hi, this is me, crossposting my work from ao3
here it is y'all, the one and only hetalia work I will ever publish, from back in my cansey days. loved that rarepair.
whole thing was beta'd be vinnie2757, light of my life.
have fun y'all
(613): I made it to work. Still drunk. Definitely pregnant.
"Oh shit."
Arthur looked up at Marie's curse, saw her staring aghast at her phone. "What? What is it?" He moved around the small island in their kitchen to the living room to sit next to Marie on the couch.
Hissing a breath through her teeth, she runs a hand through her hair and sighs. "So, Michelle's pregnant."
His expression dropped from concern to shock, "oh shit."
"Exactly." Marie agreed. "Oh my god. I need to call Elise. She probably already knows but. Holy shit."
Arthur leaned back against the cushions of their couch, mug cradled in his hands, "Holy shit indeed. Do you-do you think Matt-?"
"Probably not," she answered, scrolling through her contacts for Elise's number. "I'm sure she's gonna tell him eventually - hello? Elise? Did Michelle text you, too? I kno - I know. Hey, listen - are you free? We can meet Michelle up for lunch, I'll call her after you to confirm…"
-o-
"So."
That one word made Michelle cringe, squinting against the glare of the sun and the weight of her friends' eyes. She looked down at her hands, rolling the bottle of water she brought between her palms and wishing for a cup of coffee.
But she can't really have that anymore.
After shooting her friends her impromptu pregnancy text and getting three rapid fire calls from Marie and two voicemails from Elise, Michelle somehow found the time to send them a text, letting them know when she would have time to talk.
And now, about three hours later, here they were, sitting outside one of their usual foodie haunts, Marie and Elise enjoying their lunch while Michelle could only stomach a small bowl of fruit.
Before she thought it was just from the hangover. Shows what she knows.
"Yeah," she sighed, finally gathering the courage to look back up and throw out a weak smile, "what a way to find out, right?"
"Do you know how far along you are yet?" Elise asked, tucking a lock of hair that slipped from her braid behind her ear, lips pressed together with sympathy.
She shrugged in answer, "gonna have to make a doctor's appointment after…" She hissed out a breath between clenched teeth, "after I tell Matt."
Michelle closed her eyes and roughly ran a hand through her hair, panic stealing her breath; the sun was shining, there was a nice breeze going, and she was however many odd weeks pregnant when she wasn't entirely ready to be.
"Hey."
Marie grabbed her free hand, "you know you don't have to keep this, right? And Matt, he loves you-he's not about to make you go through anything you're not ready for."
"I know," Michelle breathed, "I know he won't, but I'm just – I -" She helplessly shakes her head, trying to find the words, and Elise scoots her chair closer to Michelle's side, leaning forward to press her cheek against her shoulder.
"I'm only twenty three," Michelle finally croaks out, "I'm-I'm still getting settled in my job, and Matt's still just an aide and-and we're barely out of school. Sure we've been smart with money and we're not - we're not struggling but….a child. That's so much. And I got – I got drunk, this past weekend. God, I can't believe I - I got drunk, guys. I got completely smashed and what if – what if it's not healthy? What if something's happened to it because I just didn't know?"
Panic tightens her chest, makes her cold. She gives herself a second, riding it out, shaking the cold feeling away. Marie squeezes her hand in silent support.
"And even though - and even with all that I just….?" Michelle shrugs, the sudden motion jostling Elise off her shoulder. "Sorry - I still – I think I want it. It's not the right time at all, we really aren't ready, but I don't care. I want it."
A lump rose in her throat, choking her, and she stares at her friends with wide eyes, trembling. Her eyes shined with unshed tears. "It's so scary," she continues, "it's so soon, and I'm just - I'm not sure I can – I don't know."
Marie hummed, brow wrinkling in concern as she ran a gentle thumb across her knuckles, "it'll work out." She soothed, "no matter which way this goes, we're all in your corner."
Letting out a shaky sigh, Michelle covered her face with her free hand, soaking in the heat of the sun bearing down on her shoulders, taking a moment to compose herself.
Elise and Marie said nothing, letting her gather herself as they picked at their food. Eventually, Michelle dropped her hand from her face and turned away, watching the people walk by as she thought. Her eyes lingered a little too long on every mother with a stroller, on fathers holding their toddler's tiny hands as they walked.
After twenty minutes, she decided.
"I'll tell him today."
She turned back to them, jaw set. "It's his day off, so he's at home. I'll tell him after work."
Marie nodded, her expression serious. "It's gonna be fine." Her tone was firm, confident, and it made her shoulders relax a bit, soothed the nerves that cramped her stomach.
"Call us tomorrow. We'll be waiting," Elise chimed in, running a soothing hand down Michelle's arm, "let us know how it goes. And what you decide."
-o-
"I'm hooooome!"
Michelle hollered her greeting as she shouldered her way through the front door and was answered with silence. Disgruntled, she sighed, figuring that Matt went out while she was gone.
She tossed her bag onto one of the chairs at the table and wandered over to the cabinets, pulling out a small glass to pour some juice. "Juice is safe, right?" She asked herself under her breath, hopping onto the counter with her glass, "I'm sure it is. It's juice. I'll google it."
"Google what?"
Michelle sputtered around a mouthful of juice, jerking around to see Matt enter through the side door of their home. "Jesus!" She gasped, setting her glass on the counter with a solid 'thunk', "I need to put a bell on you or something! You scared me!"
Matt grinned at her, two parts sheepish, one part mischievous, "I'm sorry," he hummed, and, well, at least he sounded partially contrite. "I was out back, checking on the plants. What were you talking about googling?"
"Nothing serious," she sighed, setting her cup next to her without looking, unable to look away, "it was just, y'know – stuff. About juice. Don't worry about it."
He hummed as he moved to the sink to wash the dirt off his hands, not yet noticing Michelle's roving eyes; he was dressed in a simple white tee and a frayed pair of jeans, both of them smeared with streaks of dirt, his skin browned by the sunny summer days. His hair was slipping from the loose braid he'd done, a little more blonde from the sun, and he was windswept and beautiful and Michelle suddenly ached with wanting him.
"Matthew."
Matt looked up, saw Michelle beckoning to him with an outstretched hand and wiggling fingers, and smiled.
He was in her space in two long strides, and Michelle spread her legs to accommodate him, the sides of her knees pressed gently against his hips.
"Hey." He murmured, boxing her in as he placed his hands on the counter, inches from the side of her thighs. "Hello." She hummed back, tilting her head back to look up at him, lips curled into a fond smile, "I missed you."
Matt huffed out a small laugh, leaning in more so that his nose brushed gently against hers, "it was only a few hours."
"Well, it sure felt like more." She easily shot back, before letting out a heavy sigh, hooking her heels against the backs of his thighs. "It's just been a very long day."
"I'll bet." Matt says with sympathy, running his hands soothingly along her thighs; callouses on his palms scraped lightly against her skin, and Michelle shivers, pressing herself impossibly closer to him. She hooks her fingers through his belt loops, thumb slipping under the hem of his shirt to graze against warm skin. Matt hummed at her touch, and his lips lightly brushed against hers.
The brush of contact was electric, shooting down her spine and curling low and hot in her gut, molten.
Everything was just so sensitive all of a sudden, and the reason why nagged in the back of her mind, making her chest tighten with nerves. She had to tell him - soon, immediately, right now, before she followed through with the desire to ride him on the kitchen table. Matt was so, so close now, his nose brushing against hers, lips just a gentle slide away and Michelle just wanted to suck his bottom lip into her mouth, pull him in.
But this was more important. She couldn't just sit on this, and after a moment of consideration, Michelle took the leap.
"I'm pregnant." She whispered the words into his mouth, let him have the moment to swallow them and let them sink in. The wait wasn't very long.
Matt jerked back like he'd been slapped, looking at her with wide, wide eyes, and Michelle faintly wondered if this baby would have his eyes.
"Pregnant..." he whispered, as though he heard her wrong, "pregnant?"
It was starting to go how she expected, but Michelle wasn't too nervous, yet. She nudged at Matt's hips with her knees, gesturing to her bag behind him, "Can you….can you get that for me?"
He pulled away from her in a daze, stumbling to the table to grab her bag, and Michelle instantly missed him, even though he was still so close.
When he returned to her, bag in hand, she took it from his limp fingers, trying not to notice too much that he wasn't as close as he was before, and plucked three pregnancy tests from the bottom of her bag. She laid them on the counter next to her, one by one.
All positive.
"You won't believe how much water I had to drink to make that happen." she joked lightly, trying to brighten this up somehow, to try and make Matt smile. But he didn't, he couldn't even speak, eyes glued on the three tests on the counter.
The quiet weighed on her, heavy, so heavy, and it quickly became too much. "Please say something." Michelle whispered. "I don't know what to do. I can't do this alone. Please."
Matt's eyes finally looked over to her, still so big and scared, and he swallowed audibly. "What -" his voice cracked, and he coughed, clearing his throat, "what….what do you want to do?"
A giggle spilled from her lips, tinged with hysteria, "I just said don't know, I - we're so young. We're so young, y'know? God, we - And we've barely gotten settled with work, and I don't even know if this house is big enough for a baby, I'm - I'm - I'm so scared."
The words were spilling out of her, and Michelle fiercely wished that Matt hadn't stepped away, that he was pressed close against her again, and she could lean on him.
"I'm scared, Matt, and - and what if I fucked up already? We've gotten drunk, we - and I didn't even know, and it's just -" She exhales in a rush, running a hand through her hair, "I don't know what I want." She finally whispered, helpless, and that finally brings Matt back into her space, makes him curl around her, fingers digging into her shirt.
"We'll think about this." He says, pressing his forehead into the crook of her neck, "I'll follow your lead, okay? Whatever choice you make, I'm behind you."
Michelle nods, cheek pressed against the golden crown of his head, and for a moment, it was silent.
"I'm scared, too." Matt says, abruptly breaking the silence, "I'm - everything that you said. I'm scared, too. But we can be scared about it together. You're not gonna do this alone."
Michelle swallowed past the lump in her throat, and clung to Matt as the gold glow of the kitchen was blurred over with tears.
-o-
For a little over a week, things felt almost normal again. Until Michelle's doctor appointment came around.
They didn't speak much on the way to the office, and by the time they were in the waiting room, they were dead silent. Michelle kept a death grip on Matt's hand, her free hand filling out a clipboard balanced on her knee, trying her best not to bounce her leg with her nerves.
Despite efforts to stay calm, her stomach lurched when her name was called, and her grip on Matt's hand became impossibly tighter as they were led to the tiny examination room. Matt looked as nervous as she felt, hands trembling against her sides as he helped her onto the examination chair, the thin paper crinkling under her thighs, so loud in the empty room.
She couldn't think of anything to say, but Michelle didn't look away from him, not for a second, until the doctor entered the room.
"Hello there."
The doctor looked kind, dark skin creased lightly with wrinkles and a smile, her silver streaked hair braided and draped over her shoulder. "You're Miss Cadeau, yes? I'm Doctor Mosley, and I'll be taking care of you today. So!" She clapped her hands together, "you're here because you found out you're pregnant?"
Michelle nodded, the motion jerky, "y-yes." She cleared her throat, spoke again, "I, uh, I found out last Sunday? I, I have this app, on my phone, tracks my cycles and lets me know when it's coming up. And I got an alert, I should've started Friday and-" she gestured helplessly, "I just….didn't."
Dr. Mosely nodded, "and you've taken a home test?"
"Three. I wanted to be sure." Michelle smiled crookedly, and even Matt let out a small chuckle from his seat in the corner.
"Mmm, so if you were able to take a home test, we can at least be confident that you're, at the very least, five weeks along." Dr. Mosely scribbled something on her clipboard, brows wrinkled slightly in thought. "It might be too soon for an ultrasound," she began slowly, "so I think we'll wait on that, make an appointment for a few weeks out. Until then, I'm going to suggest some vitamins, things to include in your diet-"
"But what if I've already messed up?" The question burst out of Michelle, unable to keep the one fear that's been nagging at her ever since she saw the positive sign on the tests. "I-I got so drunk the day before I found out; what if I've already screwed it up? What if it's too late? How will I know?"
Her stomach was twisted into knots, and she looked up beseechingly at Dr. Mosely, who was already looking at her, dark eyes so full of kindness. "It's still a bit too early to tell," she said gently. "If you're willing, we can wait it out until your ultrasound. Unless, that is, you've made an alternative decision? Have you-"
"-thought about getting an abortion?"
Matt, so silent in his chair, shifted slightly at her cutting the doctor off, her blunt tone, and Michelle's eyes slid over to him. Even though he was just across the room, she ached at the distance. She wanted to hop off the examination table and curl up in his lap, soak up his warmth and reassurance.
After a moment of silence, she spoke, "I have." She didn't take her eyes off Matt, "of course I have; Matt and I, we're young, and we're lucky that we're getting by well enough, that we've got such good jobs…but…" Michelle bit her lip, considering, "I'm still not sure. I just don't know if we can support a child. Not right now."
More silence. Matt was staring down at his clasped hands.
"I understand. This is a very hard decision that you have to make."
Dr. Mosley moved across the small room, plucked a brochure from the desk. "You've got a few weeks to decide, and until then, I recommend you take some prenatal vitamins. No coffee. Drink plenty of water. Make sure you update your diet." She pressed the brochure into Michelle's hands, smiling in reassurance, "and when you are ready to make a decision and move forward-"
She plucked a small card off her desk, tucked it into Michelle's hands next to the brochure, "you can call me whenever you like."
Michelle didn't know what to say.
The drive home was silent.
-o-
The answer comes to Michelle eventually, two weeks later in the middle of the night.
It was a little after one, and Michelle was still lying awake, staring at the shafts of moonlight that cut through the blinds and faintly bathed the room in silver. Curled around her back, Matt was sleeping, breathing deep and even at the curve of her neck. One of his arms was draped over her hip, large hand curled towards Michelle, hovering near her stomach.
In the summer heat, the weight of him should have felt smothering, but Michelle didn't mind it all that much; it felt nice to have him so close, keeping her grounded.
Shifting slightly, Michelle glanced down at Matt's hand, so close to her stomach, and let her mind wander.
Logically, she knew that now wasn't really the best time to have a child; they were stable enough, but not that stable. Sure they're settling into their jobs, but they were both still so young, still stumbling through adulthood on shaky legs. To bring a baby into the mix would just fuck up any steady ground they had. The right answer, the smart answer, was so simple.
So why all the hesitation?
Michelle bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a snort; she didn't have to think too much to find the answer. She knew why.
All signs pointed to it being the wrong time…but in the end, she didn't really care. She selfishly wanted to keep this small thing, something entirely new she and Matt made all their own.
Pulling his hand away from her stomach, Michelle pressed Matt's big hand between hers, playing with his fingers as she thought. Her eyes danced around her room, looking but not really seeing; it was cozy and a little messy, most of the space taken up by their bed, a queen sized monstrosity they bought with housewarming money from her parents. She moved over to their tall dresser, the surface littered with makeup, empty water bottles, and picture frames of their friends and family.
Michelle didn't really plan on ending up in this situation, she mused, rubbing her cheek against her comforter, soft and worn with the years, but-
She squeezed Matt's hand between hers, and he huffed into her neck, shifting a little in his sleep.
But no matter what, she wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else.
Calm sank into her bones, and Michelle closed her eyes for a moment, settling into her decision. Slowly, she twisted in Matt's grip, giving herself a moment to stare at his face, slack and peaceful with sleep. Then she reached out to him, placing her hand on his side and gently shaking him, "Matt." She whispered, "Matt, wake up for a second."
It took a little bit, but slowly he woke up, eyes almost lavender in the faint light of the moon as he looked at her, sleepy and confused.
"Michelle? Wha's wrong? Time issit?"
He yawned hugely, curling even further into her, pressing his cheek into her neck. Michelle pressed even closer to him in return, twisting her fingers into the soft fabric of his t-shirt. She sighed, and then whispered into his ear:
"I think I want to keep it."
The words were hushed, a quiet wisp of air, but they felt so loud in that moment. Matt stiffened against her, still hiding his face in her neck, and Michelle waited, nervous.
She didn't have to wait long, and she relaxed, boneless with relief, as Matt pressed his agreement into kisses, once, twice, three times against the curve of her neck.
They're doing this. They're really doing this.
It didn't take long to fall asleep after that.
-o-
Matt awoke to sunlight in his eyes and Michelle's heartbeat against his cheek.
They had shifted in the night, Michelle tucking Matt's head under her chin, keeping him close with arms draped loosely over his shoulders and a leg thrown over his hip. It was already warming up; their room soaking up the New York heat, and Matt's cheek was sticking to Michelle's skin with sweat.
Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Matt gently shook his head, scraping his stubble rough cheek across Michelle's skin, and she didn't even stir. Usually she'd sleepily push him away, grumbling in annoyance, but this time there wasn't even a twitch, Michelle's chest rising with the even breaths of deep sleep.
Frankly, he wasn't surprised that he couldn't rouse her; Matt knew that Michelle had been having trouble sleeping in the past weeks. The sight of dark circles smudged under her eyes made him ache, and Matt would not miss them when they eventually disappear. Shifting under the blankets, Matt slid his hand, which was absently stroking the skin of Michelle's bare thigh, up to where her sleep shirt had hitched up in the night, exposing a strip of her stomach.
It was still the same, still its usual flat softness, and yet, different; now something much more life-changing.
'I think I want to keep it.'
Michelle's voice echoed in his ears as Matt gently brushed a thumb across her stomach, heart pounding in his ears. A baby. There's a baby in there right now, small as anything.
They were going to have a baby.
"Holy shit." Matt whispered into the still room. "Holy shit."
Matt was pretty sure that everyone and their mom knew by now about this, so good thing that hurdle was out of the way; he really needed to talk to someone.
With great reluctance, Matt removed himself from the circle of Michelle's arms, slowly shuffling out of the bed. This, of course, would be the time Michelle would decide to wake up a little.
She groaned at his loss, stretching an arm across the mattress and squinting up at him with one eye. "Matt," she mumbled, voice thick with sleep, "where y'goin'?"
"I'm just gonna go out, see Al for a bit."
"But it's so early." She moaned, pressing her face into her pillow, hitching the covers up even though the room was so warm. Matt crossed the room to turn the ceiling fan on for her, knowing she'd overheat soon without it.
"Maa-aaatt, come back to bed with me." Michelle whined, reaching out for him and wiggling her fingers, "just for a couple more hours." He felt his lips curl up into a helpless, besotted smile, and Matt couldn't resist getting back onto the bed. His smile grew at Michelle's pleased noise, and she reached out and snagged his shirt, pulling him back to her.
Matt followed Michelle's insistent tugging until he was hovering over her, caging her in on all fours. "Michelle," he laughed as she looped her arms around his neck, eyes already drooping closed, "I really do want to go see Al. I won't be gone for too long, promise."
Humming, Michelle considered him, lazily carding her fingers through his hair. "I just want to stay in bed with you all day." She said softly. "It's Saturday; one of our few days off this week…no one's knocking…"
"Hmmm, tempting..." Matt leaned down, gently brushing his nose against hers, "but we can do that when I get back."
She groaned, arms sliding off Matt's shoulders, "but that might be forever. You know how you and Al are."
"We're only gonna talk for a little while, I promise."
Matt leaned down, pressing a kiss to Michelle's closed eyelid, the curve of her cheek, and finally her gently parted mouth.
She hummed at that one and kissed him back, morning breath be damned. When he pulled back, she licked her lower lip, placated. "Alright." she finally said. "Go and see Al, then. And hurry back."
"I'll be back before you have any time to miss me," Matt promised, shuffling off the bed once more. Michelle muttered something that sounded like 'too late for that', and hitched the blankets back up, burrowing back into their bed.
-o-
The first thing Al said when he opened the door was, "so, I told mom."
Matthew's mouth dropped open. "You told mom?" he breathed, outraged. "Oh my god, Al, what the fuck? I was gonna call her!"
"Well, I figured you were gonna drag it along, like you usually do, so I just decided to speed it up for you." Al opened the door further, ushering him inside, "keep the outrage down to a minimum though; Arthur and Marie are still sleeping. Not everyone gets up at asshole o'clock like we do."
"Eight in the morning is not asshole o'clock," Matt grumbled, still slightly stung at Al calling their mom, what the fuck.
Al rolled his eyes, leading him to the kitchen, and grabbed two mugs out of the pantry. "I didn't tell her everything." He said, "Just that you knocked Michelle up. I didn't let her know what y'all decided to do."
Placing the mugs on the counter next to the coffee maker, Al moved to the fridge, grabbing a large tin of coffee and turning back to Matt. "I'm guessing that's why you called to come over." Al continued, tapping a filter into the top of the machine and putting in three huge scoops of coffee before flicking it on. Al leaned on the counter as the coffee maker began to bubble and percolate, finally giving Matt all of his attention, sky blue eyes sharp.
"What have y'all decided to do, Matt?"
He looked down at his hands, fingers tapping out a nervous rhythm against the smooth granite of the counter. The scent of coffee thickened in the air; he's certain Arthur and Marie will wake soon.
"She wants to keep it."
Al exhaled slowly. "And you?" He asked slowly, "Do you want this kid too?"
Matt wanted to laugh at the caution in his brother's voice, but instead he sighed, let his head drop into his hands. "Yeah. Yeah, Al, I really want this baby."
He knows it's not an ideal time; they're too young, inexperienced, barely financially secure. This isn't anything like getting a new plant to add to his garden, or helping Michelle tend to and move her bees; this is a baby, a new, tiny thing. So fragile and so dependent on them.
It was terrifying.
And yet...Matt can't help but imagine this new thing they made, a perfect mix with his nose and Michelle's chin and her big, golden brown eyes. He sees it, sees them laughing, moving, growing, and he's never wanted something so much in his life.
Al must have seen those thoughts on his face, because his shoulders drop, tension leaving him. "Alright," he sighed, trusting his answer and leaning closer to him. "Okay, Matt. That's good. It's good. It'll work out, you'll see. We'll be here to help, whatever you need."
The coffee had finished brewing, and Al filled the mugs up to the brim, handing one over to Matt to flavor it how he likes. As Al reached for the small jar of sugar, Matt walked to the fridge, grabbing the bottle of flavored coffee creamer; Matt liked his coffee with a decent amount of creamer, while Al liked to flavor his with creamer and sugar to the point of it tasting like syrup.
As Matt stirred creamer into his cup, a shuffling noise drifted down the hall, and Al smiled into his coffee.
"s'at coffee?"
Arthur emerged from the hallway, Marie at his heels, scrubbing a sleepy hand through his mussed hair. Yawning, he stumbled into the kitchen, walking around the island until he was pressed against Al's side, cheek mushed into the crook of his neck. Marie slumped onto the counter next to Matt, eyes barely open as she mumbled 'good m'rnin' into the cool granite.
"Alfred." Arthur grunted, "It's too early to live. We need coffee. Give us some."
"You don't even like coffee." Al teased, resting his cheek against the crown of Arthur's head.
"Shut the fuck up, yes I do. I want a coffee."
"Well I can't get mugs when you're slumped all over me, so if you want coffee then you're gonna have to get off me."
Arthur sighed loudly, like that was the worst idea in the world, but he eventually moved to slouch onto the counter. Al laughed, "you didn't even say hi to Matt or anything. He's been watching you two act like zombies this whole time."
Both Arthur and Marie looked over at Matt with one bleary eye, and Marie reached out to give him a sloppy pat on the arm while Arthur grunted out his greeting.
Al snorted. "These are the people I have chosen to spend my life with." He mutters, grabbing two more mugs from the cabinet.
"Sorry Matt," Marie groaned, pushing herself up onto her elbows, "we were up super late, we're not this bad in the mornings-"
"Lies! You're always this bad in the mornings. Maybe a little more chipper some days." Al returned to them, a steaming mug of coffee in each hand. He placed one in front of Arthur-black, with a little sugar-and pressed a fond kiss to his cheek. Shimmying around the island, he handed the second cup to Marie-lots of creamer, no sugar-after pressing a sweet good morning kiss to her mouth.
As the two hummed and sipped their drinks, Al returned to his mug with a satisfied smile. "So now that y'all are waking up, you'll want to know that Matt and Michelle decided to keep the baby."
"Wow, Alfred." Matt said loudly as Arthur and Marie's heads whipped towards him, eyes wide. "At least give them a minute to actually wake up before you tell them all my business."
"They're basically family, Matthew! Plus that's literally why you came over! They were gonna know eventually!"
"Y'all are keeping it?" Marie gasped, cutting off their bickering, "that's - that's so great, Matt! Congrats!"
Arthur smiled, "good for you, Matt. We'll give Michelle a call later; whatever you two need, we're happy to help."
Matt's hands tightened around his mug and he smiled, basking in the support. A part of him expected this reaction when he decided to come over, but to have it actually happen loosened a knot of anxiety that had tightened his chest.
"Thanks." He said quietly, "that…it really means a lot. Telling mom," he added, throwing a pointed glare at Al, "wasn't great, but I appreciate everything else."
Marie frowned at Al, "you did not call your mother and tattle."
"It wasn't tattling, oh my god. Matt always drags it out! He would've waited forever to tell her!"
"A few days is not forever, Alfred!"
-o-
When Matt returned home a few hours later, Michelle was still in bed.
She was dozing, curled up on her right side, fingers curled around her cell phone. Matt quickly toed off his shoes and climbed back into bed, waking Michelle up with his movements.
"Hey." She smiled drowsily at him, "you're back. And it only took three hours. That wasn't long at all."
"Told you I wouldn't be gone long."
Matt slipped an arm under the blankets to wind around her waist, and Michelle scooted closer to him, tucking her head into his shoulder. For a moment it was quiet, the only sound their breathing and the occasional contented hum from Michelle. Eventually, Michelle broke the silence, "I called my mom. Told her what was happening."
Matt tensed up a little in apprehension. "Yeah? What….what'd she say? How'd she take it?"
Michelle sighed quietly, "She was upset at us being careless, of course. But she's got our back, and she'll be there to help if we need it. Dad, too."
She gave him a teasing smile, the worried crinkle between her brows fading, "she also asked when I was gonna make an honest man out of you."
Matt choked on a laugh, chest swelling with warmth. "We'll have to elope," he joked, "just pack what we've got and drive to Vegas."
"God, no!" Michelle smacked his chest, "mom will kill you, you know she'll want the whole shebang. So you better put a ring on it properly, sir."
Matt's teasing smile melted down into something soft and gooey, and he tucked a lock of hair behind Michelle's ear, the gesture full of reverence.
"Yeah?" he asked softly, and his tone was full of wonder.
Michelle scooted away from him a little to look him in the eyes, cupping his face between her warm hands. "Yeah." She said back in a voice just as soft, "of course. Of course I will, Matt. We've been together since college, are you kidding me?"
She rubbed her thumbs across the arc of his cheeks, gentle, "You're it for me, Matthew Williams. I've been sure about spending the rest of my life with you since our junior year. Thought about kids, too. Even though this is happening...way, way earlier than I planned it…I don't regret it at all. I want everything with you, of course I do. I've never been so sure about anything in my life."
Matt doesn't know what his face is doing right now, but whatever's happening makes Michelle smile big and wide, eyes full of love.
"You're so dumb." She sighed fondly, pulling his face towards hers for a kiss, "I love you."
"No, you." He replied lamely, his words partially muffled by her lips.