*Chapter 22: Accidents happen*
* 2021*
A lot had changed over the years for the group. They had lots of adventures, maybe not as adventurous as they had before in high school, but they still hung out and had lots of fun together. AS they slowly grew older, time didn't show any signs of slowing down. It seemed that every time they closed their eyes, they expected to open them to be back in high school. Life was simple for them now, and they seemed to have everything put together perfectly for themselves… for now.
Tick…tick…tick… the sound of the clock was the only noise in the waiting room. Yosuke looked around, no one else in there, but him.
"How freaking old is this magazine?" Yosuke picked a sports related one of the stand next to him, "2018? They really need to update their stock." Yosuke was in one of his most hated places, the dentist's office. Fortunately, he wasn't there for him, but he was there for Yukiko. Yukiko had some tooth pain which was revealed to be from her wisdom teeth and the dentist ordered them to get removed, all four of them. Of course, Yukiko would be down and out for a couple of days from the surgery, but Yosuke was happy to help out.
"Mr. Amagi?" a lady at the counter said.
"Yes," he got up. He still didn't like people calling him that, but his hatred of the name grew less and less the more people called him it. Except for Yu, who mercilessly teased him for it.
"Your wife is in the recovery room, she just woke up. The doctor will give you the necessary prescriptions to fill out and instructions," she told him as she led him along to the back of the office.
"Thanks," he said as he was led into a small little room. There Yukiko sat in a wheelchair with a mouth full of bloody gauze, "Hey honey, how are you feeling?"
"Ahhh," she garbled out.
"She'll be fully recovered in a couple of days," the doctor walked into the room, "I've got two prescriptions, one for pain medication and one for antibiotics. Just make sure to avoid solid foods and take the fully bottle of antibiotics over the appropriate time.
"Can do doc," he smiled as he was handed two small printouts from the doctor.
"Mmmm," Yukiko let out a small garbled cry.
"I know," he comforter her, "We'll go get these prescriptions filled and get you to bed." Yosuke wheeled Yukiko out of the dentist's office and helped her into the passenger seat of their car and drove off to Junes to get the prescription filled at their pharmacy and do a little shopping.
"Do you want anything special?" Yosuke looked over at Yukiko who was almost passed out again, "I'll get you some pudding and jello and some nice soup for you. Does that sound good?"
"Yuh," Yukiko moaned as she laid her head against the window. Yosuke pulled into the Junes parking lot, making sure Yukiko was okay in the car before he headed into Junes. He headed towards the back of the store, just passed the toiletries was a small pharmacy.
"Hello, I'm here to fill my wife's prescription," Yosuke handed the doctors note over. The pharmacist agreed, telling Yosuke it would be a little while. Yosuke left to go do some shopping, the first thing he got was all of Yukiko's soft foods so she could eat something over the next few days.
"Yosuke!" Chie smiled as she walked over to him. She had a small little basket with a few items in it. Chie looked the same as always, in her police uniform and her hair still short. Chie never really changed like the rest of them, but Yu didn't seem to mind, "How are you doing?"
"Good, just getting Yukiko some food," Yosuke showed his basket, "She just got her wisdom teeth removed."
"Oww," Chie gasped, "That must suck."
"Probably, but I wasn't born with Wisdom teeth, so lucky me," Yosuke smiled, "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, shopping?" Chie remarked.
"Well duh!" Yosuke sighed, "I mean, what are you getting?"
"I'm making Yu dinner, he won't be home until later because, you know, finals!" Chie laughed, "He's gotta grade them now rather than take them."
"And that's why I never became a teacher," Yosuke laughed.
"That and you aren't smart enough to be one," Chie laughed as she went on her way. Yosuke continued to do some minor shopping before heading back to the pharmacy and handing a small white paper bag with everything in it. Before heading back to the car, Yosuke headed to the food court to grab a small cup of ice cream for Yukiko to eat in the car. In the food court, Teddie was handing out balloons to all the kids, or rather not-Teddie. Teddie currently spent his time helping his wife at the Tofu shop and no longer worked at Junes. Of course he took the Teddie costume with him, but Junes had an almost identical costume made for the employees to wear, including Yosuke who hated wearing it more than anything. Yosuke headed back to the car, Yukiko still in the same position.
"Yukiko, honey, I got you some chocolate ice cream," Yosuke put the cup in the cup holder, Yukiko giving no response. "According to the doctor you should be good to eat solid food in a few days. I have the weekend off, so here's what I have planned. I'll get some wine and cook dinner and we can have a nice day together and we can watch a few of those horror movies you like. Okay?" Yukiko turned to Yosuke and let out a small smile, the blood stained gauze still filling her mouth. The two headed home, Yukiko passing out on the way.
*A few days later*
"I don't like this…." Yosuke whined as he covered his eyes. Yukiko was smiling and watching the television intensely as the young woman on screen approached a closet in the pitch dark bedroom. She quickly swung the door open, the score dying as the closet was empty and girl quickly let loose a sigh of relief, the score loudly busting in again as the monster's hands grabbed her through the floor and drug her down screaming.
"AHHH!" Yosuke jumped as Yukiko laughed, "DAMN IT! I hate these horror movies Yukiko! I hate them!"
"How could you hate them? They are so intense," Yukiko took a sip of here wine, finishing off what little was left in the glass, "Fill me up Yosuke." Yosuke was still relatively shaken from the movie as he looked over at Yukiko who held her empty glass towards Yosuke, "Oh, right," Yosuke grabbed the bottle on the end table and poured some for Yukiko and some more for him. The two continued to watch the movie, getting happy and drunk together.
"Fill me up!" Yukiko said as she held the glass out to Yosuke again.
"I'm out," Yosuke said as he shook the empty bottle, "But I can maybe fill you up with something else."
"Yosuke!" Yukiko blushed as Yosuke leaned over and began to nuzzle and kiss her neck. The two began kissing each other as rolled off the couch and onto the floor, giggling the entire time. Yukiko stood up, dragging Yosuke along to their bedroom.
"I'm going to ravage you!" Yosuke pulled his shirt over his head and threw it off, "How do you like this," Yosuke began dancing around seductively as Yukiko fell into a laughing fit on the bed as Yosuke pulled his pants and socks off. He was in his white boxers with pink hearts, shaking his butt around for Yukiko.
"Y-Yosuke!" She couldn't contain herself, snoritng like a mad man, "Please stop!" she laughed as Yosuke tossed her his boxer and posed like a Greek statue for her.
"How do I look?" he smiled as he flexed his arms around his head.
"Sexy," she pulled him down on top of her, "My sexy husband." Yosuke laughed as he began to take her clothes off. Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, Yosuke no longer needed to worry about using protection during sex, Yukiko using her own birth control prescribed by a doctor.
A few weeks ago Yukiko had to get her wisdom teeth pulled, and because of this she was put onto a regiment of anti-biotics. Anti-biotics had an interesting effect on birth control, primarily the fact that they negated the effects of them and generally make them useless. The fine print of any birth control pill will tell you what medications can interfere with this medicine, however, unbeknownst to Yosuke and Yukiko, they were about to do something that would change their lives forever.
"Do me Yosuke!" Yukiko shouted, "Do me!"
"I'm doing you!" Yosuke said, "Oh god this is so great!"
"I love you!" Yukiko said, "I love you, I love you, I love you!"
"Ahhhhhhhhh…. Ha…." Yosuke squealed out as he collapsed next to Yukiko, "That was great I love yo-zzzzz," Yosuke passed out immediately from the exhaustion and the wine.
"Yosuke?" Yukiko looked over at her husband and sighed, "I gotta use the bathroom," she said to herself as climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.
*Four weeks later*
"So it's going to be all rainy this week," Yosuke said looking at the paper, "We're still having dinner over at Yu and Chie's when Kanji and Naoto get back from wherever they've been." Naoto and Kanji had been taking a bunch of vacations, the two agreeing years beforehand to save their money and travel around together before settling down and starting a family in a few years from now. Yosuke couldn't remember where they were right now, it seemed one month they were in Asia and the next Europe and then South America and then who knows where.
"Great," Yukiko took a small bite of toast. She hadn't been feeling the best the past couple of days, she assumed she was just getting a cold, but had her suspicions now it was something more. Yukiko let out a hard cough as she spit out the toast.
"Yukiko, are you okay?" Yosuke asked, "You've had a stomach ache for the past few days now."
"I'm fine," Yukiko said, "Just, not feeling the best. It's probably just a bug," Yukiko lied.
"Already 8:30, I better get to work," Yosuke got up and kissed Yukiko on the cheek, "See you later tonight, love you! Hope you get over your 'bug' today!"
"Love you too," Yukiko said as Yosuke left and got into their car outside. Yukiko made sure he had left before heading over to the phone to make a call.
"Hey mom," Yukiko said over the phone, her voice slightly trembling, "I'm going to be late today, I'm going to the hospital for a checkup," Yukiko said, "No, nothing serious, just the usual checkup stuff…Thanks mom, I'll be there soon enough." She hung the phone up and bent down and pulled out a small box from under the sink of pregnancy test. She walked into the bathroom and prepared everything to use it.
"Okay…" she looked down at the stick, two small pink lines appearing, "Holy shit I'm pregnant… pregnant," she smiled to herself as she realized that she was going to be a mommy. She could picture it now, Yosuke and Yukiko playing with their son or daughter, watching her go to school and getting married. A barrage of emotions and images ran through her mind. She left the house, heading over to the nearest bus stop and getting on for the hospital to confirm everything was as it seemed.
*The Hospital*
"Yukiko Amagi?" the nurse came out and asked for her, Yukiko complying and getting into the doctor's room and waiting for the doctor to arrive. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor eventually entered the room.
"What seems to be the issue," he asked.
"I… I think I might be pregnant," Yukiko said, "I'm… late by a few days now and I've been having occasional morning sickness."
"I see…" the doctor asked, "Any exhaustion or fatigue?"
"Yes I have and I also have been slightly… uncomfortable with my bras," Yukiko blushed, "I feel really chaffed around that area. I have taken a pregnancy test and it came back positive and I wanted to make sure that it was true."
"We can take a blood sample and have results within a couple days for you," the doctor said typing some things into a computer, "Does that sound good?"
"Yes it does," thank you doctor.
*Okina City*
"Okay Yukiko, you can do this," Yukiko thought positive thoughts to herself. Yukiko was standing outside a nearby pregnancy shop that was in Okina city called "Baby World". Yukiko felt like everyone was staring at her as she entered the store, not wanting to give away the possible surprise that she was pregnant, if she was pregnant. Inside everything was pink and blue, cribs set up along with baby toys and books and everything you could imagine.
"Can I help you find something?" the lady came up to Yukiko who was looking at one of the cribs.
"Uh… yeah, I, uh, I think I am pregnant and was just looking," Yukiko coughed.
"How exciting! Have you told the father yet?" she asked.
"No, I haven't, I'm still trying to figure out how to do that," Yukiko said.
"Well, it's always exciting telling them that you are having a child," she said, "We actually have a bunch of neat little knick-knacks in case you are interested," she pointed to one of the corners. Yukiko looked around at some of the stuff; there were photo cases for the ultrasound and cards. Yukiko picked up a small white mug that said "World's Best Dad" in big red letters on it and smiled.
"Perfect," Yukiko said, "Yosuke will love this." She went to the register to check out and left the store promptly.
*A week later*
"Hello?" Yosuke picked the phone up, "Yukiko! It's for you! It's the doctor."
"Oh, it is?" she quickly ran over before they spilled the beans to Yosuke, "Thanks honey. Hello? This is Yukiko Amagi."
"Yukiko, we have your test results and we are happy to say that you are pregnant," the doctor said over the phone as Yukiko let out a small smile.
"That's… thank you," she said trying not to scream from excitement, "Good to hear. Thank you for the news." She hung the phone up.
"What did he say?" Yosuke looked at her.
"Oh nothing, I'm in perfect health, that's all," Yukiko hummed and went off upstairs, "Just the flu."
"… What did you think it was?" Yosuke asked.
"I don't know," Yukiko nervously said as she stopped mid-way on the stairs, "Just being extra careful…" she let out a small laugh as she continued upstairs. On her way to the bedroom, she stopped by the guest bedroom they had. It was a plain bedroom, a bed with a desk a lamp and a closet. In a few short months it would be the baby's room and there would be a crib and toys. They'd be singing their child to sleep, reading to them, and it would be a true home for them.
Yukiko smiled as she continued on her way.
*Yu's and Chie's place*
"Yosuke! Yukiko!" Yu smiled as he opened the door to let them into the house. Yu also looked the same, his hair still in the long bowl cut and wearing a white button up with his usual jeans. Yosuke and Yukiko headed inside, Chie and Rise both working on dinner as Teddie, Kanji, and Naoto were sitting in the living room showing photos. Kanji and Naoto looked the same too; in fact, the all still really looked the same as ever. Kanji had shaved his beard off, along with Teddie. Naoto's hair was cut shorter than it was back at the wedding, still nice and luxurious like Rise.
"Yosuke, man, what's up?" Kanji got up and hugged the two, "It's been ages!"
"You look well," Yukiko said, "I figured you'd be suffering from jet lag right now."
"Takes more than that to take down me," Kanji laughed.
"Took you out pretty well last night," Naoto told him.
"Dinner's almost ready!" Chie turned around. The delicious aroma filling the air as Yukiko went over to look at it.
"Wow Chie! That's looks so good, how did you make this?" Yukiko asked.
"Yu's a good cook too and he showed me a few techniques," Chie said, "I bet Yosuke is a good teacher too."
"I can barely cook a cup of noodles," Yosuke said, "Yukiko's a great cook in her own way."
"Thanks," Yukiko smiled as Yosuke turned his head and mouthed the word 'no' to the group before leaning over to Yu.
"It's awful. I once had a piece of chicken that managed to be both burnt and raw at the same time," Yosuke whispered.
"You're a good husband," Yu whispered back. Rise and Chie began to dish out dinner for everyone as they hung out in the living room of the house and chatted.
"Where were you guys again? China?" Yosuke asked.
"Rome…" Naoto said.
"That's not… that far off," Yosuke defended.
"It's literally on the other side of the world Yosuke," Kanji said, "It's about as opposite as you can get."
"Must've been beautiful," Rise said, "Seeing all those old building and statues!"
"The best part was the beaches, they are so well maintained with snow white sands," Naoto said, "But, enough about us. Anything new in Inaba since we last left?"
"Not… really," Yu said, "We're all still here. And I'm still incredibly tired."
"Grading finals not all it's cracked up to be is it?" Yosuke joked.
"It must be beary fun to shape young minds with your paws!" Teddie said.
"It's exhausting, you know how stupid middle schoolers are," Yu said, "Most of them can barely write an essay and I gotta go through like 200 hundred of them by myself!"
"Well, I am pleased to announce Teddie recently cooked a perfect batch of Tofu the other day!" Rise remarked.
"Way to go Ted, you'll be a world reknowned chef in no time now!" Kanji held up his glass of soda as a toast to Teddie.
"It was delicious, like pure bear love," Teddie squealed, "Rise now trust me with the oven."
"Right, because the first time you managed to somehow start your clothes and all the tofu on fire," Yu remembered the incident like it was yesterday.
"I'm glad things worked out for you two," Naoto smiled, "Any big developments on the Amagi front?" Naoto and the group looked at Yosuke and Yukiko.
"Nope, just the same old same old," Yosuke rocked in his place.
"Actually…" Yukiko began to speak out, "We…We, uh, just… got new bed settings at the inn."
"Stop the presses!" Kanji sarcastically said, "That's a pretty big change."
"I can't help it that we've got nothing going on in our lives," Yosuke said, "Besides, when something big happens we'll be sure to…"
"I have an announcement to make!" Yukiko said loudly, cutting off Yosuke.
"What is it?" Yu smiled at her. Yukiko's face was almost pure red now as her stomach tied into knots over telling everyone, including Yosuke, that she was pregnant.
"I'll be right back," Yukiko turned around, quickly heading outside.
"What's her deal?" Kanji asked, "She's been acting weird."
"She hasn't been feeling the best these past couple days," Yosuke explained, "I told her to stay home and just rest and the Kanji and Naoto would understand, but she insisted on coming." Yukiko came back inside, a small wrapped present in hand.
"Did you get us a gift?" Naoto asked as Yukiko approached them and set the present in Yosuke lap.
"No, it's for Yosuke," Yukiko smiled softly, "I wanted him to open it in front of everyone."
"Okay," Yosuke nervously laughed, trying to figure out what the gift was and why he was receiving it. Did he forget something important, an anniversary or birthday? Chie still was giving Yu shit for forgetting her birthday, and that was years ago. Yosuke carefully undid the wrapping, revealing a small white box with no markings underneath, he opened the top looking in.
"It's a… cup?" Yosuke pondered aloud as he pulled it out, looking at it, "It say's 'World's Greatest Dad'," Yosuke said as the words began to race through his mind. Yu and Kanji both stared at each other as soon as the words left Yosuke mouth. The girls all gasped as their jaws dropped and began to stare at a smiling Yukiko.
"But Yosuke isn't a daddy?" Teddie said obviously.
"Yukiko!" Chie shot up, "Are you?"
"Yes… I'm pregnant!" Yukiko shouted as Yosuke set the mug down. The girls all leaped up, screaming pure joy as the raced over and began to hug Yukiko and cry. Teddie also jumping around with them as Yosuke and the rest of the guys were in shock.
"Yosuke! Say something!" Rise squealed as Yosuke sat there staring at the mug with a pure look of shock, "You're going to be a father!"
"Are you mad?" Yukiko asked as she sat next to Yosuke, "Yosuke?"
"Huh?" Yosuke said, his head a million miles away, "What?"
"Are you okay?" Yukiko asked.
"I… yeah," Yosuke said, "I mean…I," Yosuke was trying to find the words, "I'm, uh… surprised?"
"That's good, right?" Chie asked him.
"Yeah, I mean, we weren't planning this," Yosuke said, "I'm… happy, I guess."
"You guess?" Yukiko asked, "You're going to be a daddy, you should be over the moon."
"I am," Yosuke smiled, "It's just all so surreal." Yosuke continued to smile as his eyes began to water up.
"Yosuke, are you crying man?" Yu asked him.
"No!" He wiped his eyes, "I just have allergies!" Yukiko cooed and held Yosuke as he continued to wipe his eyes, trying not to cry in front of everyone. The group all congratulated Yukiko and Yosuke, Yu getting Yosuke some water to calm him down.
"How far along are you right now?" Yosuke asked Yukiko.
"I'm about 5 weeks pregnant, went to the doctor last week to confirm everything with a blood test. They wanted to do an ultrasound, but I wanted you to be there with me to see our child for the first time," Yukiko told the group, "The baby is due sometime early February."
"I still can't believe you're going to be parents," Kanji laughed, "Yosuke's the last person I'd think would be a dad."
"I'm going to be the greatest dad the world has ever seen," Yosuke proudly declared, "My son will the manliest, smartest, bravest child the ever set foot in Inaba."
"You're son?" Yukiko scolded him, "What if it's a girl?"
"It's not going to be a girl, I can feel it. Call it my sixth sense," Yosuke declared.
"Boy or girl, I'm sure you're cub will be beary amazing," Teddie smiled.
"When are you going to tell your parents?" Chie asked them.
"Tomorrow," Yukiko looked at Yosuke, "They're going to be thrilled that they are grandparents." The group was still talking as Yosuke took a quick step outside to catch his breath and calm down.
"Hey man, you okay?" Yu came out to talk to Yosuke who was leaning up against the side of the house.
"Yeah, I'm totally fine," Yosuke smiled. Immediately afterwards Yosuke collapsed onto the ground and began to puke up all the food he had eaten at the dinner party.
"Yosuke!" Yu picked him up.
"I'm good, I'm good… I'm good," Yosuke wiped his mouth, "Just… pregnancy sickness, you know?"
"Men don't get that Yosuke," Yu said.
"I know," Yosuke said trying to get back on his feet, "I… I'm really scared Yu."
"I would be to, it's a big step you're taking," Yu leaned up next to Yosuke, "Can't say I'm not a little nervous too…"
"God… I'm going to be a father, how in the hell am I going to be a DAD?" Yosuke said, "I never asked for this. I didn't want this!"
"Do you not want the baby?" Yu asked, "If so you should talk to Yukiko about that."
"It's not that, it's just, I can't be a dad! I know nothing about being a dad!" Yosuke said, "I'm not even 27 yet! I didn't think about being a dad for at least another five years! And that we'd talk about it when that time came!"
"That's life I guess," Yu smiled, "It seems every time we've tried to plan things out something gets all twisted up by god or fate or by our own actions…"
"I guess so… There's no way of getting out of this one, is there?" Yosuke asked.
"Not really," Yu said.
"All I can do is try to be the best father I can be to that little dude." Yosuke went to walk inside the house, "Besides, if our parents could do it how hard could it be?"
"Yosuke… you're going to clean the vomit off my lawn, right?" Yu asked.
"No Yu… No I am not," Yosuke said with a joyful smile as he entered the house.
"…Damn it Yosuke, chew your food for once," Yu groaned.
"You're wives are starting to go through a change… they are around a newborn baby and pretty quick they are going to realize how cute and fun it is to play with a baby and they'll want one of their own, and then GAME OVER!" The words of Yu's father echoed in his head. He looked through the window, all the girls rubbing Yukiko's stomach. Chie looked so happy for Yukiko… about the baby. The more he thought about it, the more his dad was right. Maybe Chie would want a baby pretty quick, but when Yu thought about it deep down, he really didn't want a baby. He was in a comfortable place right now, everything the same for all of them, he didn't want life to change like it was going to and he was willing to do anything to keep it that way.
Yu put on a smile and walked inside to congratulate Yukiko again. The group continued to chat for the rest of the night until the early hours, heading back to their homes, starting a new era in their lives.
*Week 11*
"Yosuke, we're going to be late for the appointment," Yukiko shouted upstairs at Yosuke who was lying on the bed, napping. He woke up; looking around at all the baby books the two had bought over the past few days. They had been so busy these past couple of weeks. They had made the announcement to their parents and family, making preparations for the baby. The two had no idea what they were doing.
Yosuke's dad told him man-to-man over a beer, "Being a parent is tough and you're going to have to give up a lot of stuff in your life, but the love you'll have for that child cannot be described."
Before Yosuke headed down the stairs, he took a look into the room of their house they had designated for the baby. They had emptied the room, the walls a blank white, waiting to determine what color they should paint it, but that was still a long ways out. Yosuke met Yukiko downstairs; she was wearing a new red maternity dress, a slight bump in her stomach along with her enlarged breasts, much to Yosuke's delight.
"How's my boy doing?" Yosuke went up and put his hand on her stomach.
"Your 'daughter' is doing fine," Yukiko responded as Yosuke chuckled, "It's going to be a girl, you'll see."
"How are you feeling?" Yosuke asked, "I know you've been really sick."
"It's just morning sickness, I'll be fine. It comes with the pregnancy," Yukiko said, "Let's get going."
The two headed outside and into their car, driving off to the hospital. The two were going to their first ever ultrasound, nervous about what the doctor would tell them. There were a lot of things that could go wrong, Yukiko paranoid over all the things she's read and changing her diet and daily routine to promote better growth. The two arrived at the hospital, Yosuke helping Yukiko as if she was 9 months pregnant. The two headed inside, making their way to the front desk, filling out the paperwork and waiting in the waiting room of the hospital for expecting mothers. There were a couple other parents in the room, obviously more pregnant that Yosuke.
"Look at this thing," Yosuke held up a small baby diorama that showed the growth over the months, "This is us, our baby looks ugly! It's like a melted chunk of butter that's part fish!"
"Yosuke!" Yukiko looked at him as he continued to look at the diagram.
"Look at the size of its head!" Yosuke pointed at the finished baby, "How's that going to get out of you?" Yosuke was amazed.
"Mr. and Mrs. Amagi," the nurse said coming out into the room, the two standing up and heading into the hospital room. The room was a standard hospital examination room with a bed for Yukiko to lay, the big ultrasound machine next to the bed. Yukiko sat on the bed while Yosuke sat in a small chair next to her. The two sat in nervous silence until the door opened, the doctor coming in and greeting them.
"This is your first ultrasound and your first child, correct?" the doctor asked.
"That is correct," Yukiko smiled as she looked over at Yosuke as the doctor logged in to the nearby computer and opened up Yukiko's file to type some info into. The doctor proceeded to take her blood pressure and temperature, making sure that everything was alright with Yukiko physically.
"You're in good health," the doctor said as he turned the machine on, "If you can just lean back and pull your shirt up we can take a look at how that baby is doing." Yukiko laid back, pulling her stomach up as the doctor squirted some gel from a tube and rubbed it on her stomach.
"It's so cold!" Yukiko gasped.
"It's not hurting you, is it?" Yosuke asked.
"No, just cold," Yukiko told him as the doctor placed a small little device on her stomach, looking at the monitor which had been turned away from them for the moment. The doctor was humming a small tune as Yukiko and Yosuke were anticipating the news.
"Well?" Yosuke asked impatiently.
"Interesting," the doctor said as he continued to focus on two spots on Yukiko's stomach.
"Interesting?" Yukiko shot her head up, "What does that mean? Is everything alright? Interesting is good?"
"Everything looks fine, the heartbeat the right pace and the size appears to be normal," the doctor said, "For both of them."
"Both?!" Yosuke and Yukiko said simultaneously as the doctor turned the monitor towards them.
"Congratulations, you two are having twins," the doctor smiled. On the screen, two visible small babies were next to each other. "As you can see here's baby number one, and here's baby number two."
"Twins," Yukiko smiled.
"Yeah… twins," Yosuke was in shock, all of Yosuke's plans thrown out the window. They'd have to buy two cribs, two car seats, twice as much of everything. The size of their family literally doubled in the length of a sentence.
"You can't tell the gender yet?" Yukiko asked, "Is it different for twins?"
"No, it will be a few weeks until we know that for either of them. We'll schedule another appointment later. Do you have any questions or concerns right now?" the doctor asked the two of them.
"Are having twins any different than just one baby?" Yosuke asked.
"You might experience some more discomfort since there's another baby inside of you, but for the most part I would recommend continuing on your current routine, just upping the dosages of some of those prenatal vitamins. Everything looks healthy and normal," the doctor explained, "Oh! I almost forgot, I should tell you that these twins are fraternal, not identical."
"Two babies!" Yukiko giggled, "Isn't this great Yosuke."
"Yeah," Yosuke had a nervous smiled, "Two different babies at the same time… what are the chances?"
*Later that night*
"Twins!?" Yu said in shock. He and Chie had met up together back at Yosuke and Yukiko's place, "Congrats man, that's quite the accomplishment."
"Are you going to have two Yosukes or two Yukikos?" Chie asked them.
"Maybe one of each?" Yu smiled.
"Who knows," Yosuke lay back on the couch, "We'll have to wait a few more weeks. What about you two, when are you having a kid?" Yu let out a nervous laugh as Chie looked at him with envy.
"Yeah! When are we having a baby?" Chie asked.
"I,uh, I didn't know you wanted one?" Yu played dumb, "God damnit Yosuke you complete asshole. I'd punch you in the goddamn face if I could right now you asshole."
"I kinda do now," Chie said, "Can you imagine our kid? What if we have triplets or QUADRUPLETS?"
"Tick…tick…tick…have…a…baby…now," the words of his father ran through Yu's mind again.
"Can we talk about this another time?" Yu rubbed his right arm, "Back to you two, are the babies sharing a room or do they each get their own room?" Yu quickly changed the subject as Chie looked dissatisfied.
"They can share for now," Yosuke told them, "I doubt they're going to care." Yukiko's stomach let out a huge growl as she let out a soft moan.
"Ohhh, I'm so hungry," Yukiko said loudly, "You know what sounds good… steak!"
"Steak?" Chie immediately perked up, "You want steak?"
"I've never wanted a steak so bad in my life," Yukiko shot up as fast as she could, "Do we have any steak? Is Aiya's open?"
"Aiya's is open, did you want to go?" Yosuke asked her. Yukiko ran over to the counter, throwing the keys to Yosuke as she and Chie ran out the door.
"I guess we're having dinner," Yosuke smiled.
"I'll buy," Yu told him.
"No, you don't have to buy dinner," Yosuke said.
"Yosuke, you got two kids on the way, you're going to need that money," Yu told him as they walked out the door.
*Aiya's*
"Oh my god!" Yukiko said with a mouth full of steak, "This is so delicious! Why didn't you tell me steak was this good Chie?"
"I did," Chie laughed with a mouth full of meat, "You just never believed me!" Yukiko was on her third beef bowl, Chie on her second. Yosuke and Yu hadn't even touched theirs, too engaged in the spectacle that was Yukiko eating. She looked like she had never eaten in her life, emptying her first bowl before Chie, a sight which shocked all of them. "Can I get another?" Yukiko asked.
"Sure," Yosuke smiled as he looked over at Yu who was in pure awe.
"Waiter! Get me another, no, get me TWO more beef bowls," Yukiko yelled as she continued to scrap every last morsel of meat off the bottom of this one.
"Aren't you full?" Chie asked.
"Nope!" Yukiko smiled, "I'm eating for three," she sang as she quickly grabbed a piece of steak out of Chie's bowl, sucking it down. The waiter brought over two more bowls, Yukiko devouring those as well as Chie finished up her second bowl. In total, the group had eaten nine beef bowls, Yu footing the entire bill at the counter.
"You knew," Yu looked at Yosuke, "Dick."
"Well, I had a suspicion," Yosuke laughed, "Pregnancy cravings, Yukiko ate a whole jar of pickles a couple days ago, drank the juice too!" Chie walked over to Yu, hugging him from behind.
"I LOVE pregnant Yukiko," Chie bragged, "If I knew that she was going to share my enthusiasm for steak, I would've gotten her pregnant myself."
"How is that even possible?" Yosuke asked, "That'd be sight to see though."
"Can you imagine how much I can eat if I was pregnant? There wouldn't be enough steak in the world to fill my child," Chie told Yu as they all left, getting back on the subject of babies. The all went back to Yosuke's place, Yu and Chie taking off in their car as they headed home.
"Yu… can we have a baby soon?" Chie asked.
"Oh my god dad was right again!" Yu panicked inside his head, "I…" Yu sighed, "Chie, I love you more than anything, but right now, I don't really want a child in my life as selfish as that sounds."
"Do you want children?" Chie asked almost heartbroken.
"Someday," Yu told her as Chie frowned, "Chie, we're going to have kids someday, but for the next couple of year I'd like to focus on my teaching and fix a few things in my life and then we can start a family… we have time, no pressure."
"I know," Chie sadly sighed, "I just really want one, Yukiko looks so happy!" Yu was at a loss of words, not really knowing what to do to comfort Chie. As they got home, Yu ran off to the back of the house to make a private call to someone he knew he could count on, "Dad? It's me… I… I really hate saying this but you were right." Yu continued to talk to his dad, "About the baby thing. Yosuke and Yukiko are pregnant and now Chie can't stop talking about the kid and wants one, but I'm not ready. Do you have any idea of what I can do?" Yu was nervously pacing around now, "Wait? That works? Huh… seems kinda cheesy, but you're the boss. Thanks dad, you're a savior." Yu hung up the phone with an idea of how to snap Chie out of her baby craze.
*A couple days later*
"Oh man, Chie is going to love this," Yu shut the back door to his car and walked inside the house, "Chie!" Yu shouted, "I've got a surprise for you!"
"What?" Chie asked coming downstairs. She met Yu in the living room as Yu pulled a small puppy from behind his back.
"This is Skip! He's a baby pug, he was abandoned and wounded on the side of a road until someone rescued him," Yu smiled as he handed him to Chie, "I went down to the adoption agency today and I saw him and I wanted to bring him home. If you like him we can adopt him, figured we could use a little company around this house."
"Are… are you trying to get over the fact I want a baby with a dog?" Chie saw right through Yu's ruse, "What is this, a cheesy television sitcom?"
"What? No! Goddamn it Dad you're wrong again!" Yu played dumb again in front of Chie, "I just know you liked dogs and I like dogs too, so why not get a dog? I mean, look at that little puppy pug face of his," Yu rubbed the dog against Chie's cheek; the pup letting off a soft howl as Chie began to crack a smile.
"I'll admit he's cute," Chie said, "I'm not going to be swayed this easily though! I want a human baby, not a baby dog."
"Tell that to Skip, right to that face, tell him he's gotta go back to the adoption agency because someone wants a different kind of baby!" Yu looked at Chie, putting all the cards on the table.
"Skip!" Chie boldly declared, she swooped the dog into her hands, the baby pug simply staring with big puppy dog eyes as Chie stared back at him, "I… damn it! You're just too cute!" Chie began to laugh as she sat down on the couch, playing with the dog. Yu sitting next to her as the dog sat on her lap.
"You're such a jerk," Chie said as she petted the pup.
"We can go down later to finalize the paperwork," Yu told her as he stroked the dogs head, "Welcome to the family Skip."
*Week 14*
"Take several deep breaths, in and out, in and out," the lady on the television was saying. Yukiko was in the living room, working out with Yosuke to a pregnancy yoga tape Yukiko had bought.
"Do I really have to do this?" Yosuke complained as he kept trying to balance himself on one foot, but kept falling.
"It's good for the twins that we bond through exercise like this, it keeps me in good spirits," Yukiko told him with her eyes closed, raising her right leg high in the air and balancing on the other.
"I can think of a better exercise that I'd enjoy a lot more," Yosuke muttered under his breath; Yukiko overhearing him as she turned to him.
"Seriously? Because that sounds amazing right now." Yukiko asked.
"Huh?" Yosuke smiled at the suggestion, "You wanna have sex right now?"
"Yes!" Yukiko said, "Absolutely."
"YEAH! Let's go!" Yosuke cheered as he quickly begun to undress and ran up the stairs laughing to himself over his victory.
"He's such a child," Yukiko sighed, "Guess that makes Yosuke you're brother rather than father." She ran up the stairs, passionately taking Yosuke like she had never done before.
"I love you so much," Yosuke was lying in bed next to Yukiko who was almost curled up in a little ball after all was said and done, "Seriously, that was so awesome!"
"It was quite the workout," Yukiko smiled as she put her hands on her stomach, "I think the kids liked it too."
"UGH!" Yosuke gagged at the comment, "Oh my god Yukiko, that's disgusting! Don't talk about that!"
"You didn't seem to mind fifteen minutes ago!" Yukiko defended as she slid over and began to rub Yosuke's chest, "Come on. Let's go again!"
"Again!? No, it's gross…" Yosuke tried to squirm away as Yukiko gave him a few more kisses to calm him down. "No… stop…" Yosuke's cries being silenced by Yukiko climbing onto of him, "Damn it! I'm sorry kids! It's… just… too… good!"
*Week 19*
Yosuke and Yukiko were visiting Yosuke's parents at their house, Yosuke's mom bonding with Yukiko on the couch while the Hanamura men were both sitting at the table sharing a beer.
"I think we'll be good parents," Yosuke told his dad, "I mean, being a parent wasn't that hard, right?" Yosuke's mom and dad both gave out a couple of laughs at the ignorance of their son.
"You have no idea," Yosuke's dad said, "I told you you're going to have to give up a lot when raising a child. I used to have so much more free time before you were born."
"You still had some though," Yosuke said.
"Yeah, but it disappears quickly," Yosuke said, "Appreciate it now, because it'll be a while before the two of you get to go out and have fun again. You'll find yourself waiting for some teenager to come over and watch your kid before the two of you can go have 'fun' for an hour."
"Man," Yosuke looked over at Yukiko who was rubbing her stomach.
"Yukiko," Yosuke's mother rubbed her stomach as well, "You've really started to fill out, both those little kids growing so quick. Do you know the sexes yet?"
"Not yet, we have the ultrasound appointment tomorrow and we should know what we are having!" Yukiko smiled, "I'm kinda scared of going into labor, but that is a ways away, did labor hurt for you?"
"It… wasn't easy, Yosuke didn't want to leave," she laughed, "Doctor's had to practically pull him out with this big metal claw."
"A metal claw?" Yukiko gasped, "Ouch!"
"It wasn't that bad," Yosuke's father said.
"Says you, you weren't the one pushing another human being out of you," Yosuke's mother scolded him, "Men, they'll never fully understand the sacrifices us women make for their kids."
*The next day at the hospital*
Yukiko was lying on the table again as the doctor walked in. He did the standard check-up, making sure Yukiko was feeling fine and that things were going accordingly.
"Ready to figure out what you are having?" The doctor started the ultrasound machine up as Yukiko rolled her shirt up.
"I thought we were having a baby," Yosuke cracked a joke as Yukiko went into a giggling fit.
"Sorry… I'm ready," Yukiko said as she calmed herself down, "Are you Yosuke?"
"Totally," Yosuke smiled, "Show me my sons!" The doctor put some gel and the end of the device on her stomach, looking at the image in the monitor.
"It's pretty clear baby number one here is a boy," he pointed out, "You can tell here that he definitely is a guy," he pointed at the screen.
"Yes!" Yosuke smiled, "The dynasty survives! Second one is boy too I bet, right?"
"No," he said, "I can tell you perfectly that the other is a girl."
"I guess we both win!" Yukiko squealed, "You get your son and I get my daughter."
"Everyone wins," Yosuke was overjoyed.
"And this third one here is also a guy," the doctor said.
"THIRD?" Yukiko gasped with Yosuke.
"I kid, sorry, bad joke," the doctor calmed them down, "You are having a boy and a girl, that's it, twins."
"I was worried there for second," Yosuke laughed, "I'm not in the mood to buy more baby stuff."
*Week 25*
"Week 25!" Yosuke declared to the group as he held one of the many baby books around him. The entire group, minus Naoto and Kanji, were sitting around Yosuke's living room with their own books. "According to this book our babies are the size of an eggplant!"
"Two eggplants!" Yu corrected him, "I'm surprised how big Yukiko is, I could eat two eggplants and they wouldn't make me look that fat!"
"Yu!" Chie scolded him, "She's carrying children, she's not fat!"
"Apologize," Rise snapped at Yu as Yukiko looked like she was about to cry as Yosuke rubbed the back of her head.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Yu said like a whipped dog.
"It's okay," Yukiko seemed down.
"According to this book, the babies could be kicking now!" Teddie exclaimed, "Are they trying to bearscape?"
"Yeah, but they aren't doing a beary good job at it," Yosuke laughed at his corny joke.
"I've never seen Yosuke read this much in my life!" Rise said as Yosuke was going back and forth between three different books, "He's a practical scholar."
"Let's quiz him," Chie laughed, "Yosuke, what food containing mercury should Yukiko avoid?"
"Shellfish, even though those pregnant moms who eat fish a lot in the first trimester have babies with higher IQ, doctors recommend eating safer fish like tuna or freshwater salmon during that period, no sushi or other fish that are high in mercury count, particularly salt water fish." Yosuke said with no hesitation as he continued to read another book.
"Wow!" Rise was in shock, "A responsible and knowledgeable Yosuke… are we in a dream?"
"We might have died on the car ride over," Yu and Chie laughed, "How goes it Yukiko? Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, but my feet are killing me!" she began to slip her socks off, revealing a pair of swollen red feet that seemed to pulsate as she put them on Yosuke's lap. He continued to read on as he took his hands and began massaging the feet.
"What's wrong with her feet?" Teddie cried out as he crawled over and began to poke at them, "Why are they all big like that?"
"She's pregnant Teddie, she's carrying two kids around, it's hard on her feet 24/7," Yu explained.
"Teddie, sweetie, please don't poke them like that," Rise pulled him back, "Yukiko just wants a nice massage from her husband."
"No it's okay, does Teddie want to massage them?" Yukiko said as she swing her feet over to Teddie. Teddie began messing around with them, doing more of a thorough examination of her feet as an entirety than a massage, "Ow! Teddie, don't do that it hurts."
"Teddie, you gotta massage them," Yu told him as he scooted over and began to massage her left foot as Teddie continued to hold the right, "Take your hand and just run it along the bottom like this."
"Oh my god that feels amazing!" Yukiko moaned, "Keep doing that Yu! How are you so good at that?"
"Chie loves her foot massages after workouts," Yu said, "I just know how to take care of a woman's feet."
"He really does," Chie looked at Yukiko with jealousy, "Yu, do me now!" she kicked her socks off and threw her feet in his face.
"Chie, I'm taking care of Yukiko, she is the pregnant one," Yu pushed the feet away.
"Let Yosuke do that, my feet hurt! Ouch!" Chie let out a fake cry of pain.
"Mine too!" Rise put them in Teddie's face.
"Fine!" Yu groaned as he put Yukiko's feet in Yosuke's lap again, Teddie and him returning to their respective wives and massage their feet, "Wait! Why the hell are we doing this?"
"What?" Yosuke said.
"Why the hell are we massaging their feet," Yu complained, "Yukiko's the only one here with a valid complaint."
"You don't wanna do it? Fine! I'll remember this!" Chie said, "Maybe the next time you wanna do something I'm not in the mood for I'll just pull the same stunt."
"Just…goddamn it!" Yu said as he continued to massage her feet.
*The next day*
"I got the paint!" Yosuke walked in with several cans of paint, "Baby boy blue and baby girl pink!" Teddie walked in carrying a couple bags of brushes and was dressed in old raggy clothes to paint the room. Yu followed in with two big boxes that each contained a set for setting up a crib, Chie following Yu with the other. Yukiko and Rise were sitting on the couch as she felt up Yukiko's stomach.
"The baby is kicking!" Rise yelled, "Get over here and feel, hurry!" The group all came over and Rise placed their hands on her stomach.
"Oh my god that's so weird!" Chie gasped, "Can you feel them moving around like that?"
"Yeah, sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up from all the exercise they are doing," Yukiko laughed, "Also, everyday at six in the morning I get a swift kick in the lung."
"She really does," Yosuke laughed, "Talk about a biological alarm clock." Yukiko laughed at the joke as Teddie and Yu carried all the stuff up the stairs. Inside the babies' room the walls were white and newspapers were placed all over the floor to protect it. Yu set the paint cans down and opened them as Teddie helped.
"Let's get to paintin'," Yosuke walked in as Yu handed him a brush, "Now the left side will be pink and the right side over her blue." As Yosuke said that Teddie took a huge chunk of pink paint and slammed it against the right side of the room, "Or I guess that side will be pink… thanks Teddie."
"I'm beary good at painting, a natural beartist," Teddie laughed as he was erratically brushing paint all over the wall. The strokes didn't match and the paint was all uneven and bubbled.
"Teddie," Yu slowed him down, "You're doing it all wrong!" he grabbed his hand and pulled Teddie right up to his own body, taking the hand that had the brush, "Just guide the brush," Teddie and Yu slowly moved the brush, "See how nice that looks now? The paint has to consistently follow the grain of the other strokes"
"What the hell?" Chie laughed as Yu looked over at her, Rise shaking her head and laughing as well, "What are you two doing?"
"I'm teaching Teddie how to paint," Yu said.
"You don't need to hold Teddie like your waltzing though," Chie told him as Yu continued to guide Teddie. Yosuke worked on the other side as the girls continued to relax downstairs with Yukiko. Chie was reading one of the pregnancy books with Rise as Yukiko was resting her eyes.
"Look at this," Chie giggled, "Yukiko and Yosuke highlighted the chapter regarding sex and intimacy."
"That's important, look at her," Rise looked at Yukiko's stomach, "It's not easy to be intimate with that stomach like that. How does Yosuke even position himself around her? It's not like fat that can be moved or squashed around…"
"He probably like, spoons next to her or she gets on top," Chie said as she continued to read on. "The baby cannot be harmed by conventional means of intercourse," Chie read aloud, "Yosuke freaking circled the crap out of that, man he must be worried. It also says here that her sex drive goes through the roof as the pregnancy progresses." Chie flipped through the book as Yukiko woke up with a loud grunt.
"Damn it, kid kicked me really hard," Yukiko said as she sat up, "I'm starving, Chie can you make me some toast?"
"No problem, you want butter and jelly on it?" Chie got up.
"Mayo and chocolate syrup," Yukiko smiled and licked her lips.
"Mayo… and CHOCOLATE?" Rise almost vomited from the thought, "What the hell?"
"It's sounds delicious," Yukiko said to them as Chie had already put down a couple pieces of bread in the toaster, "Chie! Can you bring me the jar of pickles too in the fridge?"
"Uh…sure," Chie said as she went to the fridge and pulled out a huge jar from the bottom along with the mayo and chocolate sauce. The toast popped up and Chie placed it on a plate and applied the mayo and chocolate sauce to it. She brought it all over to Yukiko who was almost salivating at the sight.
"YUM!" she took a huge bite of the toast as Chie and Rise watched in disgust and awe as Yukiko gulped down the toast in no time along with several pickles. Yukiko finished off the pickles and began drinking the juice from the jar as Chie and Rise's jaws dropped, "Ahhhh, can I get some water? It's all so salty."
"Y-yeah," Chie said as she continued to watch Yukiko as she poured her a big glass of water.
"Wait! Are there any olives in the fridge?" Yukiko asked, "Chie?"
"I'm looking!" Chie said, "Here are some olives! There's only a couple handfuls left. Anything else you need?"
"The chocolate sauce!" Yukiko said as Chie came over with water, olives and the chocolate sauce. She quickly grabbed it and squirted the entire container of chocolate sauce into the jar of olives and began to eat those as well.
"Enjoying a little treat?" Yosuke came downstairs with the guys.
"Totally," Yukiko said, "Chocolate covered olive?" she offered the group.
"SURE," Teddie took a big bight followed by his face turning purple and spitting out the chewed up olive, "This is awful!"
"You guys just lack refined taste!" Yukiko began drinking the juice, "This is fantastic!"
"What in the actual hell?" Yu stood there as Yukiko finished off the jar.
"We're ready for bed!" Yukiko said as Yosuke helped her up, "Goodnight." Yukiko waddled away and up the stairs as the rest of the group simply sat in shock over what they had witnessed.
*Week 29*
Yukiko and Yosuke were tiding up their house for the arrival of their friends. Today was the day they were going to have a baby shower, the whole gang getting back together again after Kanji and Naoto had left for almost the entire pregnancy. Yosuke had bought a cake and set up several snacks and drinks for the group. The doorbell rang as Yosuke finished sweeping up the kitchen.
"They're here," Yukiko said as she waddled over to the door. She opened it revealing the whole group, including Kanji and Naoto at the front.
"Oh my god!" Kanji said in shock, "That's a fully pregnant woman! A woman carrying twins!"
"Yes it is," Naoto smiled as she hugged Yukiko, "How are you feeling?"
"Good, my feet hurt and the kids never want to rest," Yukiko laughed, "I'm happy though." The entire group entered as Yosuke smiled and greeted everyone. They all sat around the living room, enjoying mutual drinks, except for Yukiko who had water, and some snacks.
"Show me the baby room," Kanji said, "I'm sure you guys did a hell of a job putting it together."
"Sure did," Yosuke smiled as he showed Kanji and the guys their finished product. The room was half pink and half blue, the two cribs assembled along with a small chair and ottoman in one corner and a dresser and changing table in the other, "Tada!"
"Wow," Kanji looked around at the room, "You guys did this?"
"Indeed we did," Yu said as he walked over to the changing table which had a Teddie bear with a diaper on it, "What the hell is this?"
"I got a small stuffed bear to practice changing a diaper on," Yosuke told them as he went over to it, "Watch." Yosuke seamlessly undid the diaper and changed it in front of them, pretending to clean it like a dirty baby, "And then you simply strap it on and good to go!"
"Wow," Yu said, "You've clearly got a handle on this." The guys all headed back downstairs and rejoined the girls. Naoto had her head against Yukiko's bare stomach and was listening to the sounds of the children.
"This is amazing," Naoto said, "Life is truly spectacular. Kanji, listen to this," Naoto pushed Kanji's head against Yukiko's stomach. One by one they all listened to Yukiko's stomach, finally arriving last at Yu who did the same. What he heard was a weird swooshing sound, like swimming underwater. It was so hard to believe that two little beings were inside of Yukiko right now.
"Wow," Yu simply said as he brought his head up.
"Should we give them the gifts?" Kanji asked Naoto as he pulled up a couple of gift wrapped bags he got.
"Sure," Naoto said, "Everyone brought gifts so now seems like a good time." Yukiko sat down next to Yosuke on the couch as Kanji handed her the first bag. Yukiko opened it up revealing two handmade onesies, one pink and one blue, from Kanji.
"Did you make these?" Yukiko smiled.
"Indeed I did," Kanji said, "Nothing but the best. Baby clothes generally aren't my specialty so I had to learn, but if you ever need any repairs, I'm your guy." Yukiko grabbed the second bag revealing toy swing that you could hang from the ceiling to swing a baby on, "Cool, thanks Kanji, Naoto."
"No problem, we wanted to give you something the kids could enjoy," Naoto said. Teddie and Rise handed a big package to Yukiko. She opened up the paper to revealing a big box of diapers and some basic baby supplies. Also, there were some basic baby toys and a couple stuffed animals.
"Thank you guys, we'll definitely need all of this," Yosuke said.
"Anything for you guys," Rise smiled. Finally Yu and Chie handed a small bag to Yukiko, pulling out some pacifiers, bottles, and some small toys for the kids. Yu got up and quickly left the house, coming back in with a brand new twin stroller.
"Woah! You got that for us," Yukiko said, "You didn't have to buy us a whole stroller."
"We wanted to, just promise you'll bring the kids along in this when you come to visit," Yu said. Yosuke went over and brought over a cake they had bought, slicing off a big piece for Yukiko first as she dug right into the cake.
"Oh my god, this is so good," Yukiko said, "I tell you, the best part about being pregnant is the food! Makes it all worth it."
"I would think the babies would be the focal point of this," Yu joked, "But cake is good too." Yu went to take another bite and accidentally dropped his plastic fork, "Whoops." As he went to pick it up he heard Yukiko start to cry as they all turned their attention to her.
"Yukiko?" Chie asked, "What's wrong?"
"He DROPPED the fork," Yukiko was bawling now, "It's all ruined!" Yosuke scooted over to Yukiko and comforted her as everyone sat there awkwardly. Yu quickly picked the fork up and threw it away.
"It's only a plastic fork Yukiko," Yu said to calmed her down.
"I know!" she cried, "But it's so… SAD!" she cried even harder for the next fifteen minutes until she managed to stop. The group continued to talk for some time before Chie spoke up.
"Are there any traditions at baby showers we need to know about?" she asked the soon-to-be parents.
"Actually, I did read this one thing…" Yosuke got up and walked into the kitchen and grabbed to handfuls of small glass jars as he walked back over to the group and set them down for them all to see.
"Baby food?" Yu asked, "…We're not going to eat that are we."
"Yeah, it's like a fun little game, people try baby food," Yosuke explained, "Yu, you're up first. You get some nice green beans and sweet carrots!" Yosuke cracked open the jar to reveal a fine green paste as he dipped the plastic spoon into it.
"I really don't want to," Yu said.
"Just take a bit Yu," Chie said, "You're acting like a baby… appropriately." Yu took a deep breath before taking a huge bite. The paste did not taste anything like green beans or carrots, but just a gross mess of dull applesauce. Yu immediately coughed some up, spitting it all over his chin.
"Aww, someone have a spit-up accident?" Chie said to Yu in a baby voice as the group all laughed, "Let me clean my special guy up!" she grabbed a napkin and began to clean up Yu.
"That was awful," Yu said.
"It can't be that bad," Chie said, "Yosuke."
"Chie get's her favorite… steak and mashed potatoes," he tossed her the jar as she cracked it open.
"See?" Chie took a bit, "It's not-OH GOD!" she spit it into the napkin, "Yosuke, do not feed a baby that! I'm not kidding around!"
"Whatever Chie," Yosuke cracked open a jar of squash baby food and took a small bit before coughing it up, "Holy shit that's pretty gross."
"I got rice," Kanji said before taking a bite of his rice flavored jar, "AUGH! THAT'S GROSS YOSUKE!" Kanji yelled out, "This is a stupid tradition dude!"
"Kanji, I'm sure you all are overreacting about it," Rise said before taking a bite of the banana flavored purée, "Blugh," she spit it into the napkin. Soon after Naoto went into a coughing fit after trying her apple flavored food and finally Teddie tried his chicken dinner one.
"Huh! This is… amazing!" Teddie began to swallow the whole contents of the jar, "I can taste the yummy chickens!" he soon grabbed the others, "Bananas! Steak! Apples! It's bear-licious!" Teddie was emptying the jars at an alarming rate.
"You know, I'd be more shocked by this if the other day I didn't see Yukiko eat a jar of chocolate covered olives," Yu said.
*Week 31*
"Come on Yukiko!" Chie drug Yukiko and Rise into the hot springs, "A nice dip will be good for you."
"Chie, I really don't wanna do this," Yukiko said, "Can't we just, get some cake or something, maybe some steak?"
"Later, but hot springs sound so good right now," Chie said, "All that nice refreshing water caressing your body and making you all clean," Chie tried to convince Yukiko, "Pregnant women love bathes. That's fact Yukiko."
"It's just…" Yukiko sighed, "I don't like being naked right now."
"Because you're pregnant?" Rise asked, "I'm sure you're still beautiful Yukiko. Sure your belly is a little big, but it's probably not that bad."
"It is," Yukiko's eyes watered up, "I'm so fat and unattractive right now that nobody would ever want to look at me. I don't even think Yosuke is attracted to me anymore."
"That's not true! Yosuke is just as attracted to you as when he met you," Chie tugged Yukiko into the springs. The three girls check in and began to get undressed and into towels to go to the springs. Yukiko had gone into a nearby bathroom stale to undress, very sensitive about her body now.
Chie and Rise waited for her outside at the springs. The place was moderately busy, a few small children bathing with their mothers and a few other younger girls. Yukiko came out in a towel, looking down at the large bump below her. Chie and Rise dropped their towels and stepped into the springs as Yukiko didn't. Instead she sat near the edge and put her swollen feet in the warm water.
"Hop on in Yukiko!" Rise smiled, "The water is nice, isn't it?"
"I'm fine," Yukiko said.
"It's just your body Yukiko," Chie said, "We won't judge you."
"…Are you sure?" Yukiko hesitated and looked around, nobody was paying attention to her, but she felt like they secretly were looking at her like a freak show.
"We primrose," Chie swore as Yukiko stood up and took a deep breath and dropped her towel. Her stomach was very large and belly button was popped out. She had stretch marks around the sides of her belly and her small ones on her breasts. She quickly hopped into the water as Chie and Rise began washing her hair.
"How far along are you?" A lady looked over at Yukiko and asked.
"Oh, um, I'm a little over 30 weeks," Yukiko replied.
"Are you expecting a boy or a girl?" she asked.
"Both, I'm having twins," Yukiko smiled as Chie was rubbing her scalp.
"Twins? I had a friend who had twins!" another lady said, "Is this your first pregnancy?"
"Yeah," Yukiko said.
"I remember my first…" another woman joined in. The girls in the hot spring began to talk and gossip together, making Yukiko feel better about herself and her body. The three finished bathing together and went and got dressed, Yukiko returning home to a home cooked meal made for her by Yosuke. They had a delicious dinner and eventually retired to bed, where Yukiko was feeling rather frisky.
"Yosuke," she purred into his ear, "I'm very attracted to you right now."
"Really?" Yosuke looked over at her, "Because I'm very attracted to you right now." The two began kissing as Yosuke and Yukiko quickly undressed each other, "Okay, now if I just, place myself," Yosuke shifted around behind Yukiko as the two began to basically spoon each other, "Now I can… there we go," Yosuke smiled as he kissed the back of her neck.
"Ohhh Yosuke," Yukiko sighed. The two continued on like that for some time before Yosuke was physically spent out, having to do all the work.
"Thank you Yosuke… I know that must have been hard for you," Yukiko said.
"It's nothing," Yosuke said.
"It's just… I know I'm not the best looking girl right now," Yukiko explained, "And there's all those hot younger girls who work at Junes and they are all attracted to you because of your power as a manager and…" Yukiko began to cry.
"What? No no no!" Yosuke rolled back over to hug Yukiko, "It's okay. Yukiko, look at me," Yosuke and Yukiko locked eyes, "You are and always will be the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. You are carrying my children, that is the greatest thing a woman could ever do for me and I will forever love you for it."
"Yosuke…" Yukiko began to wipe her eyes, "Thank you." The two cuddled for a little while as a light snow fall began to fall just outside their window.