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~🍼~
Teruteru sighed as he popped the last dirty plate into the dishwasher and closed it, wincing from the pain in his lower back and legs as he moved back upwards from his leaning position.
“Dat’s da last time ah’m packin’ away da dishes,” he grumbled to himself as he walked away. “Not until da l’il bun is done bakin’ anyway.”
The chef looked down at himself, where the first thing he saw was his chubby belly, now visibly swollen thanks to the changes his body was going through.
In fact, that swollen belly of his was housing something so small, so precious; his unborn daughter.
Teruteru smiled to himself as he placed a hand on his baby bump, rubbing it gently as he walked over to the restaurant’s dining area.
Upon heading into the dining area, Teruteru briefly stopped to look down at himself again. Though his belly was swollen and slowly growing over the days that passed, he was surprised that he could still see half of his feet, the black slip-ons he was wearing.
However, he knew it would not be long before his belly grew more, and his feet would disappear under the size of his bump.
The chef looked back up and looked around - bringing himself back from his thoughts - until his eyes fell upon the couches set up near the windows.
Teruteru headed over to the couches - again wincing at the pain in his back and legs - and sat down on one of them, breathing a sigh of relief as he felt the soft plush cushions caressing his body like a hug.
He fluffed up and adjusted some of the pillows on the couch and, feeling sore, he laid down on his back, elevating his swollen little feet on a small pile of pillows, taking pressure off of them.
Once the chef was sure he was comfortable, he turned towards the windows, his gaze focused on the night sky.
Tonight was quite peaceful; the sky, although dark, was lit up with thousands of tiny stars, and the air was filled with the sounds of owls, crickets and the ocean waves crashing against sandy shores.
Each star in the sky represented a miracle, a wish, a desire, a dream…
…just like the growing baby girl in Teruteru’s belly.
While glancing up at the starry sky, he moved one hand to his bump and the other towards his chest (he used the latter hand to rub; heartburn sucked), thinking about everything that led up to this moment in time, even months before.
Teruteru could hardly believe that he found out a month and a half after he fell pregnant; before then, he had been throwing up, sleeping a lot and generally feeling like he got hit by a truck.
Despite the obvious symptoms, however, he boiled it down to food poisoning or a stomach bug, since some of the women on the island - Sonia and Peko - had been experiencing the same symptoms. Heavens, even Nagito experienced the same symptoms too!
But when the women started taking pregnancy tests and they all came back positive, Teruteru’s partner urged him to do the same, mentioning that Nagito would also be taking one.
And that’s what he did; the chef took a - no, three - pregnancy tests, almost in slight disbelief at what his partner told him…
He was in shock and even more disbelief when all three pregnancy tests came back positive.
Initially, Teruteru was confused, nervous, scared and unsure of what to say or do; him? With a baby? How was that even possible? Although it was his dream to have a child, he still felt like an unsuitable parent. He could not possibly raise a child, right?
But when he saw the overjoyed reactions of the women and even the mellowed down happiness from Nagito, Teruteru pulled himself together and told his partner about the positive pregnancy tests.
Needless to say, Teruteru’s partner was overjoyed upon hearing about his pregnancy, happy that they could now start the family they both wanted.
Teruteru’s worries eased off as well, and he was just as happy and overjoyed as his partner. While there were a few toddlers on the island, this unborn baby would be his first, and he could not wait to experience the journey of growing a baby.
And as for initially assuming his early pregnancy symptoms were some gastrointestinal illness, Teruteru felt a little silly looking back at it, but at least he could laugh about it now. Or cry over it... or even scream about it. That entirely depended on all those "lovely" hormones.
Of course, being pregnant had its ups and downs. He was still terribly sick and tired to the point where he could not do anything other than lie down throughout the first trimester, and although he started feeling better by the second trimester, he was still hit with body aches and weird cravings… like those honey-covered ham slices he had for today’s lunch.
Despite all those woes Teruteru experienced, however, being pregnant also brought along beautiful things. He loved getting the ultrasounds, hearing his baby’s heartbeat… he even had a gender reveal party a few weeks ago, where he happily revealed to be having a girl (he had always wanted a daughter).
There was also his growing baby belly; early in his pregnancy, the chef did not expect to change much, since he already had a chubby build. Yet as the weeks progressed, his belly got bigger to the point where he needed new clothes, which easily explained the long red chef coat and the maternity jeans he was currently wearing. The bigger belly came as a surprise to Teruteru, but it was a lovely surprise, nonetheless.
The baby even started to move a few weeks back; those first little flutters also came as a surprise to Teruteru, who felt them while baking brownies. At first, he thought those flutters were “something else”, but after feeling those movements again, he was more than overjoyed and even a little emotional.
There was plenty to look forward to in the future as well now that he was - as of today - at the halfway mark of his pregnancy, such as the baby shower, and eventually the birth of his daughter.
The chef’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a small squirm inside his belly, prompting him to look back in front of him.
Knowing that it was his baby girl moving again, Teruteru carefully lifted up his shirt - his belly adorned with bright red stretch marks - and gently cradled his bump, rubbing it with his right hand.
“Hey, mah l’il bun… mah l’il princess…!” Teruteru softly spoke to his bump as he rubbed it. “Havin’ fun in dere, suga’ pie?”
The chef felt another little squirm in his belly, causing him to chuckle a little from how ticklish it felt.
“Well, yer definitely an active l’il girlie in dere, ain’t ya?” Teruteru spoke to his bump again. “Ah… I can’t wait to meet ya, l’il bun! Just four more months ta’ go and den yer in mah arms…”
But Teruteru did not want to wait for four more months; deep down, he was fed up with all the pains and ailments caused by the joys of pregnancy, all he wanted to do was speed up the process and meet his baby now.
Of course, he knew he still had to be patient, since his baby needed more time to grow before entering the world. The round ligament pains he was experiencing were a sign that his belly, and - very likely - the baby, were going to get bigger in the future.
Besides, he wanted to make the most of his pregnancy, even with the pains that came with it.
The baby started squirming in her “mother”’s belly again, causing him to chuckle even more.
“Oh~! Dat tickles~!” Teruteru laughed a little as he cradled and rubbed his baby bump, feeling his baby girl’s fluttering movements.
Now that was something the chef was definitely going to make the most of: his baby’s fluttering movements. He remembered Mikan telling him that as his baby grows bigger, her movements would become stronger and more painful.
Teruteru could not possibly imagine his baby’s kicks becoming stronger, and the likelihood of him being kept up at night by those painful jabs, but he knew it would have to happen eventually.
Teruteru then turned back to look at the sky - still cradling his belly and feeling his baby girl’s squirms and flutters - and began thinking about his life; past, present and future.
He then turned back to his baby bump and smiled. “Ah’ve said dis many times before,” he said while gently rubbing his bump. “But, although we haven’t met yet, ah love ya… and yer papa loves ya too…” He then pulled a sad smile. “And momma… she… she would’a loved ya too…”
The chef gasped a little as he felt his baby squirming a little quicker this time, almost like she was telling him not to worry about anything. Whatever happened was in the past now, even if it was painful to think about.
“Mmh… don’ worry, l’il bun,” Teruteru whispered, gently rubbing his belly. “Ah won’ dwell on what happened… besides, ah’m not da person ah was before. Ah’m better, ah’m improvin’ mahself… for e’erywun here, for mah love… an’ especially for you, mah darlin’ princess.”
He absentmindedly traced the stretch marks on his belly with his finger, sighing a little. “Besides, ah want ya ta’ come into dis world surrounded by love an’ happiness…” he continued. “Dat’s what ya want too, right?”
Again, the chef felt those tiny little flutters, which he took as a small affirmation from his baby girl.
“Heh, ah’m glad ya think so, l’il bun…!” Teruteru chuckled, hands cradling his active baby bump. He took a moment to wipe a small tear away from his eye, which made him realise he had been getting emotional again.
The chef took his mind off his tragic past by thinking about something else, his thoughts completely changing to food... but he had just cleaned the kitchen, and he did not want to have to go through the pain of cleaning up again.
Luckily, the food he was craving right now could be bought from Rocketpunch Market, which was somehow open for all twenty-four hours, including late at night.
“Well, ah’m gunna get mahself some shaved ice from da market,” Teruteru said to himself before looking back down at his belly. “What’d’ya think, l’il bun? Do ya also want some?”
Though he knew his unborn baby could not yet understand her “mother”’s words, she once again gave another little squirm, which Teruteru took as her way of saying “yes”. ❤️
~🍼~