So, I had to spend a bit of time here laying out some more information about the mechanics of the Uke Flu. Please keep in mind as you read this, this is a work of AU fiction. I know nothing about biology and have concocted my reality for this story completely apart from any rational thought process. Please suspend your skepticism so that you can enjoy the story…
Or yell at me on the review board about how preposterous I am. Negative attention is better than none… I'm a bit damaged that way really.
Sincerely,
Cerberus
The Uke Flu
Chapter Twenty: Mechanics
As with his last visit, the nurse took Nowaki's stats and left room leaving the Kamijou/Kusama couple alone to wait for the doctor. Nowaki sat placidly while Hiroki paced. Hiroki had carefully studied all the diagrams and pictures on the walls while the nurse tended to Nowaki and these just made him even more nervous.
Then the door opened and the genial Dr. Suzuki stepped in. "Kusama-san, I am so glad to see you have come back." Then the doctor saw Hiroki standing off to the side of the room.
"Suzuki-sensei, this is my partner, Kamijou Hiroki," Nowaki offered as introduction.
"So, you're the proud ukseme in this pairing. Congratulations!" Dr. Suzuki bowed and beamed. "Well, Kamijou-san, since you are here, my guess is that Kusama-san has informed you of his remarkable condition."
Suzuki suddenly paused. "Hiroki and Nowaki…"
The physician pursed his lips in thought. "What a remarkable coincidence!" He looked from man to man.
"You know my wife has a novel series she just adores that has characters named Hiroki and Nowaki. Couldn't tell you what the books are about, but it seems like she always has her nose in one of them. Often tells me she wishes I was more like them."
Fortunately, the doctor was looking down at Nowaki's chart at this point and so missed seeing the blush that had crept up into the cheeks of both men. Dr. Suzuki raised his eyes from his clipboard, his face decidedly more serious. "So Kusama, you and your partner have reached a decision?"
"Yes," said Nowaki firmly. "We are going to have the baby."
"Wonderful!" Dr. Suzuki sounded very pleased. "I am delighted to hear that."
"Now, Kusama-san, I noticed looking at your stats that you have lost a bit of weight since I saw you last."
"Is that serious?" Hiroki looked instantly worried.
"No, but it could be if the trend continues. You know male bodies are different than female bodies. Women's bodies naturally have more fat cells, specifically to assist them during the course of a pregnancy." The doctor pointed to an anatomical chart on the wall offering a male/female comparison.
"Unfortunately, the Uke Flu is not a natural phenomenon and when a man is impregnated his body does not magically turn into a woman's.
"Since men lose tend to lose weight more easily and have less support naturally, I find that most of my patients struggle keeping their weight where it should be, at least initially, though for some, throughout. I find that this can be very difficult especially for some of the smaller ukes I see. It can make things very precarious, particularly if they are experiencing symptoms like morning sickness.
"Have you been experiencing this Kusama-san?" Suzuki looked at his patient quizzically.
"Sometimes… well, most days lately," Nowaki admitted.
"That hopefully should improve for you in a few weeks, but in the meantime I can prescribe you some herbs that will assist with your symptoms, and you will need to do as much as you can to make sure that you are getting enough to eat. In fact, "Suzuki admonished, "you may have to eat more than you are comfortable with for a time."
Hiroki gave Nowaki a sharp look when the Suzukir said this. Nowaki dropped his eyes and looked decidedly guilty.
"We'll have to keep an eye on this." Dr. Suzuki added, "you're not in a bad place now, Kusama-san, but if you're not careful you could be. You're fortunate that you are a larger man." Dr. Suzuki frowned unconsciously as the devastated states of some of his petite uke patients ran through his mind.
"Now…" Suzuki adjusted his glasses and pulled a pen out of his pocket to mark Nowaki's chart. "How about other side effects, fatigue, moodiness, cravings, gas, constipation?"
"Yes, yes, yes, no, no." Nowaki answered.
"Well, that's not too bad." Dr. Suzuki tapped his pen against his lips thoughtfully.. "You know that last one may come up for you as things progress, hemorrhoids too. Though I don't imagine in your circumstances, this will pose as much of a problem for you as it does many of my true uke patients. Some semes are not at all understanding of the discomfort such health issues can cause." The doctor shook his head sadly as he looked back down at his clipboard.
Hiroki blushed fiercely at the implications of this comment while Nowaki merely nodded.
"Now, Kusama, I'll want to draw some blood and I have the ultrasound room set up. There won't be much to see yet. But you will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat. More importantly though, I want to make sure that the womb has positioned itself properly."
"What does that mean?" Hiroki asked.
"Well, how familiar you are you with how this condition progress, Kamijou-san?"
"Not very, I'm afraid." It seemed someone had set Hiroki's blush level on simmer for the day.
"Well, it's really quite an extraordinary process." Suzuki looked at Nowaki as if asking for permission to continue. Nowaki nodded, choosing to remain silent and so the doctor launched into his explanation.
"The 'Uke Flu' as it is called an amazing biological amalgamation that shares bacterial, parasitic, and viral characteristics as well. The reason for the three month long pre-conception process in the early phases is for the unique physiological construction that has to occur.
"The womb forms initially as something along the line of an enclosed fistula that occurs on lower part of the colon in the area of the rectum. During the first phase, this starts to form along with the "egg" it contains and the sustaining fluids, all of which are generated by a mutation of the host's cells.
During the second phase, the egg reaches maturity and while this is occurring the womb sends out tendrils that reach out and hopefully, in a normal case, extend through the internal organs and connect with the interior wall of the abdomen.
If fertilization occurs, the fistula seals itself completely and then detaches from the colon. It becomes self-containing. It's remarkable really." Suzuki walked over to another chart on the wall and began indicating the illustrations of these various components.
"It is really so small at this point, that it moves without too much trouble as the tissue filaments attached to it and the wall of the abdomen shrink and pull the womb to the proper location. Once this embryotic sac arrives, the tendrils evolve into anchors holding the womb in place, attaching it securely.
"One filament will become more developed than the rest. This primary attachment connects to the belly button area and, over the course of the pregnancy, will continue to change and also mutate the original structure of the body itself in this area.
"By the time of delivery, this primary connection, as you can see in this image here… will have morphed into an operational birth canal and the belly button will also have been transformed. When labor occurs, it will expand and through its connection to the tendril canal, function as the opening through which the baby will emerge. It's quite fascinating, really."
Hiroki had known a bit about this aspect, but having it laid out for him like this left him overwhelmed and perplexed. Though the prospect made him nauseous he couldn't help but ask, "I wonder why it works that way? I mean, that seems so complex. Why didn't Korovin design it simply so the baby came out the way it got in?"
Nowaki winced at the thought of this. Then in a solemn voice he offered, "Well, when I was taking care of Misaki-san, Usami-san told me that Korovin's ultimate plan was to be able to breed his own race of perfect sex slaves.
"He purposely designed it this way, because his appetites were such that he didn't want any of his victims being stretched out by the birth process. Apparently he wanted to keep his ukes tight because it was more painful for them and so, enjoyable for him."
All three men were silent for a time after this disclosure.
Doctor Suzuki finally broke the silence. "And you know because of how the baby is delivered, that they do not do C-sections unless it is an absolute emergency. Such a measure is rarely called for anyway. As long as the belly portal expands appropriately, this method of delivery is actually much easier on the father in many ways than a regular female pregnancy. Because of the belly button portal, the baby is pushed up and out. "
The older doctor shifted and looked slightly uncomfortable. "I imagine you have heard any number of crude jokes about how this is easier for the body conscious yaoi man, because the action involved is very similar to a sit up."
"I prefer push ups myself." Nowaki said quietly; he looked slyly at Hiroki.
"Shut up, pervert!" Hiroki hissed under his breath, and shot him a dirty look.
"When it gets closer to the time, between five and six months maybe, I'll arrange for the two of you to attend one of our birthing classes." Dr. Suzuki offered, making a note of this in his papers.
At this prospect, Nowaki looked pleased, Hiroki, chagrined. Suzuki grinned, enjoying the chemistry of this interesting pairing.
"Now unlike a female womb which stays a consistent size until pregnancy and then stretches, the MP3REG36 fetal sac grows with the baby, hopefully. Sometimes it doesn't, or can't keep up with the rate of fetal growth and then you have a serious problem on your hands.
"So, Kusama-san I will tell you the same thing I tell my other patients…you will need to have regular ultrasounds to make sure that everything is progressing as it should."
The doctor looked at the two men seriously. "Now, this womb is a little more delicate than a woman's and so, you will need to try and keep your abdomen a bit more protected than usual, against bumps and such. This means no roughhousing and no contact sports… "
"Does that include sex?" Nowaki asked.
"Gahhh, Nowaki!" Hiroki cringed at his libidinous partner's question.
Dr. Suzuki smiled reassuringly. "It's quite alright Kamijou-san; it's a typical seme question. It's amazing really, for most semes, how interchangeable those three things are."
Nowaki smiled, pleased that Suzuki's response affirmed his semeness.
"Of course you may have sex Kusama-san, and in fact your sex drive may actually increase for a time in the months to come. Though I would be a bit cautious since we really don't have any data yet on the effect of this activity from the position of a pregnant penetrative yaoi man, most ukes are solely on the receiving end as you know. "
Hiroki's frowned at this caution and at the limiting description of ukedom.
"But if you are careful, Kusama-san, you should be able to be active up until quite late in the pregnancy, depending on how you feel, and what positions you and Kamijou-san are willing to employ."
"Now," Suzuki put his pen back in his pocket signaling the end of this part of the appointment. "Should we go get that ultrasound?"
When they reached the ultrasound room, Hiroki pulled Suzuki aside a moment. "Go ahead and get settled, Nowaki, I'll be right there."
"Okay, Hiro-san." Nowaki's expression was slightly puzzled but he didn't say anything more after this, he just headed into the ultrasound room on his own.
Once Nowaki was out of earshot, Hioroki turned to Dr. Suzuki. "Sensei, I had an appointment to get the vaccine here a few weeks ago. All my paperwork should still be on file. Would it be possible for you to give me the shot before I leave here today?"
After hearing Dr. Suzuki's lecture, whatever had been caused Hiroki's earlier hesitation had evaporated. There was no way in hell he was ever going to go through something like this.
"I suppose so. Does Kusama-san know you're taking the vaccine?"
Hiroki scowled at Suzuki's question; it offended him deeply. Though Nowaki was his partner, he shouldn't need his seme's knowledge or approval to take the vaccine. He thought about saying something to the doctor along these lines and then decided to swallow his pride. He did not want to cause a scene with Nowaki sitting in the next room. "He already thinks I've had it," Hiroki confessed instead.
Dr. Suzuki's face flashed with momentary disapproval at this disclosure, still he replied, "Well then, I think it could be arranged."
It did not take long, however, for the Doctor's cheery countenance to return. He broke into a smile as he moved ahead of Hiroki and opened the door to the ultrasound room.
"Come on ukseme," he teased. "Let's go take a look at that baby."
OLD AN:
Dear Junjou Lalilans W (aka) Lara Maciel,
Per your request, I will address your review here, though I sent it as a PM also.
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! So lovely to meet you too. I appreciate your thoughtful comments and feedback.
Just a note: Nowaki only called Hiroki those names because the baby is affecting his hormone levels and making him very cranky. Otherwise he would of course never say those things to his beloved.
I hope you enjoy the other chapters as much and will consider writing another review. I hope you will also check out my other stories. (The egoist "selfish" couple is my favorite as well).
It will be sometime before the baby gets here, so until then... I am afraid I have to make you wait to see what happens.)
Sincerely,
Cerberus