrugged his broad shoulders in response.
Once everyone was finished eating, they put the dishes in the dishwasher and headed outside to see a luxurious black bus waiting for them. Hyuuga and Ringo sat in the front seats. Hyuuga had his arms crossed over his chest. Cecil was going to ask if they were going to Fiji as well, but Ringo held up a perfectly manicured hand to stop them from saying anything. "Don't worry, we're only escorting you to the airport. You will be alone with Haru-chan on the way to the villa."
Most of the guys blushed at the thought of being unattended with Haruka. They clambered onto the bus, Haruka sat near the front with Cecil sitting to her right, next to the aisle. During the half hour drive to the doctor's office, Haruka fell asleep, her head resting on Cecil's shoulder, his chestnut brown hair tickling her ivory cheek. When they pulled up to a gray concrete and glass structure with a medical office sign planted in the perfectly trimmed grass, the bus stopped, Haruka woke up, and everyone piled out, except Hyuuga.
Once inside the building, they sat in a sterile, white waiting room for not even a minute before the nine of them were ushered into a private room. A small, middle-aged woman with smile lines creasing her face soon joined them. "Hello, minna-san, I will be your doctor for the duration of the pregnancy. My name is Dr. Hihara. Today, Miss Nanami had been scheduled for an ultrasound. Now that you are five months along, we can get a definite count on the babies, and we can also tell genders. Would you like to know the genders?"
The guys looked at Haruka questioningly. Haruka looked at their faces, "I would like it to be a surprise, but you guys are welcome to know."
"No, I'll wait, if you want, Haru-chan," Otoya declared. Cecil and Natsuki nodded. Masato and Syo looked a little disappointed, but they nodded in agreement anyway.
Ren said, "I admit, I am a little curious, but I will always wait for you, Lady."
Tokiya faced the doctor, "For now, just the number will suffice, thank you."
Dr. Hihara nodded kindly. She lifted Haruka's cream colored shirt to reveal her very large midsection. The doctor chuckled slightly when Haruka squeaked at the cold of the ultrasound gel.
"Let's see what we have here," she trailed off, moving the device around as she squinted at a monitor. Her face broke into a kind smile as she announced, "Congratulations, it looks like you will be having-."
A/N: Hooray for cliffhangers! They make things more fun. Thanks for reading! Please review, favorite and follow! Ok, I got ahead of myself when I said the guys' families would be in this chapter. They will come soon enough, I promise! Sorry if you were hoping for that, but I wanted a chapter or two of fluff after the Kei bombshell and the little one I am dropping soon.