This Side of Paradise - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 14: Matching

"Mizuki-chan..." Akaashi peeked into the bathroom worriedly, "Are you alright...?"

"Should I call an ambulance?!" Bokuto exclaimed, clearly distressed.

"I'm... I'm fine..." Mizuki murmured weakly, "Sorry..."

"Do you think it was the chicken we ate earlier?" Akaashi grimaced, "I hope I didn't undercook it and made you sick..."

"No, that's not it," She shook her head, hoping that her nausea would disappear, "The chicken parmesan that you made earlier was delicious..."

"Can we get you anything?" Bokuto asked anxiously.

"The last time I threw up, the doctor told me that my symptoms were due to exhaustion..." Mizuki smiled meekly, "I think I should just go home and rest before I get really sick..."

The couple nodded sympathetically and after a few minutes of rest, Mizuki said goodbye and left their house. She managed to drive herself home without a problem but she still felt like her stomach was being pummeled by some unknown force. She trudged up the stairs to her apartment and when she entered, she sat down on the couch tiredly.

Mizuki sighed and checked the time. 8:30 pm.

She wanted to call her husband so that she could hear his voice before going to sleep. She stood up and made her way to the bedroom. She could fall asleep any moment now but a nagging voice inside her head kept her awake.

Nausea is a symptom of pregnancy.

She swallowed nervously, careful not to let her thoughts escalate. She didn't want to get her hopes up because it would only hurt and disappoint her to know that she wasn't pregnant again. Despite her concerns, she opened the bedside table which had several, unopened boxes of pregnancy tests hidden inside.

Mizuki shook her head, refusing to cave into her increasing curiosity.

She wasn't pregnant.

She couldn't be.

~

A few days later

Kei was finally able to drive down and visit Mizuki in Tokyo. He finished up with all the things he needed to complete for school and took the weekend off work and volleyball to see her. As he approached the city, he stopped by a quaint bakery to buy some cheesecake for Mizuki and a strawberry shortcake for himself. He also went to a nearby shop to purchase some sushi and sake for dinner.

He couldn't wait to see his wife. He felt awful that he couldn't be with her especially because of how gloomy she'd been lately. He didn't know how difficult it would be to have a baby so he wanted to support and be there for Mizuki as much as he could. Eventually, Kei reached their apartment and as he parked his car, he noticed a couple who were laughing and having fun with their baby. They were smothering their baby with kisses and Kei couldn't help but be a little envious of what they had.

He exited his car and jogged up the stairs to get to their apartment. He opened the door and was instantly greeted by Mizuki leaping up and hugging him tightly.

"Kei!"

"Hey..." He smirked, embracing her, "Miss me?"

"You have no idea." She grinned.

After a quick kiss, he placed the sushi, cake, and sake that he bought on the kitchen counter.

"My brother says hi," He murmured, "Haru and Koji say they miss you."

"I miss them too..." She pouted.

Kei strolled over to Mizuki and intertwined his hand with hers.

"I got us some sake." He chimed in.

"Oh? Alcohol?" She smiled subtly, "What for?"

"To celebrate the fact that we finally get to spend some quality time together." He squeezed her hand tenderly and smiled.

"You're adorable, you know that?" Mizuki laughed affectionately, "I can't though."

Kei raised an eyebrow curiously and said, "Can't what?"

"I can't drink sake." She stated, causing him to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why?"

Mizuki tugged his hand and urged for him to follow her to their bedroom. He followed behind her quietly, a bit perplexed as to why she refused to drink sake.

"I have a gift for you." She declared casually.

"What's the occasion?" He teased. He couldn't help but be a little nervous and excited at the same time.

"Close your eyes." Mizuki grinned.

"Okay..."

Kei did as he was told and he heard her shuffling around the room a bit.

"Okay, you can look now!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

Kei opened his eyes to find Mizuki wearing a white shirt that had a green, pterodactyl cartoon drawing on the center of it. If he was being honest, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react. It was just a shirt.

"You like my new shirt?" She asked, smirking.

"It's..." He trailed off, clearing his throat, "Nice?"

"Thank you!" Mizuki beamed, "I got you a matching one too."

His face drained in pure horror - he absolutely hated matching couple sets like pajamas, shirts, and mugs. He loved his wife immensely but he would rather die than wear matching shirts in public. Mizuki knew that he hated things like this so he didn't know why she was so happy about it. She gave him his shirt (which was irritatedly identical) and he stared at it with disgust.

"Please don't make me wear this." Kei mumbled.

"But we'd look so cute!" She smiled slyly.

"Please..." He held out the shirt and cringed, "I'm sorry if I made you upset in any way. If this is some sort of punishment, I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

"There's more..." She giggled.

Kei sighed tiredly - what did he do to deserve this?

Mizuki held out a tiny shirt in front of him, puzzling him even more. It had the same design as the other two shirts she showed him except for the fact that it seemed like it was made for a baby. Kei took a few seconds to process his jumbled-up thoughts. He looked at her shirt, his shirt, and finally, back at the tiny shirt. He did this a few more times before he finally realized what it all meant.

"Mizuki..." He held his breath, his body trembling from anticipation, "Are you saying what I think you're saying...?"

"I'm pregnant, Kei..." Mizuki revealed, her face lighting up with delight, "We're going to have a baby."

He stared at her in disbelief. They were going to have a baby.

Without warning, Kei lifted her up and twirled her around, causing Mizuki to laugh elatedly. He laughed with her, pulling her into an affectionate embrace afterward.

"We're going to have a baby." Kei stated, feeling his heart swell with exhilaration.

"Yeah!" She grinned.

"We're going to have a baby!" Kei repeated once more, causing her to nod excitedly.

That night, Mizuki opted out of the alcoholic beverage and decided to drink some water instead. Kei also decided that matching sets like pajamas, shirts, and mugs weren't so bad.

Once their baby came into their world, he would wear a million matching sets in a heartbeat.