The Weasel and the Deer

28. Bump

Disclaimer: This chapter was inpired by the song 'I've Been Waiting For You' from Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. Now, These characters and this song is not mine. They belong to their rightful owners.

Becoming Parents
Part II

The first thing Temari noticed was the exhaustion. She had woken up one day, extremely tired. She didin't think much of it since she did spend a good half of the previous day, cleaning the house. She figured it would go away with some rest. It didn't.

Next came the nausea and vomitting. Again, she didn't think much about it since the last time she experienced those symptoms was when she had too much curry, back in Suna. And they did have curry for dinner the night before.

She didn't do anything for the symptoms, just rest and proper meals and fluids. She figured they would resolve on their own. But again, they didn't. They persisted for days and when her symptoms lasted for a week, she decided it was time to pay Sakura a visit. Shikamaru had noticed the symptoms and had been very worried about her, but she had assured him she was fine. 

Really, she was. She had no fever or colds or cough. She was fine.

But imagine her surprise when Sakura, with her glowing hands pressed on her stomach, had smiled at her so wide and said, "Congratulations, Temari. You're pregnant."

Temari didn't cry. She was too stunned to give such reactions. The only thing she did was place her hands softly on her stomach. She couldn't believe it. And it wasn't because they weren't expecting it. They wanted kids, but the mere idea of finally being pregnant scared her.

'What if she wasn't meant to be a mother?'

Sure, despite her tough exterior, she was a caring woman. But that was different. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a wife.

But being a mother held a different kind of pressure that she didn't know she was cut out for. She had went home after that, stunned into silence. You would think that with a bag of vitamins and medicines Sakura had prescribed her for the pregnancy, Shikamaru would quickly catch on. But her usually attentive husband was too tired because of work to even notice.

She didn't it though. She was actually glad to have the first few weeks of knowing about the pregnancy all to herself. She wanted to spend some more time with her baby before she let Shikamaru know, besides, she wanted to surprise him.

About a month after finding out about the baby, Temari gave him several clues that her usually smart  husband was apparently too dense to even understand. It took him a while, but he came around and it was the happiest moment of their lives. Family and friends were very happy for them. When she told her brothers about the pregnancy, they showed up at their doorsteps 2 days later.

As the pregnancy progressed, she started noticing the changes on her body. Her breasts were bigger, her feet swollen, her back hurt and her hormones were all over the place. Shikamaru had been the poor guy on the receiving end of her emotional outburts.

However, there were times when her hormones satisfied the both of them, immensely. So he really couldn't complain.

None of her clothes fit anymore and her normal walk was replaced by an annoying waddle that her husband found extremely adorable. Sexist jerk. And to make things even worse, Sakura had refrained her from carrying her tessen, saying it would only exacerbate her back pain. Temari wasn't too proud to admit she had a little breakdown after that.

But the most exciting change was her growing bump.
Each day, Temari would look at herself in the mirror, admiring the way her belly grew to accomodate the growing child. It was an amazing thing.

About halfway through her pregnancy, the doubts came crawling in. They kept her up at night and terrified her.

She had no idea how she was going to do it. Despite having so many people supporting them, she still felt like something was missing. She would often cry at night, her hands protectively hugging her big bump. And Shikamaru would always be there to ease her doubts and let her know that she wasn't alone. He was going to be there, the rest of the way.

So instead of wallowing in her doubts, Temari decided to prepare for the arrival of their baby. She and Shikamaru bought all the things the baby would need. They then hung the first scan of the baby on the wall by the crib.

They were having a boy.

The gender of the baby called for another celebration in their family. Yoshino had cried and hugged them tight, saying how happy she was and how she couldn't wait to see a mini Shikamaru running around.

Temari couldn't either. She still had 4 more months and yet she already felt so protective over her son. She would spend an hour each morning, afternoon and night, rubbing her bump, talking to it and singing a lullaby she heard her mother sing to her younger brothers. Shikamaru would always press his ears on her bump and smile when his son would kick him. Their son hadn't been born yet, but they were already smitten with him.

Their son would have two nations protecting him and Temari felt immensely proud. She would never let anything or anyone hurt even a single hair on her baby.

She was scared and excited at the same time. She still had her doubts, but she was determined to be the perfect mother to her son.

And as she stood, heavily pregnant at 8 months, in front of the bathroom mirror, clad in a dark purple maternity dress, her hair free from its usual spiny confinement, she couldn't help the tears pooling in her eyes. Because, it wasn't her own reflection that was looking back at her.

It was her mom.

She looked exactly like her mother when she was pregnant with Gaara and she realized why this whole pregnancy had felt strange for some reason.

This was the closest she had ever felt with her mother and she desperately wished she was there to hold her hand and tell her how to do this. To tell her how proud she was to have a grandchild.

The tears fell down her face and she almost jumped when she felt arms wrap protectively around her. She flet Shikamaru press a kiss on her head, his hands rubbing her arms soothingly.

"She's proud of you, Tem. I know she is."

She cried for a while and when she finally looked up at her husband, she felt all her worries evaporate. She wiped her tears and asked him.

"We still don't have a name for him."

Shikamaru groaned.
"This is such a drag."

Temari laughed and happily rubbed her big bump. This pregnancy had been troublesome, but it was well worth it and she couldn't wait to hold her son in her arms.

"I'll carry you all the way
And you'll choose the day
When you're prepared to greet me
I'll be a good mum, I swear
You'll see how much I care
When you meet me"
- Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again
...
AN: Here's part two of Becoming Parents hihi and it was really inspired by this beautiful song. If you guys haven't seen Mamma Mia 2, you should. It was amazing and I cried. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter! Thank you for reading!

PS: I'm really happy to hear about you guys and what you've been up to. I'm glad you guys found something you really enjoy. Just keep going!🤗