This I Promise You

Sequel to: "My Heart Beats Like A Drum"

Building A Family series

Written by: Chochowilliams

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Summary: Could it be that Shuichi really is just paranoid or is there something about the new neighbor?

Warning: M/M, Sexual Situations, Romance, Drama, Angst, Fantasy, Infidelity, OOC-ness, Language, M-Preg, Masturbation, Anal, Oral, Minor Character Death, OCs, 1st person POV, Japan Natives: surname first

Pairings: Shuichi/Eiri, Hiro/Ayaka, Hiro/Suguru, OMC/OFC

Insert: recap from Chapter 7

A/N: Enjoy!

oOo

Last Time

Shuichi laughed through his tears, a huge smile on his face.

"Definitely derision," said an unexpected voice.

Yelping in surprise, Shuichi swung around to see his husband standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed over his chest. "Eiri," he breathed over a pounding heart. With a face wet from crying, Shuichi tossed himself at his husband.

Eiri hugged his husband back. Tipping Shuichi's head back, he kissed him firmly on the lips. "What are you crying for this time?"

"Dr. Amano called," Shuichi cried through his renewal of tears. He sniffed and wiped futilely at the drops of water that fell down his cheeks. He could not stop himself from smiling.

His heart pounding, Eiri held his breath.

"We-we're going to have a baby!"

oOo

Chapter 8: More Surprises

The Next Morning - Uesugi-Shindou Residence

Eiri was placing soba into a bowl when his husband finally decided to saunter into the kitchen late the next morning.

"Morning," Shuichi yawned. He pulled out a chair at the table, sat down and dropped his head onto his folded arms with another jaw popping yawn.

"You're not sick are you?" Eiri asked as he set the tongs down on the counter and carried the two bowls to the table. He set one in front of his husband and the other in front of his seat opposite.

"No, just tired," Shuichi answered as he sat up. He muttered over the meal, "Ita da ki masu," before picking up his chopsticks and stuffing some noodles into his mouth. "Hmmm," he hummed in delight, smacking his lips. "It's good, Eiri." He set his chopsticks down and got up to pour himself some juice. "You know that feeling when your eyes feel like they're burning, but you're not tired?"

"Hmm. What about it?"

"Well, that's how I feel right now." Shuichi sat back down at the kitchen table and took a healthy gulp of his juice. "I don't even have the energy to pick up my chopsticks and eat."

"You'd better eat," Eiri snapped. "Just because you like to starve yourself doesn't mean you have to do the same thing to our child."

"Aw, Eiri! I do not starve myself! And even if I did, I wouldn't do that to our kid."

"Damn right you're not."

They ate in silence for several minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

Eiri was worried now more than ever about letting Shuichi do this performance now that they were positive Shuichi was pregnant. He was not sure if letting Shuichi prance around stage was a good idea.

Shuichi, on the other hand, was thinking about his stage show for "Spicy Marmalade". He knew he wanted lasers, lights, fireworks or some sort of pyrotechnics and dancing!

"I'm going to be hiring a nutritionist," came Eiri's unexpected voice, breaking into Shuichi's thoughts.

His chopsticks paused halfway to his mouth; Shuichi looked at his husband dumbly. "A what?"

"A nutritionist. You may thrive of eating nothing but junk food, but I will not have my son ingesting that crap."

Groaning, Shuichi slumped down and set his chopsticks down. A nutritionist? That sucked big time.

"So that means no pocky-"

Shuichi gasped. That was just plain sacrilegious!

"-no cookies, candy, ice cream, chips and no caffeine. That means no tea, iced or hot, coffee or pop."

Shuichi felt ill. "Eiri," he whined.

Eiri shook his head as he finished his noodles. "I mean it, Shu."

"Oh, man!" Pouting, Shuichi slumped further in his seat.

"Eat, Shuichi," Eiri commanded as he stood up and placed his bowl in the sink.

Shuichi fisted his hand against his cheek and frowned into the buckwheat noodles, his chopsticks poking at the slimy pasta. He suddenly had no appetite. "Ya know," he said grumpily, "you're lucky you already gave up smoking."

Eiri sat back down with a fresh cup of coffee and looked at his husband with a cocked eyebrow. "Oh?" he asked, taking a sip.

"Yeah, because you'd have to give it up for the baby."

"Hm. Good thing I quit years ago." Because that would have just plain sucked not to be able to smoke, even if it was for the baby. He would have gone insane within the first day. Hell, within the first thirty seconds, he amended.

Shuichi huffed. "Yeah, too damn bad. It'd teach you right."

Eiri snorted, shaking his head. "Oh! Speaking of which…"

"I know I know." Shuichi would have to either somehow break the news to the guys about the baby or somehow get Hiro to not smoke around him without telling him the real reason why. "I'll have a talk with Hiro."

"Good. Now finish eating or you're going to be late." Eiri grabbed his cup and stood up. Walking around the table, he kissed the top of Shuichi's head and headed to his office.

Shuichi glared into the by now soggy bowl of noodles and growled. A nutritionist? Damn. Double damn. "By the way, where's Riku?"

"School."

"Already?!"

"What do you mean 'already'? It's almost noon, baka."

"…Oh."

oOo

"Remember I have to go to the doctor's later," Shuichi reminded his husband as he slid into his sandals an hour later.

"Hn." Eiri crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"Well, I'm outta here," Shuichi smiled, standing up. He kissed his husband thoroughly and dashed out of the apartment, eager to get to the studio.

"Hey," Eiri called down the hallway. "Make sure you take it easy today, understand? I don't want you to do anything too strenuous!"

Shuichi tossed the writer a lopsided grin over his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator, Marcus taking up his position in the front, as if to say, "don't worry so much".

For some reason, Eiri did not quite trust his husband.

oOo

The door to rehearsal studio 2 burst open and a smiling Shuichi jumped inside. "Good morning everyone!"

From his stool where he was tuning his guitar, Hiro glanced up at his best friends and smiled. "Hey, Shu." He saw Shuichi's guard take up position outside the studio door.

"Morning," Kai called as he stood up after plugging in his guitar.

Shuichi skipped happily into the sound booth and glanced around. He lifted his bag over his head and set it down against the wall out of the way. "Where're the others?"

"Suguru and Sakano are in a meeting with the conductor of that children's orchestra he managed to get for the performance," Hiro explained. "And Kei and Michael went to get coffee."

"So that means, no pocky, no cookies, candy, ice cream, chips and no caffeine. That means no tea, iced or hot, coffee or pop."

Shuichi groaned. The next thirty weeks were going to suck big time.

"What's wrong, Shu?" Kai asked his cousin.

"Huh? Oh, uh…I have an announcement to make, but I'll wait until the others come back."

Hiro and Kai threw a questioning glance at one another.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the performance does it?" Kai asked his cousin.

"Sort of," Shuichi admitted. Now that he knew for certain he was pregnant, he was going to have to take it easy from now on, which totally sucked because he wanted to go full out for this performance. He wanted to show those suited stiffs how wrong they had been to write off Shindou Shuichi and Bad Luck.

"We're still doing it right?"

Shuichi threw them a goofy smile. "Of course we are." He caught the concern and worry on their faces. "Don't worry! It's good news!" He beamed them a bright smile, all but bursting with energy.

Since he was not sure how long the others would be, he decided to kill some time. He hopped over to the piano and pulled out the piano bench. Sitting down he lifted the lid that covered the ivory keys. Lacing his fingers, he stretched his arms out in front of him, crackling his knuckles loudly. Wiggling his fingers, he ran them over the keys a few times and then started his warm up exercises with the scales.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Hiro clamp a cigarette in his mouth. His fingers paused their ministrations as he watched the guitarist pull out his lighter from his shirt pocket and flick it to life, engulfing the tip of his cigarette in fire. Remembering his husband's warning, Shuichi shot up from the piano and raced across the sound booth towards his best friend, snatching the cigarette out of his mouth.

"Hey," Hiro cried out in surprise. "Shuichi! What the hell!"

Kai glanced up, curious.

Shuichi snapped the cigarette in half and tossed it onto the floor, crushing it with his foot. "Sorry, Hiro, but there's no smoking in here."

"Not like it's the first time, Shu."

"I know, but if Eiri finds out you've been smoking around me, he'll kill you."

"Why would he kill me for smoking around you? He's never said anything before now. Besides, he used to smoke twice as much as I do."

Shuichi nodded as he made his way back to the piano. "I know, but…things-have changed." He blushed.

"Changed how?"

"Does this have something to do with what you were talking about before?" Kai wondered aloud, as he settled himself on his stool.

Shuichi only nodded as he sat back down at the piano. He stared at his laced fingers in his lap, his face growing warmer. Clearing his throat, he tinkled his fingers lightly over the keys, filling the stark silence with a beautifully intricate, but sweet melody. "C'mon. Let's practice. Who knows how long the others will take?"

oOo

As the last notes of "The Rage Beat" faded, they were rewarded with warm applause. Startled, Shuichi snapped open eyes he did not remember closing and blushed when he saw watching them through the window Sakano, Suguru, Kei, Michael and another man he did not recognize. He assumed he was the conductor Suguru and Sakano had that meeting with earlier.

"That was perfect, Shindou-san," their young manager said as he and the others entered the sound booth. "I never realized that you were such a good piano player."

"Hey, just because my music compositions are not the best in the world-"

"Nakano-san, Kai-kun, Shindou-san, let me introduce you to Yakamoto Eiji -san," Suguru said, cutting off his singer mid-yell. "He's the conductor of the all children's orchestra here in Tokyo."

Yakamoto Eiji was a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair, but good strong looks and stance. He bowed politely to the members of Bad Luck. "It's a pleasure and an honor to meet you. Thank you for even considering using the children. Most people would have chosen a professional orchestra of adults. Children are not really taken seriously."

"Thank you, Yakamoto-san," Shuichi bowed back, the argument completely forgotten. "I'd rather use children than adults anyway. They are just so cute! I love children."

Hiro snorted. "That's because you are one."

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Suguru said loudly turning towards an amused Yakamoto, "thank you once again, Yakamoto-san for agreeing to do this. I apologize that you have such a short amount of time to prepare."

Yakamoto-san waved the younger man's concern aside. "Don't worry. We'll be ready in time. They're very hard and diligent workers."

"Not to mention little geniuses," Michael commented. "I went to one of their performances last year," he explained when the others looked at him. "If I hadn't known better, I wouldn't have known they were kids."

"Domo arigato," Yakamoto-san bowed. "We won't let you down. Now, if you will excuse me, I should be getting back. We have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time."

"I'll escort you out," Sakano told the older man.

"Thank you again, Yakamoto-san," Suguru bowed. "We'll see you this weekend?"

"Of course. Until then." Bowing once again, the conductor of the children's orchestra was lead out of the rehearsal studio by Bad Luck's producer.

Michael walked over to his guitar and lifted the strap over his head, tuning it.

"So, we gonna practice, or what?" Kei asked as he sat down behind his drum set, his drumsticks in his hands.

"Actually, Shuichi has something he needs to talk to us about first," Hiro said.

"What's going on?" Suguru asked as he walked over to his keyboards. "Did something happen?"

Shuichi blushed. He stared at his hands as his fingers tickled the ivory, avoiding the curious stares of his friends. "Sorta."

Suguru sighed heavily. "This isn't going to impede our performance, is it?"

"Maybe. Kinda. Sorta." If Eiri had his way, they would not even be doing the performance at all. Either that or they would not be doing such an upbeat tune like "Spicy Marmalade".

"Which is it?" Suguru demanded.

"Shu, why don't you just tell us what's going on," Hiro suggested.

Still avoiding the gaze of the others, Shuichi continued to stare at his fingers as they brushed lightly over the white keys of the piano. "You know how I told you guys the other day that after this, I was taking a break from the band?"

"You mean, because you were on the verge of a nervous breakdown," Kai clarified.

Shuichi nodded. "Well, that was only part of the reason why."

The others glanced at one another in confusion.

"Shu, what're you trying to say?" Hiro asked in concern.

"You're not sick are you?" Suguru asked.

Shuichi shook his head, blushing. "You know how long I and Eiri've been talking about having more kids, right?"

"Do we," Suguru snorted. Before Rinjin Yasashii, that was all Shuichi every talked about.

"Well, we're not talking about it anymore."

Hiro exchanged a glance with the others. "I don't get it. You've given up or…?"

Shuichi shook his head. "No. We haven't given up. We're actually, uh, gonna have a baby." He blushed deeply.

"You mean, you're gonna adopt a kid?"

"No, Hiro," Shuichi denied, shaking his head. "Not adopt. I mean we're going to have a baby. I'm going to have a baby."

Silence met this stunning confession. The studio was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Then both Michael and Suguru burst into fits of laughter.

Kei and Kai exchanged knowing looks.

Shuichi lifted his head, stunned and hurt that the others once again did not believe him. "What? It's true! I am going to have a baby!"

Hiro sat on his stool. His face was carefully schooled. He remembered back when he visited Shuichi in the hospital and that look of longing and loss he had seen on both Shuichi and Eiri's faces when they saw his son. Then there was all that blood he saw on Shuichi's pants six months back. To this day, nobody had explained where all that blood had come from. After the doctor told them Shuichi's prognosis, he had forgotten all about it.

"Shu, tell me," Hiro said to his friend over the laughter. "When you and Rinjin fell through the railing at his apartment…"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I noticed your pants covered in blood."

A sad expression crossed Shuichi's face as he remembered all the things he had lost that day. Most he had eventually recovered, but one thing he never would.

"What was that from?" Hiro asked as silence filtered through the studio.

Shuichi said nothing. Tears stun his eyes.

"The fall caused you to have a miscarriage, didn't it?"

"What?" Suguru exclaimed.

Michael laughed. "Yeah, right! A miscarriage!"

The young manager shook his head. "Hiro that's absolutely ridicul-"

"Yes," Shuichi admitted softly, nodding, "it did."

Michael's laughter choked to a halt.

"Now, Shindou-san-"

"I was two months pregnant when Yasashii kidnapped me," Shuichi said sadly.

"That's what prompted you to quit the band," Hiro assumed.

Shuichi nodded. "I was already thinking about it before I found out I was pregnant, but once I found out I was, I realized that I couldn't put it off any longer. I could work myself into an early grave and I wouldn't care, but I could no longer afford to be selfish, not even for the sake of the band." He dropped his head and sighed, staring at his fingers as they laced and unlaced in his lap.

"That's also why you don't want me to smoke."

Shuichi nodded.

Suguru still was not convinced. "This's a bunch of bullshit!" he exploded. "Shuichi is a guy! Guys do not have babies! They make babies!"

"Uh, well, that's not really true," Kai spoke up weakly.

"Yeah," Kei agreed, exchanging a glance with his brother.

All eyes fell to the Shiro twins.

"What're you talking about," Suguru snapped. "Of course it's true!"

"They've been rumors floating around the family for years," Kai said. "But nobody ever talks about it."

Kei nodded. "Every time any of the children or younger members of the family enter the room, the adults clam up and say nothing more. When we try to get them to talk about what it was we heard, they'd get all defensive and tell us to mind our own business."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Suguru snapped.

Kei and Kai glanced at one another and then looked at their older cousin.

"There's some sort of genetic-mutation," Shuichi offered, for lack of a better term, "that's been passed down in my family for as far back as anyone can remember."

"Genetic mutation," Michael repeated. He was not sure if he heard the guy right.

Shuichi nodded.

"What do you mean," Hiro asked, just as confused.

"This-whatever you want to call it skips a generation. Before me, my grandfather was cursed with it."

"Okay, but what is this mutation? And what does it have to do with anything?"

Shuichi had never found it more difficult to continue with a conversation in his life. "We're born-different," Shuichi explained with a wince. He did not like how that sounded, but how else could he explain how he, a guy, was born with the ability to have children? He was nothing more than a freakish mutation, even if it was one he would gladly accept. "We're born with the ability to-get pregnant." Shuichi dropped his eyes and blushed deeply.

Suguru crossed his arms over his chest. "I still think this is a bunch of bull."

Shuichi glared angrily at the young synth player. "You can think whatever the hell you want, Fujisaki, but it doesn't change the fact that I am pregnant and I am going to have a baby!"

Hiro lifted his guitar strap over his head and set the instrument in its stand. "When did you find out you were pregnant?" he asked his friend.

Completely forgetting about Suguru and their argument, Shuichi smiled brightly at his best friend. "Last night," he admitted. "Actually, we've been a little suspicious for awhile now, but it was official yesterday when the doctor called." He bounced on the bench. "We have to go back later today for a follow up."

"What!" Suguru cried. "You're leaving early?"

Shuichi turned and glared at the man. "Yes, I am."

"How far along are you?" Kai asked.

"Almost three months," Shuichi said proudly. Standing up, he held the button down shirt he had stolen from Eiri's side of the closet tightly against him. "Eiri said it might be twins, see? I've already gained like ten pounds. I can't even fit into my clothes anymore."

"Twins, huh?" Hiro walked over to his friend and studied him. "Ya know, it's true. You have gained some weight." He smiled mischievously at the singer. "Think Yuki-san can handle four kids?"

"Huh? Four? Wha-Hey!" Shuichi swatted Hiro. "Not funny."

Hiro chuckled.

Michael, Kei and Kai walked over to their friend, all smiles and hugs, congratulating the singer.

Suguru watched the group from behind his keyboards with a deep frown on his face. He did not believe Shuichi as far as he could throw him, but it was obvious that the others did. What was worse, Shuichi believed it as well. "Fine," he said grumpily. "Shuichi is going to have a baby. Can we get back to work please? We have a lot to do in a short amount of time."

Shuichi threw his friend a beaming smile. "So, you believe me?"

"No," Suguru said firmly.

Shuichi opened his mouth to say something, but a hand on his arm stopped him. He snapped his mouth shut and looked questioningly at his friend.

"Fujisaki is right. We should get to work. We have a lot to do."

"Well, then! What're we waiting for?" Shuichi ran the back of his hand over the keys, grinning broadly.

oOo

That Evening - Amano Medical Pactice

The door to the waiting room opened and the same nurse Shuichi recognized from his earlier visit called them in and escorted them into one of the examination rooms. While Eiri sat down in one of the chairs besides Riku, the nurse told Shuichi to take a seat down on the examination table. The paper crinkled beneath him.

"Dr. Amano will be here in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Shuichi said brightly. He planted his hands behind him and leaned back, started swinging his legs. He stared around him at the various posters pinned to the walls that dealt with different aspects of pregnancy and childbirth. He could not stop a smirk that crossed his face.

Riku was trying his best not to glance at those same posters. It had been his idea to be here to see if he was going to have one sibling or two and if said sibling (siblings?) were to be brothers or sisters. But maybe that had not been the best decision. He felt slightly nauseous.

"Did you speak to Hiro?" Eiri asked suddenly into the silence.

Shuichi stopped swinging his legs and turned a smiling face towards his husband. "Yep. I told them we were going to have a baby." His grin broadened. "They didn't believe me at first, of course. Well, Michael and Suguru didn't, but Kai, Kei and Hiro did and then soon Michael did and they all said congratulations and decided that after the performance they were going to throw us a baby shower! But I don't know if Fujisaki'll come because he still thinks I'm lying." He paused to take a breath. "But what does he know? Fujisaki-"

Eiri sighed, groaning and closed his eyes briefly.

Riku chuckled lightly.

Eiri tossed him a glare.

Smoothing out his face, Riku pursed his lips to keep from laughing, and tried to look innocent, but his dark eyes sparkled with the crime.

"Huh?" Shuichi blinked at the man, concerned. "Eiri? What's wrong? Are you-?"

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off as the door opened and Dr. Amano walked in, his file in her hands. "Hello, Shindou-san, Uesugi-san." She bowed to both of them in turn.

"Doctor," Eiri greeted politely.

"And this must be your son?"

"Yes, this is Riku."

Riku bowed in greeting at the woman. "Hello."

"Hello, Riku-kun. How are you? Excited about being a big brother?"

"Oh, yes," he replied enthusiastically.

"Good! Good!"

Shuichi was filled with so much energy; he was practically bursting at the seams. "Dr. Amano! Am I really, really pregnant?"

Dr. Amano chuckled as she turned towards the singer. "Yes, Shindou-san. You are."

"Baka," Eiri snapped. "Stop it! Sit the fuck still! You wanna…" He waved his hand as he tried to find the right words. "…dislodge the thing?"

Rolling his eyes, Riku snorted.

Gasping, Shuichi immediately sat still. The color drained from his face. His eyes going wide, his hands flew to his stomach.

"Don't worry, Uesugi-san," Dr. Amano chuckled. "He's still in the early stages. While he should take it easy throughout the whole pregnancy, he should not be confined to the bed or the couch."

Shuichi sighed in relief and stuck his tongue out at his husband.

Riku hide his wide grin behind his hand. His parents were something else.

Eiri sighed and shook his head. Despite what the doctor said, that was exactly what he wanted to do.

"Now Shindou-san if you would, could you take your shirt off and lie back?"

When Eiri stood up to stand besides his pregnant husband, Riku slid into his seat.

Eiri glared at the woman suspiciously. "What're you going to do?"

"We're going to check and see what's happening inside of Shindou-san."

Shuichi blinked as he finished unbuttoning his shirt. Slipping it off, he handed it to Eiri, who handed it to Riku. Riku folded it neatly and set in on the chair besides him.

"What d'you mean? How are you going to do that?" Shuichi asked as he lay back on the table.

"An ultrasound."

"You mean we'll get to see our baby?"

"Yes, Shindou-san."

Shuichi squealed and grabbed his husband's hand as he returned to his side. "Did you hear, Eiri? We'll get to see our baby!"

"I heard," Eiri said.

"Okay, Shindou-san," Dr. Amano said as she walked around the examination table, a paper blanket in her hand. "If you can lower your pants just a little bit, I'll lay this on your lap and we can get started, all right?"

"How far?"

"That's fine," she said as he began wiggling out of his pants.

Dr. Amano laid the paper blanket over his lap and started spreading the gel over his abdomen.

Riku curled his lips in disgust, but his mama giggled and squirmed.

"Baka," Eiri snapped.

"What? It's cold," Shuichi whined.

"Your baby will show up on this screen here," Dr. Amano said, pointing to the computer monitor. She took what Shuichi thought looked like a microphone with the round part at the top hacked off and placed in on the singer's stomach.

Shuichi glanced up at his lover. Catching his eye, he smiled.

Eiri squeezed their still linked hands.

"Ah! There he is," came the doctor's exclamation after several minutes. She stepped aside and pointed to the black and white screen. "Right there. Do you see him?"

Eiri squinted where the obstetrician was pointing. He saw nothing other than a lot of nothing. It was like looking into a black and white abyss. He saw no baby.

Riku stood up to get a better view. What baby? There appeared to be something pulsating on the screen, but that was it.

Shuichi squealed and squeezed the life out of Eiri's hand, tugging his arm.

The writer winced.

"Oo! Oo! Eiri! I see him! I see our baby!" He smiled through the tears that gathered in his eyes. "Do you see?"

"He's curled up into a little ball. His head is here at the top," Dr. Amano pointed out.

Eiri still could not see his son. It was like when you go to see a psychologist and he asked you to tell him what you see in an inkblot. What did he see? A whole lot of money just thrown down the drain. "I still see no baby."

Riku was with his dad.

Dr. Amano nodded, her eyes never leaving the screen. "That's all right. A lot of people find it difficult to make out anything in the early stages, especially if the baby is hiding."

Shuichi giggled. "He isn't hiding."

Eiri snorted and threw Shuichi a side-glance. "He is your son," he smirked.

"Yep," Shuichi chuckled, beaming with pride.

"This is little bum, his legs and his arms. Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" she asked, smiling over her shoulder at them.

Eiri and Shuichi glanced at each other. Shuichi did not care what the gender of his child was. Just the fact that he could give Eiri a family was more than enough, but it would be nice to know in advance. It would make things a lot easier when they got the nursery ready and started buying baby clothes and things, though the surprise would be cool as well.

"Eiri?"

Eiri really did not care either way, though he privately admitted that he did want a son. "Sure," he finally said with a shrug.

"Riku?" Shuichi asked their son.

"Huh?" Pulled out of his studies, Riku glanced around. He was the center of attention.

"Would you like to know if you have a brother or sister?"

Riku's face lit up. "You can tell?"

"I can try," Dr. Amano replied.

"Okay!"

Eiri reached over and ruffled Riku's hair.

"Dad," Riku whined. He stepped away from the blond writer and went about straightening his messy locks.

Shuichi giggled.

Dr. Amano nodded and turned back to the monitor. Her forehead creased in deep concentration. She shifted the instrument around, the gel making a nauseous squishing sound. After a couple minutes, a smile crossed her face. "Congratulations. It looks like it's a boy."

"A boy?"

"Yes, Shindou-san."

Shuichi laughed over a sob as tears spilled down his cheeks. He turned his head and grinned at Eiri happily. "We're going to have a son, Eiri," he cried.

Eiri reached out and brushed away his husband's tears, smiling.

A wide grin split Riku's face.

"Oh," Dr. Amano cried suddenly. "Well, well. What do we have here?"

"Huh?" Shuichi turned his attention back to the doctor, his heart pounding in fearful anticipation. "What's wrong? What happened? Is it-?"

Dr. Amano shook her head, grinning. "Don't worry, Shindou-san. Nothing's wrong. In fact, it seems as if you have a stowaway."

Eiri's eyes widened. He knew it!

Riku glanced at his parents and then the doctor and then the screen. Stowaway? What did that mean?

Shuichi blinked in confusion. "A stowaway? I don't understand. How can there be a stowaway? Don't-?"

"Idiot! It means there're two in there."

Riku's eyes went wide. Twins? He was going to have two little brothers? Wow. Cool!

"T-two?" Shuichi stared wide eyed at Eiri. He had known about the possibility, but…

"Are you sure?" Eiri asked his face carefully blank.

"Yep." Dr. Amano smiled. "Congratulations, Shindou-san, Uesugi-san. It looks like you're having twins."

Shuichi covered his mouth as he began sobbing. Tears flooded down his face, blurring his vision. He turned his head, staring at his boys on the screen and smiled. "Our boys," he choked out.

Eiri, his throat feeling uncomfortably tight, bent down and enveloped Shuichi within his arms, holding him tightly. He buried his suspiciously wet face in the singer's soft black tresses. "I love you," he whispered.

"I know," Shuichi sobbed back.

oOo

The Next Morning - En Route

The next morning as Shuichi was being driven to work he thought back to what Eiri had told him the day before on their way home from the hospital.

o

"Shu, I want you to do a different song for your performance."

"Okay," Shuichi readily agreed, his hands lying protectively over his stomach.

Eiri blinked in surprise and turned to look at his husband curiously. That was too easy, he thought. "You're not going to argue?"

Shuichi shook his head. "I've been thinking about doing a different song anyway," he admitted truthfully.

Golden hazel eyes fell to the small hands that rubbed lazy circles over a stomach just beginning to swell. Eiri rested a hand over Shuichi's. Shuichi had a glow about him that made him even more beautiful then before. Violet eyes lifted and locked with his. Eiri could not stop himself from smiling.

o

He really did not have a problem with doing a different song. Truthfully, once he learned there really was a bun in the oven, he had known that the chances of getting to perform a song like "Spicy Marmalade" were less than zero. Even if Dr. Amano said it was all right, as long as he took it easy, there was no way in hell Eiri was going let him go prancing around stage.

While he had no problem switching songs, the others might, especially Suguru. It had been hard enough to convince him to do the MCVMA's in the first place, but now that the show was just a little over a week away…?

Oh, boy. Today was going to be fun.

oOo

NG Productions

As was his usual style, Shuichi burst through the studio door all smiles with energy to spare. "Hey, guys," he cried happily.

"Hey, Shu," they all greeted.

"How was your doctor's appointment?" Kai asked his cousin.

Shuichi shut the door behind him and bounced across the room, his eyes sparkling. Giggling, he reached into his bag, pulled out a white card and handed it to Hiro. "Open it! Open it!"

"What is it?" Michael asked, curiously.

As the guitarist opened the card, Shuichi plopped down onto the couch next to him, bouncing and folded his hands in his lap to keep them from snatching the card and doing it for him. The others gathered around them.

Hiro gasped and his eyes widened as he studied the sonogram picture. He lifted shocked eyes to his best friend. "Shuichi! Is this…?"

A smile split Shuichi's face, nodding energetically. He bounced up from the couch and took the ultrasound picture from Hiro. "My first baby pictures!" He giggled. "I had to pry this out of Eiri's hands and threaten him with no sex in order to bring this in today." He pointed to the two heads clearly labeled and showed the others. "Do you see? Twins!" He laughed gleefully, pointing at the black and white photo. "Twins!"

Suguru marched over to the group and snatched the picture out of Shuichi's hands. He studied it and could see nothing other than a bunch of black and white swirls. It was like looking at a cinnamon roll, but he could not see a baby, let alone two babies. The x-ray picture was clearly labeled, indicating where the heads and bodies were, but he still could not make anything out. "I don't see a damn thing," he snapped. This whole thing was getting ridiculous. This joke was getting way out of hand.

Still smiling largely, Shuichi nodded. "Yeah, neither could Eiri."

"Here, let me see it," Kei said. Shuichi gave him the picture and the others crowded around to see the first images of the Uesugi-Shindou babies. "Wow, Shu. I can't believe it."

"Congratulations, Shu. I'm happy for you," Hiro said, hugging his friend.

"Thanks, Hiro," Shuichi smiled, hugging him back. He pulled away and his smile faded. "But you won't be after I tell you this."

"Uh, oh," Michael said as he handed the picture back to Shuichi. "Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?"

Shuichi smiled sadly, as he placed the black and white photo back in his bag.

Suguru's head snapped around. "Don't tell me you're backing out!"

"Backing out?" Shuichi's head snapped up. Why would Suguru even think something like that? "No," he protested. "No, we're doing it!"

"Then, what's up?" Hiro asked.

"Well, uh…" How was he supposed to tell them that all the hard work they all have been doing was all for naught? "You see…"

"We're not going to do 'Spicy Marmalade', are we?" the red-haired guitarist guessed.

"What?" the others cried in shock and disbelief.

Suguru stared wide eyed at their singer. "You've got to be kidding!"

Shuichi smiled sheepishly at them, scratching his head. "I wish I was."

Crying out, Bad Luck's young manager pulled at his hair and paced away from the source of his stress. "Shindou-san! How can you-? Do you have any idea-? Ugh!"

"I know and I'm sorry, but with this new turn of events, both Eiri and I…" Shuichi felt like such a heel for doing this to them, but there was nothing to be done about it. "We don't want to take the chance-"

Hiro laid a hand on his conflicted friends shoulder. "It's all right, Shu. We understand."

"What!" Suguru turned to stare incredibly at the taller man. "Hir-Nakano-san!"

"At least tell me we're still doing 'The Rage Beat'."

"Of course! We can't disappoint a bunch of kids, can we?"

Knowing any protest he made was fruitless, Suguru sighed heavily and slumped down in the chair. "Okay. So, we can't do 'Spicy Marmalade'. Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Well, Riku made an interesting suggestion," Shuichi said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

Suguru laid his head against the back of the chair and wished this were all just a bad dream.

To Be Continued…

Preview: "Bad Luck's Final Curtain Call"