Here is the next chapter! Thanks to all my reviewers, I wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys!

Puppyfacetwo, Nanami_of_fallingsnow: yes I agree that Haruhiko deserves to be stabbed and punched in the face!

Life4Love: Thanks for the kaoruko idea!

Darkrosetears: When I was writing this chapter I thought of your pancake story :P

KiyameHikari-Chan: I believe Usagi can be really gentle if he wants to, but most of the time he's not!

Thoushaltlaugh: Don't worry I won't drop this story :)

Brookiecookie, LesleyK, MoonlightatDusk, gothpandaotaku: Thanks for the encouragement and I hope you keep reading!

Chapter 9

It was ten in the morning and Misaki was crouched over the study desk, grabbing his hair in frustration as he tried to digest his lecture notes. He knew he needed help to understand the notes, but dared not disturb Akihiko as he saw that the silver-haired novelist was deep in writing. After several days of writing drought, Akihiko had suddenly been hit by a burst of inspiration and the last thing Misaki wanted to do was to break his concentration.

Misaki wondered what everyone else was doing in school right now, and the image of Kamijou the Terror throwing his books at sleeping students flashed across his mind. It was a normal school day but Misaki was currently under 'house arrest', and would be until the birth. The doctor had explained that Misaki's blood pressure was on the high side, so Akihiko had banned him from going to school in case he had another fainting spell.

Leaning back against the cushion in his chair and releasing a yawn, Misaki actually felt relieved to be at home at this moment, although he knew his lecturer would cut him some slack as he knew Misaki was 'seriously ill'. However he was still worried about passing the semester after missing so many lessons.

Argh this is giving me a headache. I give up! He moaned inwardly and pushed the notes aside, a smile turning his lips as his thoughts wandered to his other 'homework': to think of names for his unborn nephews. His brother and sister-in-law had given him the honor of choosing names for the boys. Misaki reached for the shelf and grabbed a book of Japanese baby names, his heart beating with excitement as he flipped the pages.

"Makoto and Masa? That's 'sincere' and 'just', hmm... or maybe, Mitsuo and Minori... 'shining' and 'truth'...?" Misaki scribbled down some of the names into a notepad, and decided he would ask Akihiko for his views later. He closed the book with a happy sigh.

Casting a glance at Akihiko's direction he saw that the man was typing furiously at his desk, an empty coffee cup beside him. Misaki's eyes then traveled to the pile of books and videos next to the computer. He guessed those were Akihiko's research materials for writing his latest book, which would include mpreg elements. Feeling curious, Misaki walked over and took a closer look at some of the stuff. There were light novels, movies and comic books. His huge green eyes grew even larger when he read through the bizarre stories involving aliens, evil experiments, demons, and hermaphrodites. There were also 'express delivery' stories where the man got pregnant and gave birth in three days. Misaki read everything with a mixture of horror and amusement.

"I wonder what these people are thinking about when they write such stories," he murmured to himself. There didn't seem to be a single story about a normal guy like himself. But then... was being pregnant even considered 'normal' for him?

"Misaki, what are you doing?" The writer murmured, still staring at the screen.

"Nothing." A rumbling sound from his stomach interrupted his thoughts. "Okay, okay, I know you guys are hungry," Misaki spoke to his bump, put the book down and ambled into the kitchen to prepare a snack.

He decided he would have pancakes with pickles and whipped cream, and started making some for himself and Akihiko (without the pickles, of course). He mixed the batter and poured it into the heated pan. While he was hovering over the stove flipping the pancakes, his mind going over the baby names again, he felt strong arms envelope him. Startled, he let out a yelp and dropped the spatula with a clatter.

"Mmmmmm... I'm starving..." Akihiko buried his chin into the thick brown hair, his deep voice sending a shudder through Misaki's body.

"Ugh go away!" The flustered youth snapped. "Can't you see I'm cooking? Just sit right there and wait for your food!"

"But I'm starving for Misaki," the writer continued with his arms tightly wrapped around his beloved, pulling him away from the stove. He sounded slightly drunk, or tired, or probably just horny. Now that Misaki was feeling much better in his second trimester, Akihiko would grab the opportunity to harass him more often, springing surprise 'attacks' on him just like in the old days. He knew that even though his beloved protested against his advances, he actually welcomed them. Misaki, of course, vehemently denied this, explaining that he struggled less because he didn't want to hurt the little ones.

A burning smell soon filled the kitchen. Misaki coughed and sputtered as he tried to turn off the stove, but it was too late. The pancakes had turned black.

"Look at what you've done, you moron!" he shouted angrily. "Now the twins can't have their food!"

Akihiko loosened his grip on his prey and sighed. "Can you stop talking about them for once?" he said quietly, his face looking suddenly folorn.

Misaki huffed. "What - what the hell is your problem?" he demanded as he glared at Akihiko, hands on his hips.

"Nothing," Akihiko muttered under his breath and left the kitchen.

Just what the #$%* is wrong with him? Misaki fumed, bending over and struggling to pick up the spatula. His belly was starting to get in the way of everything he did, and he was learning to get used to the fact that simple tasks required more effort than before. A sigh escaped his lips as he reached for the fridge to get more pancake mix.

After downing two portions of pancakes, Misaki slowly rubbed circles on his belly, feeling full and satisfied. He glanced around and decided there was quite a bit of cleaning up to be done. Usually it was Akihiko who did the cleaning up, but Misaki guessed the man was probably sulking in his room, behaving like a five-year old throwing a tantrum. Misaki resignedly proceeded to mop the kitchen floor, when the doorbell buzzed. Straightening himself and stretching his aching back, he waited a while for Akihiko to answer it, but he didn't.

The doorbell buzzed again. Misaki went to the door and carefully peered out of the peephole. To his surprise, he saw Kaoruko standing outside. He had nearly forgotten that she had texted him earlier to tell him that she was coming over to pass him some lecture notes and the homework for the day. He quickly opened the door to let his classmate in.

"Hi, Misaki-kun!" She looked elated to see him, her huge ebony eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Oh Kaoruko-san, thank you so much! You're so kind!" Misaki cried. "You really shouldn't have taken the trouble!"

The raven-haired girl let out a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand when her eyes froze on her classmate. Misaki realized what she was staring at and felt the heat rise in his cheeks. There was no way he could hide his ballooning figure now, not even with the large pullover he was wearing.

"Wow!" Kaoruko exclaimed. "Are you pregnant?"

Misaki blinked, taken aback by the directness of her question. Replying with nothing but a sheepish smile, he quickly turned and gestured at the couch. "Come on in... have a seat."

Kaoruko raced in front of him to get a good look at him. She couldn't help but stare. The guy had gained quite a bit of weight and his elastic sweatpants were worn at his hips, below his protruding stomach. She was trying to get used to this strange sight as it was quite a contrast to his previously stick-thin figure.

"So I was right... you- you really are having a baby!" Kaoruko squealed, extremely pleased with herself as her earlier speculation had been accurate, and that none of her classmates, not even the lecturer, was smart enough to make that guess. "Oh my god, you're going to be a mother!"

"But they're not my children," Misaki replied, trying to make himself look smaller behind the kitchen counter as he prepared some green tea for his guest. When his statement was met with a blank stare, he proceeded to explain about the earthquake and how his sister-in-law's babies had been transferred to him.

"I see, " Kaoruko nodded, sipping her tea. "Is it fun being a surrogate?"

"Well," Misaki pondered over the question for a moment. He had not really thought about whether it was 'fun' or not. "I guess being under house arrest isn't what you call 'fun'. And there's the back pain."

"Aw. Are you near the end of your pregnancy?" Kaoruko stared at Misaki's bump, fascinated.

Misaki shifted awkwardly in his seat, feeling again like an insect being studied. "No, do I really look that huge?" he said, realizing that he probably looked like he was already in his third trimester. "I think it's because there are two inside."

"Both must be really big babies then!"

"Yeah I'm glad they're doing well. But I'm not sure what's going to happen when they grow bigger," he bit his lip nervously. To be honest, he felt jittery whenever he thought of himself being in labor.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do fine!" Kaoruko patted his shoulder encouragingly.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, and Kaoruko told him about what happened in school. She also patiently explained to him what Kamijou Sensei had taught in his class that day, promising to do this every week. Misaki was overwhelmed by gratitude. Kaoruko-san is such a nice girl, he thought. She's really smart too... that's only natural because she has the Usagi genes. I wonder why she's so nice to me. Could it be that she still likes me? No, no, how could it be possible?

"Misaki-kun! Are you alright?" Kaoruko asked when she saw that the boy had gone quiet.

"Huh? I'm so sorry, what did you just say?" Misaki met her gaze with his clear green eyes.

"Oh, um..." Kaoruko smiled shyly. "I was just saying that I think you're so..."

"Fat?" Misaki volunteered.

"No!" Kaoruko cried in exasperation. "I was saying, I think you're so brave to do this for your brother and sister-in-law. I read all about the risks of male pregnancy!""

"Oh," Misaki let out a chuckle. "I'm fine. It's not that bad, really."

Her brilliant dark eyes were still fixed on his mid-drift, and she eased herself closer to him on the couch. "Can I... touch?" she asked eagerly.

Unsure of how to reply, Misaki muttered, "Yeah, um, sure you can." Blushing, he peeled his shirt up slowly, revealing the bare skin of his stomach. Kaoruko delicately placed a hand on it and waited for a few moments, gasping in awe when she felt the tiny kicks.

"What are you doing here?" A deep, stern voice broke into their conversation. Misaki quickly pulled down his shirt, both teenagers looked up and saw Akihiko standing at the foot of the stairs, arms folded across his chest, staring at his cousin with an unwelcoming look in his face.

"Kaoruko-san is teaching me - " Misaki started to explain, but was interrupted.

"I'll teach him. You can go home now," Akihiko told his cousin curtly, ignoring the boy.

"Wow, that was absolutely rude!" Misaki frowned at the man. "Kaoruko-san came all the way here to help me with my homework!"

"Time to go to bed, Misaki," Akihiko continued without softening his expression.

"Look, it's barely even - " Misaki frowned and pointed at the clock.

"Misaki has high blood pressure," Akihiko said calmly, directing his gaze at his cousin. "He needs to rest."

"Yeah all thanks to you, Baka!" The irate youth burst out, pushing himself up from the couch. "I've had enough crap from you!"

Kaoruko, who was quietly watching the drama all this while, stood up and grabbed her bag. "Sorry for intruding, Akihiko-sama," she said and turned to leave.

When the door closed with a click, Misaki glowered at the older man. "Are you happy now?"

"She's obviously interested in you," Akihiko said, rolling his eyes. "But I suppose you're too dense to notice that."

"What nonsense are you blabbering again?" Misaki ranted, waving his arms wildly. "I don't know what's gotten into you today. First, you make a mess out of the kitchen, and then you chase my good friend away. You- you think you have the right to lock me up in this house when you're behaving like a spoiled kid yourself! And you don't even give me any respect, you treat me like I'm made of glass all the time. Why? What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you doing all this?"

Akihiko kept his arms folded and looked down at the ground, saying nothing. A few moments later he turned around and spoke as though to no one in particular.

"Because... I love you."

The words hit Misaki like a ton of bricks. Did Usagi-san just say he loves me? He stood there looking at his partner's back, his heart racing as thoughts swam in his mind. His partner had probably said that word a thousand times, but he could never get used to hearing it. Thinking back, it all made sense and he began to understand why Akihiko had been behaving like the way he did. Usagi-san is sad because I've been neglecting him all this while. We used to be... closer before I got pregnant. He feels that I'm drifting away from him. I guess I never realized all this as I was too busy thinking about the twins. He felt a lump grow in his throat.

"I'm sorry," he said in a small voice.

"Sorry? For what?"

"For saying all those hurtful things. I didn't mean it," Misaki said, his emerald eyes shimmering with tears.

"Well, if you're truly sorry," said Akihiko, turned around to face the tearful youth. "You'll have to make it up to me."

"Huh, like how? Heyyy!" Misaki yelled in panic as the older man swept his feet off the floor without a word and held him in his arms, grunting due to the amount of weight Misaki had put on. Still, Akihiko managed to carry him princess style up the stairs and into the bedroom, where he made a mess of him all night long.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! :P See you next chapter!