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Ukyo can’t ignore it anymore. Over the past few days, under the volume of the Kingdom of Science working away on the Perseus, as well as they can through the snow and chill of winter, Ukyo’s been able to pick up on this faint sound that’s honestly been driving him insane. It’s extremely quiet, even for Ukyo’s ears. It’s always there, but usually hidden under the noises of the Kingdom of Science and the loudness that comes from construction and the other works they need to do. Yet at night, when he's firmly pressed up against Gen's back, he can hear it. That quiet, muffled, rhythmic thump. He’s constantly fixated on it. He completes the tasks he’s needed for regardless of the nagging thought in the back of his mind of what the noise could be. The volume doesn’t change, like it’s following him. Even when he can’t hear it, he knows it's there. It’s almost like he can feel it.
Ukyo has to force himself out of bed. He isn’t usually this tired. Did he overwork himself yesterday? He didn’t do anything different from what he does any other day. He can feel his partners’ eyes on him as he gets dressed. He should be used to it by now. Ryusui's greed is never ending and Gen loves to take any and all opportunities to fluster him.
“You alright, Ukyo? You seem pretty tired.” Ryusui steps up behind Ukyo, resting his chin on top of his head. Ukyo relaxes under Ryusui’s weight, even if it almost feels too much for him to support. He places his hands over Ryusui’s, where they rest around his waist.
“I feel it. I guess I’ve been pushing myself more recently.” He can hear it now. That rhythmic beat echoing in his ears. He tries to push it aside, to ignore it. He has more important things to focus on.
“Take it easy today. We have plenty of capable workers, you can take a day of rest.” While Gen’s suggestion seems tempting, Ukyo can’t allow himself to rest. The Perseus has been months in the making and they’ve already hit several roadblocks that they’ve thankfully overcome.
“I can’t just leave everyone else to work. I’ll pace myself, but I can’t just sit around while everyone else puts the work in.” Plus, most of his energy has gone into teaching the members of Ishigami Village how to read and write, which has honestly been a joy to do, so he doesn’t mind continuing on, even through his exhaustion.
“Don’t overwork yourself, alright? Gen, keep an eye on him for me.” Ryusui presses a kiss to Ukyo’s temple, doing the same to Gen before he leaves. Ukyo can’t help but chuckle. Ryusui’s never afraid to show his love and appreciation for them, and it's nice to be so shamelessly adored.
“You heard our Captain. My task of the day is to make sure you don’t work yourself to the bone.” Gen slips in his hands into his sleeves, his usual cocky smirk etched upon his face. Ukyo gives him a playful look, which only makes Gen smirk more. With a roll of his eyes, Ukyo adjusts his hat onto his head.
“I trust you to watch over me.” Ukyo leans in to steal a quick kiss from Gen, one the magician happily shares with him. Ukyo steps out, with Gen not far behind him.
Ukyo can’t take his mind off it today. Maybe it's due to how tired he is, or just that it’s been there for so long that he can no longer ignore it. The main thing that’s bugging him is that he can’t figure out what it is. It’s consistent, seemingly never ending. A muffled, rhythmic beat, like a heart beat.
A heart beat. It dawns on Ukyo all at once. The first thing he feels is denial. He refuses to believe that things have come to this. Yes, he hasn’t had access to testosterone since the petrification, but he’d been on it for years prior and expected the effects it had to be permanent. The longer the possibility sits in his mind, the more it becomes a reality. His exhaustion, the other subtle changes in himself he’s noticed but immediately dismissed as nothing. They all link into this one thing Ukyo thought he didn’t have to worry about as soon as he had started to medically transition.
A pair of gentle hands cradling his face pulls him out of his own head. He’s suddenly aware of how tight his chest is, how heavy his breathing is. He blinks a few times, focusing his vision onto the face in front of him. Gentle, concerned blue eyes, tamed black and white hair.
“That’s it, Ukyo. Focus on me. Breathe with me.” Gen speaks softly, brushing away the stray tear that trails down Ukyo’s cheek. He focuses on the sound of Gen’s breathing. A deep breath in, hold, breathe out. As he regulates his breathing, Gen leans him away, guiding Ukyo into the privacy of their sleeping quarters. Ukyo sits down as Gen takes his hands in his own, tracing circles and mindless patterns on the back of his palms. It’s a nice distraction. Even though Ukyo can still hear the steady beating of what he now knows to be a baby’s- his baby’s- heart beat, he feels more at peace knowing that Gen’s here.
He’s not alone. He's blessed with not one, but two brilliant partners and a whole community of supportive people. He never planned this. Hell, He never wanted to get pregnant. But he’s here now, and stuck in the stone world, he doesn’t have a choice but to go through with this. Overwhelmed by all the emotions coursing through him, Ukyo can’t help tearing up again. He tries to swallow back a sob but the second his breath hitches, Gen is pulling him into his embrace. Any attempt to hold his emotions back shatters as he clings to Gen, scrunching up the loose material of Gen’s winter coat as he presses his face into Gen’s scarf. His body shakes with sobs as Gen places his hat to the side, rubbing his hand up and down Ukyo's back. The action is comforting, soothing. Makes it easy for Ukyo to relax into Gen as he slowly but surely calms. He’s still teary eyed, a few tears rolling down his cheeks when he blinks, but Gen doesn’t seem keen on letting him go anytime soon.
“Do you want to talk about whatever’s upsetting you?” Ukyo loves this side of Gen. The raw, sincere side of him. As impressive as it is to see Gen’s silver tongue in action, he much prefers the softer side of the mentalist.
“I think…I need to think for myself first. Before I talk.” Ukyo lifts his face from Gen’s neck, but the other doesn’t allow him to pull away completely. Gen brings his sleeve to Ukyo’s face, wiping away his tears. Ukyo leans into the touch, letting out a soft sigh. He has to resist the urge to place a hand over his stomach. He still doesn’t believe it, or he doesn’t want to believe it. “Gen?” He glances to meet Gen’s eyes, feeling his chest swell with affection at the look in his eyes. He’s seen it a thousand times, mainly whenever Gen looks at their other partner. He hardly noticed that Gen gives gim that same look.
“Yes?” Ukyo shifts in the embrace, leaning his back against Gen’s chest. It’s easiest this way. He doesn’t have to look him in the eyes, while still being in the comfort of his embrace. Gen’s arms circle around him, settling around his middle.
“What would you do if something you thought was impossible happened?” The question hangs in the air for a moment, Gen clearly turning words over in his head before he speaks.
“It’s been like that the entire time I’ve known Senku. I thought everything we had been used to in the modern world was lost to time. Yet it seems like whenever Senku opens his mouth, I think he’s asking us to do the impossible. Yet here we are.” Gen sounds completely and utterly exasperated as he speaks. Ukyo takes them in. Senku is constantly proving to everyone that what is thought to be impossible is actually possible. He can’t help but smile slightly to himself, tilting his head back to rest on Gen’s shoulder.
“Thank you, Gen.” Ukyo lets his eyes shut, placing his hands over Gen’s. The mentalist leans down to press a kiss to Ukyo’s cheek, before pressing yet another to his forehead.
“You don't need to thank me, Ukyo. I’m your boyfriend. This is the bare minimum.” Gen nuzzles into Ukyo’s temple, causing a light chuckle from the other at the action. “Do you want to be alone while you think?” Ukyo instantly shakes his head no, turning to lay completely on Gen, causing the other to fall back. Gen laughs, pulling Ukyo that little bit closer. Ukyo relaxes into him, feeling safe enough to let his mind wander.
Ukyo can't sleep that night. Even with Gen insisting that Ukyo sleeps in the middle, leaving him blanketed in his partners' warmth, he can only focus on the sound of the heartbeat that comes from within. Their heartbeat. Ukyo sighs, pressing his face further into Ryusui's neck. He tries to ignore it, tune it out like he does with his own heartbeat, focus on the sound of Ryusui's instead, but his mind refuses to let go. He's pregnant. He has to tell them both at some point, and if Ukyo's honest, the sooner they're on the same page as him the better. He tries racking his brain to think of an acceptable time that he can pull both his partners away from work and somewhere private so he can tell them, but with how important Ryusui is to the making of the Perseus, he can't bring himself to do that, even metaphorically. He swallows. He’s going to have to at some point. If that’s by his own choice, or his body’s.
"Can't sleep?" Ukyo almost jumps out of his skin at Ryusui's hushed (as hushed as that man can be) whisper. He lifts his head to find Ryusui's honey-brown eyes, half lidded and sleepy, fluffy blonde hair messy and all over the place.
"You scared me. You should be sleeping too." Ukyo whispers back, reaching up to at least attempt to tame Ryusui's bedhead. He melts slightly as the taller man leans into the touch. He thinks to himself that if he could, Ryusui would be purring.
"Kind of hard to when you keep shifting. I can tell you've got a lot on your mind still. Come." Ryusui slips out from under the blanket, standing up and slinging his winter coat on. He turns back to stare at Ukyo expectantly, and Ukyo struggles to say no to the greediest man in the world. Carefully removing Gen's arm from around his waist, getting a soft, sleepy noise of complaint from him, Ukyo stands. Tugging on his own winter jacket, and wrapping Gen's scarf around his neck to feel some semblance of the other while he and Ryusui go wherever he plans on taking them.
"What about Gen?" Ukyo asks with a tilt of his head, following Ryusui out of their room and into the almost unnervingly quiet.
"Kaseki got a hold of him today. He needs the rest and you need support." Ryusui takes his hand, luring him away. He walks through the previous Empire of Might with ease that not even Ukyo possesses after living in these areas for longer than most of the people here. He takes Ukyo up to the communications tower that they constructed at the peak of one of the stony hills. Once up there, Ryusui lets go of his hand, moving to lean against the railing and look out towards the sea. Ukyo joins him, standing much closer than what's necessary. His partner takes this as an invitation, wrapping his arm around Ukyo's shoulders, tugging the sonar operator into his side.
"Well? What's up? Gen told me you had a panic attack earlier." Ryusui rubs up and down Ukyo's arm, keeping his voice lower than usual since he's so close to him.
"I wouldn't call it a panic attack." Ukyo tries to reason, but when he glances up to meet Ryusui's eyes, the usually very boisterous and forever grinning bastard that he is, is surprising stoned face.
"It was a panic attack. You worry, but you rarely panic, especially to that degree. You can talk to us, you know?" The softness in Ryusui's voice really gets to Ukyo, which makes his eyes tear up again. He tucks his face away into Ryusui- even if he's simply smushing his face into him at a very awkward angle.
"Sorry I'm just... Processing something still. I thought it was impossible but…now it's a reality and I'm…I don't know how to cope." Ukyo mutters into Ryusui's coat, hands gripping onto the thick hide and fur. Ryusui's hand moves from his arm to his back, rubbing up and down the span of his back, the touch firm and comforting.
"You don't have to know how to cope. Not now. Not ever. And especially not alone. You have me, Gen. Heck, I bet even Francois would be willing to listen to you!" Ukyo cringes slightly at the sudden increase in volume, which gets him a swift apologetic look from Ryusui. With both hands on Ukyo's shoulders, he pulls them apart slightly, just enough so that he can hold eye contact with the other.
"I love you. I desire you, more than I do anything else." His words are softer, quieter, and incredibly real and sincere.
"Even Gen?" Ukyo can't help but tease in the moment, resulting in a hearty chuckle from Ryusui.
"I desire you both equally. I don't pick favourites amongst my partners." Ryusui curls an arm around Ukyo's waist, the other cradles his face in his hand. Ryusui starts to sway them slightly, and Ukyo can't help but admire his features under the moonlight.
"Whatever's bothering you, you can talk about it when you're ready. Whatever it is, we'll face it together. All three of us." Ukyo nods at his words, blinking the tears out of his eyes that Ryusui brushes away without a second thought. Unable to resist, Ukyo leans in to steal a kiss from him, one the blonde happily responses to. When they part, Ukyo just stifles a laugh at the blush that highlights Ryusui's cheeks.
Sharing one last, brief kiss, he two head back to their sleeping quarters. Once inside, they find Gen still asleep, clinging onto one of their pillows. Both of them laugh quietly at the sight. After having discarded their coats, Ukyo settles back in the middle, miraculously pulling the pillow from Gen's arms and replacing it with himself- Kaseki must have drained him of all his energy. This time, he tucks himself into the crook of Gen's neck, inhaling the soft scent of those flowers he always carries around for his tricks. The chill against his back is quickly relaxed by the obscene amount of heat Ryusui emits. A muscular arm curls around his waist, fingertips teasing the hem of his shirt. With that gentle touch and the slight tickle of Gen's breath against his hair, Ukyo's lulled into sleep.
When Ukyo wakes up, he finds Gen and Ryusui already moving about in their shared room. Both of them are shirtless, Gen blindly trying to get his hair perfectly parted while Ryusui seems far too fond watching him struggle to focus on getting ready himself.
"Ryu! Don't just stand there! So ude-ray!" Gen whisper-shouts, at least trying to attempt not to wake Ukyo. Meanwhile, Ryusui doesn't even try to stifle his hearty laughter, before he steps over to Gen, hands reaching up to split the white and black of his hair neatly.
"I can't help it. You're cute when you pout." Ryusui gets a huff and a pout from Gen. Ukyo can hear him mumbling under his breath, whining and complaining about how Ryusui and Ukyo had the 'audacity' to leave him all alone on such a cold winter's night- usual dramatics for the mentalist.
"Ukyo couldn't sleep and was really restless. I had to go and talk to him." With Gen's hair parted, Ryusui leans down to press a kiss to his forehead, his hands moving to rest on his shoulders. "You can forgive me, right, Gen?" There's a slight edge to Ryusui's voice that makes Ukyo smirk to himself. That specific tone of voice he uses anytime he wants something, and Ukyo's pretty sure the only people capable of fully ignoring its effects are Francois and Senku. After sputtering over his words, Gen simply sighs.
"You know I don't eally-ray mind." Gen grabs onto Ryusui's forearms, thumbs tracing mindless patterns onto his arms, occasionally brushing onto where the captain's petrification scars creep onto his wrists. Ukyo takes this pause in their conversation to sit up, finally revealing himself to be awake to the others. Gen instantly removes himself from Ryusui, moving to sit by Ukyo's side, brushing a hand through his hair, taming it.
"Ukyo! Good morning, my love! Did you manage to get some proper rest?" Ukyo hums in content, melting into Gen's gentle touch. He glances over Gen's shoulder, finding Ryusui standing there, hands proudly resting on his hips, giving Ukyo a really great view of the other man's muscular chest.
"I at least got a couple hours." Military sleeping techniques can still work wonders for him, even if his hearing, and the anxiety over the current situation don't make sleeping easy. Now that he's thought about it, he's hyper aware of their heartbeat again. He just needs to get it over with. He has both of them in the room now, he should just say it before he can psyche himself out of it.
"Gen? Ryusui?" He winces slightly at the sound of his own voice, so shy and sheepish and nothing like how he usually is. Gen remains sitting by his side, and Ryusui doesn't hesitate for a second to join them in their bed again, sitting cross legged across from the both of them. Neither of them push him to continue. Despite their silence, Ukyo feels surprisingly reassured. Even with both of their obnoxiously pretty eyes baring into him, he feels comforted. He takes a deep breath and forces the words out of his mouth.
"I think I'm pregnant." Ukyo tenses as soon as the words actually leave his mouth. He has no idea what reactions to expect from either of his partners. They never talked about children- partially because Ukyo didn't think he could have them but also because they're living in the stone world. Children were out of the question- which makes him look back at their lack of precautions and wince internally. After what feels like an hour, but in reality, is maybe thirty seconds at most, neither of them have spoken. Ukyo opens his eyes (when did he even close them?) to glance at their expressions. They're both equally as shocked, but despite his surprise, Ryusui still manages to have a dopey grin etched on his face.
"You think?" Gen manages to say- not criticising, merely asking for clarification. Ukyo clears his throat slightly, hating how he already feels the tears welling up in his eyes.
"I mean, of course I have no way of knowing for sure but…I can hear a heartbeat." Another bout of silence falls between them and Ukyo really does his best to keep himself together, but the extra stretch of silence gets to him. "Please say something." Considering he hardly even heard himself speak, it's a miracle either of them understood what he said. As tears start to trail down his face, Gen and Ryusui shift closer to him. Ryusui sits behind him, his legs either side of him as he presses his chest to Ukyo's back, his arms going around his waist. Meanwhile, Gen shifts to sit right in front of Ukyo- if he was any closer, he'd be in his lap. He takes Ukyo's face in his hands and brushes away his tears, leaning in close to press a kiss to his nose, before resting his forehead against Ukyo's.
"Shh, you're okay, Dear. We're not mad. We're not upset." Gen whispers into the little space between them. He continues to brush away the tears as they continue to fall.
"Not in the slightest. This is exciting, to me at least, but I can imagine you have your own feelings about this." Ryusui tightens his arms around him, leaning in to nuzzle into his neck. Ukyo can't help but laugh slightly as Ryusui's hair tickles his neck. He sniffles slightly, leaning into Gen's hands.
"Yeah. I. I'm scared. I didn't think this was possible. I didn't want it to be possible." Ukyo leans back to sink into Ryusui's chest, taking Gen's hands from his face to hold them in his own. He takes a second to get his words in order. "I never planned on getting pregnant. It's not something I ever wanted to go through. But…the end result, especially with you two, sounds pretty appealing." Ukyo manages a soft smile, looking up from his and Gen's hands to meet the mentalist's eyes. Gen's also a little teary eyes, and Ukyo uses his grip on his hands to tug him closer. The mentalist laughs lightly, shifting to rest his head in Ukyo's lap, still holding onto his hands.
"This is seriously insane. In a good way." Ukyo sinks a hand into Gen's hair, messing up the perfect parting he and Ryusui had done just minutes prior, but Gen truly doesn't seem to mind that much.
"Don't you mean 'eriously-say'?" Ryusui teases from over Ukyo's shoulder, which earns him a particularly sharp glare from Gen. Ukyo can't help but laugh, melting impossibly more into Ryusui's chest.
"Don't tease him." He turns his head to catch the captain in a kiss, one he more than happily reciprocates, his palm flatting out against Ukyo's stomach.
"Don't I get one too?" Gen whines, pretending to be offended but the soft smile on his face is impossible to ignore. Once Ryusui's content (for the time being), Ukyo leans down to share a kiss with Gen. The angle's a bit awkward, and the strain on Ukyo's neck isn't the nicest, but the feeling of Gen's lips against his own is more that worth it.
"We'll be okay. We'll figure everything out." Ryusui speaks between brief kisses to Ukyo's neck, which makes him giggle. He turns to face Ryusui the best he can while keeping Gen comfortably situated in his lap. He presses his forehead against Ryusui's, the other reaching up to tangle a hand into Ukyo's hair, playing with the sleep-scruffed strands.
"I think it would be best to get Senku in the loop as soon as Ukyo's comfortable with him knowing. He's the closest thing we have to a doctor." Ukyo nods in agreement with Gen's words. Pregnancy is hard enough as it is, let alone in the Stone World where modern medicine isn't even close to being revived.
"This still feels so surreal." Ukyo mutters, more to himself than anything else. He glances between his partners. Ocean blue and honey brown completely glued to him shamelessly, full of nothing but pure love and affection. Ukyo feels himself tearing up again. "I'm so lucky to have you both." In response to his words, Ryusui laughs in his usual hearty manner, pressing a kiss to his temple.
"I'm the lucky one. I can't get enough of both of you." Ryusui perches his chin on Ukyo's shoulder. He uncurls one of his arms from around his, stretching out to trail a hand down Gen's bare chest.
"Behave yourself, Ryusui." Gen smirks up at him, speaking in a sultry tone. Despite his words, he does nothing to stop Ryusui's wandering hand. "And when do you get enough of anything?" Gen's comment sends all of them into a brief laughing fit. Afterwards, Ukyo sighs contently. He couldn't be happier anywhere else than with these two.