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Nagisa skipped down the corridor, the pink gossamer skirt of his dress held in his hands as he did. He’d just had his monthly check-up with the palace physician, and he’d received some amazing news: he was pregnant. He would have been running to tell Rei if the physician hadn’t advised so strongly against it. As energetic as Nagisa was, he would never do anything to harm his baby.
He placed both of his hands over his bump at the thought of his baby. His and Rei’s baby. They hadn’t even been trying for children. Nagisa stopped in his tracks. He and Rei had talked about having children, and they knew that they both wanted them, but they had never discussed when. What if Rei wasn’t ready for children yet? What if he wanted Nagisa to get rid of it?
The thought alone made tears well up in his eyes. Nagisa could never do that to his baby. He glanced around the palace corridor he was on and registered the time on the clock on the wall. Rei would still be fencing with the guards, but he would be up in their quarters soon to take a bath and get ready for dinner. Nagisa would usually be in their quarters by that point, too, ready to greet his husband. But he really couldn’t face him right now.
Instead, Nagisa left the palace altogether and wandered through the gardens until he got to his and Rei’s private library. He was certain this would be the first place Rei would come looking for him, but Nagisa really needed to be with his parents right now.
He entered the library and immediately collapsed into his mother’s armchair after he wandered over to it. His mum would have known what to do, if she were still alive. He imagined what she would have looked like, all those years ago, pregnant. She would have been smiling the whole time, not a perfect blonde curl out of place, and Nagisa’s dad would have been there for her. Not that Nagisa thought Rei wasn’t capable of being a dad. He was well suited to the role, if his stellar treatment of Ren & Ran, and Shachi, Makoto and Haruka’s three-year-old, was anything to go by. But he just didn’t know if Rei was ready, and Nagisa didn’t want to ask him in case he didn’t like the answer.
An hour or so passed, but Nagisa didn’t care. He stayed curled up the chair, fingering the upholstered velvet repeatedly until he heard the library door yank open.
‘Rei!’ Aiichiro shouted, his voice tinged with relief. ‘He’s in here!’
A dozen footsteps seemed to trample into the room at once, but there was only one set that Nagisa cared about.
‘Angel.’
Nagisa could hear the fear and worry in Rei’s voice, and instantly, Nagisa felt guilty. He turned in the chair and pouted in sadness at the sight of his husband. His face was pale, with tearstains coating his cheeks. ‘Rei…’ He hadn’t meant for this to happen.
Rei scooped Nagisa up into his arms, neither man caring that they were creasing Nagisa’s dress. ‘You scared me, love. When you weren’t in our quarters, I thought you might have still been with the physician, but she said you’d left an hour ago. I thought someone had taken you, or hurt you. Everyone’s been looking for you.’
For the first time, Nagisa noticed he, Rei, and Aiichiro weren’t alone. Makoto, Haruka, Rin, Seijuro, Sousuke, and Momo were all in the library, their faces painted with concern. ‘I’m sorry…’ Nagisa whispered, on the verge of tears.
‘What’s wrong, my darling?’
Would Rei still call him angel and darling and love when he found out he was pregnant? He sobbed and buried his head into the white fabric of Rei’s fencing jacket. His husband was going to hate him. ‘Please don’t make me get rid of it, Rei-chan.’
‘What are you talking about?’
Nagisa began to cry now and Rei rubbed his hands up and down his back. ‘It’s okay, angel. I’ve got you.’
‘Come on, everyone,’ Seijuro said. ‘Let’s leave them to it.’
Sousuke, Makoto, and Haruka put up a bit of a protest, but ultimately left the library with the others, Rei and Nagisa now on their own.
Rei placed Nagisa back in his mother’s armchair and knelt down in front of him. ‘Get rid of what, love?’
‘The baby, Rei.’
‘Baby?’
Nagisa nodded. ‘I’m pregnant. The physician told me.’
A massive grin broke out on Rei’s face. ‘You’re pregnant?! Oh my god! Nagisa!’ The prince leapt forwards and hugged his husband in his joy, but then withdrew quickly. ‘Why on earth would you even think I would ask you to get rid of it?’
‘We never talked about when we wanted children. I didn’t know if you wanted to wait longer.’
Rei shook his head, still smiling. ‘I’ve been meaning to bring it up for a while now. Makoto and Haruka already have three children, and I must admit, it’s been making me rather jealous.’
Nagisa smiled and wiped away his tears. ‘So, it’s okay? We can keep the baby?’
Rei nodded. ‘Yes, yes, of course!’ The prince scooped Nagisa back up into his arms. ‘Come on. We need to get some food in you. Then I want you to have a bath with me. I want to look at your tummy.’
Nagisa blushed. ‘There’s nothing there yet. It’s too soon.’
Rei smiled. ‘Even so, I still want to see it. Let’s go.’ The prince carried his husband out of their library and straight to their quarters, deciding he wanted the bath before they ate.
…
‘Nagisa!’ Aiichiro called from down the corridor.
The blond boy stopped walking and waited for his best friend. He and Aiichiro usually ate breakfast together in the servant’s quarters, but Nagisa had ended up staying in bed longer than usual, since he and Rei ended up doing more than look at Nagisa’ tummy in the bath last night.
‘Is everything okay now?’ Aiichiro asked, a duster held in one hand.
Nagisa nodded. ‘Yeah. I was just making stupid assumptions.’
‘Can I ask what it was about?’
Nagisa glanced up and down the corridor, and when he saw that no one else was around, he grabbed Aiichiro’s hands. ‘I’m pregnant.’
Aiichiro’s whole face lit up. ‘So am I!’
The two boys squealed and were about to hug, but were interrupted when a sleepy looking Haruka, still in his pyjamas, came out of the nearest door and glared at the two boys. ‘I have three children asleep in here. Shut. Up.’
Nagisa giggled. ‘Sorry, Haru-chan! We’re just so excited! We’re both pregnant!’
Haruka raised his eyebrows with a smile. ‘Congratulations, both of you.’
‘You’ll have to give us loads of advice, Haru-san!’ Aiichiro said.
‘Yeah, yeah. We’ll talk later. I still need some sleep.’
The two boys nodded and let Haruka go back into his quarters. The older boy quickly put the thought of his younger brother and best friend’s pregnancies to the back of his mind. He hated to admit it, but he did feel a little bit jealous. Ever since his change back to human had been made permanent and he had reunited with Makoto, Haruka had been itching for children. It was strange: he didn’t particularly see himself as the motherly type, but just the thought of him and Makoto having children made his heart swell with happiness. Luckily, Ren & Ran came along soon, and then their newborn, Shachi. Haruka loved all of his children dearly, but he couldn’t help but already want another child.
He trundled back to his bedroom and straight back into Makoto’s arms, who was half awake now.
‘Mm, Haru-chan.’ The gentle giant placed a sloppy kiss on the top of his husband’s head. ‘Who was at the door?’
‘Just Nagisa and Ai. They were being too loud.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yeah. They’re both pregnant.’
Makoto seemed to wake up fully then. ‘Oh, wow. We’re going to be uncles!’
Haruka smiled, then sat up and straddled Makoto’s thighs.
‘Haru-chan?’
Then raven looked down at his husband with wide eyes and a slight pout. This was his “I want it” look. He didn’t use it often. Haruka had never been greedy. Well, he guessed he had, but only for Makoto’s attention and for children. He rocked back onto Makoto’s crotch, and Makoto got the idea straight away.
‘Haru, we already have three children.’
Haruka said nothing, just continued to stare down at Makoto. He knew his husband couldn’t resist this look.
And he was right. A moment later, Makoto smiled. ‘If another child will make you happy, then-’
Haruka didn’t even give Makoto time to finish his sentence before he was already reaching for the oil decanter on the bedside table.
…
Nagisa grumbled to himself as he sat down at the dinner table. The King and Queen were away for a month on business in the neighbouring kingdom of Samezuka, so Rei had invited all of their friends to eat with them, but Nagisa really didn’t want to eat the planned meal. The smell of cooked food alone made him feel sick, so he really didn’t want to even digest it. He knew his baby needed nutrition, especially now that he was five months pregnant, but he really couldn’t stomach it today.
‘Angel?’ Rei asked from beside him. ‘Do you not want the food? Are you not hungry?’
‘I am hungry, just not for this.’
‘What are you craving, darling?’ the prince asked, lovingly rubbing his hand over Nagisa’s protruding tummy.
‘Strawberry ice cream.’
Rei sighed. ‘Nagisa-’
‘I know, I know. I’ve tried to ignore my cravings and eat well for the baby, but I feel like I’ll be sick if I eat what the chefs have planned.’
The prince nodded in understanding. He wanted their baby to be healthy, but not at the expense of his darling. ‘Okay. Strawberry ice cream it is then.’
Nagisa smiled as his husband wandered over to a servant stood in the corner of the room, then looked over at Aiichiro.
The grey-haired maid was sat in the lap of his redheaded husband instead of his chair as Rin rubbed his back. Aiichiro had been suffering from awful back pain, most likely because he was pregnant with twins.
Aiichiro groaned into Rin’s touch. ‘I hate you and your stupid cock.’
Rin smirked. ‘How is it my fault? You were the one who begged me to get you pregnant.’
Aiichiro groaned, remembering that night a little too well.
‘Do you want it again, baby?’ Rin whispered, then pressed a quick kiss below Aiichiro’s ear. ‘I know how much you’ve been craving me.’
Aiichiro nodded, letting a tiny whimper escape his mouth, and Rin smirked in victory.
‘Nagisa,’ Rin said, ‘I’m going to take Aiichiro to our room. He isn’t feeling great.’
‘Okay. I’ll tell Rei.’
Rin smiled, then carried Aiichiro out of the room, passing where Makoto and Haruka were sat as he did. The two men were staring at each other lovingly, which seemed to be the only way they could stare at each other. And, of course, one of Makoto’s hands was resting on Haruka’s tiny baby bump. Haruka had fallen pregnant once again, and Ren & Ran were delighted about the arrival of another sibling. Shachi seemed excited, too, even though he didn’t really understand.
Across the table from Makoto and Haruka sat Momo, and he frowned as he watched the couple. He and Sousuke had been married for two years now, but every attempt that Momo had made to bring up the topic of children, Sousuke brushed it off.
‘Hey,’ Sousuke said as he came into the dining hall. He had recently trained to become a guard so he wouldn’t feel so useless around the palace, but ever since he took the job, Momo seemed to have become sad, almost depressed. He sat down beside his husband and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. ‘Why have you been so down lately?’ Sousuke asked, deciding there was no time better than the present to address the issue. ‘Is it because of me becoming a guard? I’ll quit if you want me to.’
Momo shook his head and turned to face his husband. ‘It’s not that. Sousuke, I want to have a baby.’
Sousuke sighed. ‘Momo, we’ve been over this-’
‘But we haven’t. Every time I try to talk about it, you always change the subject. Why?’ Tears gathered in Momo’ eyes. ‘I’d take good care of it.’
‘Oh, Momo.’ Sousuke rubbed his hand along Momo’s arm. ‘I know you would. You’d make a wonderful mother. I just… I don’t think I’d be a good father.’
‘What? Why not?’ Momo asked, completely confused now. ‘You’re brilliant with Shachi and the twins.’
‘It’s because of my dad. You know, my real dad, not Nagisa’s. He was very cruel to Haru and me before he died and we were sent to the orphanage.’
‘Haru-chan doesn’t let them affect him.’
‘He was too young to remember it. And I spent most of my childhood trying to protect Haru from our dad. I’m just scared that if we had a child together, I would want to hit it.’
‘Well, do you ever feel like you want to hit Shachi or the twins?’
Sousuke shook his head, and Momo grabbed Sousuke’s other hand. ‘You are nothing like him. You’re a good man, Hazuki Sousuke. You would never hurt a child, especially not your own.’
Sousuke smiled at his small husband. ‘After dinner then?’
‘Hm?’
‘We try for a baby after dinner?’
Momo’s whole demeanour brightened and he threw his arms around Sousuke. ‘Thank you!’
Sousuke smiled and held his husband just as tightly, feeling lucky he had married such a wonderful man.
…
Nagisa groaned as his mother-in-law dabbed at his forehead with a wet flannel.
‘It’s alright, darling,’ the queen said. ‘Just keep breathing through the contractions.’
‘Kumiko…’ Nagisa whispered. ‘Where’s Rei?’
‘He’ll be here soon,’ the queen said, but bit her lip. Rei was out hunting with the guards, including Rin, Seijuro, Sousuke, and Makoto. Neither Nagisa nor the queen wanted Rei or Rin to go out hunting this close to their husband’s due dates, but the prince still had royal duties to fulfil. The Queen had sent Momo on horseback to find them and fetch them back to the palace, but he had been gone an hour now and no word had been sent.
‘It’s alright, Nagisa,’ Haruka said from beside his brother on the bed. ‘Rei will be here before you give birth.’
The blond boy cried out in pain before replying. ‘Easy for you to say. Makoto was there for Shachi’s birth.’
Haruka rolled his eyes at Nagisa’s attitude, remembering how rude he had been during his contractions because of how much pain he had been in.
Aiichiro was sat in the chair a little way off the bed. He only had a week until his due date, and he thought he was more than ready to give birth, but now that he had seen how much pain Nagisa was in, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
The door to the bedroom opened, and in ran Rei, Makoto, and Sousuke.
‘I’m here, Nagisa,’ Rei said, breathless.
Nagisa cried out with another contraction and his hand flailed in the air.
Rei ran around to the other side of the bed and grabbed his husband’s hand, letting his angel squeeze it as hard as he needed to.
‘Why were you away for so long?’ Nagisa asked with a sob when his contraction passed.
‘I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t think it would be today.’ Rei leant down and dropped a kiss to his husband’s forehead. ‘But I’m here now, okay? And so are all of your brothers.’
Makoto sat down beside Haruka on the bed with a smile. ‘I can’t wait until you’re giving birth again,’ the brunet whispered to his husband.
‘I didn’t realise you were a sadist.’
The older boy blushed. ‘I didn’t mean it like that… I just… you know… want our child to be here already.’
Haruka smiled and kissed his husband’s cheek. ‘I know. Me, too. But I wouldn’t mind if you were a sadist.’
Makoto groaned. ‘Haru-chan…’
Sousuke stepped towards the bed. ‘Where’s the palace physician?’ he asked.
‘She went to fetch her medical bag,’ Nagisa said, much calmer now another contraction had passed. ‘Why?’
‘I need her to check over Momo.’
‘Oh, is he quite alright? Did he fall off his horse?’ the queen asked.
‘I’m fine,’ Momo said as he walked into the room. Other than being a little breathless and his hair in disarray, he was okay.
‘No, you’re not. You shouldn’t have been horse riding.’
Momo rolled his eyes and took a seat beside Aiichiro.
‘What’s going on?’ Nagisa asked with a pout from where he was led on the bed.
The orange-haired maid sighed. ‘I didn’t really want to tell you when you’re about to give birth, but I guess I have to now. Sousuke and I are having a baby.’
Aiichiro gasped from beside him. ‘Really?! That’s brilliant news!’
‘Thanks, but onii-chan doesn’t know yet, so please keep quiet about it until I work out how to tell him without it resulting in him murdering Sousuke.’
Aiichiro nodded, then shuffled out of the room. Rin was waiting outside with Seijuro, and further down the corridor were Ren & Ran, who were playing Shachi.
‘Hey,’ Rin said with a smile.
The grey-haired boy frowned and buried himself against his husband’s chest.
‘What’s wrong, baby?’ Rin asked as he brought his arms up around Aiichiro. It was getting hard to hold him close because of the massive bump in between them, but they tried their best.
‘Don’t leave my side until I give birth? I don’t want to be in pain like Nagisa was today without you by my side.’
Rin nodded and kissed the top of his husband’s head. ‘Okay, baby. I won’t leave you alone.’
There was another cry from inside Rei and Nagisa’s bedroom.
‘Are you going to go back in and support him?’ Rin asked.
Aiichiro shook his head. ‘As much as I want to, it just makes me not want to give birth. I don’t think I can stand being in that much pain.’
The redhead nodded in understanding. ‘Your birth will be fine, I’m sure of it. I know it will hurt, but the pain you’ll feel cannot compare to the joy afterwards.’
Aiichiro hummed in agreement. ‘We still haven’t thought of any names.’
‘Then let’s think of some now.’
…
Seven hours later, Nagisa was exhausted, but it was so worth it, as led in his arms was a beautiful baby girl. She had Nagisa’s blond curls and Rei’s purple eyes and she was so small and perfect and beautiful. Nagisa felt tears welling up in his eyes as he looked down at his daughter, and Rei felt much the same. He wanted to stay in this moment forever.
Haruka, Makoto, and Sousuke all cooed over their new niece, and the queen was practically gushing over her granddaughter.
‘She looks like an angel!’ Kumiko exclaimed.
‘What are you going to call her?’ Rin asked, parchment and quill in hand. He needed to write the name down to give it to the Palace Crier so the birth of a new princess could be announced in the town centre.
Nagisa and Rei exchanged a look. ‘Kimiko,’ the blond said. ‘It was my mother’s name.’
Sousuke and Haruka smiled. ‘It’s a good choice.’
‘Come on,’ the physician said. ‘Let’s leave the new family to it.’
The queen tutted but left the room, Haruka, Makoto, and Sousuke following her and the physician out.
Rin jotted down the appearance of the baby before leaving, but Nagisa shouted to him before he was fully out of the door.
‘Rin-chan, can you get someone to send Sasabe up to the palace? I want him to meet his goddaughter.’
The redhead smiled. ‘I’ll send Seijuro to get him.’
‘Thanks.’
Rin left the room, and Rei and Nagisa both turned their attention back to their daughter. She was sleeping peacefully in her mother’s arms, barely making a sound.
‘I’m going to spoil her so much,’ Rei whispered. ‘She’s going to be the most loved princess in the world.’
Nagisa giggled. ‘She better not be bratty then.’
‘She won’t. Not with a mother like you.’ Rei rested his head on Nagisa’s shoulder. ‘I’m so lucky to have you both. You’re wonderful, Nagisa.’
The blond smiled down at his husband and his daughter. He had never imagined that this is how his life would end up. Four years ago, he was gearing himself to run away from Iwatobi on his eighteenth birthday, and now, he was sat in Iwatobi palace, with his husband and daughter, and his life was wonderful.