baby shower a way to celebrate the expected or delivered birth of a child by presenting gifts to the mother at a party, whereas other cultures host a baby shower to celebrate the transformation of a woman into a mother.
"Feels good, doesn't it." Viktor mused. They were in the living room, sprawled out together on the couch. Viktor sat on one end, and Yuuri had his feet propped up on Viktor as he massaged them. Yuuri laid on top of a few pillows—some fit into the small of his back- his head propped up so he could read the paperback What to Expect When You're Expecting propped in his hand.
"Mmm." Yuuri grunted, turning the page. He paused, peering over the edge of the book at his husband. "Did you really sticky-note 'When to expect horniness?'"
"I meant the weather, you know. It's nice to be able to be out of the kotatsu. It reminds me of when I first came here."
Yuuri's brow furrowed. Viktor hoped that the baby inherited Yuuri's beautiful dark eyebrows. He had played around with those "What will your future baby look like" generators more times than he would be willing to admit. But it wasn't perfect—the hair would be a greyish white with black spots, and they never used Yuuri's gorgeous brown eyes. The escapade almost always ended in frustration, and Viktor didn't dare save the photo on their shared computer.
"We met in April." He hummed. He was spending an awful lot of time on the 'horny' section.
"But it snowed!" Viktor gasped. He stopped rubbing his knuckles into the side of Yuuri's ankle. Yuuri's foot kicked him softly, a Makka-like nudge.
"Yeah. A lot of freaky stuff happened that year."
Viktor whined, before tickling the arch of Yuuri's foot. He burst into laughter, curling up before kicking at Viktor.
"Vitya! That's not fair!" He shrieked, tossing the book onto the floor and going at him with his hands. He struggled to sit upright, his round belly in the way. He tried a few times, giving up at the same time Viktor stopped. "I can't even see my feet." Yuuri whined, stretching back out to their former position, before pressing a heel to Viktor's sternum.
"That won't stop me." Viktor smiled, his lungs filled with something he realized after Yuuri, was love.
"I know. You like it." Yuuri purred, before he smacked his hands to his flushed face. Viktor laughed, not because Yuuri's ability to embarrass himself, but at the situation.
"I do." Viktor cooed, moving his arms around Yuuri's limbs to pat his belly.
"That book said that the baby is the size of butternut squash." Yuuri said, sliding his hands off of his face.
"A what?"
"Where did you get it, anyway?" It was English, and looked very American. There was even a section on doulas, which had been hard to parse on the internet dictionary. "Hasetsu isn't big enough to carry something like this." The local bookstore mainly carried copies of whatever novel the high school students were studying.
"Mari got it for me. Well, helped me. It was on Amazon."
So far, they had only bought things for the baby at the behest of Hiroko and Minako. There was a brand new crib, already built and tucked in a corner of the room. A small box of clothes Hiroko hadn't been able to part with sat inside it. Eventually they would have to go shopping—the clothes ranged from babyhood to Shichi-Go-San—but it was hard to get Yuuri to go. Viktor had caught him looking at babys-r-us online, but he purposefully took a wide berth whenever they went to the local Yumetown department store.
"How is it better than a blog?" Yuuri stretched, barely able to snatch it back into his hands. He smoothed the pages down apologetically.
"Well, it's written by a doctor, and not some crazy chick with a laptop." Viktor tried not to huff, but at this point he was getting nervous. Even with a bunch of layers, Yuuri waddled. There was no hiding it, no matter how much Yuuri tried or wanted to.
"There's nothing wrong with the internet." Yuuri retorted, but his voice was quiet. Reserved, but loud enough to be a rope thrown out at Viktor. He took it.
"Yeah?" He rested a hand on Yuuri's leg. He was hiding his face behind the book, turning the pages without reading them.
"I've been emailing the guys from the article."
"Article?"
"The one you printed out. The first one, when you brought this up. They have a blog, and I emailed them… I wasn't expecting anything back, but they wrote back."
Viktor felt relief and jealousy spring up in him at once. Yuuri was reaching out, and to the perfect people. A trans couple who had been pregnant-They could give support and understanding Viktor couldn't.
Which also made him feel a little green. How long had Yuuri been talking to someone else without Viktor knowing?
No, that was wrong. Yuuri always only had eyes for him—since before puberty, for God's sake. Viktor had no right to question Yuuri. His jealousy sat in the wrong place. Logically, it was great for Yuuri to be talking to someone he could relate to. Logically, Viktor knew that he was mad that it wasn't him he was looking for.
Yuuri set the book face down on his chest, and Viktor's heart sunk into his stomach. Yuuri's face was streaming with tears, overflowing with each slow blink.
"Yuuri!" Viktor pulled himself up, crawling out from under and then on top of Yuuri. "Don't cry," He gasped, but that only seemed to make the tears well up more.
"I'm sorry. I'm trying not to." Yuuri sniffled. Viktor pulled his sleeve down, wiping Yuuri's cheeks and nose. Old Viktor would never do that, but Current Viktor would ruin his best Armani on Yuuri's cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Viktor cupped Yuuri's face in his hands, shame creeping up his spine. He was busy being jealous, and maybe a little mad, and Yuuri was a mess.
"I should've told you. But I was scared."
"Scared of what? We're married, love." Viktor sighed. Not only was Yuuri weepy, he was insecure again.
"Scared that you weren't…into me anymore. So I sent a stupid email in the middle of the night. And he answered. They both did." Yuuri hiccupped. "I love you, Vitya, but, I know you'd never say that you weren't attracted to me anymore. You wouldn't admit it, so I asked for it… and what they said made sense. And it made me feel better."
"You're beautiful, Yuuri. Let me show you, right here." Viktor shifted. Yuuri laughed, pushing him back down.
"I told you! Stop, Vitya." Yuuri smiled through the tears, pushing down on his shoulders. "You know my anxiety. It's okay, I promise. It's been a lot of help."
"Okay. So blogs aren't so bad." Viktor sighed, before leaning down and placing a kiss on Yuuri's lips.
"I really hope I get over this by the time Phichit is here." Yuuri whimpered, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands.
"They come tomorrow, darling." Viktor.
"Tomorrow? Oh god, we have to clean!" Yuuri scrambled to get up, and Viktor used his weight to keep him down.
"Clean what? You can't sweep if you can't see your feet." Viktor teased, tapping Yuuri's nose.
"The van?" Yuuri offered, before sighing. "It's habit I guess. I feel like I need to do something."
"Maybe you're nesting!" Viktor's mouth stretched into a gleeful smile.
"Our closest friends in our careers are coming, Viktor." Yuuri said in a deadpan, before he wormed an arm from under Viktor's grasp. "Even though we're older." He tapped the whorl on the crown of Viktor's head. Viktor whined, melting into a useless puddle on top of Yuuri.
"Get off. You'll crush our child!" Yuuri cried as he tried to crawl out from under Viktor.
" You're the children." Mari muttered, sliding the shoji door closed behind her. She smelled like tobacco, but had taken to hiking out into the yard instead of smoking on the porch.
Viktor laughed, as Yuuri went pink again. He carefully extricated himself, and Yuuri wobbily crawled onto his feet. He not only waddled, but wobbled, his center of gravity lower than he was used to. Viktor didn't dare bring it up, but he loved watching Yuuri transition from a cuddle-session with the dogs back onto his feet. He loved watching Yuuri in general, but in the past few months the feeling increased tenfold.
"I'm not the one who got stuck on Donguri playgr—"
"Aa! Don't you dare!" Mari cut Yuuri off, wagging a finger. "I don't bring up the castle, and you don't bring up the playground." Yuuri smiled nervously, using Viktor to steady himself on his feet.
Viktor made note to ask about the playground once Mari was out of earshot. Viktor May have grown up an only child, but he knew well enough—don't mess with the big sister.
"I could drive, you know." Viktor stood uselessly on the driver's side of the Yuutopia Katsuki van as Yuuri struggled to get the seatbelt around his belly.
"You only know how to get to the international terminal." Yuuri grunted, tugging the belt again. It would easily fit around his stomach, but Viktor's phone hadn't been plugged in, and they were running late. His frustration was jamming the belt, and any communication between them.
"Well, who are we picking up then?" Viktor bit out cooly, blinking. Yuuri gained an inch on the belt before it jammed again. He cussed in his myriad of language—a usual jumble of Japanese hisses, and a few f-bombs when he got especially frustrated. It was almost musical.
"They both went through Haneda, Viktor." Yuuri stopped, his anger coming through his voice. Viktor reached over, pulling the belt out smoothly and clicking it onto place. Yuuri slid it so it sat lower on his stomach, averting his gaze.
It was quiet.
"Vitya." Yuuri said quietly.
"Huh?" Viktor grunted, leaning in, his tone thick with what-now? bitterness.
Yuuri lifted his head, planting a warm and shy kiss on Viktor's frown.
What Viktor Loves About Yuuri, Item 39485: When he gets embarrassed, he uses his body instead of words.
"Let's go by Lawsons, okay?" Viktor swung around the front of the van, about to jump into the passenger seat when Hiroko hopped down the driveway. She was still in her slippers as she handed Viktor two travel mugs and a sweet smelling paper bag.
"Itterashai." Hiroko said, with a flushed smile. He stared at the mugs, and the little post it notes stuck to the lids. He recognized Yuuri's name instantly, then his own, scrawled in hurried katakana. Although he had been able to read the kana for years, Hiroko had still doodled their faces (and Yuuri's glasses) under their names. The scent of tea mingled with coffee and love.
"Ittekimasu, mama." Viktor cooed, turning to hand Yuuri his cup. He took it, sipping some of the steam instead of drinking it. Yuuri started the car, the poodle keychain jiggling as they pulled out of the gravel driveway.
Viktor unrolled the paper bag once they were on the highway. It smelled like the bakery down the street, and it was most likely was. There was a melonpan bun, as well as a cream pastery shaped like the head of a panda. At the bottom of the bag, wrapped in tissue paper, was a hot dog wrapped in bun and baked with mustard, the face cut to look like a snake.
"Aaaahn." Yuuri opened his mouth, keeping his eyes on the road. Viktor tore off the ear of the panda bun, feeding Yuuri. Yuuri's teeth scraped Viktor's fingers, and he remembered their wedding day… and their first GPF officially together, where Yuuri had been all tongue and teeth and champagne.
They sat in mostly silence. The van was too old for an AUX cord, and the only CD left in the car was some Backstreet Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Soon, Viktor could hear Yuuri's left foot tap on the felt mat.
He was nervous.
He didn't say anything until they pulled into the pickup-lane.
Phichit and Chris had found each other already—and were crowded together, taking a selfie. Chris' husband was in charge of the luggage. Viktor rolled down the window as they crept up the lane.
"Welcome to Japan!" Viktor called out, waving. Phichit did a little excited dance, running to the edge of the sidewalk. Yuuri parked, and his hands shook terribly as he pulled the key from the ignition. The poodle shook, the house key jingling.
"You can do it, love." Viktor whispered, reaching out and squeezing Yuuri's hand.
"Yuuri!" Phichit called, and said man reluctantly popped open the door, unbuckled himself and awkwardly slid off the chair onto the pavement outside.
There was a high pitched shriek and the van bounced on its shocks as Phichit tackled Yuuri to it.
"Congratulations! You're GLOWING!" Phichit looked delighted, hugging the air and life out of Yuuri. He sheepishly smiled, taking a wheezing breath. He was rubbing his belly as Viktor extricated himself from the van.
"Congratulations, you. Celebrations are in order." Chris cooed, sliding an arm around Viktor's shoulder. Phichit was forcibly taking photos with Yuuri, in-between chatter. All Viktor could catch was 'hashtag reunion' and details about the flight.
"Yeah." Viktor said airily.
Viktor convinced Yuuri to let him drive home, helping him step into the backseat to sit next to Phichit.
Halfway home, it started raining, slowing down the already-slow speed highway down to a crawl.
"It got quiet." Viktor said, a lull in the conversation between him, Chris and his husband unmasking it.
"Yuuri's asleep." Phichit chirped, holding his screen up to the front seat. Viktor glanced at it, to see a shot of his husband asleep, framed by a cutesy border and a few heart stickers.
"Oh, he's going to feel awful." Viktor said without thinking. Yuuri had spent the past week worrying about a schedule to keep their guests entertained for the week they were spending in Hasetsu. Viktor had reassured him, that the hot springs and company would be enough, but Yuuri hadn't been convinced. Viktor had stopped him before he got to booking shinkansen tickets to a bigger city.
"He needs it. It's hard work, making a human." Phichit said forcefully, and they all chuckled.
"Thank you… everyone. We were worried." Viktor said after another pause. "It's weird for Yuuri…I imagine it's even weirder for others." He added, not noticing his heart rate pick up.
"Not really." Phichit set his phone in his lap. "Yuuri and I were in college together. We've been through weird you can't top." He said it like he was wearing a badge of pride. "The highest highs, and lowest lows. We've got history."
"Yeah, but…"
"If Yuuri would get pregnant, it would be with you." Chris murmured, Phichit humming in agreement.
"I'm pretty sure we talked about it before." Phichit murmured. Viktor blanched.
"You what?"
"Honey, Yuuri's been out to me years longer than he's been with you. Rooming in Detroit creates a bond deeper and profound than blood and marriage."
"Out?" Chris hummed. "Did you cry like Viktor did?"
"I didn't cry!" Viktor snapped.
"You did! You cried that you were so in love, and no lack of di—"
"Shhhh!" Phichit saved the day. "I didn't cry. I was really happy. Yuuri helped me through a lot. I was scared, being gay and brown in America and figuring it out in college. He told me, even though he didn't have to."
The car went quiet in awe.
"That's so much more…graceful."
"And one day I went to borrow a shirt, and found one of his packers." Phichit cackled. "Nothing bonds brothers like silicon-" He gulped as he got elbowed in the ribs, Yuuri roused from his sleep.
"Pull over." Yuuri said groggily, and the mood went tense. Viktor pulled over to the side of the road, barely out of his seatbelt before the back door slid open.
"Yuuri, I'm sorry!" Phichit called out, Viktor following Yuuri down into the grass median.
"Yuuri, he didn't—" He stopped short, wincing at the retching. "Oh, darling…" He stepped forward, catching Yuuri just as he started to wobble out of his crouch. The grass crunched behind them, and Viktor didn't need to turn.
"Look in the car for some water?" He called out, and Phichit turned to dig through his carry on. He came back with a half-finished bottle of ILOHAS spring water he had picked up on the layover, handing it to Viktor. He held it to Yuuri's mouth, letting him drink a mouthful, before swishing and spitting it out into the grass.
"My poor kotyenok." Viktor hummed, rubbing the small of Yuuri's back. He turned, burying his face in Viktor's jacket. "Let's go back?"
"No." Yuuri mumbled into the fleece fabric. "I can't."
"You have to, love. We're in the middle of nowhere."
They eventually convinced Yuuri back into the fan, stacking the luggage and moving it until he could lay down in the third row with a box of tissues.
Lunch was set up in the common room when they arrived. Viktor pulled the luggage to their rooms, before returning to the room. Yuuri laid his head in his lap, rather than indulging in the salad and karaage chicken arranged artfully on a tray.
"You two are so sweet, " Chris' man said, polite fully finishing the meal. Chris sprawled out on the tatami, resting his head in his husbands lap.
"It makes my teeth rot, it's so sweet." Chris teased.
"That reminds me!" Phichit shot up. "Where did you put my suitcase?" Phichit danced around, disappearing down the hall and returning then minutes later.
"I couldn't wrap them, with customs and all, but I tried!" Phichit dumped a pile of gifts onto Yuuri's lap, startling from his dozing reverie.
"Phichit," Yuuri's voice shook, his eyes already full with tears. "That's so nice… and so cute…" He held up a tiny onesie made to look like a fat hamster suit. Among the rest of the pile included a Youtube onesie, a traditional Thai outfit, and a frilly dress with hearts printed all over it.
"Part 2 is in the mail. Uncle P got a head start on the spoiling." Phichit grinned widely.
"Aah, so this is a game?" Chris crawled up from his perch, returning with a fairly more modest pile. Viktor helped unfold and refold the tissue paper, pulling out the tiny outfits to admire them. A onesie covered in rhinestones, and the smallest tutu anyone had set theirs eyes on. Chris had been somewhat more practical, including a stack of soft towels and 6 pairs of pastel colored socks.
Yuuri was drowning in tears, Chris offering the closest box of tissues, and Phichit wrapping both him and Victor in a bear hug.
"Akari is the luckiest girl alive." Yuuri hiccupped.