surrogate labor

chapter five

It was already night time when Takahiro and his wife opened the door to Akihiko's lavish pent house and let themselves in. They had been given the keys so that it would be easier for them to see Misaki whenever they wished and leave things for him if there was nobody in the house. The couple swept their gaze around the spacious but empty living room. It was so quiet that the sound of the clock ticking could be heard. "They're not in?" Manami wondered a loud. "It's so late already. Where could they be?"
"They probably went out for dinner," said Takahiro. "Let's just leave the things here." He caught sight of a notepad on the computer table and was about to scribble a message when his wife stopped him. "Wait." Manami's ears picked up at the sound of voices that seemed to leak out from the study. "I think they're in." The couple approached the room and halted their footsteps when they heard Misaki's voice through the closed door. "Ouch, that hurts. Can you not be so rough?" In response, there came a muffled grunt from Akihiko. Takahiro frowned as a flicker of suspicion crossed his face. "What on earth are they doing?" he whispered to his spouse. "I knew it," Manami whispered back. "There's something going on between these two. Call it a woman's instinct!" Takahiro froze for a moment as the unnerving image entered his mind, his best guy friend screwing his innocent little brother, his innocent pregnant little brother. "No no no, just NO! That can't be true!" His wife shushed him. "Just listen." The couple held their breath, straining to hear what was going on inside the room. "Hmm. You're tight." That was unmistakably Akihiko's deep rich voice. A soft moan came from Misaki, followed by silence for the next few minutes. "Oh my!" Manami's eyes widened and her voice trembled. "They're-they're really doing it!" Takahiro buried his face in his hands and whimpered, shaking his head in disbelief. "It can't be! He can't". Akihiko's voice echoed through the door. "You wanna change your position. Try lying down."
"See what I told you?" Manami whispered to her husband. "I knew he had an ulterior motive for taking in Misaki but you didn't believe me." A few moments of silence followed and then Akihiko's voice could be heard again. "You're tensing up. Try to relax, I won't break you." Takahiro curled his fists angrily as a sudden impulse took over him. "damn I am not going to forgive him for this! That asshole's taking advantage of Misaki!" He put his hand on the doorknob. "Does it feel better now?" He heard Akihiko ask. "Yeah...Feels good..." Before he knew what he was doing, Takahiro turned the doorknob and burst into the room. "What do you two think you're doing?" he demanded. The scene that greeted him and his wife wasn't quite what they were expecting. Misaki's entire body was sprawled face down over a bed of cushions on the sofa, and Akihiko was sitting near his feet. Instead of being butt-naked, both man were fully dressed. Akihiko was putting a jar of something on the table and looked up calmly when he saw the couple coming in. Misaki scrambled to push himself up and greeted them with a smile. "Hello nii-chan and ne-chan! Usagi-san was giving me a massage because my back's been feeling tight," he explained. "Oh," said Takahiro, glancing sheepishly at his wife. The couple apologized profusely, and Manami quickly broke the awkwardness by stepping forward and handing a paper bag to the boy. "Hey Misaki," she said using her sweet, doting voice. "I got you some herbal tea, it'll help calm your stomach a little."
"Thank you," Akihiko stood up and accepted the tea on his behalf, grinning innocently. "Misaki would really appreciate that. Would you like to stay for a while?"
"No thanks. I think we'd better get going." said Takahiro, feeling really ridiculous about what he had just done. "Yes we have to go now. See you at the next doctor's visit!" Manami flashed a smile, grabbed her husbands hand and pulled him out of the room. When the sound of the door closing indicated that the guests were gone, Akihiko draped one arm around Misaki and chuckled. "I think we'd better lock the door next time."
"Phew, thank goodness we weren't..." Misaki's voice trailed off in a mumble while Akihiko grabbed the opportunity to pull him close. "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we-"
"I'm tired," Misaki huffed as he grabbed Suzuki-san the stuffed bear and thrust it against Akihiko's invading face. "Misaki..." Akihiko sighed wishfully, but the boy was already snoring away with his head on his lap. Akihiko sat still on the sofa running his fingers through the soft brown hair, thinking how his beloved looked more vulnerable than ever. Life had changed ever since Misaki had taken it upon himself the responsibility of carrying his sister-in-law's children and somehow this made Akihiko feel even more protective over him. Surprisingly he also found that he had grown more patient, although it still took tremendous effort to control himself around Misaki. Closing his eyes he tried to imagine what it would feel like if Misaki were carrying his children. What would it feel like to be a father-to-be?