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As they approach Sakura’s front door, Lily senses apprehension. Turning her head, she finds Kyouko frowning nervously, a protective hand pressed against her four month pregnancy bump.
“Are you okay?” Lily asks.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Just a bit nervous. I’ve never met all your friends at the same time like this.”
“I know. But you know them, and they all like you. It’ll go fine, I promise.”
Kyouko glances at her, and smiles weakly. She gives Lily a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Ready for me to knock?”
When Kyouko nods, Lily smiles and buzzes the intercom beside the door. After only thirty seconds or so, Sakura appears.
---
When the intercom buzzes, Sakura giggles in excitement and hurries to the door. This must be Lily and Kyouko. And when they are here, the gang are all together. Sakura is the furthest along in her pregnancy of the entire group, over eight months pregnant and capable of going into labour any day now. Her maternity pants strain around her bump, and a sheen of exhaustion covers her face. But she can still move pretty damn fast.
Sakura flings the door open to find Lily and Kyouko stood on the threshold, Lily smiling and Kyouko looking a little anxious.
“Lily, it’s so good to see you!” she cries, and she grabs Lily and hugs her as tight as she can without her belly getting in the way.
When she lets go of Lily, Sakura studies Kyouko before hugging her too. Kyouko blushes and Lily smiles.
“Wow, look at you,” Sakura says. The last time she saw Lily and Kyouko, Kyouko’s bump hadn’t started showing. But it has now.
“Look at you,” Kyouko says, eyes on Sakura’s bump.
“Come in, come in,” Sakura says, gesturing for them to enter.
Lily and Kyouko take off their shoes (Lily crouching to do Kyouko’s shoes for her so she doesn’t have to bend over, which Sakura finds incredibly sweet) and follow Sakura inside.
Sakura has her friends over a lot, but not usually at the same time. Regardless, she hasn’t had Lily here for a few weeks, and Lily hasn’t seem the place since Sakura bought all the baby stuff. And as she doesn’t have quite enough space for all the things she bought (she might have gone overboard buying adorable baby clothes), the apartment is crammed with boxes, making the place like look someone just moved in.
Saki wanders into the hallway, one hand cradling her sixth month bump and the other held out in front of her, giving them the peace sigh. “Hey, you two! Do you think she’s bought way too much baby shit, or is it just me?”
“Saki!” Sakura hisses, whilst Lily giggles.
“Well, maybe a bit,” Lily says, and Saki howls with laughter.
“Told ya!”
“You’re the worst friend ever,” Sakura mutters, but she can’t quite hide the smirk that flickers on her lips.
“Yeah, we love you too,” Saki says, slinging an arm around Sakura’s shoulders and pulling her friend into a hug.
With Saki trailing behind them, Sakura leads Lily and Kyouko through the apartment and into the main room. The others haven’t moved since she left to answer the door; Yugiri is still on the floor with her legs under the kotatsu, whilst Tae, Ai and Junko sit on the couch, Tae propping her feet on the top of the kotatsu. Sakura gives her a glare (“Tae, that’s brand new!” she snapped when Tae arrived earlier), but Tae simply grins and keeps her feet there.
Sakura glares at her again, and Tae sticks her tongue out. Well, at least she isn’t wearing shoes.
“Hi, guys,” Lily says, waggling her fingers.
“Hey, you two,” Ai says.
She and Junko have been sat very close this entire time, holding hands. These two are the most recently pregnant, both having used sperm donors to get pregnant a couple of months ago. Sakura remembers the joy on their faces when she learned they were both pregnant; she thinks she might have cried.
So, whilst neither of them are showing yet, their change in fashion would clue any close friend in on their situation; the pair are wearing loose, comfortable clothes, just like everyone else in the room. Sakura learned early in her pregnancy that comfort is way more important than looking good.
When Lily hurries over and hugs them both at the same time, it hits Sakura. Of course; Lily hasn’t seen them in person since their news.
“Congratualtions!” Lily says, whilst Kyouko hovers in the background.
Now, Kyouko is a special case. She isn’t part of the group of seven girls who all went to school together, but she has become a sort of honorary member. These meet-ups at each others’ places are a Girls Only event, so no boyfriends are allowed (that means Nagisa, Yugiri's husband, Hajime, Saki’s boyfriend and Ren, Tae's boyfriend, aren’t invited – and definitely not Sakura’s ex). But, being Lily’s girlfriend, Kyouko has been part of their group since she and Lily started dating three years ago. And, whilst a bit shy, she’s a lovely girl and the perfect partner for Lily.
When Ai and Junko manage to wriggle free of Lily’s hug, Jumko glances at Kyouko.
“Uh… I don’t mean to be invasive, but…” she trails off, blushing.
“Huh?” Kyouko says, confused.
“Oh, I understand,” Yugiri says, hand rubbing her barely showing three months bump. “Are you trying to ask how exactly Kyouko became pregnant?”
Junko goes bright red, as does Kyouko. Saki and Tae burst out laughing at the sheer awkwardness of the question.
“Yeah, that is quite invasive,” Lily says, taking her flustered girlfriend’s hand and leading her to the other couch.
“But… it’s okay,” Kyouko mumbles.
“That’s good,” Junko says, still very, very red.
“The thing is… it was a sperm donor,” Lily says, starting to go red. “I don’t mean to be TMI, but it’s impossible for me to get her pregnant after being on oestrogen for so long and… I really wouldn’t be comfortable even if I could.”
“So… we thought this was the best option,” Kyouko finishes, smiling awkwardly.
“Well, that makes sense,” Saki says. “Guess that makes three of us pregnant from donors, huh?”
As Sakura watches them talk, sadness creeps up on her. She is the only girl here without a partner; ever since that fucking bastard dumped her when she realised she was pregnant, she has been single. And… pregnancy is hard to go through alone.
No!
Sakura shakes her head and slaps her cheeks, making Kyouko jump. She may be single, but she is not alone. She has her friends – and, as far as she is concerned, friends are always there for you, even if boyfriends aren’t.
“Are you okay, Sakura?” Tae asks. Tae doesn’t talk very much, but when she does, her voice comes out softer than you would think after hearing her boisterous laugh. She’s seven months pregnant, and wears a dress that’s a bit too tight across her belly, her belly button visibly straining against the fabric.
Sakura smiles. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“If you’re thinking about Fuckface, don’t worry about him,” Saki says, using the wonderfully polite nickname she gave Sakura’s ex the night he dumped her.
Sakura giggles, laughing louder when Tae joins in. “Thanks. And I’m not worried. I’m never alone thanks to you lot.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Ai says, pretending to be offended.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Sakura says, trying not to laugh. “It’s just… we talk so much, all of us. You’re all never more than a phone call away. Thank you, guys.”
“Wow, you’re sappy,” Saki says, and Lily giggles into her hand.
“Anyway,” Yugiri says, eyeing them all with fond exasperation. “What should we have to eat?”
“I miss sushi,” Junko mumbles, who has been complaining about her doctor’s order to avoid raw fish during her pregnancy.
“Me too,” Ai says. “But there are lots of other things we could have.”
“Why not go western?” Sakura says, her stomach rumbling at the mere thought of eating.
“Pizza?” Tae suggests.
“Awesome idea!” Lily says.
And as Yugiri starts the ordeal of asking what everyone wants on their pizza, Sakura stares at her friends. She loves hanging out with them – and she loves them more than she could ever explain.