"Umm… I'm happy you all feel that way. Really happy," Makoto said, a warm smile breaking through his initial shock.
He reached out, his arms holding as many of them as he could reach, pulling them into a clumsy embrace. "I was thinking… we should go on a hot spring trip. Actually, I already booked a ryokan with an onsen as congratulations for getting that return offer. But now, it will be a celebration for us."
There was a beat of stunned silence. The four women blinked, processing the whiplash. And then, the chaos resumed.
"A h-hot spring trip?" Yuna stammered, her head snapping up from his chest. Her face, still tear-streaked, flushed a new shade of red. She crossed her arms, trying to regain her usual composure.
"W-well, it's about time! It's the least you could do after knocking us all up! We're going to need the relaxation before… you know. Hmph." She tried to sound dismissive, but her violet eyes were sparkling with barely concealed delight.
"I knew you were getting a return offer, Makoto," Mika said, her voice a serene purr laced with pride. She adjusted her hair, nodding gracefully. "A ryokan is an excellent choice. It is private and secluded, and there will be plenty of opportunities for bonding."
Mafuyu just started crying again, but this time, they were happy, relieved tears. "Oh… that sounds wonderful. Just all of us together before the babies come." She was already shifting into caretaker mode, her mind racing. "We should pack plenty of snacks and motion sickness pills…"
Ayane shrieked, practically vibrating with excitement. "A PRIVATE ONSEN?!" She lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Makoto's neck in a hug that was dangerously close to a chokehold. "OH MY GOD, BOSS! YES! We're gonna fuck in that water so hard they'll have to drain the whole bathhouse! ALL OF US!"
"Ouch, you're suffocating me, Ayane," Makoto wheezed, laughing as he tried to pry the girl off him.
Ayane whined dramatically but released her death-grip, pouting as she propped her chin on his shoulder. "Aww, but it's so fun to squeeze you," she purred, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Besides, our baby's gonna be tough. She needs to get used to a little roughhousing." She did, however, let his hand rest gently on her stomach.
He pushed Ayane away gently, careful not to press against her stomach. "Let's go buy the stuff we need, then?"
"Shopping? Now?" Yuna asked, already trying to pull herself up from the couch. "Fine. But we're not buying any of that cheap crap. I need a new maternity-friendly yukata and pregnancy-safe skincare."
"And those expensive magnesium salts for the onsen. For the baby's health, of course," she added, though it was glaringly obvious it was mostly for her.
"Ooh, shopping!" Ayane cheered, scrambling to her feet and searching for her shoes. "We need matching swimsuits and really skimpy ones! For the private onsen, of course."
"Wait!" Mafuyu said, a gentle fluttering note of panic in her voice as she finally stood up. "We need to be careful! No lifting anything heavy! And we should pick up some prenatal vitamins too! And what about stretch mark cream? We should all share!" She was already in full-on den mother mode.
In a matter of seconds, the emotional moment had devolved into bickering and excitement. The girls were grabbing their bags, wallets, and keys, like a family unit mobilizing efficiently. As Makoto stood up, watching the beautiful storm unfold, he noticed Mafuyu quietly kneeling to pick up the bruised melons from the floor with a contented smile.
Makoto led the team and unlocked the car. Yuna slid into the front seat with the air of a queen taking her throne. She arranged herself with a slightly awkward motion, trying not to press her stomach against the dashboard. She gave Makoto a sidelong glance and an "I won the front seat" smirk playing on her lips.
The back seat was a different story. It was a bit crowded as Ayane, Mika, and Mafuyu tried to squeeze in. Ayane immediately flopped across Mika's and Mafuyu's laps, earning a frustrated sigh from Mika and an accommodating smile from Mafuyu.
As Makoto started the engine, the car's interior, already filled with the scent of Yuna's ridiculously expensive cherry blossom air freshener, instantly became a pressure cooker. He tried to chime in on the bickering in the back seat. "Come on, we're buying stuff for the trip, not for the babies yet. They're not coming out in eight to nine months, I guess?"
Yuna whipped around in her seat, her eyes narrowed into furious slits. "What do you mean, not for the babies?! Are you an idiot?! This trip is for them! A peaceful, low-stress environment is important to their neural development! That's why we need the expensive mineral salts! It's science, you fat pig!"
"Actually," Mika's calm voice cut in from the back, "prenatal vitamins and stretch mark cream should be used as soon as possible for maximum efficacy, darling." She was already pulling up a store map on her phone.
"We can buy stuff for the trip that doubles as stuff for… after," Ayane purred, leaning over the center console to poke Makoto's cheek. "They make these really big soft maternity pillows that are perfect for… you know… sleeping on. All of us in a big pile, imagine that, boss."
"Please, Makoto-san," Mafuyu's soft, worried voice came from the depths of the back seat. "It would make me feel so much better to be prepared. Just a little bit?"
"Sure, sure," Makoto shrugged. "We're gonna need a bigger car later, too…" he muttered to himself.
Yuna just stared at him, her angry expression softening into one of understanding. "Yeah, big bro, this car feels so tight now," she whispered. "We're gonna need a fucking seven-seater."