Chapter Text
Nanase Akemi is already 6 months pregnant when she and her husband relocate to his childhood home of Iwatobi.
Takumi always wanted them to live here—the quiet seaside town the perfect place to raise children. When his mother had started complaining about dizzy spells, it had presented them the opportunity to move, and it was with excitement that they decided to pack up their things and relocate to the coast. It's a little hard at first moving from Tottori City—the conveniences and familiarity of living in the city she had always known hard to leave behind.
She had quit her office job once she'd realised maternity leave was far too short for her liking at the company she was at, and a majority of her work friends dropped away with it. Most of her other friends had moved on to bigger, better cities after high school anyway, so there was only her family she was leaving behind—but her older brother and his family lived close to her parents, so she knew she could trust they’d still have support in her absence.
Plus, she'd always loved the refreshed feeling the small town blossomed in her—the fresh air, the ocean, the endless skies—and she wanted that for her baby; to feel at ease within their home.
Nanase Chie is still beautiful; blue eyes catching the light like a cool pool of water. She’s dignified and graceful, and kind in everything she does. When they had first met—when Takumi had introduced them so many years ago, in the very same place she now called her home—the first thing she'd done was hold her hand, smile and thank her for making her son so happy. It was something Akemi still thinks about, and even now it reassured her that Iwatobi was home.
It's a small town, the community close and friendly. Nakamura-san down the lane is one of Chie's oldest friends, and she and the rest of the street welcomes them with food and gifts at their arrival. Unlike the suburbs where she grew up, people never lock their doors half the time, and the easy-going friendliness and coming-and-going is quick to ease any worries otherwise.
Tachibana Hiroyuki and Sachiko live down the stairs. Recently moved into the area too, their new home a dream with two stories and modern renovations. They bring mandarins with them when they first introduce themselves, and Akemi laughs at how wonderfully fitting it is. Hiroyuki works as an accountant with the local government and Sachiko is a kindergarten teacher, both from the larger Iwatobi-Iwami area. Takumi's known the Fujiwara's—Sachiko's family—for years. Her older brother played soccer on the same team as him throughout high school, and when they'd realised the connection, it was only a matter of time before their friendship grew. Before long the two households were sharing meals every Friday night, welcoming each other into their homes.
It's two months after their move when the Tachibana's announce their pregnancy—Sachiko smiling sweetly, expressing her hopes that they, and their children, can continue to be friends well into the future. The tiny feet safe inside Akemi seemingly kick and flutter in response, and she can’t help thinking that her baby is happy about the news too. Amidst all the congratulations and celebrations, the two expectant mothers both end up crying, smiles on their faces, hands to bellies.
The time passes quickly, and before they can really realise it, Akemi is at the hospital in the worst and most powerful pain of her life. 18 hours later, when she holds her son for the first time, the tears she’s spilling will never be enough to describe the overwhelming love in her heart. Takumi’s got her hand, arm helping support their newborn—7.3 pounds of the most beautiful, perfect thing they’ve ever seen—and just lets her cry. He’s got his father’s brow, but he definitely takes after his mother more. Happiness is too small a word.
They call him Haruka, after Chie suggests it during her first visit. It’s unusual, but they think it fits. So with the addition of tiny Nanase Haruka, their small family grows a little larger.
The two leave the hospital within the week, welcomed back with even more well-wishes and gifts. Haruka is easy to love, and before they realise it, they’re getting visits from friendly neighbours almost every day. Haruka has more clothes than either of his parents by the next week, and small toys, blankets, books, are steadily piling up. When the Tachibana’s visit for the first time, Sachiko holds him the whole afternoon—whispering soft wishes into his tiny ear with a smile, petting downy hair with gentle fingertips, breathing kisses to his tiny crown. Her friend is so generous with her love for tiny Haruka, and Akemi can’t wait to reciprocate.
Time is hectic with a baby, they soon realise, and the center of their priorities—their universe—narrows down to a single infant. The constant cycles of feeding, changing and sleeping get a little overwhelming at times, but Chie is always willing to give the two a break whenever she can. She loves her grandson more than anyone, and the way her blue eyes twinkle as she watches him—soft lullaby hummed as she rocks him in the cool breeze of the verandah—makes it clear she thinks he’s something special.
Haruka develops quickly. His eyes blink blue and bright, and for as quiet as he can be, he’s never uninterested in things—tiny hands reaching for whatever catches his interest, little gurgles spilling as he stretches. He sleeps throughout the night after the first two weeks, blinking awake early at 6 o’clock sharp each morning, just as his mother or grandmother come to change and bathe him.
He’s generally quiet, but when he cries, he cries . Loud, and red-faced, and with the entirety of his little lungs. At times it feels as if the world is ending—Akemi holding him close, trying desperately to hush him before the neighbours complain— and the only thing that quiets him is the gentle crash of the waves as they hit the shore in their relaxing, hypnotising way. Cool sea breezes whipping between them as they pace the sandy bay.
*
With the steady growth of Haruka, so too does Sachiko’s waistline. Her pregnancy bump is more evident than her friend’s ever was, and as she comes to term she only gets rounder. At 16 weeks the news that the baby’s a boy is happily met, and the Tachibana’s ask Haruka to be a good friend with such earnestness that it seems impossible that that wouldn’t be the case.
The more time passes, the bigger both the baby and his mother grows. He’s longer and larger than the average, and the pain compacted on her lower back means many sleepless nights as she tries to breathe through the worst of it. She leaves her job earlier than expected, and soon the female Tachibana-san is relegated to her home on prescribed bed rest. Because of this Hiroyuki takes over the family chores completely, even when his wife complains that she doesn’t need to be pampered. The two men—one a father, one nearly—go grocery shopping or to the post office during the day, whilst the women converge at the Tachibana household. The oldest of the three knitting small socks and hats for their unborn neighbour, as well as her own grandson.
Its early morning mid-November when Sachiko leaves for the hospital—painful contractions on top of the back pain and dizziness. She’s rushed into the maternity ward, and almost immediately given an epidural. Most recent measurements show the baby’s too big for her frame—that natural birth would only invite more complications for both the baby and Sachiko—the choice for a cesarean is obvious. Sachiko passes out as her husband watches from behind a glass wall—and carefully, quickly, the team of doctors bring their baby into the world. The newly-made father holds his son for hours once the nurses bring him out, and sits there, amazed, wondrous, waiting for his wife to wake up.
They name him Makoto—the sun shining from the opened curtains catching on pink cheeks, small eyes squinting open. Sachiko cries when she’s first able to hold him, and the amount of love in her expression is thick in the air. The three of them stay like that for hours more, parents smiling the entire time whilst their bundled son sleeps.
Both she and baby Makoto stay in the hospital for almost two and a half weeks, time to allow Sachiko to heal enough to start moving around and time enough to allow the doctors to keep an eye on Makoto’s health. They leave on a cool autumn morning, both bundled up and with a full bill of health, and drive back to their seaside home. The nursery is painted in a sunshine yellow full of soft toys and soft edges, and the little boy fits right in—their very own ray of sunshine.
By the time afternoon rolls around on that first day, the family a little more settled, their neighbours visit with a hushed excitement. The Nanase’s know they want to be the first there to welcome the new edition to the neighbourhood, and baby Haruka is wide awake, bright eyed in the excitement of his parents. All three of the Nanase’s sit with Sachiko on the couch—Haruka gumming at his hand within his mother’s embrace—as they wait for Hiroyuki to retrieve his napping son from his portable bed.
At five months, three weeks, 4 days old, Nanase Haruka meets Tachibana Makoto for the first time.