Chapter Text
It’s been a long day.
It’s been an exhausting day for the married couple, Seishu Inui and Hajime Kokonoi.
Saliently, it’s the tenth year anniversary of Inui and Koko’s romantic relationship. After they both finished working at their jobs, they obviously went to celebrate by revisiting their old date spot, going back to their wedding venue and having deep conversations in front of it, and walking around a botanical garden. Of course, Koko could afford all of that.
But, it’s also the tenth anniversary of the “final battle” that happened between Tokyo Manji Gang and Kantou Manji Gang. The battle that turned Inui and Koko’s platonic relationship into a romantic one.
The most beautiful moment was when Koko said he will forget about Akane and told Seishu he will fall into hell with him.
Weeks after that, their romantic relationship blossomed. It’s where they had their official first kiss, first date, the loveliest conversations. Where there was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears due to them apologizing so many times. You name it.
Today, the two men are on their bed during the night, cuddling like any other couple after a long day. Koko sleepily crawled into bed with Inui, who is absorbed in a book. Koko lays his head on Inui’s shoulder, and begins to think, “Is there something missing in this precious home of ours?”
Koko is reading a page of Inui’s book and thinking about the missing thing simultaneously while lapsing into a deep slumber. Once Inui finds Koko asleep, he gently lays him down, covers him, and turns out the light. Inui, with the softest smile on his face, then puts himself in front of Koko to kiss his lips goodnight.
—
Oh.
Now Koko knows why his home with Inui doesn’t feel full.
It’s all because he wants to have a baby with Inui.
He wants to have children with the love of his life. Children. Children who will become adolescents, then grow into adults. Humans.
He’s afraid. This morning, a stupid thought made him think, “What if Inui divorces me for asking about having children again? The last time I asked was back when we were engaged four years ago.”
That day, Inui got silent when his significant other started talking about kids. Koko didn't know if he also wanted to start a family.
But fuck it. Koko is supposed to trust his husband, right? What could possibly go wrong?
To get this over with, Koko decides to enter the kitchen where Inui is preparing two bowls of fresh salad. Koko softly smiles at his beautiful husband wearing an apron and chopping tomatoes. At that moment, he wraps his arms around Inui’s waist and puts his lips on his right cheek to greet him.
“Hey, you,” Inui turns around to give Koko a soft smile and peck on his lips as a way to show some affection back.
“Hey, ‘Nupi. You cooking?”
“Yep. What are you doin’?”
As Koko moves a little further from Inui, he finally makes the move, “Just bored and shit. I wanna ask you something. I’ve been thinking about it since we’ve slept yesterday.”
“What is it?” Inui quirks an eyebrow.
Koko takes a deep breath to say the truth to Inui.
“I wanna have a baby. With you. I want us to start a family.”
With wide eyes, Inui silently stares at Koko and wonders what just happened. His shaking hands almost drop the white plate full of the salad he just prepared.
“Huh?! What did you just say, Koko?!”
Inui returned the question with his head tilted to Koko, whose cheeks are slightly red from embarrassment.
“…Want a baby,” Koko murmurs quietly, refusing to look at Inui. Damn. This is a bit harder than what Koko thought it was going to be.
“What, Koko?! Just say it!”
“GODDAMMIT, INUPI! I want to have a baby with you!”
Now Inui’s face is burning like an oven. Koko, who’s still a nervous wreck, speaks up to end the awkward silence.
“I want to start a family with you! To have a baby! Just the two of us! Together!”
“Erm…”
“I was very lost in thought. I started thinking about it when I knew there was something empty in our home. Thinking about you with our future kid just… makes me feel so fucking warm inside. I love seeing you with kids.”
For the past couple of years, with Koko co-working at the bike shop, he has seen Inui be very kind and patient with children who come to the shop with their parents, or sometimes alone. It made Koko’s heart swell seeing Inui high-five older kids and making babies on their strollers smile using a high-pitched voice.
It made Koko persistently have dreams about having kids with the love of his life. At first, he ignored them, but then they just kept going on and on. He didn’t know if Inui felt the same way.
Thanks to those dreams, they caused this specific conversation to happen in real life.
“Inupi, remember when I asked you about us having kids four years ago? Back when we were engaged?”
Inui is quiet, his face still red from the sudden question.
“Are you okay, Inupi?”
“No. It’s nothing. I got really fucking nervous that day when you asked. I’m sorry I didn’t… answer. I should’ve said something.”
An awkward silence follows yet again. Koko looks at Inui to make sure he is truly okay. Then, Koko breaks the stillness between them.
“I’ll give you some space, Inupi. Let me just-”
“Let’s do it.”
Koko gives Inui a big surprise look, his eyes being extremely wide open. “Huh?!”
“Well? Let’s have a kid,” Inui replies with a little giggle.
“That’s all? I thought you were gonna fight against it, ‘Nupi.”
“Did you think I was gonna punch you? Or do something worse to you?”
Inui and Koko glance at each other. For the third time, a sudden silence happens yet again, but immediately, the two beautiful men begin to chuckle.
“We’ve been through so much together, Koko, and you thought I was gonna file a divorce over asking for a baby?! You know I would die for you, Koko. You’re a madman,” Inui vocalizes with a grin, seconds after calming down.
“I was just fucking nervous! Of course I trust you! Geez! I’m amazed that you said yes quickly!”
Once Inui notices things have quieted down, he makes a suggestion. “Koko, I know this is sudden, but we can look for a surrogate.”
“Uh..?”
“Uh, Koko, I’m considering a surrogate… for us. We’re both financially well.”
“We won’t do adoption?”
“Well, I’d rather have a biological kid first,” Inui says as he scratches the back of his neck nervously.
“All right,” Koko huffs and puts a hand on his husband's left shoulder. “I'll go with your plan, but it makes me feel shitty because there's so many kids out there waiting to get adopted. It's fucking bad out there.”
“I agree, but I think it’ll be a bit easier for us to have a biological baby first. You won’t get a call saying that the kid won't be able to come home. I wouldn’t want us to get exhausted and sob over anything like that.”
Koko laughs a little. “But we're gonna get exhausted with this baby, even when we start taking parental leave.”
“Yeah, but it’ll be worth it, Koko. I believe in us. I believe we can do it. We’ll do something tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Ah.. yeah. In search of a surrogate. We need to eat first, though.”
“All right, then I believe in us too,” Koko answers, shifting to Inui’s side to give his cheek a big smooch.
—
The next day, Inui wakes up very early in the morning to do his online research for a surrogate to carry his and Koko’s child. Koko also gets up to go to his job as an economist, kissing Inui goodbye and letting the time pass by.
In the afternoon, Inui at last finds a surrogacy agency’s website that looks good with no bots or scammers. He keeps checking the whole page until he sees Koko’s return at the door.
“Hey, honey. Did you find something?” Koko waves.
“Yeah. I found this and I think it’s perfect for us,” Inui answers as he turns his laptop around to demonstrate the webpage to Koko.
Koko’s eyes widen. “Well, damn. That looks promising.”
Inui smiles. “It sure does. We can create our own profile and women will request to be our surrogates. Obviously, the lucky one will carry our baby.”
“What if no one wants to be our surrogate, Inupi? I wouldn’t know what to do in that situation,” Koko says half-nervously.
Inui makes eye contact with Koko and squeezes his shoulder with a grin. “I’m gonna describe us the best way possible in our profile, Koko. You’ll be so proud.”
That made Koko laugh and blush like a strawberry. “Cut that out, Inupi. So cheesy.”
The time passes, and Koko and Inui use that opportunity to sit down to come up with ideas for the profile. At nighttime, they finally upload their profile to the website, full of details about who they are as people and the wonderful, powerful reasons on why they want to become parents.
Inui and Koko, exhausted, fall asleep on their queen-size futon to wait for the request submissions they’ll possibly see tomorrow.
—
“Inupi!”
Inui feels a big, soft object whacking the side of his head.
The blond man looks up to see Koko acting like a child who’s getting ready for their first day of school, by hitting Inui’s face with a white pillow. “What a childish spouse,” Inui humorously thinks.
Finally sitting up, Inui rubs his eyes and asks softly, “What the hell are you doing to me?”
Koko couldn’t help but feel a little stressed after Inui asked that. “We slept too much, dummy! We haven’t eaten breakfast or looked for our surrogate yet!”
Oh. Right. Inui almost completely forgot about the surrogacy progress until now because of how heavy his sleep was. He mentally cusses at himself for doing that.
Inui scoots a little closer to Koko to kiss his lips. “I’m so sorry, baby. We can still do it today. Let’s just sit down and have some breakfast first.”
“It’s okay, Seishu, really. I’m really pumped for this and want to do it.”
After Inui and Koko ate as fast they could to quicken it up, Inui glances at the clock and sees it’s still the afternoon, meaning they‘re still on time.
Both men sit on their chairs in front of their living room table to lastly use Inui’s laptop, with the surrogacy search site still being open after yesterday.
When that webpage was completely open, Inui found his and Koko’s profile with the submitted biography and played his hunch. He is immediately greeted by over seventy requests from different women.
Yep. Over seventy requests.
There's an awkward pause as they try to ascertain the unexpected surprise, but then Koko breaks it.
“How did this… happen?” Koko asks, looking surprised.
Looking surprised as well, Inui answers with a shrug, “Well, I did think it was a serious website. We still need to be cautious. We only need to hope.”
Koko is quiet and reserved, carefully looking at the applications with Inui. He looks straight at the webpage to make sure everything is going fine.
Then, it becomes nighttime after a few hours pass, and the tired couple finds a profile that is hopefully run by a real person.
“What about this one, Koko? I think she looks like you,” Inui points at a picture.
Koko smirks a little, being ready to tease Inui. “Eh. Not really. You just think any woman with dark hair looks like me.”
“No, I don’t,” Inui looks slightly offended.
“Yes, you do, Inupi.”
“Fine. What about this one?”
Inui points at a photo of a woman with a pretty face, one of who submitted to be the surrogate. Her name is Hida Yuzuki.
In the photo, he sees her having dyed blonde hair, long eyebrows, and black eyes like Koko. She also has a sharp jawline like him. Her description says she’s in her twenties with no genetic disorders and has a healthy weight.
After staring at the screen for a minute, Koko says, “I think it would be great for that one to carry our child. I think she does look similar to me. Only a teensy bit.”
Koko is looking at the same woman as Inui, who sighs in relief.
“Do you want to do this, Koko? I can call the clinic later. To say we want to choose her.”
“Yes, Seishu,” Koko kisses Inui’s cheeks, “I want to do this… with you. I want to have a baby with you. Because I love you, Inupi.”
Inui’s ears and neck furiously blush at what Koko just said. Koko really does never fail to make Inui feel like the luckiest. He is so, so grateful to have Hajime Kokonoi as his husband.
Inui knows Koko is going to be the best father for their beautiful child.
—
Inui rises early as he stretches his arms and gets ready to prepare his morning coffee.
Fortunately, Inui got up just in time before obtaining any calls from the surrogate agency.
Later, he and Koko wait. They spend the day going to the supermarket to buy sushi and other food. While leisurely walking through the store, they had random conversations about making an infant bedroom and theorizing if their first baby is going to be a girl or a boy.
Once they return home with their items and put the bags down, Koko goes to another room and Inui’s cell phone rings.
Full of hope, Inui immediately presses the green button to answer.
“Hello. Is this Inui Seishu or Kokonoi Hajime?”
“Yes. This is Inui Seishu.”
“Hello, Inui Seishu. I’m calling from the fertility clinic,” Inui is shaking and turning pale, “to tell you and your spouse that one of our surrogates, named Hida Yuzuki, is officially interested. We will give you the contact information, such as her phone number, to be able to communicate with her.”
“Ye-Yes. Oh, my God. Thank you. Thank you so much for this,” Inui says haltingly, trying hard not to sob so the lady doesn’t hear it.
“You’re very welcome,” the female employee politely responds. She knows Inui is crying and is grinning softly because she’s extremely happy for him and his husband. Due to not wanting him to feel embarrassed, she doesn’t mention it. “I will send you her phone number and email address through text, okay? Have a great day, both of you!”
“Tha-Thank you! You too!” Inui expresses courteously and hangs up the call, out of breath from being so happy and wiping his falling tears.
“KOKO!”
Koko runs to the door with a worried look on his face. “Did something happen, Inupi?!”
Inui grabs Koko’s shoulders to shake him. “We have a surrogate, Koko! She said yes!”
“Are you fucking joking?!”
“No! We have our own surrogate, Koko! We’re having a baby soon!” Inui screams and jumps. He then kisses and hugs Koko, giving him the strongest love ever.
—
“I’m nervous, Inupi.”
“Why? You don’t have to be.”
Koko shrugs and does not answer his question. He and Inui are presently waiting for Yuzuki Hida at a small, fancy restaurant. Yesterday, the woman from the fertility clinic sent Yuzuki’s number and email address to Inui through text shortly after her phone conversation with him.
After telling Koko that Yuzuki accepted the offer, Inui called her the day ago. She told Inui she wanted to meet him and Koko at the restaurant and gave them the place’s address and the visiting time. Inui thought she was sweet and could tell she certainly loves to help people.
No more than twenty minutes later, Yuzuki arrives as promised. She opens the restaurant’s sliding door and then grins cherily when she sees Inui and Koko. The young woman has dyed blonde hair, dimples, is of average height, and has a pleasing smile. Koko sighs in relief, because his invasive thoughts made him wonder if she was going to be rude or not.
“Hello!” Yuzuki, who has a slightly high-pitched voice, greets Inui and Koko cheerfully, sitting on a seat in front of their table and shakes their hands. Pointing at the blond man, she asks, “You must be Inui…?”
“Inui Seishu,” Inui adds with a smile and affectionately rubs Koko’s shoulder. “And this is my husband, Kokonoi Hajime.”
“What’s up?” Koko waves to Yuzuki, offering his small grin.
“Ah! Awesome! Hello!” Yuzuki still smiles. “It’s so nice to meet you both. Your profile on the website really touched my heart. I’m here to talk about how we’re all gonna do the surrogacy process. You’re free to ask any question you want!”
The three of them discuss the commitment and process of surrogacy. Inui and Koko don’t really care if Yuzuki would rather have an egg donor or be the biological mother, but kindly, she lets the two men make that decision themselves. Inui and Koko both agree they don’t want an egg donor, and Yuzuki is okay with that. They all try to understand each other's feelings and points of view and talk over what can be done.
Yuzuki quietly tells Inui and Koko there are two types of surrogates, which are traditional surrogates and gestational surrogates. She explains how traditional surrogacy involves the woman who only gets artificially inseminated with the father's sperm, while gestational surrogacy gathers eggs from the mother (or an egg donor), fertilize them with sperm from the father (or a sperm donor), and place the embryo into the uterus of a gestational surrogate.
“Inupi and I prefer for you to be the traditional surrogate. We trust you very much,” Koko affirms and Inui nods in agreement.
Yuzuki smiles again and turns to Inui. “Okay! That’s awesome. Since you want me to be a traditional surrogate, all we have to do is use intrauterine insemination.”
“Intrauterine insemination?” Inui questions.
“It means they’re gonna have to directly insert one of your sperm into my womb. And if you’re gonna ask, no. There’s no sexual intercourse involved. It's absolutely not cheating. They’ll just use a tiny catheter,” Yuzuki noiselessly explains once again with a small giggle.
Like a teenager, Koko covers his mouth to let out a chuckle and looks to the other side, then he looks at Inui, who is just as red as a fresh tomato. Inui knew there was gonna have to be a talk about the fertility clinic using his or Koko’s spermatic fluid, but damn. It’s so awkward when someone talks about it out loud. He and Koko don’t know how Yuzuki can mention it so casually, but they don’t mind it.
After Koko and Inui talked to Yuzuki about what kind of parents they want to be, she instantly says she really does trust them as well, so it’s not likely she’s going to be anxious throughout the whole pregnancy. She’s grateful for wanting to help such a wonderful couple.
The three adults look at their clocks and the restaurant’s windows, realizing it’s almost the night, and since that’s happening, Yuzuki wants to ask one last question.
“Is it okay if I ask you guys a last question?”
Inui nods. “Sure. What about?”
“If you don’t mind me asking, have you both decided who’s going to be the biological father? As in whose sperm is going to be used…?”
Oh. Inui and Koko definitely didn’t discuss that.
“Oh, uh, we haven’t talked about it yet. It was just about surrogacy, but I do think Inupi should be th-”
Inui’s eyes widen and he covers Koko’s mouth right away, who furrows his brows in confusion.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Inui beams at Yuzuki, “and I think it’s time for us to go. It’s very late.”
Koko removes Inui’s palm from his mouth to say his final words to Yuzuki. “We’re so glad you helped us today. Really. Thank you so much.”
Yuzuki grins from ear to ear as her way to thank them. “You’re extremely welcome. I enjoyed our first conversation. The baby will be fine with you two. I know it. Just give me a call when you’re ready to do the insemination at the clinic.”
—
After they come back home, Inui and Koko settle down to take a break.
Both exhausted to the bone, Koko crawls to the bed to read a book while Inui makes some coffee. The green-eyed husband opens the bedroom door holding one cup of the drink and gazes at Koko.
Koko raises an eyebrow at Inupi, who gives him the cup. Afterwards, Koko finishes drinking and places it on the small table next to the bed, then instantaneously, Inui tosses a pillow to his head and sits next to him.
“Why the fuck did you just do that?!” Koko questions loudly.
“You did it to me first,” Inui replies sheepishly. “Koko, about what happened at the restaurant…”
“Yeah?” Koko frowns a little.
Inui swallows his throat. “What did you exactly mean when you said I should… be the biological father? That’s what you were trying to say, right?”
“…Yes,” Koko admits as he bites his bottom lip nervously.
“So, Koko, is there a certain reason why you said that? I’d just like to know.”
“You got a problem?” Koko raises an eyebrow for the second time, sarcastically this time.
Inui chuckles, hitting Koko’s shoulder playfully. “No, stupid! I just want to know!”
Koko’s grin fades away. “Fine. It’s kind of weird to say it now, but I want us to honor… Akane.”
“Huh?” Inui’s green eyes broaden.
“It means that we should honor Akane’s memory… by making our child have the same blood as their aunt. I know DNA doesn’t matter in a family, but I think it would be nice to do that for Akane. She deserves it,” Koko takes Inui’s free hand and squeezes it.
“But don’t get me wrong,” Koko laughs quietly and blushes, “I did want to forget Akane to give myself to you, and I will never break that promise, but it would be the best thing to do for her, you know? She was your sister and my friend. She deserved… a lot better than what happened to her.”
Being delightfully shocked, Inui nods in agreement. “Koko really grew as a person in the last ten years. I’m proud,” he thinks. “Uh, wow. That is really nice. I haven’t thought about doing that for Akane,” Inui sympathizes.
“You know what? I’m gonna do it. I want them to, uh, use my… sperm,” Inui utters awkwardly to Koko and wraps himself in the blankets.
“You’re such a doofus when you say it out loud, Inupi.”
“Am not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“But anyway, I’m grateful you told me that, Koko. Goodnight and I love you.”
“I love you, my honey,” Koko kisses Inui’s forehead after.
“I told you to stop calling me that.”
Koko laughs in his husky voice.
—
A week ago, Yuzuki texted Koko to tell him she was ovulating, meaning that her fallopian tubes were open and healthy for an IUI appointment this week.
At that moment, Inui and Koko contacted the fertility clinic, where they got Yuzuki from, right away. They immediately schedule the appointment for the intrauterine insemination.
So, today is the appointment.
Inui and Koko are both nervous, because they want this to go as smoothly as possible. They really, really want this baby.
Right now, Inui has his arm wrapped around Koko’s shoulders. Yesterday, he and Koko were signing formal legal work for the surrogacy, but today, they're both sitting in the doctors’ office, mentally begging for this procedure to become successful.
In one of the rooms, they’re inserting Inui’s washed sperm sample directly into the top of Yuzuki’s uterus. Koko didn’t want to go inside due to his phobia of needles and other medical instruments, so he’s here waiting with his Inupi.
“Inupi, stop shaking. I don’t wanna get nervous too,” Koko comments. “We’re gonna be parents. I know it will happen.”
“She’s not even pregnant right now and you’re certain this is going to work,” Inui replies with a smile. “I hope putting all this trust on the doctors is worth it.”
Koko laughs quietly. “Inupi, it’s gonna happen. You’ll see. We’ve been waiting way too long to be parents.”
“Koko, we’re still young. It’s fine to still-”
“Inui Seishu and Kokonoi Hajime?” a nurse asks as she opens the door.
Inui and Koko stand up, in a flash, to the room Yuzuki is in. She looks calm, and the doctor tells the two men to sit somewhere so she can talk to them.
“Hello! Nice to meet you. How are you two doing?” the female doctor asks Inui and Koko.
“Thanks. Nice to meet you too. We’re nervous, but good,” Inui answers. “Yeah. We’re fine,” Koko replies as well.
“The procedure is done,” the doctor begins. “What we hope for the outcome of the intrauterine insemination we just did to your surrogate is for the sperm to swim into the fallopian tube and fertilize a waiting egg, which results in pregnancy. She must wait two weeks before taking an at-home pregnancy test.”
The two men nod at the explanations and go home afterwards, thanking Yuzuki and the doctors.
Later that day, at night, they start cuddling on the bed as usual, with Koko lovingly looking at Inui.
I love you, Inupi. You’re gonna be an incredible father.
“Do you think it worked?”
“Huh?” Koko asks, snapping out of his thoughts.
“Do you think the procedure worked, Koko? I’m scared it didn’t. I didn’t mention anything, but I really want us to be parents, Koko. I’m usually patient, but I’m tired of waiting.”
Koko looks at the peaceful, whirling ceiling fan. “Inupi, I think it did. We may have to wait fourteen days, but I have a lot of hope. I believe in us, just like what you said that day.”
“…I like what you’re saying. It’s making me less nervous,” Inui voices. “I love you, Koko.”
“I love you too, Inupi.”
—
Two weeks have passed since the procedure.
On December 24, Koko and Inui settle down to eat their breakfast on the romantic day. Since today’s the day Yuzuki is supposed to take a pregnancy to know whether she's pregnant or not, the two men are wondering if she’s doing something about it. If they don’t get any responses, they’re thinking of calling her later.
Four hours later, being bored in the house, Inui’s phone’s text tone rings, and says there’s a message from Yuzuki.
“Hey, Inui! Tell Kokonoi to go to the front yard with you. I have something for you guys.”
“Who is it?” Koko walks in, stretching his body out due to the tiredness. Koko, wearing the glasses, gets shocked at the message from Yuzuki.
“Guess we have to check outside…?” Inui says curiously.
“Yeah.”
Smiling for hope, Inui and Koko look through their house’s front window, seeing Yuzuki with balloons and what looks to be a Christmas gift basket.
Inui and Koko both smile, immediately running to the door to greet Yuzuki and hug her.
“You’re back! How are you doing?!” Inui grins brightly at Yuzuki.
“I’m doing good and, oh, Merry Christmas Eve! The special gifts are inside of this basket. The hint is that they’re white and pink.”
Both Inui and Koko thank Yuzuki for the present, but raise eyebrows at what she just said about some “special gifts.” They’re both holding a brown gift basket that has fake hollies, candy, and stuffed animals, questioning what she meant by “white and pink.”
“You’re both so silly! They’re under the candies!” Yuzuki gives them two stick-looking items.
Inui and Koko look at the little white white sticks, wondering what they are, until they realize that each of them have two thick, clear pink lines.
It’s two positive pregnancy tests.
Inui and Koko’s hearts begin to race rapidly as they have a hard time believing if this is true or not.
“Shut the fuck up,” Inui utters inoffensively with his body looking frozen, making Yuzuki try hard not to laugh.
“This better not be a fucking joke, Inupi,” Koko responds half-seriously, still having the huge shock on his face, holding and looking at the two sticks.
As Koko also looks at Yuzuki for an answer, she shakes her head and giggles, basically telling him it’s not a joke at all.
“It’s not,” Inui’s lips shiver between a sob, “It’s really not, Koko.”
Koko claims, not believing this real-life situation and almost throws the sticks back into the basket, “This is not fucking true.”
“It’s true, Koko. We did it. She’s pregnant,” Inui assures, tears flowing down from his eyes fast like waterfalls.
“Am I dreaming, Inupi? Please tell me I’m fucking dreaming,” Koko asks with his right hand on his mouth, his brain making him think he’s not blinking from the shock. When his eyes begin to open and close, he instantly begins to cry.
Inui snorts messily with a red face before getting his lips ready to speak again. “No, Koko. We’re gonna be dads.”
Koko feels his tearful eyes widening with a burning sensation, as well as his eyelids flickering speedily.
“We’re gonna be dads…” Koko repeats warmly, holding Inui’s hand softly.
“Oh my fucking God, Inupi. Inupi…”
“We’re gonna be dads, Koko! We’re gonna be fucking dads! We’re gonna be motherfucking dads, Koko! She’s motherfucking pregnant!”
Inui screams as he shakes his loving husband’s shoulders robustly. He wraps his shivering, muscular arms around Koko’s body to let his tears flow on his shoulder. For a minute, they both cry and cry in each other’s arms as if they’re the only people in this world.
“We’re gonna have the best child in the whole world, Koko. We’re gonna be the best damn parents. We’re gonna be dads. We’re gonna have a baby, Koko!” Inui hiccups as he holds Koko’s face to make him look at him. “I am the happiest man in this goddamn world right now, Koko. We fucking did it.”
“You make me the happiest man in this world, Inupi. You saved my life. Hell, I think you and the baby are gonna make me die of a heart attack one day,” Koko answers with a chuckle and a smooch on Inui’s head.
“I’m so proud of us, babe. I know we can do it, no matter how hard it’ll get,” the blond man encourages as runs his fingers through his lover’s black hair.
“I love you so damn much, baby. I feel less worried thanks to having you by my side. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, Seishu. Thank you so much for everything. You’re my angel. My one and only.”
Before Inui can say “you’re welcome,” Koko rapidly pepper kisses on every part of his face. Smothering him, Koko gives him one strong hug as an addition to the affection.
Hilariously, Yuzuki fake coughs to remind Inui and Koko that she’s in front of them.
As an apology for almost forgetting her existence, Koko and Inui give Yuzuki a group hug as a way to thank her, but not too tight to not hurt the unborn child inside.
Inui and Koko put their palms on Yuzuki’s nonexistent belly. They both know Yuzuki has got quite a way to go before she’ll actually look pregnant and only has a clump of cells right now, but that doesn’t stop Koko from waving at and whispering sweet things to the lower stomach.
“Hey, little baby! It’s Daddy! Can’t wait to meet you! Papa and I are going to love you so much!”
“‘Papa’ and ‘Daddy’? You’re already coming up with names?” Inui questions, having a slight smile on his face.
“You’re the older one, no? So you’re Papa,” Koko speaks, still putting his palm on the nonexisting belly.
Inui snorts at Koko’s response, a little offended because he basically called him old. Being truthful, the thought of Inui calling himself “Papa” does make him feel elderly, but he doesn’t care as long as his child is happy.
Subsequently after being quiet, Yuzuki finally speaks up, rubbing her stomach with one hand. “I promise to take care of this baby. You both have been nothing but kind to me and it’s a pleasure to help. You’re both going to be wonderful parents.”
Inui responds, “No. Thank you for making our dream come true. You’re our savior, Yuzuki.”
—
After the pregnancy reveal party was over, Inui told his parents first. His mom squeals a little too loud, giving her son a jumpscare. He had to rapidly remove the cellphone from his ear. His dad was extremely happy, but was also dying of secondhand embarrassment.
All of this is happening while the now dads-to-be are sitting on their kotatsu.
When Koko called his parents, they sobbed with joy. They used to nag Koko on giving them a grandkid because they knew him and Inui were mentally and financially stable enough to start a family. Well, now they have it. Their dream just came true.
Once Inui and Koko posted about them expecting a baby using surrogate, their friends and other family members went nuts. They both received over five calls in ten minutes, making Koko lose his patience quite fast, but Takemichi and Hinata were congratulating them with so much joy in their voices. At least that made Inui and Koko calm down.
Yuzuki’s journey through pregnancy has officially begun, but for the first three weeks, she doesn’t feel a thing.
During the fourth week, she begins feeling the typical pregnancy symptoms such as peeing frequently, bloating, and feeling fatigued. Whenever she’s feeling a new symptom, she texts Inui and Koko to let them know she’s okay and says it’s normal during pregnancy. In addition, she tells Inui and Koko she’s beginning to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables to provide vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber, for the baby.
The texts help Inui and Koko to ease their anxieties and make them feel grateful to have Yuzuki as the surrogate.
Yuzuki endures morning sickness and metallic tastes in her mouth by the fifth week. She texts Inui and Koko to tell about, well, how she accidentally threw up on her backyard’s grass when watering the plants. Reading the message, Inui and Koko exchange a look of terror and disgust, feeling bad that Yuzuki has to go through this.
At six weeks, along with having period-like cramps and nausea, Yuzuki does her own research on how in this moment, Inui and Koko’s baby's heart is supposed to be beating. To make sure this is really happening, she books an ultrasound appointment for the next two weeks and lets the soon-to-be fathers know.
Inui and Koko can’t contain their excitement welling up inside of them! Emotionally, they hug and tell each other they’re so excited to hear their child’s heartbeat for the first time.
They pray for their baby to be all right with no complications. They would do anything for them to be healthy.
—
A week passes, and Yuzuki is eight weeks pregnant, which feels like a million years to Inui and Koko, but they’re jumping up and down with excitement in their loving home.
Man, they already love their baby so much.
“Hello to you, my love,” Koko hugs and kisses.
“Hi,” Inui moderately smiles, like mostly everyday. “You’re happy today.”
“Well, why would I not be happy, Inupi? You should be too. We’re gonna hear our baby’s heartbeat today.”
“Of course I’m happy too, but I’m hoping more for the baby to be in good health. I’m already a little nervous.”
Dammit, Inupi. Your nerves are contagious. Koko barely tries to cover his own nervousness, as he says, “Not gonna lie, I’m scared as well, but let’s just stay calm. There’s no use dying from worry.”
In his mind, Inui kindly disagrees because so many things could happen in a pregnancy, according to the internet horror stories he’s read in the past, but he brushes it off to not argue with Koko.
Inui’s cellphone rings, and sees it’s Yuzuki. He answers without hesitation. Yuzuki says she’s okay and is only waiting at a hospital radiology department for the ultrasound appointment and gives Inui the address of the edifice. Luckily, it’s really close to their home.
The men prepare to get there on time, grabbing their bags and keys before slipping their shoes on and turning their car on to go on the road. It takes them less than fifteen minutes to go to the building, and they go inside the department’s waiting room to fill their patient intake forms.
Inui and Koko have a seat next to Yuzuki, as all three of them wait a few minutes for their turn. A nurse calls out their names afterwards, and Inui is highly grateful he didn’t have to wait so many hours for the appointment.
Inui and Koko, along with Yuzuki, step into the room with an ultrasound machine that consists of a computer console, video monitor, and an attached transducer.
Koko is impressed by the room, but is terrified of the medical instruments.
Inui and Koko greet the technician and shake her hand. They sit on the two chairs that are against the room’s wall, then the female ultrasound technician speaks.
“Hello! They told me you two are the parents,” she points at Inui and Koko. “And you have a surrogate! How exciting! You both are very good-looking too!”
Inui and Koko look at each other, blushing. It’s not the first time they’ve gotten a comment like that from a stranger, but they feel pleased nevertheless.
Yuzuki lays on the exam table and the sonographer tells her to lift her shirt up, and when she does, the sonographer places a blue towel on top of the abdomen.
“We will do an abdominal ultrasound. The gel will possibly be cold,” the sonographer warns. She applies the special gel to Yuzuki’s abdomen. Surprisingly, though, the gel isn’t cold for Yuzuki at all.
The woman takes the transducer and presses it on Yuzuki’s belly, spreading around to look for the baby through the video monitor.
Inui is very scared, wondering if there’s a baby in the uterus at all or if something's wrong. He would never forgive himself if something happened.
A small number of minutes pass, and at last, the sonographer finds the fetus moving and its amniotic sac in good physical condition.
“Look! There’s your baby!” The technician points at the small fetus on the black and white screen. Getting emotional, Inui intertwines Koko’s nearest hand.
Due to the poor eyesight he suffers from, Koko’s eyes squint when looking at the unborn child. “It looks like a little booger.”
The comment makes Yuzuki and the technician laugh hysterically. Inui laughed too, but he wanted to punch Koko’s shoulder so bad for saying that.
The technician spreads the electrical wand again to show them what the baby looks like through the monitor. “Here we have the head. The shape looks very decent so far. Here’s the rest of the body with its legs and feet,” she keeps pointing at the screen.
Koko is the one who cries silently first, causing the technician to give him a white tissue right away. He already loves this tiny, growing baby that’s inside of Yuzuki’s body.
His and Inupi’s future child that’s growing and developing inside.
Koko can’t believe it all.
Inui’s eyes are watery as well, but he’s not crying yet.
“Do you all want to hear the heartbeat next?” The sonographer unintentionally snaps Koko out of his thoughts.
“Yes, please,” Inui and Koko answer together. Yuzuki nods.
“Alrighty then. Let’s do it.”
The three patients watch as the sonographer presses one button, then moves the wand to find the baby’s heart. She turns the audio on, then everyone hears loud pumping sounds.
All of Inui and Koko’s worries disappear instantly.
And they begin to sob. Tears flow from their eyes as they feel a lot of relief over their child having a healthy, functioning heart. The sonographer watches them with a smile as she’s very happy for them.
“I already love them so much, Koko,” a strangled cry escapes Inui’s body.
Koko wraps his arms around Inui, pulling him as close as she could. “Me too, Inupi.”
For one last time, the ultrasound technician moves the transducer to check on the baby again. “Congratulations! Your baby is officially moving! Your baby has a healthy heartbeat as well. The head is nearly the same size as the rest of the body. I’m very happy for the three of you.”
Before the technician leaves them alone to handle all the emotions they’re feeling right now, she gives Inui and Koko the fetal pictures of the ultrasound and, additionally, a DVD of the scan recording.
—
“We are not buying that, Koko.”
“Why not?”
Inui feels confronted. It’s all because Koko saw a big, over-the-top dress with white sheer fabric, blue sequins, and plastic rhinestones. Inui thinks it would be too itchy and uncomfortable for a toddler to wear, but Koko disagrees.
“Because there’s no way I’d let my kid wear something as lame as that,” Inui only answers.
“Then I’ll tell the baby that Papa is a very jealous person.”
Inui rolls his eyes jokingly. He was about to playfully argue back, until Koko got distracted seeing another baby outfit. “It’s gonna be a long day,” he thinks.
Yuzuki is in month five of the pregnancy, eighteen weeks exactly, and Inui and Koko thought it was a good idea to go shopping at a baby store inside their local mall. It’s been exhausting with the infant care classes they’ve been taking in the last couple of weeks, so they both wanted to do something fun and relaxing for once.
Inui and Koko would bring Yuzuki all sorts of gifts such as flowers and bath products. Because of her always texting them about her strange food cravings and mood swings, they wanted to give her the kindness she deserves to receive.
Not only for clothes, Inui and Koko are shopping for more items to add to the nursery they’re preparing for their baby.
Koko spots a white and pink stuffed dog on a shelf, smirking, thinking it’s perfect to add it as decoration to the baby’s room. “I think this puppy looks just like you; cute and pink.”
“Then I think this cat is you.”
Inui shows Koko a cat plush with the same color palette as the dog. Not caring about the money they’ll spend, Inui and Koko put the two plushes inside of the cart. They want their child to have some comfort with two toys that look similar to their parents. Taiju wasn’t wrong when he said they resemble a cat and a dog.
To not turn this fun shopping experience into boredom, they randomly begin discussing names. It’s fun until… Koko disagrees with something.
“What? No. That’s the most boring name I’ve ever heard,” Koko protests.
So far, Koko isn’t liking any of Inui’s name suggestions.
“I want our baby to have a flashy, elegant name.”
“We are not giving our baby a bizarre name,” Inui concernedly responds.
“I’m not talking about ugly names, dummy. I want us to give her a beautiful name. Something meaningful, because she’s our little miracle,” Koko says clearly.
“She?” Inui questions.
“I know it’ll be a girl, Inupi. I can feel it inside.”
“You won’t reject our baby if it turns out to be a boy, right?” Inui asks humorously… well, kind of.
“What the fuck?! No! Of course not! I don’t give a fuck about gender. I just can’t feel the baby being a boy. That’s all. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right. I don’t fucking know, but the truth is that I’d love our baby anyway. Boy or girl, it doesn’t matter.”
Having nothing to say, Inui responds, “I’m with you, Koko. Let’s just finish our shopping on time. We have work tomorrow.”
Deep down, Inui knows Koko secretly wants to have a baby girl, but would happily accept a baby boy too. He’s already thinking about Koko doing a baby girl’s hair and being her best friend.
In that child’s eyes, Koko would be the best father to them.
—
Since Inui and Koko have hung out with Yuzuki before, they’re doing it again due to wanting to bond with their baby that’s inside of her, and of course, she’s a good friend also. Yuzuki honestly doesn’t care about the baby being more important, because they’re the fathers after all.
Yuzuki, who is twenty-three weeks pregnant, is eating breakfast with Inui and Koko at her apartment, wearing a gray maternity shirt with long sleeves.
The baby is now the size of a grapefruit, but Yuzuki feels like she is suddenly the size of a bowling ball. She’s been seeing the noticeable changes in her belly growth in the past few weeks, feeling more pregnant and slowing down a bit.
Inui excuses himself to go to her bathroom for a short while. Yuzuki goes to get herself a snack from her fridge, but stands still and her eyes broaden when she feels a small flutter inside of her. She places her palm on her belly again and feels the small flutter again. The baby is kicking!
“Is there something wrong?” Koko asks, still sitting on his seat in front of the table.
“The baby’s kicking!” Yuzuki shouts, her palm still on her belly.
“Are you fucking kidding?!” Koko stands up and rushes to Yuzuki.
“No, I’m not!”
Koko places his ear and two hands on her abdomen. “Uh, I can’t hear anything.”
Yuzuki laughs lightly. “The baby kicks when it wants, silly.”
“I know, I know. I just want to hear the damn kick!” Koko’s ear is still on her belly.
“What’s going on?” A voice pops out, and it’s Inui’s.
“The baby just did its first kick, Inui!” Yuzuki excitedly tells him.
“No way?!” Inui runs to Yuzuki. Same as Koko, Inui puts his hand on Yuzuki’s abdomen.
“Great. Now my belly is surrounded,” Yuzuki thinks.
“Sad that you missed it, Inupi,” Koko teases his husband with a smile on his face, making him roll his eyes.
“Shut up.”
Minutes pass, and Inui and Koko sadly do not sense any kicks. They’re slowly giving up until their hands suddenly feel a motion.
Holy shit.
Inui’s lips tremble. “Koko, I… I think I just felt a kick. I think I just felt the baby.”
“I think I did too, Inupi.”
Once again, Yuzuki laughs lightly. “You two certainly felt a kick.”
With a cute wide smile, Inui replies, “We really felt the kick, Koko!”
As Koko lets go of Yuzuki’s abdomen, he murmurs, “We are so excited to meet you, angel. Papa and I will love you so goddamn much. You have no idea. You will be Daddy’s best girl, right? I can’t wait to meet you, sweet pea.”
Inui secretly whispers to Yuzuki, “He thinks the baby’s gonna be a girl.”
“I’ll buy you a motorcycle when you grow up, but don’t tell Papa. It’s a secret between us only,” Koko finishes giving his speech for his child.
Koko gets up, and Yuzuki feels a kick for the third time.
“I think your child actually listened to you. It kicked again,” Yuzuki tells Koko eagerly.
Koko almost cries, but somehow controls it. He won’t cry today. It’s been enough.
—
As Yuzuki enters the final weeks of pregnancy, Inui and Koko’s reality of having a baby starts to set in.
Since it’s a good time to finally prepare, Inui and Koko recently bought a crib, where their baby will nap on in a few months, and materials to design the room.
Inui wanted the room’s walls to be pink at first, but Koko suggested that the baby shouldn’t grow up with gender roles, so they painted it with light blue instead. They additionally added pastel colors to the walls and put expensive decorations on the shelves to not lack variety.
Inui and Koko were on the same wavelength and had a lot of fun decorating the room over the first two days. The day after, they went on a tour of the hospital's labour, where their baby will be born, and the delivery unit.
They got a better idea of what to expect when they’ll be in the hospital with Yuzuki, but Koko, like always, is still terrified of medical instruments.
During these last months, Yuzuki is making sure to take good care of herself. She pays attention to what her body needs, as tiring as it is. She often feels so fatigued with her round, medium-sized belly causing back pain. Her sleeping schedule is not too poor, but the baby has been moving too much at night.
“Can’t wait to get you out of me,” Yuzuki rubs her abdomen, as she’s eating cereal in her apartment.
During the thirty-third week, Inui and Koko pick the two gendered names for their baby, but choose to not know the baby’s sex until birth, as a result of Koko wanting to make things even more “special.”
Inui disagrees at the beginning, but when he read an article about the benefits of being surprised by the baby’s sex at birth, he now would love give it a try with Koko when that specific day comes.
Their friends and parents complained. They nagged Inui and Koko for days because they wanted to know if the baby is male or female, but ultimately stopped.
Throughout the thirty-sixth week of the pregnancy, Inui and Koko offered to visit Yuzuki more often at her apartment during four weeks to keep an eye on her and the growing baby that will be welcomed to the world soon.
So far, Yuzuki has been feeling much better than before. She will be taking a break from her work until the birth happens. Her breathing is more stable at this rate and she is no longer having morning sickness, but sometimes feels the baby’s head putting pressure on her cervix, which is quite uncomfortable.
They’ve been going to more ultrasounds and checkups. Up to this point, Yuzuki and the baby seem very healthy.
She’s grateful for Inui and Koko, who are so sweet to her. They bring her gifts almost everyday, mostly purses and beauty products, even when she keeps telling them they don’t have to.
Inui and Koko feel so much happiness for their baby coming soon. They have a lot of fun preparing their hospital bags and chatting about what could happen during the birth, while also feeling pretty nervous.
They really feel their bodies could burst from excessive excitement at any time.
—
Three days before the due date, Yuzuki wakes up at eight in the morning to prepare her breakfast, but before she could even open the fridge, a sudden spurt of warm liquid gushes everywhere in her legs.
It takes a minute for her to comprehend fully that her water is breaking, or: her amniotic sac has ruptured and the baby is almost ready to be born.
By staying calm, Yuzuki calls Inui and Koko to explain the current situation to them and says she wants them to pick her up from in front of her apartment to drive her to the hospital, as they’ve planned before.
“Shit! Fuck! We need to go, Koko!” Inui picks up the baby hospital bag and the rest of the items he wants to bring. He then sees Koko struggling to put his pants on.
“Koko, we need to go!”
“I’m coming, dumbass!”
Koko and Inui make their way over to the car. As they get inside, they squeeze each other’s hands because they’re both excited for their baby to finally come.
They’re finally going to be parents!
Fortunately, Yuzuki lives quite close to Koko and Inui, so they pick her up just in time. She lays in the back of the car with blankets under her, and hasn’t been feeling any pain so far.
“Are you okay?” Koko asks.
“Yeah. I’m not feeling any pain. It’s just… it’s leaking uncontrollably. I feel like I’m peeing,” Yuzuki calmly describes, rubbing her big belly that will soon be empty.
“And the baby’s kicking a lot!”
“We’re almost there, Yuzuki. Just hold on,” Inui tells the woman, being genuinely caring.
They arrive at the hospital. Inui signs some papers and Koko politely makes Yuzuki hold onto his shoulder in case she collapses or anything else. A nurse puts Yuzuki on a wheelchair to put a light pink hospital gown on her and take her to the nearest available room, with Inui and Koko following along.
She puts Yuzuki on a bed, who’s scared as she cringes at the first contraction that rips through her body. The nurse gets ready to monitor the labor and the baby's heart rate, either once per hour or continuously.
“It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay,” Inui comforts Yuzuki by rubbing her back and squeezing her hand, just like what he does with Koko. He pulls away for a second to place some large pillows behind her to support her back.
“Thank you, Inui. This means a lot,” Yuzuki smiles.
Since the obstetrician is in charge of the delivery, she looks at Yuzuki’s cervix to see if she’s in active labor.
“You are three centimeters dilated. That means you’re in active labor, but this phase typically lasts from three to five hours,” the obstetrician says sympathetically. “Evidently, you must wait.”
“Oh, God,” Yuzuki expresses in disbelief, grinning nervously.
“It’s gonna be fine,” Koko tries to comfort her. “You’re strong. You can do this. Just try to get some sleep.”
Yuzuki nods and smiles at Koko. As there isn’t any distress yet, she lifts her hair up to get ready for sleep and moves her pillows to be comfortable. The obstetrician fastens two transducers to her abdomen to continuously monitor Yuzuki’s contractions and the baby’s heartbeat during labor.
The ultrasound probe is sending the sounds of the baby’s heart to a computer, and Inui and Koko think it sounds like a galloping horse. They are so relieved to know that the baby’s heart sounds healthy up to this point.
Five hours go by, and the obstetrician checks Yuzuki’s cervix once again. “You’re eight centimeters dilated. It’s gonna happen soon.”
Yuzuki doesn’t enjoy it very much, but she’ll have to get used to Inui and Koko looking at her “private parts.”
“You hear that?! It’s all gonna be done soon,” Inui talks to Yuzuki softly, patting her shoulder as a way to motivate her.
“Yeah,” Yuzuki drowsily thanks Inui.
Five more hours later, the obstetrician confirms that Yuzuki is officially ten centimeters dilated and will have to give birth.
“Fuck,” Yuzuki says in fear, feeling her contractions becoming stronger and closer together. “My legs hurt so bad.”
“That’s okay, honey. It’s very normal. Just count and breathe,” the obstetrician encourages her. “You will need to start pushing. In case you feel nauseated, we prepared a bag and put it next to your bed.”
“You can do this,” Inui squeezes Yuzuki’s hand and she nods.
“I know you can do it. I believe in you, Yuzuki,” Koko squeezes Yuzuki’s other hand as well, giving her an encouraging smile.
The obstetrician instructs, “Now, I need you both to hold Yuzuki’s hand to support her, all right? Yuzuki is going to clench both of your hands to help get through the pain.”
Truthfully, Koko is scared, and though it may be foolish, because he’s not the one pushing a baby out of his body, the room’s intensity is making his hands shake. With very wide eyes, he feels the sweat start to form on his forehead as he sees Yuzuki with her open legs.
“Hey! You’re not the one giving birth!” Yuzuki teasefully hits Koko’s arm because she notices his shaking.
“Sorry!” Koko nervously runs a hand through his hair.
Inui looks at Koko with his recognizable shiny eyes, like a puppy. “Are you okay, Koko?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just scared,” Koko shakes it off. “I can do this.”
“Okay. That’s good,” the obstetrician smiles. “The nurses will make Yuzuki’s legs stay open to help get the baby out. Like I said before, you both will just hold her hands.”
“Understood,” Inui answers and Koko only nods.
“I’m ready,” Yuzuki informs everyone.
The female doctor positions herself in front of Yuzuki. “When you feel the next contraction, you have to push as much as you can until it’s over, okay?”
Yuzuki does what she’s told to do, beginning to push after a contraction hits.
“You’re already doing so good, Yuzuki,” Inui tells her with full concentration.
Yuzuki lets out a gasp of air as the contraction stops. “Keep breathing. You’re doing good,” the midwife says.
“I think… I think I can feel the baby,” Yuzuki tells everyone.
“The head is almost coming out. This is the part where you have to try your hardest. After this, everything will be easier.”
Following a second contraction, Yuzuki pushes again with all her might to get the baby’s head out, and successfully does it.
Inui and Koko are astonished to see the baby’s face coming out of a vagina with so, so much blood and white, grease-like coating. Their jaws fall down to the floor, because this is definitely one hell of an experience they’ll never forget.
“Push again. The little one’s chest needs to be out,” the female obstetrician instructs.
Yuzuki’s body shivers, trying to hold onto Inui and Koko tightly. She pushes for the third time, and sees the baby’s now visible chest.
“I really want this baby out of me now,” Yuzuki mumbles.
“Just one more time, okay? Push so I can remove the rest of the body.”
As the midwife supports the baby’s neck, Yuzuki’s twitching body does a fourth and final push, releasing the legs and feet. A placenta additionally splashes out, along with sounds of extreme loud, piercing screams coming out of a newborn.
“It’s a girl! Congratulations!” the nurses cheer and clap with joy, with the obstetrician holding the crying baby girl and showing her to the frozen fathers.
Inui and Koko think they’re hearing the most beautiful sound in the world. A sound that is far more beautiful than pumping heartbeats.
The most beautiful sound of their newborn daughter crying with great energy.
The most beautiful human they’ve ever seen is their daughter looking blood, pink, and being covered in goop.
A nurse asks, “Do any of you want to cut your daughter’s umbilical cord?”
Inui sees Koko pausing himself to take a deep breath. He tells Inui to do it because he’s the reason why their daughter is born.
The nurse gives Inui a scissor, and he cuts his and Koko’s daughter’s umbilical cord with the proudest smile on his face.
The baby girl is still screaming at the top of her lungs with no signs of stopping, and a nurse carefully takes her for a cleanup, with the protective papa, Inui, standing next to her. She puts a diaper on the baby and finishes by wrapping her up in a blanket and placing a cute, small hat on the top of her head.
The woman places the wailing baby girl on Inui’s waiting arms, and somehow, her screaming has turned into whimpers. Her green eyes stare at her papa with wonder, and Inui’s mouth agapes at how his daughter just calmed down instantly thanks to him.
“Looks like your daughter already loves you,” the nurse presses Inui’s shoulder affectionately. “You’re free to be alone with your husband.”
“Thank you,” Inui whispers to the nurse, who walks away to leave him alone. “And we’re on our way to see Daddy and Aunt Yuzuki, hm? They really want to see you too,” Inui says to the baby, rubbing his nose against hers and kissing her forehead.
Inui walks over to Yuzuki, her sleepy eyes opening again as she sees him.
“You’re a warrior,” Inui hugs her with one arm to not harm the baby. “You deserve all the money and gifts from us. How do we thank you enough?”
Yuzuki giggles. “I did this for you and him. It’s enough for me.”
“You’re welcome to visit us anytime,” Inui squeezes her hand and Yuzuki smiles back at him, then gets ready to fall asleep.
Inui eventually walks over to Koko, and as expected, he sees him crying waterfalls.
When Koko notices Inui with the baby girl in his arms, he immediately says with a bit of seriousness, “Let me guess. You’re here to make fun of me.”
Inui tries not to snort to not make his daughter cry. “No. Your daughter needs you, or maybe not.”
“Okay, okay. I’m kidding. Give her to me,” Koko stretches out his arms and takes his daughter into his warmth.
This time, the baby becomes totally quiet when Koko holds her for the first time. She’s not whimpering or crying, being too quiet. Teary-eyed, Koko looks at his daughter’s beautiful green eyes and his finger caresses her cheek, but suddenly, she grasps her daddy’s finger using her fist. Of course, Koko begins to sob again.
With a teasing smile, Inui says, “Your hormones are messing with you today.”
“Be quiet. I fucking love her,” Koko whispers to Inui lightheartedly. “I fu-fucking told you she was gonna be a girl, Inupi. Our little girl.”
“Don’t cuss,” Inui reminds him, smiling because he has no time to be mad, but is getting a little emotional like Koko too.
“I don’t give a fuck,” Koko jokes and squeezes Inui’s hand. “I love her so much. She looks identical to you.”
“Inupi, I know we picked another name before, but I want us to name her Himari. She reminds me of a flower.”
“Himari? I like it. We didn’t think about it before.”
“She’s our Himari. It means ‘sunflower’ and… she’s our little flower. Inui Himari.” Koko speaks, roughly rubbing his eyes.
“It’s perfect, Koko. Her eyes remind me of a forest.”
“You’re right. Inui,” Koko is still staring at his daughter caressing her soft cheek, as she’s slowly falling asleep, “I love you. Thank you for giving me Himari. I know we can take care of her. I believe in our little family.”
Inui moves to kiss Koko’s lips. “I love you too, Koko. I love you both so much.”