Chapter Two: Talk

Mondo finally had some time to himself after about two hours of crying, swearing, and throwing things about his room. He didn't know what he was feeling, now that Chihiro and Kiyotaka had gone home. He was feeling… mostly numb, he supposed. Earlier he'd felt angry, upset, so mad he could've punched a hole or two in the wall without stopping, but now?

Now he felt so empty it was nearly suffocating.

Daiya sent him a text asking him to get some dinner started, since Mukuro would be coming home soon with Junko and if there wasn't food on the table, Junko would get all huffy and pissy. Apparently, Junko's photoshoot had gotten done earlier than expected, which was either a blessing or a curse (Mondo would figure out which one when he talked to her later). Daiya himself wouldn't be home until later, as there was still business to be done at the shop. For the first time in a long, long time, Mondo found himself missing his brother more than ever.

As he set about collecting food items to make ramen with, Mondo tried unsuccessfully to not think about the fetus growing inside of him right at that very minute. The little human being that already probably had a heartbeat, though that didn't actually mean very much developmentally. The thing that, in a few months time, would be in Mondo's arms. Provided he carried to term, of course.

After he'd thrown a fit, Chihiro had used her laptop to look up some options for Mondo and Kiyotaka. Kiyotaka had been honest with him: he didn't know how he felt about having a child. He'd had his whole life planned out, from the moment he was born. Kiyotaka wanted to be a politician, a man who changed the world. He did not want to be a poor teenage father. Mondo couldn't ask for anything more than honesty from his boyfriend, though. All he'd ever wanted was honesty from the teen.

Mondo swallowed heavily once he had gotten all of the ingredients for dinner together. He washed his hands, slowly, meaningfully, looking at the kitchen sink mirror. God, he really did look awful, didn't he? Daiya himself had commented on Mondo's appearance when he came to check him out of school the day before. Mondo, of course, hadn't told his brother about his suspicions of being pregnant, but did tell him he was feeling sick.

But now he was definitely going to have to tell his brother, because Tuesday was going to roll around and he was supposed to be getting his T shot. And he'd have to explain to Daiya why that wouldn't be happening for the next few months.

Mondo ran a hand through the loose hair at the back of his head. He still styled it in the same way he always did, in that ridiculous pompadour dyed blonde. He'd probably keep styling it that way. It was the only way he could still feel relatively good about having long hair.

He gave one final heavy sigh, allowing his hand to fall down to the kitchen sink. God. This was one hell of a mess he'd gotten himself into, wasn't it? He felt scattered, like his mind was everywhere except where it was supposed to be.

He needed to take the dogs for a walk. Maybe that'd clear his head.

When he came home from the walk, Mondo saw Mukuro's car in the driveway, and paused momentarily as both dogs strained at their leashes. He considered his options, wondering if it might be a good idea to talk to Mukuro about this before talking to Daiya, maybe see if she could tell him in Mondo's place.

No, Mondo thought firmly, grip tightening on the leashes as he walked up to the front door. No, I'm not gonna do that. I'll tell him myself, like the man he raised me to be.

He opened the door, unhooking the dogs from their leashes and allowing them to greet Mukuro and Junko, who were sitting on the couch. The two were a little older than he was, but they still went to Mondo's school along with the rest of his class, so he knew them quite well even before Daiya did. He remembered quite clearly how much Junko used to flirt with his brother back in middle school, and make up any excuse she could to "hang out" with Mondo just to get close to him.

Even so, it had been Mukuro who stole Daiya's heart first, with her freckled face and hardened silence and knowledge of weaponry. It had taken much longer for him to come around to Junko, who reluctantly accepted to share him with her sister. Mondo still wasn't sure what it was that Daiya saw in Junko, exactly, as they appeared to be opposites in every sense of the word.

"Hey, Mon-chan," Junko greeted as Amadeus crawled into her lap. She peeked around the pit bull's massive girth. "Thanks for getting dinner started, where ya' been?" She flipped her hair, black and white bear clips in her hair clearly visible. She was a strange girl, but Mondo had gotten (mostly) used to her presence.

"On a walk," Mondo replied gruffly, hanging the leashes up on the hook near the door and stepping back into the kitchen. He was hungry now, and hoped he wouldn't puke it up tonight.

Junko raised an eyebrow. "What, no violent rejection of 'Mon-chan' today? Something must be up with you."

"Maybe I just get tired of fightin' with you, ever thought a' that?" Mondo grumbled, putting his bowl down on the counter a little more forcefully than he needed to. He started to get some ramen from the pot, before Mukuro spoke.

"You can talk to us about it if you want," Mukuro said quietly. "But if you don't, we won't push."

"Speak for yourself," Junko snorted. "I, for one, will definitely push if I want to."

Mondo sighed. "I, uh… I'll wait for Daiya to come home. It's a family affair."

"If that's what you want," Mukuro said, leaning back against the couch. Junko whined as she threw herself across her sister's lap, Amadeus having left her for his dog bed.

"But I wanna know now!"

Mondo bit his lip, arguing with himself. Telling them now might be good. Then I won't have to deal with all three of them reacting at once, but… I really don't wanna say it twice. Makes it feel like I'm just… He didn't finish his thought.

He could wait.

By the time Daiya got home, Mondo had nodded off in the armchair. Not sleeping at all the night before had left him exhausted that day, so he didn't even notice when his brother finally came home.

When he finally woke up and turned his head, he saw Daiya sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating dinner, and nearly had a heart attack.

"Hey, kid," Daiya greeted when he saw Mondo jump in his chair. "How's today been?"

Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was the moment he'd been dreading and trying to prepare for the whole day, and here he was, finally facing his brother, and feeling totally unprepared. What he really wanted to do was say oh I'm fine and get out of there as soon as possible, but…

No. Daiya hadn't raised him to run away from his problems.

Mondo took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I uh - gotta talk about that. With you, Junko, and Mukuro."

Daiya sat up from his previously reclined position, placing his food down at his feet. "Oh? What's so special you gotta tell all of us at once? You gettin' married or somethin'?"

"Uh… no. It's just… it's important." Mondo looked away from his brother. Sensing he didn't want to say any more at the moment, Daiya nodded, then got up.

"I'll go get 'em."

A few minutes later, Daiya returned with Mukuro and Junko in tow. Junko was clinging to his arm and cooing about… whatever it was she talked about, and Mukuro was right in step with Daiya on his other side. Just like the soldier she was.

Should I even tell them?

Mondo's thought was there and gone within seconds, but a small tremor ran through him nonetheless. That wasn't even a question, of course he should - needed to - tell them. He wasn't exactly going to be able to hide a pregnancy from the people he lived with, and only telling them when he was in labor would be a disaster. He couldn't leave, as he had nowhere to go. Of course, terminating the pregnancy was always an option, but it wasn't one he wanted to even consider at the moment. Which seemed very strange to him, but… either way, it would feel wrong keeping secrets from his brother.

As they sat on the couch, Mondo swallowed something heavy in the back of his throat. He needed to break this to them gently, in the easiest way possible, so that nobody would-

"I'm pregnant," he blurted out, before his brain could finish processing his own sentence. "Kiyotaka's the father, I found out today, Chihiro paid for my test - fuck fuck fuck." Mondo's brain finally caught up with his mouth only after the words were out, before he had time to stop. He felt the urge to screw his eyes shut and look away, but he couldn't. He kept his eyes firmly on Daiya's face.

Daiya blinked once. Then twice.

And then he smiled.

"I knew that."

Mondo felt ice in his stomach. "You - you what?"

Junko and Mukuro whipped their heads around in unison to look at the older man. "You what?" They also repeated.

Daiya shrugged. "I found the test in the bathroom trash can, Mondo. Knew it couldn't be Mukuro's or Junko's, so I figured it was yours."

"You - an' - you didn't say anything about it!?" Mondo asked in shock.

"I figured you'd tell me when you were ready. You know me, I ain't gonna jump up and scream an' fall in the floor over anything, really." Daiya met his incredulous stare with a smile. "You doin' okay there, kid?"

"Wait, you knew we were gonna be aunts and you didn't tell us?!" Junko practically shrieked at Daiya, tugging on the sleeve of his jacket. "There's so much we could've done!"

"In the few hours he's known about it?" Mukuro asked, much calmer than her twin. "I doubt it."

"You underestimate me, sis, I could've planned a whole baby shower by now," Junko scoffed.

"Junko, it's not me who's pregnant," Daiya explained. "It was up to Mondo to tell us, and he did."

"Why're you so cool about all this?" Mondo asked, resisting the urge to pull at his own hair. "I mean - fuck - I'm your kid brother, I'm not even outta high school yet, and you're - okay with this?"

"Didn't say that, did I?" Daiya replied. Mondo swallowed heavily once more. "Am I okay with this? No. Did I see it comin'? No. But you're my kid brother. I spent most of my life raisin' you up to be a real man, and you are. 'Cause you fessed up, you told me, told all of us. You weren't gonna hide it."

Mondo bit his lip. "I, uh - thanks, I guess."

"Is Kiyotaka on board with this?" Daiya asked. "He knows, right?"

"He… he was there when I took the test," Mondo said. "I, uh… I dunno where he stands on all of this, though. I mean… 's not like we… we didn't try for this. Every time we ever - y'know - we used condoms. We were safe, at least, I thought we were." He rubbed at the back of his head. "I just… God, we… maybe if we were, y'know, not poor high schoolers, we'd be happier about this. Right now, we just… I still dunno how Taka feels about all this. He told me we'd talk about it, but…"

Daiya smiled again. "Yeah, well, tell me if he bails. 'Cause I'll cut off his dick."

Mondo choked. "Y-you're not serious -"

"Yeah, I am. Any man who'd leave his family ain't a real man." Daiya actually sounded bitter when he said that, and Mondo knew why. He decided not to point it out, though.

"Honestly, I… I dunno if I can… do this, y'know? I'm - I'm not ready." Mondo's shoulders dropped as he looked down.

"I'm just not ready."

"...hey, c'mon, don't make that face," Daiya murmured when he saw his brother's eyes get misty. "You're gonna be fine, alright? You've got me."

"And me!" Junko butted in from where she'd previously been talking with Mukuro, pressing her cheek against Daiya's.

"Me as well," Mukuro sighed, rolling her eyes at her twin.

"And we ain't goin' nowhere," Daiya said, reaching out to hold Mondo's chin in his hand and tilt his head up to look at him. "Got it?"

"...yeah."

Finally, for the first time in the past two days, Mondo relaxed.