Title: "Infecten – stage 5 – Maturation 2/?"

Author: Nemesi.

Fandom: (MMBN)

Genre: Romance. Humour.

Word Count: 2820.

Characters/Pairings: Blues/Rockman; Netto, Enzan, Axl mainly. Others mentioned.

Rating: PG-13.

Disclaimer: , its characters, places and themes belong to Capcom, Shogakukan, ShoPro, TV Tokio, etc.. No copyright infringement is intended.

Warnings: Shounen-ai. Un-betaed. Navi-preg (and I claim ownership on this idea). OC.

A/N: In this stage, the disease fully develops into a chronic condition.

Summary:

Netto pedalled faster, then faster, and faster still, let his bike tether at the top of the slope for a second or two, and then launched it downhill at fantastic speed, sticking his legs out, throwing his arms in the air and shouting out loud.

Once the ground evened out again, forcing the bike to a slower pace, Netto took control of the pedals again, bent over and speeded up the next hill, starting the process anew.

From his PET (which Netto carried pinned to his arm to give the Navis inside a good look of the road) Axl was yippie-ing, and shouting at his Ojichan to go: "Faster! Faster!". Rockman was torn between being seasick, and smiling gratefully at his Net-Op. If it wasn't for Netto, Axl would still be sulking about not getting a cousin from Haruka, but just a game chip. For his part, Blues was cradling his forehead with his palm, shaking his head at the Foolishness of Human Behaviour at regular intervals.

As for Enzan… inside, he was having a very interesting debate on the Advantages of Using a Limousine Over a Pedal-Driven, Human-Powered Vehicle With Two Wheels; outside, he was sitting behind Netto on the bike, clinging onto his waist with one arm, and balancing a box containing Haruka's cake with the other.

"What's the point of saving me from starvation, if then you're going to launch ourselves against a wall a 80 Mph, mh?" he hollered, trying to be heard over the rushing wind. "Slow down!"

"Ah, this is what us mere mortals call fun, Enzan! F-U-N! Relax already!"

"I would, if my life wasn't at stake. Slow down!"

"Nyaaah! Go faster, Netto-Ojichan! Faster!"

"K-Roger, Axl!"

"…Netto!"

Deaf to anything but Axl's excited cheering, Netto reached the top of the next hill, then threw up his arms, spread his legs and let gravity reign supreme.

"And down. we. GOOOOOO!"

"Yippieeee!"

"NETTO!"

Truthfully, Netto had no idea why he'd decided to use his bike, and not the subway. He could blame his decision on a number of things, from the pleasant weather to the fact he didn't want the cake to get squished on the way to Sci-Lab, but the honest truth was one, and one alone: getting Enzan to react in ways that were even just vaguely human had become Netto's favourite past-time. And if hauling him along on a bike ride was what it took to upset Enzan, haul him along on a bike ride Netto would!

…which is why, one quarter of an hour later, Netto was sprawled on the floor of one of Sci-Lab's many waiting rooms, wailing and pouting and pleading, while Enzan put peroxide on his scraped knees.

And elbows.

And forearms.

And palms.

Oh! and let's not forget the cut on his cheek.

…or his split lip.

"I told you to slow down."

To Enzan's credit, we must admit he was in no way basking in his rival's pain. He wasn't even gloating down at him from his I-told-you-so position up there, which is what most people would've done.

He was, however, applying just a bit too much pressure when pressing the cotton ball to Netto's cuts. A kind of reproach, if you will. Or a reminder.

Netto stuck out his bottom lip – so much so you'd think it'd upset his balance and make him fall face-first on the carpet– and punched Enzan on the arm.

"Leave me alone."

"For your own sake, I'd better not. What was all that hurry for, anyway? We're obviously early. Approximately-" Enzan glanced down at his PET, and blinked. "—three quarters of an hour early." He informed drily.

Netto flushed.

"That much?"

"Yeah. I knew you were eager to introduce them to Axl, but this…"

Netto muttered something, turned his back on Enzan, crossed his arms, and proceeded to scowl at the wall, which had done nothing to deserve his anger, but was the only thing in the near distance he could scowl at without retaliation.

Enzan released a long-suffered sigh, and rolled his eyes as though to ask whoever was up there and looking: "Why me?". Sitting on the floor, he leaned with his back against Netto's own, and turned his gaze out of the window.

"…I hate you," Netto informed him.

"Likewise, Hikari. Now hush."

Netto relaxed back against him, and did as instructed.

Now, three quarters of an hour can be a really long time. Especially if you just sit there, doing nothing, saying nothing, eyes staring out but actually riveted inside. And yet, when the door was pushed open exactly three quarters of an hour later, Netto and Enzan could've sworn they'd been sitting there for ten, twelve minutes at most.

Hearing the door creaking open, Netto's face lit up like a Christmas tree. With a speed that rivalled that of light, Netto leaped to his feet, bounded forward and began tugging his friends inside one by one.

"Meiru-chan! Dekao! Yaito! Tohru! I'm glad you made it, guys!"

Over inside one of the many PCs, a scene entirely too similar was taking place.

"…Roll-chan! Gutsman! Glyde! Iceman! Thank you for coming!" Rockman was saying, a warm, grateful smile on his face. Blues made a gesture that could, or couldn't have been a greeting towards the newcomers, before he found his arms – well, hair – full of Roll.

"Ehya, Blues!" she grinned. It was only a moment, then she found her own arms full of Axl.

"ROLL-ONEESAN!"

"AXL!"

Blues smiled at the duo as they twirled around happily, then offered the other Navis a sombre nod.

"Welcome," he began, in his pleasant, rough voice. "Your presence here is really appreciate, especially on such a short notice."

His greeting generated a chorus of answers, a couple of stunned blinks, a giggle, three coughs, caused Gutsman to puff out his chest and earned Blues one radiant, beautiful smile, this one from Rockman.

The Blue Bomber quickly stepped back to his – mate? Lover? Husband? They still had to settle for a proper term, those two – and wrapped his arms around his waist. He was delighted when he felt Blues squeeze him in turn. Gazing up, he met Blues's eyes through the visor – the optical upgrades Rockman had installed truly made wonders — and decided to remain lost in them for a while.

The whole of forever sounded just about good.

No, wait – Blues was smiling at him now, and pulling him closer. Forever was definitely not enough. Rock would have to find a way to stay in that position longer than that. (and he'd find it, believe me. He was that besotted.)

Meanwhile, Iceman had been watching their interactions from his spot beside the entry port. He would tilt his head to a side, then to the other, the back to its previous inclination, very, very slowly, like an old pendulum clock. Right, left, right, left, right, left…

After a while of this, he narrowed his eyes, looking confused, and pursed his always-pouting mouth to new levels of poutiness.

"…why are Blues-san and Rockman-san so touchy-feely?"

The question was innocent enough, and yet, everyone froze on the spot. Iceman had yet to be introduced to the concept of Rockman and Blues as a couple. There were some quick, shared glances as the Navis gauged the most proper way to break the news, then—

"Because they're in love!" Axl pointed out in a 'duh' voice, causing a collective groan.

Iceman blinked, did the head-tilting all over again, and took a moment to consider the improvement. He didn't look thrilled by it – but neither did he look bothered, which was the most important thing. In the end, he settled for staying neutral, and made no comment.

He had, however, another matter to address. Turning towards Axl he half-asked, half-stated:

"…I don't think I know you…?" and pouted a little more.

Three things happened at once, then.

One, Roll clamped her hand firmly on Axl's mouth to prevent further damage coming from there.

Two, Rockman and Blues kind of stepped between Axl and Iceman, as though wanting to either hide or restrain the kid.

Three, every Navi in there opened their mouth and said: "Axl," while clearly meaning: "don't ask more."

Iceman blinked.

"Err… nice to meet you, Axl."

"Nice to meet you too, Iceman-san!" answered Axl.

Well, having been said from under Roll's hand, the words came out muffled, and actually sounded a lot more like: "Mphice Mpho Mpheet Pmhyu Pmhoo Ipmhmanmph-mphan!", but it's the thought that counts.

In the meantime, out in the real world, a small crowd of Net-Ops had gathered around the PC, just in time to hear the awkward introduction. There was a moment of confused silence, then Meiru burst out into soft giggles.

"So that's Axl? Roll has been telling me so much about him…!"

Which earned the aforementioned pink Navi several glares. She hunched her shoulders protectively, and countered Enzan's arched eyebrow with her own furrowed ones.

"What? You never told me I couldn't tell Meiru I've made a new friend!"

Enzan rubbed off the beginnings of an headache and sighed.

"Roll…"

"It's true!"

"You…"

"Is it!"

"Ro…"

"Don't deny it!"

"I won't."

"Good."

She put her miniature hands on her miniature hips and glared up at him in a way that made Enzan's mouth twitch upwards at the corner. It was astounding, how matter-of-factly a lady so small could sound.

He half-expected her to start wiggling a finger at him, and scold him in the tone of a mother reprimanding her child for not doing his homework, but he banished that thought as soon as it came. He'd never had a mother. He had no business imagining how dealing with one would be like.

"Okay, okay, no more of that," he ordered, a little more gruffly than intended. "I didn't tell you outright to hide all info about Axl, and so you didn't. My bad." Roll looked a little shamefaced at the reproach, but kept the glare going, mainly because Enzan had used way too much sarcasm for her liking. "I'll let it slide this once, Roll. Provided that you didn't tell her that…"

"Of course I didn't tell her that!" She gave him a 'duh' look, which he countered with his usual eyebrow-hoist.

Meiru, who was a little disconcerted at the odd levels of familiarity between her Navi and Ijuin-kun, was now extremely worried at the prospect that, whatever she hadn't been told, it was huge, and it was dangerous, too.

"Tell me what…?" she enquired softly, but with a firmness in her voice that demanded attention.

Enzan rounded on Netto with a smirk.

"Your turn to explain."

Netto clutched his forehead, which only caused Enzan's smirk to grow exponentially.

"Aw, shucks…! Well, y'see: it's like this…"

"…how could Rockman have Blues's child? Isn't he a boy?"

As soon as Dekao said that, Enzan held out his hand towards Netto, palm up, and flicked his fingers expectantly. Grumbling something about "bad luck" and "stupid bets" Netto fished an handful of battle chips from his pocket, and dumped them unceremoniously into Enzan's waiting palm. Their eyes didn't mean once during the whole exchange.

"Actually," Enzan began, pocketing his win. "With Navis gender isn't an issue. If we want to be technical, no matter their outer appearance, Navis are genderless. Still, there's something in their basic programming that allows them to produce an offspring with whichever partner they choose. A sort of hermaphroditism, like it can be found in plants. At least that's the theory we're contemplating at the moment."

Meiru pulled a face at Enzan's terribly unromantic explanation. When she turned to look at Blues and Rockman, she flashed them a smile, sweet and very happy.

"I think some congratulations are in order!" her smiled widened. "You make a very sweet couple, Rockman, Blues. I'm glad you two found each other."

Rockman beamed up at her, and even Blues's lips quirked a little upwards. Reaching out, Meiru put her index finger on the PC monitor. Smiling, she told Axl she was pleased to meet him. Axl's face lit up like a Christmas tree – no wait, we used that metaphor already, right? Then… it lit up like two Christmas trees — and, standing on tiptoes, he reached up with both hands and pushed them against Meiru's fingertip.

"It's nice to meet'cha too, Meiru-Oneesan!"

"Axl…" Rockman's tone was chiding, when he said this. Meiru laughed his concern away.

"Aw, don't worry. He can call me that, if he likes it."

Axl brightened even more as he nodded with approximately the same speed of a washer's basket during centrifugation.

"I do, I do Meiru-Oneesan! I do!"

Dekao was quick to follow the girl's example. Grinning, he bent towards the monitor to congratulate the newly parents, and then tapped the screen to greet a bouncing Axl.

Tohru, like his Navis before him, took a moment to digest these new pieces of information. Unlike his Navi thought, he did not seem unfazed. Rather, his face darkened, and he looked away when he felt Blues and Rockman's eyes upon him.

That caused Rockman's – and Netto's – spirits to dampen, and their shoulders to slump. Blues's – and Enzan's – hand found their way immediately to the slumped shoulders mentioned above and gave each a comforting squeeze.

Tohru seemed to struggle with himself for a moment… then sat back in his chair with a shaky smile. It was clear that he wasn't all that comfortable with Blues and Rockman's relationship, or with the notion of Navis being able to procreate. But he was a good kid, and a good friend besides, and would not leave.

Netto looked like he might glomp Tohru then and there, but wisely refrained (that, and Enzan was pulling him back by the shoulder). Then all eyes turned towards Yaito.

The girl looked pensive, like Tohru had, and was pushing her mouth this way and that, turning these new developments over in her head. The room grew silent as she did, so much so you could've heard a pin drop.

When she finally looked up, her eyes were narrow and dark. She crossed her arms in an imperious manner, scrunching her nose up in what looked like anger. She glowered at Netto, and the poor boy couldn't help but squirm under the heated glare, gulping audibly when Yaito strode up to him in silence.

"You," she said, once she was close enough to jab a finger in his chest. "…are the biggest fool in the history of fools!" she jabbed him again, once for each word she spoke. "How could you forget to notify your friends about something that important! You…you… baka!"

She then proceeded to bite Netto's head off, her voice so high-pitched it was a wonder no window was shattering. But our hero was so, so glad of the acceptance of his friends, that he burst out into relieved laughter, threw his arms around Yaito and made her twirl (which enraged Yaito and amused the rest of them).

There were several moments of commotion, then Meiru piped up and said that yeah, Yaito was right, and what had Netto been thinking, keeping such an important secret from his friends, anyway? Didn't he, by any chance, trust them?

Meiru getting riled up meant that Dekao got riled up, and given that Yaito was already riled up, it only meant that Netto was in for a thorough scolding. Tohru – which we'd like to say again, was not a bad kid, but just a veryvery shy and sheltered one – grinned a little at the antics of his friends. A gesture than developed into a full, clear laugh, when Netto all but threw himself at Meiru's feet and began to plead for his case.

A few more moments of this, then Enzan decided that enough was enough. He flicked his hair out of his eyes, a gesture which somehow commanded everyone's attention towards him, and began:

"Surely you realize this must stay a secret…"

And so, the big secret was out, and everyone was happier for it. All was well in their world for a while (even if Enzan was a little displeased with Netto self-appointed task of dragging him away from his office every chance he got) and everything ran smoothly (well, as smoothly as you could expect from two teenager Net-Ops, their not-quite-married Navis and a Navi-child which was too curious and smart and adorable for his own good) for about one month, twenty-six days, fourteen hours, nine minutes, and a bunch of seconds.

Then, a series of unfortunate events took place, in close succession. Among those there were: a mass-ambush, a disappearance, some frightful meetings, new friendships, the acquiring of a scar, past secrets coming to light, an evil plot unveiled, an old legend reawakening, a public scandal, a case of memory-loss, painful fights, a winding journey, the discovery of a star-crossed love-relationship or two, and let's not forget: a period of captivity.

- Scene 2 cleared.

NOW LOADING…