Mystery ABO AU Starter!

[forsaintcecilia]

Before entering the café, Kazuki stopped at one of the windows to look at his reflection. He fixed his hair and fiddled with how his clothes were laying. Was he underdressed? Overdressed? He wanted to look casual, but presentable, and that was a tightrope he wasn’t used to walking. He couldn’t tell from the inside-out. Would he look let he was trying too hard? Not hard enough? Today, what really mattered was someone else’s opinion, and he didn’t have any idea of their preferences.

He lingered for a bit too long, and eventually just had to give up and go in, even if he wasn’t entirely satisfied with himself. But as soon as he came to the counter, he found a new hurdle he had to jump over—what should he order? For one, it was springtime, and was one of those days where a hot drink could be too hot, but a cold drink could be too cold. Did he want coffee? If he got the sweet sort of drink he actually liked, would they think he was too feminine? But if he got something bitter, would they be able to see the displeasure on his face while drinking it, and think he was trying too hard? And the pastries looked so good, he really wanted the one with the strawberries…

By the time he was next in line, he was in such a state of awkward, anxious silence that the barista had to interrupt his quickly derailing train of thought with a quiet, “Sir?” Kazuki snapped to attention, stuttered out the beginning of about 5 different orders that he changed his mind on as soon as they came out of his mouth, in the wrong language, and eventually gave into fate and meekly asked for whatever the house recommended today.

He couldn’t help but sigh as he sat down at an empty table. It had really been too long since the last time he had been on a date. Entering the café with the intention to meet someone felt like stepping foot on an alien planet. It didn't help that English was still difficult for him, and he wasn't totally situated in a different country yet. He came to the designated meeting place extra early because he suspected he’d need a solid 10 minutes alone to calm his nerves. And he was completely correct.

Kazuki thanked the waitress when she brought him his previously recommended latte, and he was relieved to find that it wasn’t so bitter he couldn’t handle drinking it. He could have gone for a cookie or something too, but this would have to do. He took a deep breath, let it out onto his drink, and let the resulting steam rise up around his face as he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. It was almost the time that had been agreed upon.

He didn’t know anything about his date aside from the fact that their mutual friend was certain they’d be a good match. His expectations weren’t sky high or anything, but he was hopeful. Even if things didn’t pan out, at least he’d get the chance to dip his toes into the waters of intimate relationships, so to speak, before he jumped back in again. Things could only get better from there.

Comments

[majimekun]

Somehow Deuce had managed to calm himself by the time he left his apartment. He was as put together as could be and well, it was just coffee right? Just a little coffee date with a complete stranger. Nothing to worry about. At all.

He kept repeating it to himself and then froze up when he actually got to the café. Deuce swallowed and felt himself go pale for a split second. Then he shook his head. No, it's just coffee, nothing more. No commitment. If it goes well, it goes well. If not, well the worse that happens is you never see each other gain.

Taking a deep breath he stepped in and looked around, trying to find who he was supposed to meet. He'd been told that they'd probably get along, but that wasn't much to go by. He probably should have asked for a few more details when they'd set this up. Then he remembered that he'd been given their number and after a moment decided to send a text.

Hello! We're supposed to meet today, right? Well I'm here, the guy in the blue and black jacket, so if you could wave to me, that'd be great.

Was that really, really dumb sounding? Was this how blind dates were supposed to work? Granted, if Deuce had been given anymore info, he'd have psyched himself out a little too much. He could feel his heart beating rapidly though. He should have come early so he could just get himself a coffee or something. He'd have had time to steel his nerves. Instead he was awkwardly on time.

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki had been surreptitiously watching people enter the cafe, wondering if any of them could be his date. So, he actually saw Deuce walk in! But he didn't know that he was his date. Then, Deuce took out his phone, and after a second of typing, Kazuki felt his own phone rumble in his pocket. It surprised him enough to get him to jump in his seat a little!

When he pulled his phone out to check his messages, he was quickly able to put two and two together. That must be the guy! While he was still looking away, Kazuki took a split second to mess with his hair one last time, looking at this reflection in his phone to make sure his cowlick wasn't too insane. Then, he raised a hand in greeting.

"Over here!"

[majimekun]

Deuce's turned at the voice and saw the waving guy. "Oh!" He put his phone away and walked over to him and then, stood there for a moment. Well he was good looking at least. Very good looking. And cute. Which was now making him more nervous.

"H-hi. I mean, hello," Deuce forced himself to not stumble over his words, somehow. "You're Kazuki then, right?" Otherwise this was going to become a billion times more embarrassing. "I'm Deuce though. I wasn't late, I was?" He feels like a fidgety mess now.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Hi!" Kazuki stood up from his seat as Deuce approached, in order to seem more welcoming. He didn't want to seem cold as a first impression! He reached out his hand for a shake, and resisted the urge to bow-- that was something he still got funny looks for in this country. "Yeah, I'm Kazuki! And no, you're not late. I got here early on purpose."

He was a little self-conscious about speaking another language, as he occasionally stumbled over his words still, and had a heavy accent... But he was trying his best!

I'm retconning their meeting to fall because I say so :T

[forsaintcecilia]

"Woah... It never snows like this in Japan!"

Kazuki stood in the front window, staring out in delight as he watched the snow come down like he'd never really seen before. The way it just blotted everything out to the point that he could barely see the light from the streetlamps was way worse than anything that happened in the rainy seasons he was used to. He was so close that his breath condensed against the glass as it rattled from the harsh winds outside.

"Well. Maybe in Hokkaido, but I've never been that far up north in winter. It must be really hard to deal with! But, it's so pretty too..."

That is valid \o/

[majimekun]

"Really? I don't know if I'd say that is lucky or not..." Deuce chuckled at the way Kazuki seemed so fascinated by it. To him, this was at best an annoyance since he'd been hoping to go on a ride tomorrow. But it was also hard to not smile at Kazuki right now either.

"You've never experienced a snowstorm here before?" He looked over his shoulder and he finished setting a pot of coffee to brew.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Ah-- You can't ride your bike when it's like this, huh?"

Kazuki was making an educated guess at the source of Deuce's chagrin, but he was pretty sure he was right. He'd been on a ride with him a couple of times now, and he agreed that it was pretty exhilarating! It was awkward sitting behind him and holding him around the middle for dear life, but he was also somewhat grateful-- it actually made other physical displays of affection feel more natural the first time around.

"No! I just got here this summer, so I haven't. It's really, really pretty here though!"

[majimekun]

"It can be. Maybe if it stops snowing by tomorrow, we can take a walk."

Granted, he didn't mind if they were snowed in tomorrow as well, but Deuce wasn't going to say that out loud. Not yet.

"I probably should have had you on your way earlier though. Sorry about that." He's just a little sorry though.

[forsaintcecilia]

It was weird, staggering into his old apartment like this, after being away for months. He'd been gone long enough that it was natural to expect that something might be different, but everything was exactly where he had left it. His work paid enough to keep it, along with his lodging while he was abroad. He turned on the lights, and suddenly, he was home.

"Tadaima," Kazuki reflexively said as he began to toe his shoes off, one bag still slung over his shoulder, one being dragged behind. "It's not much, but make yourself at home."

He stepped aside, making room for Deuce to come in. It was a simple, one-room place with a minimal kitchen and wet-floor bathroom. Kazuki didn't have much in the way of personal affects. He'd left most of his childhood stuff with his parents at their family home. He'd left his potted plants with them too, when he took this trip.

"Man, I swear the flight didn't take this much out of me on the way there..."

Kazuki remembered being so excited on that plane that he could barely sleep, even on an 18 hour flight. This time, he felt weirdly off almost the minute he stepped in the cabin. He'd never been airsick before, but after a couple of hours, he had to sneak off to the lavatory to throw up in peace. Some kind of weird smell was stuck in the roof of his mouth, and he ended up forcing himself to nap with his head on Deuce's shoulder through it. His scent made him feel a little better, at least.

He put his bags to the side, and slid down to the floor to sit near the foot of his bed, leaning his head back against the mattress with a heavy sigh. He just felt gross. Maybe a bath would help? He realized he hadn't really eaten, but the thought of food wasn't appealing.

In hindsight, that should have been more of a warning sign.

[majimekun]

That had been a long flight; Deuce had spent the first half of it antsy and the last part tired from being antsy. Fortunately, the moment he'd gotten off the plane, Deuce had received a second wind, only tempered by the fact that Kazuki had gotten sick.

"Are you sure it's not something you ate?" He asked as he hauled in his own luggage, a suitcase, and a couple of duffle bags. "You look greener than usual," Deuce said as he resisted the urge to gawk at Kazuki's place. So small. Not that Deuce's own place was big, but still it was tinier than he expected.

Kneeling down, Deuce brushed a hand against Kazuki's forehead. He didn't seem to have a fever at least. "Is there anything I can get you?"

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki was glad to see that Deuce had energy, even when suddenly in a totally new place. He lived on the outskirts of Tokyo, so it wasn't quite as shocking as, say, Shibuya or Shinjuku, but urban Japan was always a bit of a spectacle to foreigners. Everything was packed together pretty tightly, and living spaces were small. They'd taken a train in from Haneda airport, and Deuce probably wondered how in the world Kazuki knew such a complicated system by heart. But all the travel went smoothly, and they were able to get to his apartment without getting on the wrong line or getting off at the wrong stop.

He couldn't help but snicker at greener than usual, as he was still feeling well enough to have a sense of humor, even at his expense. And he really appreciated Deuce's concern. He felt like being looked after at the moment. He just wanted to relax for awhile.

"I'm sure it's just airsickness and jet lag," Kazuki replied with a slight shrug, and he leaned in against the hand that brushed against his face. "It happens to everyone. I kinda want to chill for a sec, but there's a conbi just down the road where you can buy stuff like ginger tea and nausea meds. We can go there and get some stuff in a minute."

[majimekun]

He sat down next to Kazuki then, stroking his hair a little longer. "So the convenience store then? That's fine. It'll be nice to see some of the neighborhood."

It was exciting, all of it. So different from back in Europe or even when he'd been to the US. "I can't believe I"m actually here with you at last. All those travel guides don't prepare you for the real thing," Deuce said as he let his hand drop and leaned next to Kazuki.

"Are you sure it's just from the flight? You usually don't get sick like that."

[forsaintcecilia]

To say that the past couple of weeks had been hard would be the worst understatement of Kazuki's life.

To begin: His time back in Japan, despite his shocking discovery, wasn't too terrible. He was able to come clean with his family first, and as he expected, they were supportive! Sure, they were probably even more surprised than he was at first, and his older brother may have been glaring daggers at Deuce for their entire visit, but there was no fighting or shouting. Nothing of the sort. His mother was incredibly concerned for him-- he had so much of his life already planned out after all, and working a child into that equation wasn't going to be easy-- but that's really all it was. Concern. He was going to have a rough time of it, and she wouldn't even be there to help him for half of it. But they all knew that he was a resilient guy when push came to shove, and he was just going to have to make the best of it.

After a couple of days of getting used to that, he then had to introduce Deuce and all the baggage that was coming with him to his pack as well. That was a little more difficult, with so many different personalities to juggle, but it went about as smooth as he could expect. Tsuchiura, as the most dominant Alpha among them, had an air of "who do I have to kill?" about him that was a little chilly at first, but after some time assessing Deuce, relented. Kahoko gave him a shoulder to shed a couple of nervous tears on, and otherwise clung to and fussed over him for most of their time together, making sure he was feeling alright and reminding him to take it easy while he was with them, which he honestly needed.

While Kazuki wasn't looking, Yunoki took Deuce aside, and made it clear in perfect English (while donning the world's iciest smile) that if he did anything less than his utmost to care for "their Hihara" while they were away in Europe, that he had both the motivation and resources to track him down and make his life hell.

...Kazuki probably should have warned Deuce about Yunoki's protectiveness over him, and his whiplash-inducing duplicity, but he honestly was not expecting that severe of a gesture out of him so suddenly. He was really glad that Deuce maintained decorum and didn't lash out, because as his new mate, he certainly had a right to! But now he knew that, in the future, he should keep himself between the two of them until Yunoki could be trusted to play nice.

His New Year was stressful, with all that going on. He also had to inform his sponsors at Seisou about the situation, and they weren't entirely pleased. He promised to see his position in the overseas orchestra through, only asking for a little bit of leniency, as he couldn't predict his future health. The conceded to him with gritted teeth. He was glad his reputation as a good ambassador granted him a bit of leeway.

As for the doctor, well... In Japan, pregnancy is expected to be declared to public officials, so it was unavoidable. Kazuki only told Deuce to stay home during his appointment, because he expected to be harassed for his poor decision making, and he certainly was. They were, however, curious about how this even came to be if he was taking suppressants as he insisted he was, and took some samples to run some tests.

It was mostly inconclusive-- a few strange levels here and there, but nothing alarming or immediately identifiable. They declared him in good health and cleared him to travel, with the stipulation that he take good care of himself, and to return to Japan as soon as his obligations were seen through.

He was doing his best at that, but it was rough. The plane ride back to Europe was worse than the one to Japan, if only because his nerves were frayed and he couldn't relax. And his work in the orchestra was still demanding. He now spent half his time working with second trumpet privately, so they could be ready to take his place if he needed time off or if his health simply wouldn't cooperate. But he still performed publicly whenever possible. It was very much a skin-of-the-teeth situation. He was just barely getting by.

They were living together at Deuce's place now. Kazuki didn't know how he would have managed without the support, and was extremely grateful. He felt pretty bad-- when they did have time together, he was often exhausted and out-of-it, and probably wasn't a joy to be around. He was nauseous a lot of the time, and was forcing himself to eat. He could tell he was probably losing some weight instead of gaining any.

After two weeks of pushing himself, he went into his normally scheduled two-day break with the intention to stay in bed and try to relax. He went to sleep with a bin on the bed with him, so he wouldn't have to be anxious about possibly not making it to the bathroom in time, and stayed there until late the next morning. He barely stirred the entire time, obviously completely wrung-out. It was nearly noon by the time he began to blink awake.

[majimekun]

The time in Japan had been an experience. Not exactly the experience Deuce had hoped for if he was honest. Which was to be expected due to the situation they found themselves in. It wasn't even that all of the trip had been bad. The meeting with Kazuki's family had gone well enough. More so than Deuce had thought it would. Some worry here and there and an annoyed brother were easy enough to deal with. It would have been weirder if they hadn't been a little unnerved. Deuce would have had words.

Kazuki's pack on the other hand...

He should have expected some hostility, but then again, he also wasn't used to regular packs. His pack wasn't... really normal at all and Deuce's mother was a beta, so there was a lot he hadn't been prepared for. Especially that Yunoki guy.

What the fucking hell? No really, what the hell?

Realistically, Deuce could understand. If positions were reversed, he'd have gone ballistic. But still being nettled like that had nearly eaten away at Deuce's resolve. He was also pleased with himself for showing such restraint. After all, Deuce had managed not to strangle Yunoki with an inch of his life.

Which would have been bad. Because these people were going to be in the life of their child, hell they were going to be in Deuce's life. There was no point in burning bridges right off the bat.

Still, it'd almost been a relief to go back home, even if it wasn't going to be for long. But right away the weight of what Deuce was going to have to do hit him all over again. There were decisions to make, one's that Deuce hadn't thought he'd ever have to. Even though he should have thought about it when he realized Kazuki was the one.

But now there was a lot to think about. His future career, his finances, his living situation... Duece had to decide on all of that. Of course, the one thing he had decided was that his family came first. Kazuki and the baby. That was a no-brainer to Deuce.

That was the only easy thing about this though.

The really hard part was Kazuki. Deuce was beginning to seriously worry about him and that it was all going to be too much for him. While he'd known that Kazuki worked hard, Deuce hadn't known how much until the two of them started living together. It was at the point where Deuce knew he had to say or do something, but he wasn't sure what yet.

But this morning Deuce made sure to get up quietly and make breakfast for himself, knowing that Kauzuki probably wouldn't feel like eating yet even though he really needed to. After that that Deuce had gone about taking care of various chores as quietly as possible, glancing in on Kazuki once in a while.

When he happened to catch the other waking up, Deuce greeted him quietly. "Good morning. Or well, it's not morning, but uh..."

[forsaintcecilia]

Yeah, Yunoki was definitely... Kazuki gave Deuce a big hug, and told him how proud he was of him when he heard about the threat secondhand. He did really good not to freak out! And he promised that he wouldn't let Yunoki do something like that to him again.

He was just, really protective, you know? Kazuki had always been the kind of guy that let people walk all over him if it kept the peace, and for a long time, Yunoki was the one that looked out for him and made sure he wasn't taken advantage of. It must be hard for him to give that role up to someone else, especially someone he didn't really know.

But Kazuki would not tolerate having his mate treated like that! They had a conversation about it later, and he got Yunoki to at least agree to backing off for the time being. If, and only if Deuce somehow broke his heart, then Yunoki was free to retaliate. And Kazuki was confident that would never happen.

Anyways!

Kazuki blearily blinked up at Deuce a couple of times before he totally realized he was awake at all. He'd slept so hard and so dreamlessly that it felt like no time had passed since he laid down last night. He took a moment to assess... Yeah. Yeah, he had definitely slept. He actually felt pretty well-rested, which was nice. His new normal of morning nausea was already rearing its ugly head though.

"Mmmn..." he groaned softly, and slowly began to push himself up to sit. "Not morning...?"

He glanced over to the clock on the bedside table and immediately startled-- It was nearly noon!

"Holy crap," he muttered as he drew a hand down his face. "I don't think I've slept this late in my whole life. That was like, more than 12 hours..."

Kazuki heaved a sigh. He really was in bad shape. He couldn't keep going like this.

[majimekun]

"I would have woken you up, but I figured you needed the sleep," Deuce said as he reached over and patted Kazuki's head, trying not to be overly worried.

"Are you feeling sick to the stomach again or can you eat something? I was going to have some lunch, so I can make you something." Deuce was hoping Kazuki would be able to eat anything even if it was just some toast at this point. This low appetite thing wasn't good for him, let alone the baby.

Which was another reason to have a conversation. But it'd be better once Kazuki was at least somewhat awake.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Hmm..."

Kazuki sat on the floor, at Deuce's coffee table. Before him was an array of textbooks meant to teach Japanese to English speakers, a couple of open notebooks, and a bunch of handmade flashcards. He was trying to decide what Kanji he wanted to try to teach to Deuce first, while his mate was out on a jog. But he was having a hard time concentrating.

It had been about 8 weeks since his first doctor's appointment. Thanks to the medicine he was given, he was feeling a lot better. He relied on it pretty regularly at first. But as time went on, he found that he needed it less and less. The longer he went without feeling nauseous, the more he sort of forgot about it, and eventually he wasn't taking the medicine anymore. Which was good, because he was told to be judicious with it. Now he didn't have to worry he might have been taking too much.

It felt like it didn't take any time at all for him to start showing after that. Probably because he ate so ravenously those first couple of days when he finally had his appetite back. Despite that, he'd still more or less been able to see his seat in the orchestra through. It was only in the last week before his tenure was over that he found he couldn't maintain his breathing well enough to play through an entire performance, and by that time he'd fully prepared second trumpet to take his place.

He'd made it through, and his new friends in the orchestra were sad to send him off. He was secretly happy about it though-- it meant that they'd only have good things to relay back to Seisou in Japan. They couldn't be cross with him when he returned when he had done so well!

But... He couldn't really play the trumpet anymore. He just didn't have the force of wind to get a good, clear sound. He anticipated that this would happen, but it was still a bit of a blow. Especially because he couldn't go running anymore, or play sports-- he had so much energy pent up, he was starting to get cagey!

(Also, he was horny. He was SUPER fucking horny, but didn't really know what to do with that, so he just. Tried not to think about it. It wasn't working very well.)

He'd tried to re-direct that energy into getting ready to move back to Japan, and it'd worked, to a degree. He'd gotten everything that he didn't use on a daily basis into boxes and shipped those off. Then he really started to buckle down on Deuce's Japanese. They'd gotten hiragana and katakana down in the past couple of weeks, as well as very common words and phrases, and now were moving into Kanji and sentence structure.

Still, there was only so much booklearning he could take in one sitting. This was mostly good, because Deuce had the same kind of tolerance for focused work, so they usually ran out of concentration power at the same time. But it was really all he was capable of doing at the moment, so when he ran out of patience, he didn't know what to do with himself!

Yeah, this wasn't happening right now. He blew a sigh through his lips, and leaned his head forward until it hit the table before him. He was wearing a pullover hoodie with a pouch on the stomach, and he slipped his hands in to rest on his belly. Sometimes he felt something that might be movement, but it wasn't all that concrete yet. He could find a pretty definite shape of something though, if he pressed around juuuuust right.

"When do you get to be fun?" he addressed the bump without shame, since he was alone in here and all. "Maybe... Three or four years from now?"

Groan.

"I'm really not that patient..."

[majimekun]

Deuce's brain is full. Not that it takes much for it to be, but there's been a lot to do. Packing, all these little decisions, helping Kazuki, learning Japanese, it's left Deuce feeling like a brain that's about to burst.

Japanese in particular has been a complete crash course and the only reason Deuce thinks he's managing is through pure determination. As much determination as his poor concentration would allow. Eventually, they'd had to take a break and Deuce had taken a moment to do some dishes and then get something to drink.

Though when he peeked back into the living room, Deuce couldn't help but overhear Kazuki's small complaint and had to laugh. "I mean, at least you won't be carrying the baby inside of you all that time." He sat down and handed Kazuki a glass of water and then yawned as he sat down next to his mate.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Deuceeeeee..." Kazuki whined unabashedly after he took a sip of water, and rolled to the side so he could drape himself over his mate's lap like a huge, dramatic cat. He'd become quite clingy recently, which was a bit new-- it took Kazuki some time before he felt secure enough in any kind of relationship to show his attachment so blatantly. But he wanted to be fretted over right now. "I'm all restless. I want to go for a run so bad!"

A rousing game of basketball sounded like the best thing in the world right now, but would also be an objectively terrible decision. Kazuki had never really had to deal with having to have that kind of restraint before. His usual coping mechanisms were so healthy that he didn't have to refrain.

"It was okay while I was still working in the orchestra, but now I can't play the trumpet right anymore either..." Kazuki turned over onto his back, looking straight up at Deuce with one hand on his stomach. "And this isn't even the halfway point yet! I'm gonna go nuts!"

[majimekun]

Deuce had definitely noted his mate getting bigger, but it was different seeing it without clothes. He looked softer and Deuce's hands itched to touch and he had to struggle against his natural curiosity. This was such a big part of the process Kazuki was going through right now...

"...can I touch your chest? Or is that no good?" It had to be sore right? But well that was one of the things he was really fascinated by and it was all Deuce had to do to keep himself from craning his head like some gawker.

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki was keeping Deuce in his peripheral vision as he waited for some kind of response, hanging on some kind of sign of approval, anything positive at all... He wasn't afraid of rejection, but for some reason, he still felt like he needed to be accepted? He couldn't really explain it. He wanted to be... Wanted?

"Yeah," he answered, atypically quiet and tentative. Gathering a little more courage, he turned more fully in Deuce's direction. "It's okay. Just be gentle."

[majimekun]

Kazuki's demeanor is different from usual, reserved enough that Deuce realizes he has to exercise caution, so he nods. It's normally something that's easy for Deuce to express but it also feels like everything changed fast. Much more so than he was expecting. It's only now that he's starting to catch up mentally.

"I will. Just tell me to stop if you don't like it," he said as he carefully reached out and let his hand rest against Kazuki's chest. It did feel softer, he thought to himself as he ran a finger over a nipple. "It's... nice feeling."

[forsaintcecilia]

Not long after their yoga-turned-sex session, Kazuki and Deuce got the last of their things packed up and moved back to Japan (for the time being). Kazuki's homecoming was an interesting one, as he was coming back a somewhat different person than he was when had last visited. His family and friends all marveled at his sudden belly-- but more than that, they noticed that he was looking to be in far better spirits than he left them in. He'd figured some things out with the time he had away, and his mental health had improved drastically.

Being home was good for him too. He felt like he could relax better in the familiar environment. Eating familiar foods, going familiar places, being a familiar face rather than a stranger... Not to mention, if there were some kind of emergency, he had a far more robust support system to fall back on if he needed to.

Kauzki spent the rest of his time in a balancing act between taking care of schoolwork obligations, taking care of his body, and making all of the preparations needed to get ready for having a newborn. It was a lot of work. He hadn't done much of any research into all the ins and outs of being a new parent, what he was in for, both in terms of giving birth and then giving care.

It was... Enlightening. Or terrifying, more like. Reading and watching videos about going through labor, when they were being honest and sincere about it rather than clinical, were not encouraging. When he asked his mother about it, point blank, no holding back, even she admitted to the level of suffering and embarrassment he was going to have to endure to be about the worst than it can possibly get.

He did everything he could in preparation, like techniques for managing pain, learning about different positions, making sure he had comforting things around him and so on. But you kinda don't know how that's going to go at all until it actually happened either, so he tried not to ruminate too much.

And then caring for a newborn, round-the-clock feedings and sleep deprivation... He really was glad he was home, and that would be able to go back to live with his parents to have their support after giving birth.

Speaking of support, Deuce was such a blessing throughout all of this. At every turn, Kazuki realized how difficult this must be for him. A family he was still just getting to know, a culture, a nation, a language-- Doctor's appointments where he couldn't communicate, having to navigate the workforce with his limited understanding-- it was so much, on top of having a pregnant mate to care for. It was the absolute extent of being thrown in the deep end.

Despite that, he was doing his best. He was there for Kazuki as a mate whenever he was needed. He was even helping support them by doing odd jobs. He helped with all the pregnancy related needs, he bore the brunt of the occasional anxiety attack... Everything.

So Kazuki tried his best to fawn over his mate whenever he could, and give him all the time together that he wanted to show his appreciation, along with words of praise and acts of love. He'd made a point of them living alone together in his little flat while he was pregnant so their time together was truly their own while they still had it.

Time passed so fast. Before he knew it, he was far enough along that he went to a local shrine to pray for a healthy child and get all the charms and such in hopes of good outcomes. Summer set in as he hit his third trimester, and he spent most of it in good-natured fatigue from a combo of his condition and the heat. He lounged around their flat in as little clothing as possible, and just barely dressed "warm enough" for people not to raise concern when he went out. And you better bet he was eating a ton of ice cream.

Now, he was nearly there. It was the end of August. Thankfully, the end of the semester coincided with his due date. He was going on a hiatus after giving birth, taking the next semester off to get settled with their new addition first.

He'd spent his day while Deuce was out working being gentle with his body. Knowing that he could go into labor soon, Kazuki was letting himself sleep whenever he felt like it, eating small meals throughout the day, so that when it did start, he would have the energy to get through it.

Emotionally, Kazuki was in a state of balancing between being incredibly excited and scared out of his mind. He had to spend time grounding himself every couple of hours to keep his brain from spiraling off into space with anxiety. He took deep breaths, counting them in and out, as he laid on the bed and held a support pillow to keep his weight from settling in a way that made in uncomfortable.

It helped when Deuce came home. He made a good positive distraction. Kazuki glanced at the clock. He should be back soon. Contemplatively, he traced shapes on his belly where he felt their baby, still full of energy and moving regularly.

[majimekun]

To say Deuce was getting anxious was a bit of an understatement. With the due date being so close, he was actually on pins and needles and he'd found himself checking his phone more in the last three months than he ever had in his whole life, save for those one or two periods in his teen years when he'd been addicted to a few mobile games.

But with the due date coming up, Deuce couldn't help but want to be alert. The last thing he wanted was to be absent when the baby came or if Kazuki was in need. It was hard not to worry, especially with this being their first time. On top of that, it was so damn hot. More so than Deuce was used to.

And Deuce was working different jobs here and there, enough to get by and hopefully get them some more money for when the baby came. And on one hand, it was nice to be able to bury himself in work, but on the other, it was taxing, especially when Deuce usually felt like the odd one out. Deuce thought his Japanese was improving if only because he'd had no choice, but he knew how he sounded to other people.

But well, this was for Kazuki. And the baby. Deuce wasn't the type to give up on something that important, even though it was hard. And when he couldn't lose himself in work, he just had to think of Kazuki.

His Mate was relaxing more these days, which was a relief for Deuce, especially after the scare they'd had early this year. Now everything was going well, both with Deuce's mate and their relationship. They'd always been attentive to each other, but there was a new sweetness. This would be the last time it would ever be just the two of them. Soon it'd be the three of them instead...

Damn Deuce had so many feelings bubbling up inside him at random moments, even though he wasn't the one actually physically having the baby. But today he was in the happy space and had to keep himself from skipping home and looking like even more of a weirdo than usual.

But when he finally came in through the door, Deuce called out as he slipped off his shoes. "Kazuki, I'm home!"

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki heard Deuce fumbling with the locks before he even came in, and perked up from being half-asleep in anticipation. He didn't mind having plenty of alone time to chill out these days. He had visitors on a daily basis now, to keep his mind occupied, and he really appreciated it! But he certainly preferred his mate's company to anything else right now.

"Okaeri!" he called back as he began the arduous process of sitting back up. Kazuki had always been in good shape, and still had strength in his muscles, but he was terribly awkward like this. Being upright meant that his belly pressed up into ribcage, and forced air out of his lungs in something that sounded like a yawn, but was honestly far less pleasant. It made him wince a little.

To be honest, he was beginning to get tired of this. But he was able to keep in good humor by reassuring himself that this wasn't going to last much longer.

"I'm all good," Kazuki replied pre-emptively to a question he knew was coming, before Deuce even came in from the entrance-way, "Nothing unusual today!"