Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Because of You ❯ chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

“Because of You”

Sequel to: “This I Promise You”

Written by: Chocho

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Summary: A new baby. An autobiography. A funeral. A pregnancy. A shocking discovery and a woman with a grudge. And that's just this month.

Chapter summary: Eiri finds a disturbing photograph of his husband on the porch.

Warning: Angst, m-preg, language, sex

 

***

 

Chapter 14

 

(The next day)

 

“Yes.” Shuichi snapped out of his light daze. “Uhm, I'd like to make an appointment to see Dr. Ohtani please.” He covered his mouth as a yawn overcame him.

 

“Alright,” replied the chipper, business-like voice.

 

Shuichi kneaded his eyes with his free hand. Kami-sama, he was tired! His eyes ached. His lids felt like lead weights. He could hardly see straight. The beginnings of a headache throbbed behind his temples. His stomach was churning and executing some intricate high dive maneuvers. He was beginning to feel a little bit lightheaded and dizzy. His head was spinning. His body felt like it had lost its equilibrium. He was not sure if he had caught what Eiri had or if the pregnancy test had indeed been wrong. He himself was beginning to get the distinct impression that it was the latter.

 

Not being able to sleep a wink last night had not helped. Well, that was not exactly true. He had been able to get some sleep. And by “sleep” he was referring to the short bouts that had not been long enough to be considered cat nap's, but he had nevertheless been able to steal throughout the excruciatingly long night he had been forced to experience thanks to his son, the one and only Uesugi-Shindou Saburo Kira.

 

Kira had been so fussy last night. He tried feeding him, changing him, singing to him- something that worked in the past- letting him cry himself to sleep- another trick that usually works- and even burping him, thinking he had gas- which has been a problem- but this time nothing worked. Not even that expensive, plush cradle swing his parents purchased for him. In fact, each time they tried to put Kira in it, he started screaming bloody murder. Baby Kira absolutely did not like it. Nope. The only thing that was able to calm his son down in the end was his damned bouncy chair, which had to be- of course- manually moved.

 

His beloved husband had graciously allowed him to deal with Kira while he had the dubious challenge of remaining in bed, nice and toasty and comfortable. Not to mention…asleep!

 

“The thing is I'm only in town for a few days. Is there anyway I can see Dr. Ohtani before I leave?”

 

“Let me check,” the lady answered.

 

He personally did not see what the big deal was. He did not think there was any reason to see Dr. Ohtani. Nearly seven years ago, an accident caused him to become paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors warned him that even though there was a very slight chance of him being able to walk again, he would never again go back to being the same person he was before. It had been nothing short of a miracle that he had come this far in his remission. And he understood all that. He did not like it, but had come to accept it. Eiri was just being his overprotective, paranoid self he supposed. A soft smile crossed his face. If it was for Eiri then he would do it.

 

Shuichi dropped his head back, resting it against the top of the chair and yawned loudly.

 

“Sir?”

 

Shuichi snapped back and sat up. “Yes.”

 

“We have an opening on Monday.” There was a clack of keys and a dim buzz of various noises in the background. “At nine-thirty.”

 

“Monday, nine-thirty?”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Hm.”

 

There was some more clacking. “The next available day is not for six weeks.”

 

Six weeks huh? He was not sure how much longer they planned on staying. Both Eiri and he had to get back to work. Kira had a doctor's appointment in a few weeks and Keitaro and Kane had to get back to school. And he really did not want to have to travel all the way back to Tokyo in six weeks just to go to a stupid doctor's appointment he did not believe was necessary to begin with.

 

“Monday is fine,” Shuichi decided.

 

“Alright. Is this for you?”

 

“Yes it is.”

 

“And your name?”

 

“Shuichi. Shindou Shuichi.”

 

“Okay. We'll see you on Monday then, Shindou-san.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Have a nice day.”

 

There was a click and the line went dead. Shuichi held the phone away from his ear and pressed the talk button, ending the call. Then set the extension down on the table besides his address book and glasses.

 

Turning in his seat, he rested his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. Yawning, he racked his hands through his hair and he sat back up. Leaning back in the chair, Shuichi's hands ghosted over his belly. Was he really pregnant again? He bit back a grin and giggled.

 

Lifting his head up, his deep violet eyes met the small yellow notebook. Leaning forward, he slipped his glasses on and grabbing his address book, flipped through it until he found the number for Dr. Amano. Picking up the phone, he dialed her number. Closing the address book, he tossed it lightly on the table with a flop as he listened to the phone ring.

 

He yawned loudly, tears stinging his eyes.

 

“Parkside Hiroo ladies Clinic,” came the brisk female voice.

 

“Yes, is Dr. Amano there please. This is Shindou Shuichi,” he said, rubbing his eye.

 

“She is in with a patient right now.”

 

Shuichi's heart sank. “Could you tell her I called? I need to speak to her about something. It's important.”

 

“I will give her the message.”

 

“Thank you.” He rattled off his parent's number before ending the call.

 

Setting the phone down on the table, he slid his glasses off and set them next to the phone. Yawning, he scrubbed his eyes with his knuckles. He was so tired. He hoped Dr. Amano called back soon so he could go to bed. His eyes were so heavy he could hardly keep them open. Slumping over the table, he pressed his index fingers into his temples and squeezed his eyes closed against the headache.

 

Gasping, he hugged an arm around his middle as a wave of nausea rose through him and moaned.

 

Distantly, he heard the phone cut through the silence. Opening his eyes, he stared at it as it rung.

“Hello,” he said weakly over the line.

 

“Is Shuichi there? It's Hiro.”

 

Shuichi's mood instantly brightened. “Hey, Hiro!” he cried happily, straightening.

 

“Hey, Shu,” Hiro greeted a little less enthusiastically then his partner. “What's going on?”

 

Shuichi opened his mouth, his free hand fluttering over his flat abdomen, but heard his husband's voice in his head.

 

[“I don't want you to speak to anyone about this Shuichi,” Eiri warned him. “Not until we know for certain.”]

 

He never knew his husband to be superstitious, but Eiri was right.

 

Shuichi closed his mouth and wracked his mind for something to say, but he blanked. “Uhm…” He sweated. “Nothing?” He flinched, cursing, as he heard his voice squeak.

 

In his apartment, Hiro cocked an eyebrow. He pushed farther back into the corner of the couch, his bare toes dangling over the edge of the cushion.

 

The silence spoke volumes. Shuichi licked his lips and giggled, scooting around on the chair.

 

“Shu, what's wrong.” This time it was not a question.

 

Shuichi sighed heavily, his whole body slumping. “I can't tell you.”

 

“So something is wrong.”

 

Wrong? Shuichi's eyes widened. “No! No! No!” he denied. “Nothing's wrong!”

 

Now he was confused. “Wha-?”

 

“But,” Shuichi continued, cutting Hiro off, “there is something going on.”

 

Hiro sat up quickly. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.

 

“Oh, yeah.” Shuichi blushed.

 

“Good,” the guitarist sighed. “But-.”

 

Shuichi smiled gently. “Don't worry,” he reassured his friend. “I'll tell you when I can. I promise. It's nothing bad,” he added quickly.

 

Hiro was not entirely convinced. “…Alright Shuichi. If you're sure.”

 

A grin spread across his face. His hand covered his belly and his grin widened. “Thanks Hiro,” he said softly. “So,” Shuichi continued, “what's going on? The boys went to Sanrio Puroland with my parents and Maiko's kids. Maiko, get this, is out with him.”

 

“Him” referred to his sister's husband. She walked in on the rat bastard with another woman. The “rat bastard” actually had the nerve to call the other day. Apparently he “wanted to talk”. After mulling it over, Maiko decided to see what her so-called husband had to say. All Shuichi wanted was for his baby sister to be happy. So he wished her the best of luck with whatever she decided to do.

 

Shuichi yawned loudly, rubbing his tired, aching eyes. He blinked, stretched his eyes wide that were starting to protest.

 

“Didn't get any sleep last night?” Hiro teased.

 

“No. Kira was fussy and refused to settle down and go to sleep. So I had to stay up all night.”

 

This, if you think about it, might not have been the wisest thing to do, especially if he was pregnant. Stupid Eiri.

 

“Then my mom said she was taking the boys to the amusement park and then to Palette Town, dragging Dad and volunteering to take Chiaki and Subaru with them so Maiko could talk to her husband alone.” He took a quick breath. “Then Eiri took Kira and went out earlier to do some shopping, which he has never done once in his entire life and stopping at the corner store for beer and cigarettes does not count, and he had to meet with Mizuki-san for something.” Shuichi scratched his head. “I don't remember why…Anyway, he said I should get some sleep while I can because when Keitaro and Kane get home I won't have a moment's peace, but I had to call and make an appointment to see Dr. Ohtani and then I called Dr. Amano because I had to talk to her about something, but she was in with a patient and I'm waiting for her to call-“

 

“Dr Amano?”

 

Shuichi blinked, lost and confused as he was jerked out of his ramblings. “Huh?”

 

“Why'd you call Dr. Amano? Isn't she your Obstetrician?”

 

“Yeah,” Shuichi answered bewildered.

 

“Why'd you call her?”

 

Shuichi blinked stupidly. “Because we might be pregnant and…” The rest of what he was going to say rambled off incoherently as he realized, too late, what he just said. “Shit,” he cursed.

 

There was silence.

 

“Hiro?” he called tentatively.

 

“Shu.”

 

“Y-yeah?”

 

“You're pregnant? Again?”

 

Shuichi whined, mentally kicking himself. Him and his big assed mouth. “Yes…No…”

 

“Which is it?”

 

“I don't know,” Shuichi cried. “But you can't say anything! Okay? Eiri told me not to say anything to anyone until we knew for sure and he'd-!”

 

“Don't worry, Shu,” Hiro interrupted. “I promise not to say anything.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

“Really really?”

 

Hiro sighed heavily.

 

“I'm sorry, Hiro. I just-“

 

“I know…But.”

 

“But what?”

 

“What about Desert Star?”

 

Shuichi blinked. His mind went blank. “Who?” It was more of a statement than a question.

 

Hiro was not surprised his friend forgot. “C'mon Shu. Desert Star? The new all girl group that was recently signed to NG?”

 

“Uhm…” Sounded vaguely familiar.

 

“The group? That wants Bad Luck to appear on its debut album? The one Suguru is producing?”

 

The morning finally arrived. “Oh! Yeah!”

 

“So?”

 

Again, Shuichi blinked stupidly. “So…what?” he asked blandly.

 

Hiro had a hard time stopping himself from hitting his head against the coffee table. Planting his feet on the floor, he scooted to the lip of the couch. “So, if you are pregnant, what are you going to do?”

 

“About what?”

 

Closing his eyes, Hiro commanded himself to breathe. “About singing on Desert Star's album,” he clarified his voice straining.

 

Shuichi scratched his head. “Well, I don't know.”

 

Hiro stood up and walked to the window. “Do you want to do it?” he asked, staring out over the city.

 

“Yes,” Shuichi answered without much thought. He surprised even himself that time. “Yes, I do,” he repeated more firmly.

 

“Then-?”

 

“Hiro,” Shuichi continued, riding over his friend's voice. “You of all people know how much music means to me.”

 

“I do.”

 

“It's my life!”

 

“I know,” Hiro smiled.

 

“It means as much to me as Eiri and my boys. I can't imagine my life without music.”

 

“Me, too.” Hiro's smile dropped. Turning around, he leaned his behind against the window sill. He wrapped his free arm around his stomach under his chest. Scanning the open layout of the apartment, his eyes landed on his Ritchie Blackmore Signature Model limited edition cream and white electric guitar personally singed by the English rock guitarist himself in the far corner of the room. “Then what's the problem?”

 

Shuichi sighed.

 

“If you want to do it, then what's the problem? What's stopping you?”

 

“Honestly?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Me.”

 

“You? Why?”

 

“I'm scared.”

 

Hiro cocked an eyebrow. “Scared? Of what? I've never known you to be scared of anything.”

 

Shuichi snorted. You have no idea, he thought.

 

“Is it the boys?”

 

“…Partly,” he admitted. Truthfully he has tried not to dwell on the reasons why too much, but Hiro was right. One of the main reasons why he was hesitating so much was because of his boys. He has never been away from them for more than a few hours and it scared the hell out of him to think that if went back into the studio he would have to be away from his family for weeks or possibly months at a time.

 

“…I know how you feel, Shu.” After all, he himself had a son.

 

Shuichi perked up. “You do?”

 

“I do.” Standing up, Hiro walked back over to the couch and sat down. “Look, why don't we do this. We'll do out parts and then send you the tracks. If you decide that you don't want to do it, then just send them back. No questions asked. And if you want to be on the track, then I don't see why you can't just record your vocals in your studio at home.”

 

Shuichi had to admit it sounded like a good compromise. It did not take care of all his problems, but it was a start. A smile lit his face. “Alright,” he nodded. “Let's do it.”

 

Hiro grinned.

 

“But.”

 

The guitarist held his breath.

 

“If I am pregnant, I can't guarantee anything more than that.”

 

Hiro nodded. “That's fine.”

 

Shuichi's smile widened. His headache, upset stomach, dizziness and fatigue long since forgotten, plans already started forming in his head.

 

“Oh by the way.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Kazahaya's coming home tonight. His mother's dropping him off after dinner.”

 

“Cool! I'll have to tell the boys when they get back. Maybe we can set up a play date or something.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

Shuichi heard a beep in his ear. He pulled the phone away and looked at it. “I've gotta `nother call, Hiro.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“I'll call you tonight about the play date.”

 

“Sounds good.”

 

“Bye Hiro!”

 

“Bye Shuichi,” Hiro chuckled.

 

He shook his head in mild amusement as he ended the call. Leaning forward, he set the extension on the coffee table. His hand strayed almost automatically to his cigarettes, but his fingers curled into a fist. Pulling his hand back, he sat back. His eyes drifted to the framed photograph hanging on the wall above the television.

 

It had been taken nearly seven years ago at the Music Channel Video Music Awards. Standing center stage with two gold trophies in his hands was Shuichi. Fujisaki and Michael stood to Shuichi's left while he, Kei and Kai were on his other side, each holding another trophy.

 

Hiro let a smile drift across his face. It would be nice to get back into the studio again.

 

*

 

Back in the kitchen of his parent's house, Shuichi ended his call with Hiro and answered the other line. “Hello?”

 

“Hello,” came the female voice in his ear. “This is Dr. Amano calling for Shindou Shuichi.”

 

“Oh! Dr. Amano, hello!” He had nearly forgotten. “This is Shuichi.”

 

“Hello, Shuichi. Megumi-san said you had something important you had to talk to me about?”

 

Shuichi's face grew warm. He sucked his lips inward, suppressing a smile. His chin dropped to his chest. “Yeah,” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Uhm…”

 

He heard Dr. Amano sigh.

 

His face grew warmer, his smile larger. The muscles in his face ached.

 

“Don't tell me.”

 

Shuichi giggled and scratched his head. “Yeah.”

 

“Alright. We'll have you come in tomorrow to do a pregnancy test.”

 

“That's fine.”

 

“Good, how about at nine? That way you can be outta here before the clinic opens at ten.”

 

“Sure. Thank you.”

 

“Have a nice day, Shuichi-san. We'll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Thanks. Good bye.”

 

Shuichi ended the call and set the phone on the table. Yawning, he slipped his glasses off and itched his eyes with his free hand. Suddenly the adrenaline rush was over and he felt half dead.

 

Yawning, he stretched.

 

Sighing contently, he slumped down in the chair and laced his fingers together, folding them over his belly. A soft smile flittered over his face.

 

*

 

(A few hours later)

 

A white baby blanket was tented over the baby carrier that felt like it weighed a ton and a half to shade Kira from the harsh rays of the early afternoon sun. In his other hand were two plastic bags. Strapped across his chest was the diaper bag. And clenched between his teeth were his keys. He felt like a bag lady.

 

When Eiri topped the steps, he caught sight of a large manila envelope lying on the porch in front of the door. Curious, he set the carrier and the shopping bags on the porch. Taking his keys out of his mouth, he squatted down and picked up the envelope. “SHINDOU SHUICHI” was printed in large block letters. His brow furrowed in confusion and speculation. He turned it over. Nothing. Frowning, he wiggled his finger under the flap and tore the envelope open. His peered inside. His frown deepened. Reaching inside, he pulled out a piece of paper. Flipping it over, his eyes widened in surprise.

 

“What in the-!”

 

He was looking at a photo of Shuichi with a comatose Kane cradled in his arms and speaking to a devastated Maiko in the parking lot of the Ozaki Funeral Home. He remembered Shuichi saying something about seeing a paparazzo outside the funeral parlor, but he had not thought any more about it.

 

“What the hell is this?”

 

***

 

-Ritchie Blackmore is an English guitarist. He is the founding member of Deep Purple and Rainbow (does their song “Street of Dreams” sound familiar?). Current member of Blackmore's Night.

 

-Parkside Hiroo Ladies Clinic is an actual clinic in Tokyo.

 

- http://www.puroland.co.jp/spl/english/: Sanrio Puroland. Hello Kitty Amusement Park. An actual place.

 

- http://www.tcvb.or.jp/en/infomation/7recom/set10.html: You can go here to learn about Palette Town (and not Ash's hometown). It's a shopping center and entertainment district that has one of the world's largest Ferris wheels.