Chapter Text
“Ah- Rui..! I can walk on my own!” Nene insisted, lightly pushing the taller man’s hand off of her belly. Nene was now 2 months pregnant, and it’d been.. pretty smooth, for the most part. Rare morning sickness, a tiny bit of fatigue, and mild mood swings. Of course, Rui was the best partner he could be, making sure she was okay every minute of every day.
“I know you can, love. But I’d like to help you,” He smiled at her, moving his hand down over her belly and cupping the subtle bump under it, rubbing his thumb below her belly button.
“It’s so incredible.. how a baby is growing in here. I did a load of research when you first got pregnant, just to prepare.” He rested his chin on her shoulder and smiled against her neck.
“You-.. you did? Actually that’s a you thing, nevermind..” She sighed softly, no exasperation lacing it.
“Have you had any cravings again? I’ll get you those mayo and chocolate chip covered pickles again,” He teased softly, only half joking. Nene sputtered, not expecting him to actually remember one of her cravings..
“Don’t- ugh..” She leaned her head back against his, and gently rocked them both. Rui swayed with her, placing his free hand on her hip to hold her.
She loved tender moments like these, especially with Rui out of everyone. He was so sweet to her, it was almost unreal seeing how he acted with everyone else.. but yet again, she was the same, only showing him her true softness and vulnerability when she knew it was safe enough to.
She never didn’t feel safe when she was with him.
Rui whispered a soft “I love you,” into her ear, making goosebumps rise on her neck. He giggled softly, continuing to gently rub the bottom of her barely rounded tummy.
“You’re adorable, my love..” He spoke softly, his voice almost a whisper.
“You tell me that 50 times a day..”
“You still should know. You’re carrying my child, I need to keep you reassured. I’ve seen how insecure pregnant women get with their changing body, only in videos of course.. but I’d hate for you to feel that way. I’d love you no matter what happened to your body. And now, something amazing is happening inside you.” He rambled.
“I want you to know how much I love your growing belly.. it’s so cute, even if it’s only a subtle bump.” He added, pressing a gentle kiss against her bare shoulder as he stood back up straight. Nene craned her neck to look up at him, and smiled.
“You’re so sweet..” She mumbled, mostly to herself, but by the way Rui cocked his head, she knew he’d heard.
“Ah, thank you my love.” He nodded at her, and gently took the smaller girls hand in his.
“Are you tired? Hungry? I can bathe you if you’d like,”
“I took a bath this morning?”
“I can’t let you feel dirty, especially now.” He just kept the same sweet smile on his face, looking down at her with eyes that screamed only she mattered.. and he really made it feel like that.
“I’m.. kinda hungry.” She glanced away from him, and noticing a dust bunny in the corner of the room. That was a task for later..
“What would you like, love?” He took both of her hands in his bigger ones, his honey eyes met her amethyst ones.
“Uh..” She hummed, avoiding his eyes, finding the pattern on his shirt interesting instead.
“Hey, look at me. What would you like?” He spoke in the same soft tone. He knew she had trouble with eye contact, and kept it soft, not intimidating.
“I.. um..” She looked around, not actually sure what she wanted. She was just hungry.
“Can you surprise me..?” She then spoke in a quiet whisper, glancing up at him.
“Of course, my love. Don’t be so nervous,” He smiled reassuringly, rubbing his hands up and down her forearms before letting go.
“Let me know if you need anything, okay? I’ll be in the kitchen.” And with that, he padded off to the kitchen. She didn’t know why she still got so nervous with any sort of question.. there was no pressure, but she couldn’t figure out the reason behind it..
After a moment, she decided to follow him. Nene saw him busying himself with getting ingredients out and planning.. she peeked out at him from behind the doorframe, just watching him. He looked so.. cute. Was cute the word? Her heart about melted when she saw him start to hum and sway as he started to (to his distain) chop a couple vegetables.
Now that she was pregnant, her appetite grew. Not much so far, but it was definitely noticeably bigger. She didn’t really like it, but Rui had accommodated and made bigger meals, and her appetite would only grow with the bigger the baby got. Nene felt like she got lucky. Rui was so good to her, but he only called it the bare minimum. She appreciated Rui more than he knew, and she hoped he’d understand one day.
It was still unbelievable to her that her and Rui knew eachother since they were what, 4? Now they’re almost in their mid twenties, and everything seems unreal..
She was snapped out of her daze as she heard Rui squeak, jumping back as he dropped something. That was probably the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.. he really reminded her of a cat. But what he dropped didn’t make really any noise..
He bent down and picked up a brussel sprout he’d dropped, and put on an overexaggerated frown.
“Aw.. sorry brussel sprout.” He apologized to the veggie and set it beside the sink. How cute..
He went back to chopping more vegetables, including zucchini, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, and broccoli. After he was finished, he set that cutting board aside and brought out another one to cut chicken on.
When he was finished, he dropped slid the chicken off the cutting board and into the hot pan, a quiet sizzle filling the air. She blinked slowly, her tiredness catching up to her.. so much for minimal fatigue. Nene walked out into the living room, and when Rui spotted her he smiled. She didn’t know why she kept her footsteps featherlike, afraid of being too loud.
“Love?” Rui called out from the kitchen, tilting his head at her as she looked over.
“What’s wrong? Why’re you walking so quietly?” He then began to walk over to her, seeing how she was walking differently, walking toe first instead of heel first, to be quieter.
Nene looked up at him and froze.. he noticed? What didn’t he notice though..
“Ah, I.. I was just gonna rest on the couch,” She glanced at the couch, then back up at him.
“Wouldn’t the bed be more comfortable? Or do you wanna be near me?” He smiled softly, knowing she’d gotten way more clingy during these past two months, and he was loving it.
“I… kinda wanna be near you.”
“Okay hun, let’s go lay down. Or you, ‘cause I have food cooking. But we can cuddle after,” He gently took her hand and guided her over to the couch, helping her lay down and getting her comfortable before offering her the TV remote, which she took. He kissed her forehead before standing back up.
“I’ll bring the food when it’s ready, ‘Kay? You just relax.” Rui patted her head before walking off to the kitchen to resume his cooking.
Nene was honestly surprised at how good his cooking had gotten, and he only learned for her.. she had the best partner ever, she told herself. Some days she felt helpless though, since Rui now did all the cooking and cleaning, but whenever she tried to help he told her to sit down.
Soon enough, she saw Rui walking back over with a plate of food, kneeling down next to the couch where she laid.
“Here, my love.” He smiled. He always looked so happy after he brought her stuff, it was adorable.
“Thanks..” She returned his smile as she sat up (with minimal struggle) and took the plate of food from him. She’d even put it on her favorite plate.
He’d made stir fry, one of the dishes she loved. He usually didn’t eat it because of the veggies, but sometimes he’d pick out the chicken and rice from it, and eat that. Maybe he wasn’t hungry right now..
He lifted her head so he could squeeze next to her, making her sit up. He then moved her to his lap and smiled against her neck, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She looked down at the food, suddenly feeling too nauseous to eat. The food looked amazing, she hated the nausea that often came with meals he prepared for her. Just the smell threw her off..
Rui saw she wasn’t eating, and rather just staring at the food. He tilted his head against where it was now rested against her shoulder.
“Are you not hungry now?” He asked softly, rubbing her stomach once again.”
“I.. I am.. but the smell.. it’s making me nauseous.” She looked back at him with an apologetic expression, and Rui just smiled softly.
“It’s alright, hun. You can have it later if you’d like,” He held his hand out to take the plate, but she shook her head.
“No, I’m hungry.. maybe it’ll go away when I start eating.”
“Love.. don’t push yourself. If you’re nauseous, I don’t want you to throw up again because of your stubbornness. Here, give me the plate.” His words were gentle but firm as he took the plate from her and set it on the coffee table.
“Eat when your nausea goes away, it’ll be there.” He nuzzled his face against her neck, and pulled her back against him, feeling Nene relax in his arms.
Rui loved cuddling, he wished Nene liked it more..
But that was for another time, he wanted to enjoy right now. And so he did, they cuddled for a couple minutes before Nene started to shift in his lap, trying to get more comfortable.
That’s when she got up and turned around so she faced him, and sat back down. Nene buried her face against his chest, and relaxed once again. His heart was about to burst with affection for this girl on his lap..
After a couple minutes, she looked back at him, visibly more relaxed.
“Okay, I.. I’m ready to eat.” Nene spoke softly, resting her left hand on her belly. Rui just looked at her. She would usually just get it herself if she was ready, usually saying to him ‘I don’t need your help’, or whatever along those lines. He was happy to help her, though.
“Okay love, grab it. I’ll feed you,”
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