Kare Uta

“You’re getting so big,” Aoi heard him say. The image of the drummer dipping his head and rubbing his stomach came to mind, and the guitarist smiled as he kicked off his shoes and left his coat on the rack. “It’s a wonder you haven’t given me stretch marks yet.” Aoi’s smile grew, and he muffled his laugh with his sleeve as he continued through the house. “Your father teases me, little one, for fretting over stretch marks. He says he doesn’t care, but I do.” He heard the drummer chuckle to himself, and he shook his head as he laughed again. “You won’t give me stretch marks, will you, little one?”

Aoi could imagine his drummer petting his stomach and smiling at their daughter shifting around inside him in response to his question. He could picture Kai nearly shedding a tear as his hormones made him consider the wonder of pregnancy for the millionth time, and he could picture the smile settling back in as the thought of their daughter being half him and half Aoi came back to him. Kai was like clockwork to the guitarist, and that was a fairly comforting thought.

“Your father loves you, you know,” he heard the drummer say quietly, and then he heard the sizzling of a frying pan. He raised an eyebrow, and he made his way toward the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe as quietly as he could, doing his best not to let on to Kai that he was there. “And I love you, too. It’s taken me a while, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Aoi smiled as Kai patted his stomach, and he bit his lip to hold back the ever-present laughter as Kai squeaked a little in response to their daughter pressing her foot rather forcefully to his sensitive abdomen. His head leaned on the doorframe, and he watched as Kai hummed to himself, contentedly flipping the sandwiches in the frying pan and, minutes later, switched the flame of the stove off with a proud expression on his face.

“Just wait until your father sees these,” the drummer said, and he smiled to himself as he flipped enough grilled-cheese sandwiches for three onto a nearby plate. “He hasn’t gotten to have these in weeks.” He seemed proud of himself, and he was grinning as he set the plate on the table and then sank gratefully into the nearest chair, sighing and propping his feet up. He allowed himself a moment to relax, and then he glanced upward, jumping slightly and letting out a squeak of surprise as he saw Aoi leaning casually on the doorframe. His hand rested over what was really beginning to be an impressive swell of his stomach, and he fixated his best stern glare upon his boyfriend before relenting as Aoi walked over to him and kissed his forehead with a smile. “You’re home early,” he breathed. “I meant to surprise you.”

“Mhm,” the guitarist laughed, and he tilted the drummer’s head back to greet him with a proper kiss. “Looks like that plan backfired, ne?” He grinned, and then he picked up the drummer’s feet, replacing them on the chair in front of him before setting them in his lap. “You weren’t standing for long, were you, Kai-chan?” He glanced up at his boyfriend and smiled teasingly, gently massaging the drummer’s instep and earning himself a very pleased sigh. “The doctor said not to.”

Kai smiled and bit his lip in an attempt to hold back the soft moan that still escaped as Aoi’s fingers kneaded at the aching arches of his feet. “No, I wasn’t.” He dropped his head back onto the chair, and he watched his guitarist with half-lidded eyes, smiling fondly at him. “Grilled cheese doesn’t take forever, despite what you may think.” This earned him a soft laugh, and he reached out and brushed at the hair hanging in front of Aoi’s face. “Besides. I thought we’d celebrate.”

Aoi looked up at him, an eyebrow raised, his fingers still massaging his drummer’s feet. “Celebrate what?” For a moment, he was sure he’d forgotten something important, and he mentally went through a list of dates Kai had made him promise to remember. It wasn’t their anniversary, nor was it the band’s, and he hadn’t missed an appointment. “Have I missed something?”

Kai smiled and shook his head, his hand running over his abdomen. “No, koi-chan, you haven’t.” He bit his lip and paused, watching genuine concern slip into his boyfriend’s smooth features. “I thought I would cook so that we could celebrate the fact that our daughter picked her name today.”

Aoi felt his heart flutter involuntarily, and his smile widened as Kai slipped his feet from his grip to gently cup his face and press their lips together. He let his hands rest on Kai’s neck during the short seconds that they kissed, and when he drew back, he blinked, astounded, and stared at his now grinning boyfriend. “She picked a name?”

Kai nodded, and he beamed proudly. “Hai. She wouldn’t stop moving for nearly ten minutes after I suggested Airi.” He felt a small flutter in his stomach as he said the name, and he rolled his eyes and patted his stomach where the sensation had occurred. “She’s calmer now, though, because she knows you’re here.” His smile softened into something more affectionate, and he let out a soft sigh as Aoi gave him a gentle kiss and then rose to wash his hands. “She considered Hana for a while.” He heard Aoi’s soft laughter, and he shifted on the chair as the guitarist sat back down, lifting his feet into Aoi’s lap once the guitarist had tapped his thigh and curled a finger at him. “But I think she likes being called jasmine more than she likes being called flower.”

Aoi picked up a sandwich and handed it to the drummer, and he picked another one up for himself, dropping one hand to his lap to absentmindedly massage the soles of Kai’s feet. “She’s smart, then,” he said, and he looked over at the drummer with a coy smile. “Definitely my daughter.” He gave Kai’s foot a squeeze, and he chewed a bite of his sandwich before he added, “I’d prefer anything over being named flower.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “Your name also means blue, Aoi-chan. I’m not sure you have much room to talk.” He snickered good-naturedly, and then he allowed himself to taste what had taken him a good ten minutes to prepare. “But that’s okay.” He patted his stomach with the hand he had free. “We still love you.”

Aoi half-snorted and took another bite. “How very kind you are, Kai-chan.” The drummer raised an eyebrow and pressed his heel into the guitarist’s thigh, and Aoi gave his foot an affectionate squeeze. “But I love you both, too, and you know that.” The pressure on his thigh was relieved, and he struck up another tally against Kai’s hormones. Even small teases had begun to set him off now, and he’d had to learn to be more careful than usual, which was easier said than done. His gentle massaging seemed to be doing the trick, and he stashed that away in his bag of tricks as they ate.

He wrinkled his nose when his cell phone rang, and he set what very little was left of his sandwich down on his plate so that he could dig the thing out of his pocket and answer the call, rolling his eyes as the caller ID told him it was the band’s vocalist. He flipped the phone open, and he held it to his ear, focusing more on Kai’s quiet humming than the voices that greeted him on the other end of the line. “Yes, Ru-chan, I know it’s you, now please give up on that voice. It hasn’t been amusing since the PVs of seven years ago.” He sighed. “Tired. Yes. That would be me. But Kai-chan and I are eating, so is this important?” He was quiet for a moment, and Kai watched him amusedly as he picked at his sandwich and continued to receive a foot rub. “Do I have a choice? …No, I suppose you’re right. What about him, though?”

Kai could tell that Ruki and Mika were not the only ones in their apartment.

“Alright, I’ll let him know…no, I’m not going to tell him that.” Aoi sighed, and Kai could, for the most part, infer that Ruki had convinced Uruha to share some of his beloved sake, simply from the way the guitarist looked tired of the vocalist’s antics. “Noon? Hai, okay, we can be ready then.” Another pause. “Tell Uru-kun I say hello back, and remember what happened the last time you decided to be creative with Mika’s drink.” Kai chuckled; watching Aoi deal with Ruki and the woman that was practically the vocalist’s wife was amusing, and he allowed himself to settle into the chair a little, humming contentedly and popping the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. “Right. When your hangover magically disappears, that will be the first thing on my list. Goodnight, Ru-chan.”

Kai raised an eyebrow as Aoi shut his phone and let it drop onto the table, and he felt his heart pang a little as the guitarist leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. “Tired, Aoi-chan?” he asked softly, and for a moment, he felt bad for sniggering at the guitarist’s misfortunes. “You should sleep.”

Aoi lifted his head, and he gave a small smile that showed how tired he was. Kai could see that his energy was gone. “I’ll sleep when you do.”

Kai grinned, picking up the large plate of sandwiches and slipping his feet from Aoi’s lap, rising from his chair as smoothly as he could. His shirt slid up momentarily, displaying taut skin that had still managed to remain flawless, and it was only tugged down once the plate was safely on the counter and the sandwiches had been wrapped up and stored away. “What perfect timing, then,” he said, and his smile was too bright for Aoi to say no to him.

“Aren’t you hungry?” the guitarist asked, and he blinked as the drummer grinned and picked up his plate as well. “I thought pregnant meant always hungry.” He blinked again, watching the drummer shake his head, and he realized that Kai was laughing at him. “What?”

“How silly you are, Aoi-chan,” Kai said cheerily, and the swing in his mood had Aoi’s head spinning a little. He’d gone from slightly irritated to grinning proudly to being concerned to being back to himself within the space of a few minutes, and despite the weeks they’d had to adjust to such a thing, it still left Aoi reeling each time, as it always happened when he least expected it. “No one can eat all the time, not even a pregnant person.” He winked, and he kissed the guitarist’s forehead before waving him off. “Now tell me what Ruki’s allowing you to so that I can send you off to bed.”

“He and Mika are coming over tomorrow.”

“Mhm.” Kai didn’t seem surprised; it was a very Ruki thing to do to pop in and attempt to relieve his band mates of the stress in their lives, though Kai hadn’t had the heart to tell him that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn’t be able to carry the baby for Kai, and their life really was not as stressful as he thought. “He’s taking you out?” Aoi nodded; Kai had figured as much. “Which leaves me with Mika-chan and plans for the baby.”

“Try to look a little more excited, Kai-chan,” the guitarist teased, and it earned him a playful smack on the shoulder with a dish towel and an affectionate kiss to his chin. “At least he can’t get you drunk. I’m sacrificing my sobriety for you.” He flashed a grin that he hoped wouldn’t lose, and he was relieved when Kai’s raised eyebrow relaxed and his lips were engaged in a very gentle yet loving kiss.

“Off to bed with you,” Kai said gently, and he winked and touched the guitarist’s face. “Both of us will need sleep if you’re going to end up drunk and I get to be left with you.” He gave his boyfriend’s chest a playful shove, and he shook his head and snickered as the guitarist stole a kiss and then did as he was told. He felt a small kick against his stomach, and he placed his hand over the spot where it had happened, rubbing his hand over his skin. “That’s your father,” he told his stomach, and he heard Aoi chuckle. He sighed. “He always wins.”