Chapter Text
Before you could remark on it, a wide (and unnatural) smile appeared on the doctor's face. He gestured to you and asked, “won't you come this way? I'll need to examine you to determine what's wrong.” He pointed to a cot for you to sit on.
After acquiring a general assessment of your health, the doctor then decided that he needed to see how the child was developing. Tsukiyama waited in the other room, fidgeting worriedly until he was called in. He leaped up hastily when your voice rang out;
“Shuu, come see this!”
When Shuu entered the room to join you, he was surprised by what he saw. On the screen next to you was an image of your womb and the child that was growing inside. When you saw that Shuu had entered, a grin lit up your face.
“It's our child, Shuu.” Tears of joy filled your eyes and threatened to spill over. Shuu, who was staring at the screen still, seemed to be on the verge of tears as well. When he caught you looking at him, he flushed pink and coughed indignantly. He made a show of trying to remove a non-existent irritant from his eye. Once he regained his composure, he turned to you once more.
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
“I don't know,” you remarked unhappily, “he or she refuses to let us see.” You gestured to the screen where the child had decided to firmly keep his or her arms and legs crossed.
“Don't fret, mon amoure, it will be a surprise.” Tsukiyama grinned and kissed your cheek. “A surprise worth waiting for, non?”
The doctor, who was watching the affectionate family before him, looked a little sad. He waited until all of your excited exclamations were over before saying anything. “Tsukiyama-San?” His voice was timid and shaky.
“Oui?” The Gourmet turned his attention from you to the doctor.
“Would you mind stepping into the next room? I have something to discuss with you.” He gave you what he thought was a warm smile, but it failed miserably. His smile, which was supposed to reassure you, was wobbly and forced, which only served to worry you. An uneasy feeling settled into your stomach as you watched Tsukiyama and the doctor depart.
“I shall be back in un moment,” Shuu assured you, and headed out.
Feeling curious and worried, you strained your ears to hear what they were talking about in the next room. What was so bad that it couldn't be said in front of you? For all your concentration, you could only pick out certain words: 'baby', 'malnutrition', your name, and finally, 'incompatible'. None of those words gave you reason to feel reassured, so the unsettled feeling in your stomach grew worse.
It was a good twenty minutes before Tsukiyama and the doctor reappeared. The doctor 's false smile had finally disappeared, and it was replaced by grim certainty. You glanced over to Shuu, and his expression was unreadable. If you looked closely at his face, you could see the faint tear tracks cascading down his face.
Instantly, your hands went to your swollen abdomen, cradling it as if to physically protect the child from the bad news you sensed coming. You took a breath, looked sternly at the pair in front of you, and asked, “what's wrong with my baby?” You had tried to be stern, but your voice wavered at the end, betraying your worry.
The doctor regarded Tsukiyama who nodded, and then left. It just you and him now.
Ma cherie, may I sit here?” He gestured to the foot of the bed and waited.
You obliged, moving your feet and waited for Tsukiyama to speak again. After a few agonizing moments that felt like hours, Shuu spoke.
“The doctor thought it would be easier to hear if it came from me, so I...” your always confident and charismatic ghoul faltered, something he never did. Dread settled into your chest. “I have some bad news, my love.”
My love. In plain Japanese, not the pseudo French that Tsukiyama usually spouted. The situation was more serious than you had imagined if Shuu couldn't be bothered to put on airs. You waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to speak again.
“There's... a really distinct possibility that you could lose the baby,” Shuu finally breathed, looking away from you. “Ghouls and humans are not compatible.”
You had heard this before. “But why?” you whispered. Tears threatened to appear again, for not so happy reasons this time.
“Because as a human, your body cannot support a ghoul child. You cannot give the baby the nutrients he needs to grow... And he takes what he can from you—which is more than your body can handle.” Tsukiyama touched your face, just below the dark circles under your eyes, as if to prove his point.
The tears that had gathered in your eyes finally started falling, hot and unyielding. What was Shuu saying? It was your fault that your child was going to die? That you were killing each other? You pulled Tsukiyama into a hug, burying your face into his chest and ruining his suit with tear stains. You held him, for what must have been a good hour, letting your frustration and sadness out with breathless sobs. You weren't 100% sure you heard this over the sounds of your own distress, but it sounded like Tsukiyama was sobbing gently into your ear. With your arms wrapped around him, you could feel the man you once thought infallible shaking.
You cried until you couldn't cry anymore.