Title: Life's Gifts
Chapter: 11 – Unpredictable Labour
Series: Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
Rating: Teen (swearing and older themes. Mild sexuality intended)
Pairing: Fai/Kurogane
Genre(s): Mpreg, Drama, Romance
Status: In-progress
Comments/Warnings:Boy x boy content. Don't like, don't read! Male pregnancy.
Summary: Fai's hiding something that could throw the samurai's life upside down. Too scared to tell him, the wizard must face the consequences to his actions. Will their relationship remain the same after this?
Disclaimers: I do not own Tsubasa or its characters. They rightfully belong to their owners, CLAMP

** 9th month **

Fai had found all sorts of ways to keep himself occupied. After Kurogane had left on his mission about a month ago, he didn't have much company other than that of the princess. His life didn't contain much excitement but that serenity brought him joy. Ever since they had defeated King Ashura, Fai no longer had anything to worry about and that seemed strange to him at first. For his entire life, the blond haired man was on the run and the clock was ticking. The mage now lived his life in peace, which was something he had never envisaged before. And that's all thanks to Kurogane!

Since he entered his last month, Tomoyo spent all day in his company and even started to spend the night over at their house. This bothered Fai as he didn't want to burden the young princess that certainly must have had better things to do. However, thanks to her majesty, Fai had found out that he had a talent for sewing. She had taught him many tips and tricks on how to sew and being able to learn a new skill had somewhat made him in a better mood. He was also doing his best to learn the written language of Nihon. The blond haired man wanted to surprise Kurogane when he returned from his duties and show how fluent he had gotten with the ninja's native language. The shorter man was also planning on showing their kid how to properly read once he was born.

Fai's stomach had managed to grow even bigger as it was now the size of an inflated beach ball. At this point, he didn't get up unless he absolutely needed to move from point A to point B. Momo-kun had also started to grow and was becoming more adventurous, which definitely took a toll on the pregnant man's body. The puppy simply wanted to play with everything and destroy the furniture so the mage was doing the best in his condition to teach him right from wrong.

"Tomoyo? What do these characters mean?" Fai asked while pointing at the ink marks on the page of his newly acquired book.

The puppy saw the movement of his arm and tried to catch the hem of the yukata Fai had made for himself. As he chewed on it, Fai swatted him away while scolding him. The young princess bounced towards Fai and joined him on the couch to help him with his reading.

"That one?" she asked, " It means lily, like the flower."

Fai nodded and made a mental note to remember the character as he continued his reading. However, he found it very hard to concentrate because the baby had been kicking enormously today so he absent-mindedly rubbed it. That seems to have worked.

A couple of hours later, Tomoyo started preparing lunch for the both of them. Since Fai was cooped up inside all day, she wanted him to have some fresh air at the very least. Plus if I didn't take good care of his protégé, the ninja would never forgive me. That Kurogane loves Fai so passionately. Truth be told, the wizard was a very good looking man that I wouldn't mind dating.

Once the meal was ready, they both dressed up warmly to go outside. There was still a bit of snow as it was late in the winter. The trees surrounding Fai's house were covered in a shimmering white blank. The air was just cold enough that when someone spoke, a cloud of warm air would form at the tip of their mouth. The weather would start warming up in the next couple of weeks and sings of spring would appear soon. Fai wore his blue overcoat but didn't need his large cloak as the winter in Nihon was nowhere near as cold as Celes. They sat down on a knitted blanket and started gobbling down their copious meal.

"So how do you feel today Fai-san? It's getting close to the date so I'm assuming that we should really be keeping an eye on you."

"I'm feeling pretty good. Nothing really feels out of the ordinary yet. Kurogane should be back soon though so I don't think I really have to worry."

"That's right, he should be back next week. After the baby's born I won't bother you anymore as it's important you spend time with your new family. Fai-san, can I ask you something?" Tomoyo said, seeming guilty of something.

"Sure, what's bothering you?"

"It's one of my best friend's wedding tonight and I was wondering if it bothered you if I went? I know it's getting close to the date and Kurogane asked me to stay with you at all times as form of payment but.. do you think I could go? Just for tonight?" she asked, almost pleading for him to say yes. She clearly felt guilty to break the promise she had made to her best warrior.

"It doesn't bother me Tomoyo-san! Go enjoy yourself. You've been so good and helpful that I don't even know how to thank you. Also, it's like you said, it's only for one night. It wouldn't hurt to have some time by myself and I feel more than fine. You don't need to worry about me one bit."

"Oh thank you so much!" she replied, launching herself to give him a big hug.

Fai winced as she applied pressure on his swollen stomach and he felt some sort of weird ache. However, it went away quickly and didn't seem like it would come back anytime soon. Both of them packed up their lunch to go back inside as they were done and since they were getting worried as ominous clouds seemed to be heading in their direction. There was certainly a storm on its way and the snow wouldn't fall lightly. Despite it being so close to spring, the day was certainly chilly.

Tomoyo left around supper time as the storm had just lifted to go attend the wedding and Fai decided that he'd enjoy some time by himself. He decided it was best to take advantage of this freedom as he wrote a letter to Kurogane. Since his lover had left, they'd send letters back and forth almost on a daily basis. The wizard also deemed it was best not to mention anything about Tomoyo being gone for the night or the ninja would have a fit because he was an overprotective boyfriend.

As he was writing up the last paragraph he started to feel immense pain in his stomach. Convuslsions? It can't be! I'm not due for another two weeks! However, unlike last time, the sharp pains weren't disappearing. The aches would arrive in waves and they were growing very frequent. Fai felt as though his interiours were being passed through a shredder. Shit what do I do? I can't leave the dog here. And Tomoyo? She's probably drunk so it'd be no use to go see her. Keisuke? That's got to be it! He knows some magic at the very least.

Moving as fast as he could, Fai whistled and called his little companion. The orange and white dog came running up to his owner and waited for his command. The blond man clipped the leash to the pet's collar and put on his big cloak. Without wasting another minute, he starting wobbling towards the door in order to get to the village wizard's hut, which was about a fifteen minute walk from his house. As he walked in the freezing cold, he periodically have to stop in order to catch his breath after particularly strong convulsions. The stinging air due to the cold didn't help matters nor did the fat snowflakes that fell lazily on the groud.

- Kurogane's P.O.V. -

Since morning, the Oni had been acting strangely. Their numbers hadn't increased but on the other hand, they had been growing much stronger. Kurogane was tired as he had to fight them day and night without having much time to rest. The rest of the crew grew weaker as they weren't used to that kind of conditioning. Tomoyo had informed him a while back that this particular type of Oni King attracted lower levelled pawns to protect it. He had to find the source and kill it in order to make this whole ordeal stop. Then, he'd be able to return home. Stronger Oni simply meant that his crew and him were getting extremely close to their goal. Hang on tight Fai, I'm coming home soon.

Yamamoto came up behind him riding on his horse, "I examined the area on the west and it seems that the Oni are much weaker in that direction. So, I suspect that if we head east we'd encounter the King in no time."

"Perfect, thank you once again," Kurogane replied, glad to hear that piece of information.

As the younger man got off his horse, he advance unusually close to Kuro-myu. Puzzled by what Yamamoto was trying to do, this caught the older man totally off guard. The younger warrior was now an inch away from his face as he tried to plant a kiss upon his lips. The black haired man's reflexes kicked in as he pushed him away. Yamamoto wouldn't go down without a fight as he was much stronger than the lanky wizard. Shit I forgot he's not like Fai! Yamamoto is a skilled warrior.

"Why'd you push me away Kuro-pu?" the brown haired man asked, obviously hurt by Kurogane's reaction.

Still unable to process that information, Kurogane stopped dead in his tracks. Why would this man try to kiss me? Does he like me or something? That seems almost ridiculous. So many questions were forming in his head that he couldn't think straight.

"I thought we could have a little bit of fun before entering the battle. Y'know, if something were to happen to us? You've caught my eye since the day I first met you. But then, I noticed you were in love with that fat man and... I was completely heartbroken. You loved that ugly thing more than me?"

Kurogane cursed under his breath while snapping back, "What do you mean you wanted to have fun? Do you think this is some sort of game you're playing? And my boyfriend isn't fat, he's pregnant. Mind you, he's better looking than you'll ever be. Inside and out while I'm at it."

As if on cue, a loud thunderous noise was heard in the distance and trees had started falling over. The body of the large Oni approaching from the valley had appeared out of the thick bushes as it made its way towards the forms of life it could find. The rest of the crew was returning to their meeting point after hearing the monstrous noise and decided it was best to stick together. This is it. It's the Oni King!

Without wasting another moment, Kurogane pulled out his sword while snapping back at the man who had insulted him, "Don't you ever think of getting close to me again runt! And don't you ever call me Kuro-pu. Only Fai is allowed to call me embarrassing nicknames!"

The trees directly in front of the ninjas finally fell to the ground to reveal the immense body of the hideous creature. It looked like an overgrown half-tiger, half-bird. * As it saw the powerful men standing in front of it, the Oni swatted one of its enormous paws loaded with razor sharp claws. All of the crew members managed to evade his attack and started to move into their battle formation. Yamamoto, still in a daze from his fight with Kurogane, didn't seem to want to move. The creature had already spotted his vulnerability and had started directing his attacks towards him.

Kurogane's instincts took over his body as he lunged forward to try to protect his crew mate. When he turned around to slash his sword towards the beast, his metallic arm was not cooperating would not budge. When the giant paw horned with razor sharp claws came in his direction, he knew it was already too late.

-Fai's P.O.V.-

The blond man had finally made it to his destination. He knocked weakly on the wooden door as his fingers were frostbitten from the cold. The blood had stopped flowing into them, leaving the fingers useless and painful. A blue tint had started forming at the end of them but this seemed to be the least of his concerns. While he had started walking, warm liquid had begun seeping out of his pants as his water broke. That too was quick to freeze because of the temperature. Fai had no strength left to deal with the pain, let alone the freezing night. Momo just knew something was up as he barked continuously at the door until Keisuke opened it. The pork-shaped man had clearly just woken up considering it was just past midnight.

"H-hullo?" he said while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"It's coming. P-Please help. My baby's coming and I don't know what to do!" Fai exclaimed, clearly past the point of desperation. He just wanted that thing out of his body and quick.

Just now realizing who was at the door, the tubby wizard quickly proceeded to let the guests in. He instructed Fai to undress so he could assess the situation and permit the man to warm up. After much convincing, the mage did what he was told and was handed a warm blanket. Keisuke warmed up some water and started the fire so he could help his customer get the blood flowing through him before attempting anything more dangerous.

"Where's that other man? Isn't he supposed to be with you?" Keisuke asked while preparing the bucket of hot water.

"He's on a mission right now. My baby wasn't supposed to be here for another two weeks. Plus, I haven't heard much from him in the past few days so I'm actually worried about him."

"I'm sure he's ok. Now, please let me take a look."

After examining Fai for a couple of minutes, the chubby and short man seemed to be running some calculations in his head. He bounced over to get a book and started flipping the pages until he reached the desired one.

"We really have to hurry. We don't have much time!"

*Reference to the Oni Fai dreamed about in chapter 3

Thanks so much for reading another chapter everyone!

I really enjoy writing this story and don't want it to end. But don't worry, there's still about 5 chapters left until I possibly choose to write a sequel.

I won't however update in the next couple of days as my school workload is increasing and I have parties and other events to attend. Also, the new animal crossing is coming out Friday for me so…. I just have to get it. Plus I'm started a cold so I won't be as productive.

Add me on LINE or snapchat kitsukara

Until the next update!