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It was early October, and the weather was still nice enough to spend hours outside with only a light jacket. The years were getting warmer and warmer, the Earth was dying, but soon, Nanami and Mahito's family would become four.
Mahito was six and a half months pregnant, and he was glowing in a way that was entirely new; his skin had a healthy peachy tone, his body was warm and his steady, natural breathing had become constant. Unlike their older brother, this unborn child was fully human, and in order to survive, had turned Mahito human as well. The stitches had become thin, light scars, and they were the only reason he sometimes got weird looks from the other parents at the park. As soon as Nanami noticed, though, he'd shoot them a steely glare until they looked away.
Mahito was nervous about being seen at all times, at first, but Nanami had been teaching him human manners and how to behave for years now, so he blended in better than he would've expected. And with Nanami by his side, anyway, no one dared stare for too long.
Today was Kenshiro's first time playing with other kids in the sandbox. It was also his first birthday. Mahito took this opportunity to watch the older kids and learn. Nanami had to explain to him over and over that there were many things Kenshiro couldn't do yet that sometimes weren't even mentioned in books as they should've been obvious to any human; but there were also things that weren't in books because they hadn't taken into account curse hybrid babies. So it was confusing, but with the new baby being fully human, maybe it would make things a little easier.
Mahito had never been so scared. Many times he'd wanted to run, to leave behind this responsibility that was just too much, to no longer be a slave to the attachment to his family. Thankfully, Nanami had taken a leave from work so Mahito wasn't alone with the newborn. Then, when Kenshiro was only six months old, Mahito got pregnant again. In the end, Nanami never returned to his job, and instead accepted occasional missions as a jujutsu sorcerer again. He was sought after, but he limited his work time as much as possible to stay by Mahito's side. He had some savings that would last them long enough if need be.
So he was also at the park, sitting next to Mahito on a bench as they watched Kenshiro play with a little boy and a little girl. If they didn't already know, there was no way they could tell their baby was a hybrid. He was just a regular, happy kid, who suddenly began crying when he ate sand and realized it didn't taste like he thought it would.
Nanami got up to console his baby and rinse his mouth with water. Kenshiro was so upset he'd begun throwing handfuls of sand in the other kids' faces.
"No, no, we don't do that." Nanami calmly said as he wet a tissue with water and gently rubbed the sand off the inside of Kenshiro's mouth. If there was one thing Kenshiro had learned from Mahito, it was to try and taste anything that had an interesting texture. Thankfully, the baby hadn't made himself sick yet. "Let's go sit with Mama, and you can play again once you've calmed down." He said as he picked his son up in his arms.
Mahito watched them with a hand resting on his swollen belly and a smile on his face. Kenshiro looked more and more like Nanami.
"Are you hungry, Kenshin?" He asked as he looked through the baby bag for snacks.
"Don't make him eat too much cake, Mahi. I have a feeling Gojo thought big for this evening."
"Are you excited for Uncle Satoru's party?" Mahito asked Kenshiro while handing him a fruit squeeze pouch. "Your very first birthday party!"
Kenshiro didn't say anything and just ate in silence, no longer sobbing.
"Do you think he's gonna enjoy it?" Mahito asked, turning to Nanami.
"He's too young to really realize what will be going on, and he won't remember it anyway, but it's an important milestone for us, and we'll take pictures to show him when he's older."
"That sounds nice…" Mahito mused. "I remember my first birthday party!"
"What was it like?" Nanami raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you ever told me."
"I was alone. I sang happy birthday to myself." Mahito simply said, neither happy nor sad. "I liked the next ones much better, though. I'm glad Kenshin has always had you in his life."
Nanami smiled and placed a kiss on Mahito's forehead while Kenshiro was sitting between his parents, happily eating his fruit puree.
"He's lucky to have you too, you know."
With the pregnancy, Mahito's feelings were all over the place, so he was easily brought to tears. He'd always been confused by his own human emotions, and although he was now human himself, it didn't really get easier to understand them.
He tried to be quiet but Nanami wasn't blind, and when he saw the tears falling from his eyes, he wrapped one arm around Mahito's shoulders and the other around Kenshiro. The little boy looked up when he felt a sob shaking Mahito's body.
"Mama?" Kenshiro asked in confusion.
"It's okay, I'm not sad." Mahito reassured him while petting his ashy blond hair. "Actually I'm really happy… More than I thought I'd ever be." He added while meeting Nanami's eyes.
"Do you want to feel your little sibling, Kenshin?" Nanami asked to try and redirect his son's attention.
"Hm." Kenshiro simply said, and he immediately leaned his head against Mahito's belly. After a few moments, the little boy perked up and cried out: "Dada!"
"Did you feel a kick?" Nanami asked with a smile. He loved Mahito's pregnancies, even though the second one had a rocky start. There was something so magical about it, like there was finally a purpose to his life. And Mahito was a very cute pregnant boyfriend.
"Ya!" Kenshiro replied, and he pressed a kiss to his Mama's belly. Mahito felt like he was going to sob even harder. He couldn't handle the absolute feeling that everything was alright, because now he feared the moment it might come to an end. He'd never projected so far into the future, but with Kenshin turning one, he couldn't help but wonder what life had in store for him and his unborn little sibling.
Nanami sensed Mahito's inner turmoil and picked up Kenshiro from the bench. "You've been nice, so you can go back to the sandbox."
Then Nanami sat back down next to Mahito and took his hand. "He's going to be a great big brother, isn't he?" Mahito asked, voice shaking a little.
Nanami took a clean tissue out of his pocket and dabbed at Mahito's tear-stained cheeks. "You've raised him right."
"Shut up…!" Mahito sighed, sounding almost exasperated. "Do you want to make me cry for the rest of the afternoon?!"
Nanami just laughed and cupped Mahito's jaw, tilting his head to press a kiss to his lips. "I'm so proud of you."
Mahito kept crying throughout the entire birthday party, and his eyes were red and puffy in all the pictures.