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~☀️~
Teruteru breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his body make contact with the pool water, cooling him off from the island’s blazing sun. He sat on the edge of the wading pool, the cool water caressing his body like a hug.
He was relieved that the islanders chose to build a wading pool a few years back; not only did the toddlers have a place to swim, but so did the pregnant people - along with anyone else who did not feel like doing any heavy swimming in the main pool.
In fact, Teruteru was one of those pregnant people, and he did not just come to the wading pool to cool off.
He had been feeling sore all day; his back, his hips, his legs, and the round ligament pains in his belly had been bothering him to the point where he could not get comfortable (not to mention he was at the point of tears from all the discomforts).
It had gotten to the point where one of his friends, Nekomaru, suggested the idea of sitting in the wading pool for a while, saying that it would help bring him relief for those awful pregnancy pains…
…and it did. The moment the chef had stepped into that wading pool and sat down, he felt those aches and pains melting into nothingness, giving him much-needed relief.
Teruteru laid back in the pool and gazed up at the bright blue sky, his mind drifting to everything that happened over the past month.
So much had happened during the past month; not only did he have his gender reveal party, but he also finally got to work on setting up his baby’s nursery the week before.
He ended up buying a lot of baby products and furniture from Rocketpunch Market - almost to the point of leaving the stock low - and set everything up with the help of his friends and his partner.
Of course, Teruteru’s friends and partner helped him in setting up the nursery, especially since they did not want the chef to do all the hard work himself. However, the chef was more than grateful for that, since the pregnancy pains had been - metaphorically - killing him.
Aside from that, not much else happened, but Mikan did tell him at an appointment a few days ago that Teruteru’s baby girl was developing nicely, and now that he was 25 weeks pregnant, the baby was at a stage where her little lungs were getting stronger.
The chef gently placed his hands on his growing baby bump, thinking about his unborn baby girl and how much she had been growing over the past few months.
Even after being pregnant for six months, Teruteru still could not believe he had a tiny little baby growing in his belly; a living, breathing baby with a tiny little beating heart, and in another three months, he would finally get to meet her.
And despite all the troubles, anxiety and even impatience he experienced throughout his pregnancy journey so far, he was still excited to meet his baby girl!
The chef then felt a “popping” sensation inside his belly and - knowing it was his baby girl moving around again - looked down, catching sight of his baby “bouncing” around inside.
“Hello again, mah l’il bun, mah l’il dumplin’…!” Teruteru softly spoke to his baby bump as he gently rubbed it. “How are ya doin’ in dere, l’il princess?”
The baby girl made a few more kicks, causing the chef to chuckle from the ticklish “bouncing” feeling inside his belly. Funnily enough, Teruteru had noticed that his baby girl moved a lot whenever he was in water.
“Mhmhm~ That tickles~!” the chef laughed as he cradled his baby bump. “Ah kin tell yer enjoyin’ da water just as much as ah am!” He patted his belly with his right hand. “Ya keep havin’ fun, l’il bun! Momma’s just gunna lay down for a bit…”
Teruteru laid back in the wading pool, sighing contentedly as he rubbed his baby bump, thinking about his life - past, present and future - and how far he had come.
Now that he was three months away from having his daughter, he could hardly believe it; he had a complete nursery for his baby girl thanks to the help of his friends and partner - a very beautiful princess style nursery all in the colours pink and white.
Teruteru’s daughter was not even born yet, and he was already spoiling her with the best baby clothes, toys and accessories one could imagine… and he was certain that the baby girl will be spoiled even more during the baby shower and after her birth.
In fact, his mother used to do the same to him when he was a little boy; Teruteru could never forget the times he was showered with all the love and snuggles and delicious homemade food she made for him.
He missed his mother very much, but knew he had to keep moving forward for her sake; that is what she would have wanted, after all.
Teruteru looked back down at his belly, noticing that his baby girl had briefly stopped moving around. “Hey, l’il bun…” he spoke to his bump softly as he continued to cradle it. “Ah never told ya much about momma, yer grandma, have I?” He smiled a little as he rubbed the middle of his belly. “Well, ah think it’s ‘bout time ah told ya a bit ‘bout her!”
The chef gasped and chuckled as he saw his baby girl kick again, making another visible “bouncing” motion in his belly. He gave his baby bump a gentle pat, cooing at the baby girl snuggled up within.
Teruteru soon began telling his baby girl stories about him and his mother - the positive ones, that is.
He told her about the day where he first learned to cook thanks to his mother’s teachings, the day he took her to a Mother’s Day picnic in the park with food he made himself, all the times he would help her in the diner.
The more Teruteru told his baby girl about his mother, the more emotional he got. Despite the slight sadness, however, he still spoke of his mother with happiness, knowing that he had nothing but good memories with her, even after everything that had happened.
The baby girl seemed to enjoy the stories of her grandmother as well; she kicked around in her “mother”‘s bump, causing Teruteru to chuckle at the sight of his belly “bouncing” up and down and side to side. The baby’s adorable little kicks looked like popcorn in a machine, popping and bouncing around!
By the time Teruteru finished telling those heartfelt stories, the baby started to calm down, yet she still moved around a bit. The chef gently cradled his belly again, his hands placed underneath the bump.
“Ah don’ know ‘bout you, l’il bun, but ah’m gettin’ a l’il hungry!” the chef said as he sat up in the wading pool, glancing down at his baby bump. “It’s still very hot out, but ah feel like eatin’ ice cream - strawberry flavoured, dat is!” He gave his belly a few gentle pats. “Ah’ll even add some pickle juice on it… for da both of us!”
The moment Teruteru said that, the baby girl made more visible kicking and “popping” movements, which he took as a sign of excitement and happiness from her. 💕
~☀️~