Eisuke

Aoi nervously wrings her fingers, her eyes glued to the door to Eisuke's office. His work had been hectic lately, and she had kept this secret from him for almost two weeks. There never seemed to be a good time to tell him she was pregnant with his child. The past month had been filled with such stress, and Eisuke rarely came home before she had gone to bed for the night. However, today, she decided, it was "now or never."

She bit her lips hard as she built up the courage to knock on the door. She gave it two sharps raps and waited for him to beckon her in. When she heard his rough, stressed voice call to enter, she hesitantly opens to door and walk inside.

Eisuke was sitting at his desk with mountains of paperwork. He was currently on the phone, speaking sharply with the person on the other line. He looked up with a glare for a moment, before realizing it was her and motioned for her to have a seat.

Aoi sat patiently waiting for him to finish his phone call to finish up. Her heart begans to pound wildly as shr went through the different scenarios in her head. The two of you had been dating for two years, the two hadn't even talked about even getting married yet. They most definitely didn't talk about having children.

Did Eisuke even want children?

Her heart nearly explodes at the thought. She determines she hadn't thought this all through, standing abruptly, she makes a mad dash to the door. However, she stops in her tracks when she hears the phone hang up and Eisuke call her name.

"Aoi! Where are you going?" He calls as she hears is chair roll backwards. He was walking to her, and she couldn't bring herself to face him.

"I forgot I had something to do." she states and walks toward the door once again, but Eisuke reaches out and catches her arm before she are able to make it there.

"Aoi, stop-" Eisuke stops talking as he spins her around and sees the upset look on her face.

His expression turns to one of urgent concern, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Aoi shakes her head, "No, no, everything's fine."

Eisuke gives her a look that tells her he doesn't believe her. He slowly pulls her towards couches and forces her to sit next to him. He pulls her hand to rest in his as he strokes it gently with his thumb. The two are silent for a moment before Eisuke speaks first.

"I know I haven't been around much lately, I promise I'll make it up to you once the deal is done. Things have been hell around here lately." Eisuke tells her gently, and it makes her stomach squirm. She was making him think she was mad at him, it made her feel guilty for causing him more trouble when things have been so hectic for him.

"That's not it, Eisuke…" she says, biting her lip, "That's not why I came here today."

Eisuke stopped stroking her hand, "Then why did you come here?"

Aoi swallowed the lump in her throat, looking at Eisuke, who's brow was furrowed in confusion, "I have to tell you something. It's really important."

"I'm listening." He says gently, his eyes were blazing with confusion and worry. She was making him nervous, though his eyes were the only windows to show that to her.

She looks away from him, and take a deep breath. She opens her mouth to finally tell him, but the words would not come. She closes her mouth and grits her teeth. Her anxiety wouldn't allow her to talk.

Eisuke wouldn't call himself a very patient man, but he always tried to be better for Aoi. However, in this moment, she had taken him to the edge.

"Aoi." He says sternly, his face contorting in frustration as his takes her chin and forces her to look at him, "Spit it out already, you're being ridiculous."

Tears well and spill from her eyes, and she finally finds her voice, "E-Eisuke, I'm pregnant."

In the blink of an eye, Eisuke's face goes blank. Shock shines through his eyes and his mouth drops open slightly. His body feels as though someone had spilled a gallon of ice cold water over it. He is unable to respond, as her face crinkles with tears and she stands to run away.

Eisuke quickly snaps out of his shock and catches her before she makes it to the door. He grips her arms and spins her around, pulling her into a tight embrace against his broad chest. Her eyes widen as he holds her tenderly.

He keeps her there for a moment, before he moves under her arms and lifts her above his head, a broad smile crossing his face.

"E-eisuke, what are you doing?" Aoi stutters, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"This is the best news I have heard all year." His smile was tender, and his eyes shown with excitement and love. She had never seen Eisuke with such an expression. It warmed her heart and tears of joy ran down her face.

Eisuke lowered her slightly, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a tender kiss to her lips. She knew then that she was stupid for ever worrying his reaction would leave her heartbroken.

He showed her all his love for the rest of the day, not once leaving her side as she spoke about the exciting plans for the little Ichinomiya who would soon become the glue of love between she and Eisuke.