Chapter Text
April, Week 14
Himiko lay on a plinth in the doctor’s office. Pale, Kokichi hovered over her, throwing glances at the doctor as he pressed a device to her stomach. Smiling, Himiko held her husband’s hand. “Ready to hear it?”
Kokichi swallowed. Gave a tight nod.
After a moment, a tiny beating filled the room. Their baby’s heartbeat.
Gasping, Kokichi’s hand flew to his mouth. He turned to look at Himiko, eyes red with tears.
Beaming, Himiko squeezed his hand. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
Kokichi wordlessly squeezed back.
“So you’re pregnant!” Mrs. Yumeno cried.
Smiling, Himiko readjusted the phone in the crook of her neck. She washed a dirty pot in the kitchen sink. “I am, Mom, I really am! We just got back home after the doctor appointment. I’m 13 weeks along today. Due date is October 25th. We got to hear the baby’s heartbeat which was so amazing. Kokichi cried.”
Kokichi, who was wiping down the dinner table, scowled. He wore a white and blue striped long-sleeved shirt.
“And we got – ah!” Water splashed onto Himiko’s strawberry-patterned dress. “Sorry, got some water on myself. We got some ultrasound pictures of the baby! I’ll send them to you after this.” Grunting, Himiko scrubbed at the pot in the sink basin. Sunlight streamed from the window above the sink. Blue floral wallpaper covered the backsplash. Wood cabinets lined the corner kitchen. Finished washing, Himiko set the pot on the white granite counter.
Mrs. Yumeno asked, “13 weeks, huh? That’s three months you’ve been expecting. How did you not notice?”
Kokichi rose his voice. “That’s what I said!”
“Hush!” snapped Himiko.
“Hi, Kokichi!” called Mrs. Yumeno through the phone. “How are you doing? Recovering from your appendix removal surgery well?”
Kokichi pulled out a trash bag from a drawer next to the sink. “I’m fine, Mom.”
“Himiko, is he really?”
“Don’t you trust me?” asked Kokichi.
“Of course I do, honey. I trust that you’d lie about being in pain.” Kokichi shook his head.
Himiko answered, “Yeah, he’s fine.” Kokichi began noisily flicking out the trash bag, opening it. Himiko whispered, “He actually has some pain when stretching or carrying heavier things–” Kokichi glared. “But don’t worry, Mom, otherwise the pain is minimal.”
Kokichi emptied the kitchen trash. “It’s been three weeks since the surgery; I’m fine. There’s more important things to think about now.”
“Of course, of course! You two should celebrate.”
Hugging Himiko, Kokichi kissed his way up her neck. He purred, “We already have.”
Himiko shoved him away. “We already had cake and– Did you just hug me with your dirty, trash hands?!”
“Uh oh!” Kokichi grabbed the trash bag and ran out the room. The front door slammed closed in his wake. He left to empty the trash. Their apartment complex had the trash dumpsters outside in the back-parking lot.
Shaking her head, Himiko returned to loading the dishwasher. “Well, we told Kokichi’s organization the other day.” Mrs. Yumeno didn’t know anything about DICE beyond Kokichi’s usual lies about his organization – such as having 10,000 members and being a global phenomenon. “Kokichi saved the news until the end of a very boring meeting. I think they’re going to get back at us with a surprise party after our meeting tomorrow. And Kokichi is determined to wiggle his way out of it.”
“What? Why on earth?”
“I don’t know, Mom. I only married the man; I don’t understand him. My guess is Kokichi doesn’t want them to get one over him by catching him off guard with a surprise party. Kokichi’s a pain that way.” Himiko closed the dishwasher and set it running. Frowning, she glanced at the front door Kokichi left from. “I think… I think Kokichi is scared of being a dad.”
“And that’s natural for any new parent. Just give him some time to process the news, honey. He’ll come around.”
“Yeah okay.”
“You can call me anytime – Oh, that’s your brother Mitsuo calling me. I better go. With him starting college two weeks ago, heaven only knows what might be wrong.”
“Okay, bye! Love you. Tell him I said hi.”
“I will. Bye, love you. Don’t forget to send me those ultrasound pictures!” She hung up.
Exhaling, Himiko gazed across the room. Next to the kitchen was a small living room consisting solely of a couch, coffee table, and TV on a stand. Doors led to their bedroom and a second room stuffed with props for Himiko’s magic shows. Walls bare of any photos and no personal items – a leftover from their days of traveling across the world and living out of two suitcases.
Himiko bit her lip. It’s so small and crammed here. This apartment is big enough for Kokichi and I, but a growing baby? Not that we were thinking about having kids later on when we bought this. Himiko clenched her hand. Not that we really talked about having kids at all…
Himiko shook her head clear of those thoughts. “Time for dessert.” She pulled out a cake pan from an overhead cabinet. Grabbed a chocolate cake mix from the cabinet at the other end of the corner kitchen.
Kokichi opened the front door. “Hey, Himiko!” After closing it, he came up beside her. “You’ll never believe what just happened to me! An assassin jumped out from behind a tree and tried to kill me! But I managed to fend them off and protect you. Aren’t you proud of me?” Kokichi waggled his eyebrows. “You should reward me with a big hug and nice looong kiss.”
Eyes narrowed, Himiko gazed at the counter. “Are you happy we’re having a baby?”
Kokichi blinked. “Huh? Of course I am. Why are you asking?”
“Well aside from agreeing that we wanted one or two kids, we haven’t really talked about having kids. Not in any detail or length. So I thought maybe you weren’t… so keen or enthusiastic about the idea.”
Frowning, Kokichi shrugged. “I don’t know I just… wasn’t thinking it would happen anytime soon? Like it would happen at some point. Someday. But not now. But what about you? Are you happy?”
Himiko held a fist over her chest. “Of course I am! I’m ecstatic. Being a mom one day is what I’ve always wanted.”
“See you got it easy.” Exhaling, Kokichi leaned against the fridge. “It’s just… people from good families don’t have to worry about being good parents.”
“What? I’m new to this too. There’s a lot I’m worried about! What if I–”
“No, that’s not what I meant. You know what I mean…” Scratching his head, Kokichi looked away.
Himiko hugged him. Rested her head on his shoulder. “I do. And hey, my family isn’t perfect either. You know what my dad did to my mom. How he had an affair and raised a second family.” Sighing, Himiko closed her eyes. “Only to die of an early heart attack leaving us to pick up the pieces without him.” Kokichi wrapped his arms around her. Rubbed a hand across her back.
Withdrawing slightly, Himiko looked up at Kokichi. “But I’m not leaving you and you’re not leaving me. We’re in this together. We’ll create a better childhood for our child than we had. You’ll see.” Himiko pecked his lips. “There’s your reward for protecting me against that assassin.”
Kokichi grinned.
Himiko waved Kokichi aside and opened the fridge behind him. She pulled out two eggs. “Fetch me the milk and some vanilla extract, will you? I’m making a cake.”
“What? Why? You already made one last week when you first told me you were pregnant. You figuring you’re already gonna get fat in six months so why not start now?”
Himiko glared. She pulled out a mixing bowl from a cabinet and forcefully set it down against the counter. “I’m making a cake for the DICE party tomorrow.”
Kokichi scowled. “I’m not going. Don’t wanna, can’t make me.”
Cracking the egg against the bowl, Himiko shot him a look. “Oh, don’t be like that. Let them celebrate this. Give them this chance to make you happy!”
Grabbing the milk, Kokichi mumbled, “Yeah well. It’s not a surprise party if I know about it. Wait. Holy shit, is this icing?” Kokichi pulled out a large container of chocolate icing from the fridge.
“Yeah, leftovers from the cake I made last week.”
“This is enough icing for a three-tiered wedding cake!” Kokichi slathered his finger with icing and ate it. “Eugh, this is awful. And, you know, your cake wasn’t any good either. Why don’t we just buy one?”
Jaw set, Himiko jammed the electric hand mixer in the batter. The machine groaned in protest. “Well maybe I wanted to get good at baking cakes. Since I want to make one every year for our child, not buy one. My mom always took the time to make a cake for us every year, even as she and Dad were fighting.”
Kokichi tasted another helping of icing. “Well, you’re gonna need a lot more practice because even with that sappy story this still tastes awful.”
Himiko threw a blob of icing at him. Gasping, Kokichi stepped back. He gaped at the brown staining his shirt. “Y-you…!” Kokichi grabbed a fistful of icing.
“No don’t you dare! AAH! You got it all in my hair! Oh, that’s it. You’re so getting cursed now. Give me that icing!”
“No!”
Himiko and Kokichi threw icing at each other, laughing and squealing all the while.
Yawning, Himiko padded out of the bedroom, a robe thrown over her pjs. Kokichi was sitting at the dinner table, intently writing something. Humming, Himiko draped herself over his back in a hug. “What are you doing…? Come to bed with me. It’s cold without you.”
Kokichi held up his paper. “I did some research. I’m writing down all the milestones of the baby’s development before birth. This way we won’t miss anything. Take a look.”
Himiko read the bulleted list.
“Conception – Sex, eye/hair color, facial features, height/weight, personality – all things controlled and influenced by genetics is determined
Day 18 – Heart starts beating
Week 6 – Facial features start to form
Week 9 – Baby’s first movements within uterus
Week 12 – Baby is fully formed with arms, legs, fingers, toes, and all organs.
Week 14 – Start of the second trimester, baby has fingerprints and starts sucking their thumb
Arm on the back of the chair, Kokichi smiled up at her. “And all these are within the first trimester.”
Himiko gasped. “Wow that’s amazing… to think that our baby was moving around and sucking their thumb and I had no idea. And day 18 the heart beats?! Since you don’t know you’re pregnant until you miss your period two weeks later, that’s gotta be earlier than most people realize their pregnant!”
“Preeetty neat, huh? There’s a lot of milestones I already check marked. He’s already achieved a lot since it’s week 14.”
Himiko raised a brow. “He? Hoping the baby will be a boy?”
“He, she whatever. I don’t care either way. I’m just…” Kokichi gazed in the distance. Whispered softly. “I’m happy to have a family again.”
Smiling, Himiko squeezed. “I’m happy and excited to see where these next six months will lead. Scared, but mostly happy and excited.”
Kokichi kissed her forehead. “Me too. Me too.” Hands on the table, Kokichi rose. “All right, back to bed.”
Before heading back, Kokichi tacked up the list on the refrigerator. He guided the yawning Himiko to bed by the hand.
The soft moonlight illuminated the list on the fridge. At the bottom Kokichi had drawn chibi drawing of himself and Himiko holding a baby, smiles all around.