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Being a mother-to-be had its perks as well as its downfalls. Initially it was the morning sickness that got to Makoto the most and made her wonder how in the world women without modern medicine could have handled it (concluding that they must have been superhumans, in that matter), but nowadays it was simply that the number of times she had to use the bathroom in a day exceeded the number of fingers she had to count. On the other hand, she was ravished with compliments and attention from left and right - everyone told her that she 'glowed' and attended to her as much as they fathomably could. This in itself was embarrassing at first, often using diversions to steer the topic in another direction, but after a while, Makoto learned to sort of relish in it. For once, she let others take care of her instead.
She was having a baby, and everyone firmly believed she would make a wonderful mom.
Of course, this wasn't all her own doing - another certain someone had taken part in the conception and was as equally qualified to be at the center of attention. Makoto's opinion was, though, it was because Rin was trying so, so hard to start well and start early, and Makoto had peeked over the top of her hardcover to sneak a glance at him trying to do just that for the third night in a row.
Rin was lying further down from where Makoto had herself propped up against a pillow, ear pressed right above her navel. A halo of soft light circled atop Rin's hair from the glow of Makoto's reading lamp, and she could feel the butterfly touch of his lips flutter against her as he muttered into her bare skin. His voice was soft and low, his hands massaging little circles where they laid on her. He himself was curled up in way reminiscent of child holding close a favorite toy or security blanket, and it was all Makoto took to prevent herself from reaching out and combing her fingers through his hair and make aware of her attention.
Rin was so engrossed in his conversation that Makoto didn't need to put in the extra effort to pretend to read should her husband suddenly glance up, so she simply laid there and smiled to herself as she listened.
"The guy didn't stand a chance against your dad," Makoto heard Rin say, his voice calm yet full of pride. "Beat him by 1.3 seconds. You were there, too, weren't you? Up with momma in the stands? I won for you, too, you know. Don't want you to think your pops is a pushover."
That made Makoto's grin widen and created an imagination in which that child would no doubt have her husband completely wrapped around their finger. Rin pressed a kiss to her navel, still seemingly unaware of her eavesdropping, and continued on about the competition. The conversation was aimless, really, being one-sided and all. Rin didn't seem to care.
Makoto zoned in and out between her own pensive thoughts and listening to what he was telling her womb. Rin went on to explain the different aspects of swimming (and that he was going to teach them how to swim one day), gradually taking the time to describe the world and what they'll get to look forward to when the come out. He even started talking about their old friends (that Haru is a freak but they'll get used to it but don't get him started on Nagisa, Jesus Christ), and some of his descriptions almost made Makoto burst in a fit of giggles.
The next moment, however, Rin's voice dropped to a much lower whisper. Makoto suddenly kept very still. She saw his head turn and watched as he pressed his face more fully against her stomach, feeling the warm softness of his lips against her stretch marks and the caresses of his strong hands.
She momentarily lost track of what he was saying, until she finally honed in and understood.
"It was snowing, and it was like I was watching cherry blossom petals fall all over again..." Rin's voice trailed off, lost in whatever nostalgic memory he resurfaced. His hands smoothed over the gooseflesh growing on Makoto's skin, silence overtaking the room. Even beyond the closed window under the dark sky, Makoto could hear the crickets sing to one another.
After another moment, when she thought that maybe he had fallen asleep, she heard him continue.
"We already graduated. I didn't think I'd see her for a long time, but I saw her... standing in the snow. She was crying, but I didn't know why."
Slowly, Makoto's heart seeped into her stomach, her smile waning.
"Turns out she couldn't find the stray she'd been taking care of," Makoto could feel Rin smile against her stomach, huffing warmly in a quiet laugh. "A white cat, of all things. And it was snowing. It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but we found her eventually."
Rin paused there and caught Makoto off guard when he looked up and suddenly met her with a gentle carmine gaze. His lips were quirked knowingly, and it wasn't until then that Makoto realized her fingers had found their way to his hair.
Voice newly saturated in affection, he continued: "I forgot some of the details, but I remember that that was the first time I kissed her." For posterity, he pressed a kiss to the nearest patch of skin, eyes still on her unwaveringly.
Heat dusted Makoto's cheeks. He smiled. "And here we are now."
The amount of things to say were limitless, the number of thoughts innumerable, but all of these were running through her mind without any means to snatch them and revel. Makoto wanted to laugh because Rin was such a hopeless romantic, and she wanted to cry because he was too good for her. She wanted to pull Rin close and let him tell her those stories again and relive the moments they found each other, but she wanted to let him be and listen to him tell these stories to the little life inside of her.
Makoto wanted to say something, but she didn't know if anything needed to be said at all.
Instead, she just laid there quietly, book utterly forgotten, fingers curled in his long hair, and watched as Rin's eyes fluttered closed as he returned to resting his cheek atop her body. Next thing she knew, he said all that needed to be said.
"I love you. I love you both so, so much."