Unexpected Delievery

The first time Tetsu held his nephew, he looked right at Takako and she knew nothing good was going to come from it.

Enjoy!

It was a windy Spring day and Tetsu had woken up about two hours before their alarm, wondering around the house, opening cupboards, slamming doors, and even working out in the living room. When Takako finally got out of bed, she quietly made them some tea and watched cautiously as Tetsu drank it in silence.

Ever since last night, Tetsu had been in a sort of trance. It wasn't that unusual for Tetsu to get quiet and, dare she say it, thoughtful. He was, after all, an old man at heart and Takako had come to love those little quirks over the years. This time, however, was different. Tetsu usually stayed pensive for an hour, maybe three (five was the most he had ever stayed quiet for and that was only when he thought Takako was secretly in love with the pitcher for the Dragons: long story short - she wasn't and Tetsu had to sleep on the futon in the living room that night). And although the current length of time Tetsu stayed quiet was completely record-breaking, the length of time Tetsu stayed pensive was not what worried Takako - it was the reason for such a trance.

Yesterday at 3:45pm Tetsu had received a call. He was at the training fields, amidst a busy day of work when his phone began ringing. He had answered it of course since the caller was none other than his little brother Masashi. And at 3:49pm Takako had received a frantic call from her husband.

Yuuki Haruno had gone into labor.

Both Takako and Tetsu left work and rushed to the hospital, only to find a nervously pacing Masashi and an almost too calm Haruno.

"It happened so fast!" Haruno was rubbing her round stomach, breathing slowly as the machine next to her bed beeped slowly. "I was just looking through the fridge - trying to, well you know, snack on something... I was craving something spicy but then I remember that my friend told me that -"

"Haruno," Takako interjected, grabbing Haruno's hand, "Focus."

"Oh yes!" Haruno giggled before wincing, her grip on Takako tightened as a contraction hit her. "Well, my water just broke and I just kind of screamed and Masa-kun came running and he started to freak out -" A shocked grunt came from the other side of the hospital room "-and we started to get out the door but then we realized that we forgot out bag so then we had to go back in but Masa-kun locked the door with the keys inside and, oh my gosh, we have a broken window now."

Takako had smiled and rubbed at Haruno's hand encouragingly as she spoke. Back when Masashi and Haruno had started dating, Takako wondered how the two air-heads would get along. Fortunately, the two were so in love (it was weird at first to see Masashi look at Haruno with a complete look of adoration) that everything just seemed to fall into place, save for a few broken windows along the way.

Hours had passed until, at 8:30pm, little Yuuki Sachihiro was born.

Both Haruno and Masashi cried as they held their son for the first time. Takako stood by Tetsu, his arm around her shoulders as they watched their family. When it came to the new aunty and uncle to hold the newest Yuuki member, Takako went first. She wrapped her arms tightly around Sachihiro and in that moment, she understood why Masashi and Haruno named him extreme happiness. That little bundle in her arms filled her with such joy - it was her family, it was the future, it was simply life at its best. She smiled at Tetsu as she handed the baby to him.

Takako watched as Tetsu smiled down at his nephew, her own smile growing wider as each precious moment passed. She could have spent the rest of her life watching Tetsu in that moment.

But she should have known better.

In one second she wanted time to stop and in another, she was ready to run from the building. Tetsu - her sweet, stupid Tetsu - had broken the spell by looking up at her, his eyes wide and full of sudden surprise. Time had stopped but not for the reasons that Takako had hoped for; no, time had stopped as Tetsu looked at her with eyes as big as saucers, desperately trying to convey something that Takako really didn't want to get into.

Lucky for her, Masashi came and hugged his son and brother, tears streaming down his face, and for the rest of the night, Takako skillfully avoided Tetsu's eyes.

And so here they sat. Tetsu was still in his trance, slowly drinking the tea Takako had made, looking off into the distance. He had been like this since their car ride back from the hospital and Takako had a gut-feeling that she knew why.

"Tetsu," Takako said carefully, trying to arrange what she wanted to say in her head, "Tetsu."

He blinked twice at her, his hazy eyes coming to, "Yes?"

"What's on your mind, Tetsuya?"

He blinked at her again.

"Tetsu..."

"Masashi is younger than me..."

Ah, here it was, thought Takako, taking a sip of her own tea. She had suspected something along these lines. Tetsu was very obvious and Takako was a pro at reading him, but she wanted to hear him explain himself, nonetheless.

"I've always done things before him... 'cause I'm the older brother." Tetsu was looking at her now, his eyes coming more and more into focus the further he explained himself. "I've done everything before he has... I played baseball before him... I got a girlfriend before him... I got married before him but... but..."

Takako couldn't help to smile, mostly because two the three most important firsts in Tetsu's life included her and also because Tetsu was usually so confident, so collected, so crazily oblivious to feelings of insecurities. It was rare to catch him doubting himself.

"But now he did something before me..." Tetsu's eyes had that fire returning to him and it made Takako smile at him even more. "And that's not even my biggest problem any more!"

"What?"

"I want one!"

Takako almost dropped her tea cup. Yes, Tetsu was predictable; yes, Tetsu was easy to read; yes, Tetsu was a simple man - and yet, he still surprised her sometimes. One some occasions it was good surprises and others, well, at other times she found herself wishing that she could just have been right in her assessments of her husband.

"Y-You want one? You want one of what exactly?"

"I want a baby." Tetsu's fire had definitely returned to his eyes, that same old passion that Takako had seen back in high school was bright and present as he all but demanded his very own Yuuki child. "We should have a child."

"Do you know what you are saying Tetsuya?" Takako wanted to shake her husband.

It was Tetsu's turn to smile at his wife. "Yes, Takako, I know what I'm saying. We've been married for three years now - and we've been together since our third year... I think we should have children."

The last time the Child Discussion took place, they had both decided it would be best to wait a few years. Both Takako and Tetsu had jobs that they loved, where Tetsu worked for the Seidou High School as a coach and Takako had a sports medicine job for the Giants, and wanted to focus on before having children. That discussion, however, had happened about three years ago, shortly after their wedding and both had been content with leaving things the way they were. Even when Masashi and Haruno had announced that they were expecting, the idea of kids seemed far off.

"Takako?"

Snapping out of her own trance, Takako took a deep breath. She loved Tetsu, and yes she sometimes wished he would just follow her plans instead of going off and being a big, stupid, adorable, air-headed idiot.

But where would be the fun in that?

"...Okay."

OMG. ok so i was just inspired to write - mostly by an awesome Ao No Exorcist fanfic and I just wanted to keep this series alive.

So if y'all are wondering about ages, I think Tetsu and Takako would be around 28 and Masashi and Haruno are 26.

Thank you so much if you've read this far! Leave me with an bits of inspiration/ideas to keep this series alive! Thanks y'all!