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“I want another baby.”
Akihito thinks that Asami likes to spring things like this on him from time to time just to keep things exciting in their relationship. Funny enough, it’s always when he’s about to get into the shower. Something about their master bathroom allows his husband of ten years to use it as some kind of confessional or thinking room. Akihito also thinks it has something to do with him being mostly (if not completely) naked. He’s never figured it out but he has a hunch.
Akihito takes the bait though and turns his head around with a look of confusion because he clearly didn’t hear Asami correctly due to turning on the shower at the exact moment Asami started talking. “...What?”
Asami exhales a deep breath and repeats, a little slower and louder this time, so Akihito can hear him over the running water. “I want another baby.”
Akihito looks over his other shoulder to see if he’s being recorded because this is clearly a prank, but no one is standing at their bathroom door with a phone and a conspiring grin. He looks back over to Asami, who is looking sheepishly, perhaps even pensively at Akihito.
“What’s wrong with the two we have?” He asks, baffled.
His husband coughs, choking on his spit, clearly not expecting that question or reaction. It’s nice to know he can also trip up his husband now and then. Check. Mate. Bastard.
“Nothing is wrong with our children. I just.” He stops momentarily, clearly trying to come up with a valid reason but only repeats himself. “I want another baby.”
He turns off the water because this is a conversation that needs to be had and wasting water is never on the agenda. Akihito stares at him, “A baby?”
“Yes.”
“An actual baby?”
“Yes, Akihito. A baby.” Asami sighs.
Akihito stands there, tilting his head, still confused. “...a baby?” He asks a third time, squeaking a little at the end of the word, disbelief still strong in his voice.
Asami nods, his hands on hips as he confirms silently, that yes, he wants another baby.
“Are you sure it’s nothing wrong with the other two we have? I mean, know Chiro skips school to go visit his boyfriend every other week no matter how many times we tell him not to and Akane tends to use our phones to order whatever she wants without asking, but they’re kids! They don’t have a fully developed brain yet!” Akihito says, “They’re still good kids surprisingly since they belong to you and me.”
Asami sighs (what’s with all the sighing?), rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “I know they’re good kids and that’s not the issue, I just want another baby.”
Akihito clicks the back of his teeth with his tongue. “Asami, babies are tiny, fragile, crying, pooping, sleeping machines. They take time to grow up and become little kids and then young kids. And then scary teenagers. Which ours haven’t gotten to that stage yet and I think we should fear for our lives.” Akihito says, feeling a little panicked as he continues. “But Chiro and Akane, they can feed themselves–most of the time. As long as there are snacks and food already prepped in the kitchen. Better yet, they can dress themselves. They can go to the bathroom by themselves, which is honestly the best achievement! Neither of them needs diapers and we haven’t had a potty accident in years.”
Akihito releases a loud sigh as he rubs a hand over his face.
“I need a better reason, Asami, as to why you suddenly want to throw a new baby into our lives. Something more than just that you want another baby.” He gives Asami a look through his fingers and waits for his response. “Because if you just want something cute and tiny, I suggest we get a dog or a cat. Chiro’s been asking for a cat for weeks and I don’t think I can hold out much longer. He keeps sending me cat videos and it’s working”
Surprisingly, Asami seems embarrassed, his usual passive face blushing slightly as he looks away for a moment and shuffles his feet from side to side, something that their firstborn Ichiro does when he gets shy about something and mutters something under his breath.
Akihito raises an eyebrow, silently asking for Asami to repeat himself.
Asami groans in the back of his throat but speaks up. “They look like me.”
Akihito still needs clarification. “Huh?”
“Ichiro and Akane. They look like me.” Asami reiterates.
Akihito stands there a little dumbfounded before nodding slowly. “Yes. Yes, they do because you’re their father.” He replies slowly in case his husband has gone senile at forty-five.
“I want a baby that looks like you,” Asami states, ignoring Akihito’s confusion. “That 's why I want another baby.”
Akihito really should get his hearing checked after this conversation because he clearly does not understand anything his spouse is saying. “...what?” He asks, laughing a little in disbelief.
Asami walks up and tightly cups Akihito’s face with both of his hands so that Akihito’s cheeks are puffed up like a puffer fish. “I want a baby that looks like you. I want tiny little Akihito look-a-like in my arms looking back at me with your eyes and your nose and your smile.” He says again and kisses the top of Akihito’s nose.
Akihito raises an eyebrow. “Is this your attempt to seduce me, Ryuichi?”
“Yes,” Asami kisses him softly on the lips. “Is it working?” He asks before giving Akihito his signature smirk.
Akihito rolls his eyes, pushes his husband away, and turns to start the shower again. “I don’t know how to tell you this, honey , but I don’t get to decide how or what our baby looks like.” He reaches out to test the water and goes to remove his jeans and underwear. “If I did, I would have had a little more say so before I gave birth to your carbon copies down the hall.”
“I know that,” Asami says, leaning against the vanity sink as he watches Akihito wait for the water to warm up. Akihito also knows that Asami is staring at his ass because he’s been married to this man for years now. “But the third time’s the charm, right?”
Akihito says nothing as he steps into the shower, firmly closing the glass door behind him to prevent Asami from coming in with him. Thankfully, his husband doesn’t try to open it again but stands directly in front of the door so Akihito can hear him over the shower. “Look you don’t have to say yes at this exact moment,” Akihito scoffs which Asam ignores, “but I want you to think about it.”
Akihito suddenly opens the door, his wet face poking out of the door with a worried expression, “Is our relationship lacking in some way? Like did I do or didn’t do something and now you’re thinking that a new baby will fix it?”
Asami quickly reassured him, “No, no, my love. There’s nothing wrong with our relationship. I’ve just been thinking about this for a while and –”
“A while?” Akihito jumps in, “How long is “a while”?”
Asami pauses for a moment to think before releasing a shallow breath, “Two years…”
“Two years?!” Akihito repeats back, “Oh my…” He closes the shower door again.
“Better late than never?” Asami says awkwardly.
Akihito opens the door again, this time furiously scrubbing his hair with shampoo. He’s learned to multitask over the years. “You’ve been wanting a baby for two years and you’re now just telling me?”
“Well…I wanted to be sure that is what I wanted before I asked you,” Asami says, reaching his arm out to lean against the shower, his other arm resting against his hip. “And then when I was sure about wanting another baby, I didn’t know how to approach you…”
Akihito quirks an eyebrow, “You’ve never had a problem with telling me what you wanted or didn’t want.” Asami frowns at him but says nothing. “So why the hesitation?”
“Well,” He says, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “the last pregnancy was really hard on you.”
Akihito lets out a soft, ah . “Yeah, Akane did try to kill me.” That may have been a little dramatic but it was a rough pregnancy for Akihito. He was sick nearly every day at all times of the day which caused him to be borderline underweight during most of the pregnancy. He had no energy due to not eating and trying to take care of a toddler who wanted his attention nearly all the time was a mess that really hurt his pride as a parent. Asking for help was extremely difficult but when the safety of their son became an issue, they eventually hired a nanny/housekeeper for Ichiro because Akihito was so ill that he would wind up in bed most of the day.
Thank god for Hamoto-san, a true lifesaver for Akihito and the family. They still use her now and then for babysitting when Asami and Akihito want some alone time or a date night. The kids absolutely love her and she treated Akihito with such care during his pregnancy. Thanks to her, Akihito was able to rest and actually get some weight on him by the time he was ready to give birth.
It was a rough time for everyone, especially little Ichiro who just wanted his dad back. Thankfully, the actual birth process went well and Akihito was only in labor for a little under nine hours. With Ichiro, it took nearly a day of labor before he decided to come out. Asami’s carbon copy wanted to be born exactly a week from his father’s birthday. Akihito recovered well from both pregnancies, and all of his issues while he was pregnant with Akane, went away as soon as she was born.
Somehow, all the pain, illness, and fatigue made him love her even more when she was placed on his chest that sunny November afternoon.
Shit, now he’s getting emotional. He rinses out the shampoo to cover the mist forming in his eyes. He hears the shower door slide open just as the last bit of soap is removed, Akihito knows Asami has joined him in the shower.
“Saving water,” Asami says as he steps forward to get under the stream.
Akihito gives him a sarcastic hum but steps aside to allow his husband access to the shower. He grabs the washcloth and begins to soak it with soap and water as he thinks about what Asami is asking.
“It’s gonna be a big age gap,” He says, talking aloud as he begins to wash Asami’s broad back. “Chiro’s going to be ten, no – eleven if I’m able to get pregnant before the end of the year. Akane will be eight…”
Asami turns around, soaking his head under the shower for a moment before speaking. “I’m not trying to push you into having a baby right this second. I just felt that it was time to tell you what I’ve been thinking about. And if you decide that you don’t want to go through with another pregnancy, then we can get a dog. And a cat. And a parrot.”
“We’re not getting a parrot but I appreciate the option.”
“I just remembered hearing Chiro say he wanted to get one.”
“That’s because he wants to torment Akane since she finds them creepy after that classmate’s birthday party at the zoo last year.”
Asami nods as he processes the new information and laughs. Akihito rolls his eyes but smiles along.
A comfortable silence descends upon them as they work on finishing bathing and Akihito thinks about what Asami is saying and asking. A new baby would throw their current comfortable lives into chaos. Sleep schedules would be awful. They would have to start over from scratch in terms of items for a baby as Akihito had gotten rid of any baby items he had acquired for his two other children once they had grown out of it or no longer used. They might have to move into another apartment. Asami wouldn’t mind, as he is always itching to move to a newer place for a while and this baby thing is probably one of the reasons.
A baby…a new baby would be a lot of work. Babies are a lot of work, no matter if they’re cute when they laugh or pout or are experiencing something for the first time. Akihito would have to set up a whole new nursery for the baby…even though he really enjoyed nesting and making up the nursery when he had Ichiro and Akane. Though setting up the nursery, buying clothes, general supplies, the toys…none of that would be difficult. Their family has the money and Asami has little issue with spending it. Akihito has always been the more frugal of the two but when it comes to their children, he’s been known to put a dent or two into the joint account.
Financially they can afford another baby, multiple babies if Akihito had wanted to keep pushing them out. But a new baby…would be a very big change to their lives and Akihito
“I will…” Akihito says as Asami turns off the shower, “Think about it.”
Asami turns around and places a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to say yes,” Akihito warns.
“I know,” Asami says as he steps out of the shower, keeping the door open for Akihito. He even holds out his hand for Akihito so he can step out without worrying about slipping. He hands him a towel to dry off and then they begin to get dressed for the night.
“You know, if you want, we can do a practice run before din–” Asami doesn’t get a chance to complete his sentence before he feels one of the throw pillows from the bed colliding with his head.