Alright, I told myself the first part was it, but...alas here we are.
There might be (probably will be, actually) another installment later. For those of you reading Nature Boy, the second chapter's on its way. This is the reason why I haven't updated.
Warnings: same warnings apply
Spoilers (duh): might be confused if you haven't read the manga.
Disclaimer: you know the drill
Quick note: For those of you who read Nature Boy, the second chapter will be out soon. Blame this one for the delay. Also, this takes place in England, as did the last chapter, so assume they're speaking English. (Mai and Naru speak Japanese when they're alone together) Let me know if you find major mistakes. I didn't want to take too much time away from my other story with editing.
Sometimes, Evie gave Mai a run for her money when it came to falling asleep in odd places, Lin thought as he carefully prodded his very pregnant wife into his arms. Normally he'd just leave her, but he didn't think sleeping on the stairs was safe for the baby.
As he finished the journey up the stairs she'd failed to complete, his mind turned over his impending fatherhood. He wasn't sure he was used to the idea yet, that an infant, one he'd helped to create, was currently floating somewhere beneath the bulbous orb that was once her abdomen. It had been approximately seven months, plenty of time for Evie to get over her initial distaste (she'd referred to the fetus as 'her little parasite' for about two months before the title turned affectionate), and certainly enough time for Lin to rationalize and accept his new role as father.
He gently set her down on their carefully made bed (his doing, she was content to leave the blankets in a tangled mess), but kept close to her, staring at her stomach as he was wont to do the past few months.
He just couldn't picture it. He couldn't imagine a little boy or a little girl calling him Baba, with Evie's black eyes or his smoky grey or Evie's curls or his chin. What's worse, the idea of it legitimately frightened him. Which was utterly ridiculous. He had too much self-control to be this terrified of a four-pound, underdeveloped humanoid.
"Koujo, is that you?" she moaned in her failing sleep, hand flailing clumsily and smacking his chin weakly. He smiled to himself and captured her hand, setting it on top of her stomach where it would land of its own accord eventually. "How did I get here?"
"I carried you. Explain to me please how you managed to fall asleep on the stairs."
She didn't answer, brow furrowed in concentration. Watching her try to sit up had become somewhat of a game to Lin. If he was feeling charitable, which typically he was, he'd help her. Some days, though, he was content to watch her struggle. She resembled quite adeptly a turtle flipped on his back. Or a Weeble-Wobble.
Finally she gave up. "Help?"
Lin smiled and guided her to her feet, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead in lieu of an apology. She took it happily.
"What time is it?" she inquired, stretching so her stomach seemed all the more prominent on her comparatively small body. That frightened him too. His wife seemed so little sometimes.
"Almost six."
"Damn it, we're supposed to meet them at seven, right?" she muttered more to herself, waddling almost gracefully towards the bathroom. There was silence on the other side of the door as she presumable undressed, then the rush of the shower sputtering to life. Lin leaned against the door.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have taken a nap," he couldn't resist, thinking over which tie he should wear or if he should even wear one at all. The restaurant was of finer quality. Not quite black tie, but a suit jacket at least.
Evie let out a squeak of frustration, and he imagined her struggling with the shampoo cap. "I was taking a break. I would've made it eventually."
He shook his head, chucking. Only Evie. "Well then, hurry up. Noll will eat our first born if we're late."
"At least he won't have to wait long. And don't rush a pregnant woman."
Noll had called the night before, inviting Evie and himself to dinner with little explanation as to why. Not that he needed much of an explanation. Lin had answered cordially, professionally, for all that he'd been smirking and biting back laughter the whole time. If Noll thought breaking the news to Evie in a public space would dampen her reaction, he was sorely mistaken.
Mai was going to die, either from excitement or nerves, she'd yet to decide.
"Is spontaneous combustion actually proven, or do I have to wait for someone with a match to put me out of my misery?" she asked herself, as her boyfriend, no, fiancé, was too busy folding his napkin on his lap calmly.
For the fifteenth time. Damn perfectionist narcissist.
"Calm down, Mai. It's not as if you haven't met my parents before," he pacified unemotionally, folding his knuckles beneath his chin and actually bothering to look at her.
She laughed without humor. "It's not them I'm worried about. I can't believe you invited Evie and Madoka. We're going to get kicked out of here."
Naru smiled genuinely, though fleetingly, and took her hand in his, his thumb soothing over her knuckles when she gripped him back a little too tightly. With his other hand beneath her chin, he sought her eyes before pressing a short kiss to her lips. Mai let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Better?" he inquired, hands already back on his menu like they'd never been elsewhere. She smiled.
"Yes. You?"
He nodded, the corner of his lips twitching.
"Noll? Mai?" a sweetly familiar voice called over the clink of silverware and small talk. Mai's heart dropped to her stomach. Apparently she was nervous about seeing them. Oh man, I thought I'd have a little more time. It's only six fifty. Then again, she should've known. Luella and consequently Martin always showed up at least ten minutes early. Fashionably late did not exist in her soon-to-be mother-in-law's vocabulary. Mai was tempted to curse that fact.
Naru rose to greet his parents with a handshake and a hug respectively, a ritual she'd never understood but had grown accustomed to regardless. Luella regarded her warmly, taking in the deep green of her dress with a knowing look. Mai had bought the dress on an outing with Luella four years ago, after the older woman had nonchalantly mentioned it was Naru's preferred color.
"Come, dear, give us a hug," she demanded kindly, pulling the young woman into her arms before she'd prepared herself. Mai took the moment of embrace-induced silence to internally scream away her nerves. I can't do this. I can't do this. They're going to hate me.
That's ridiculous, they love you, her conscious, which sounded a little too much like Gene for her liking, argued.
Yeah, now they like me, when their only son can still find a way out, she returned, then blushed ashamedly at the thought. She didn't trap Naru. They loved each other, in every sense of the word. Convincing herself otherwise for the sake of nerves was cruel and childish.
By the time Madoka had arrived, Mai was feeling calm, at least calm enough to wrap the woman in a hug and bounce with her like they didn't see each other every day at work. She even rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her wild speculation as to why Naru called them all to dinner. (No, she wasn't pregnant. No, they didn't elope. No, they weren't moving to England permanently. And her favorite, because only Madoka would think of it, No, they weren't adopting John, who was not only not a child, but also two years older than Naru)
When Lin and Evie arrived, one carrying two jackets and a purse, the other waddling excitedly over to the table while completely ignoring the host's attempt to guide her, Mai was actually excited. These were the people she loved, considered her home away from home. She wasn't afraid of sharing something this important with them. Even if Evie's stomach was stealing the spotlight just a little.
"So, Naru-chan," Madoka began affectionately, and perhaps a bit mischievously, "care to explain why we dearly beloved are gathered here today?"
Naru rolled his eyes, but snuck a glance at her, one that said, at least she made it halfway through dinner. Mai giggled into her napkin.
"Yes, we were also wondering. Not that we don't enjoy these moments, but it's not like you to plan such an outing without…motivation," Martin added carefully, if not a little suspiciously, steepling his fingers much the same way as his son. Maybe her nerves were coming back, but she found the sight oddly touching.
Lin made a sound deep in his throat, something like smothered laughter, and judging by the way Naru's eyes shot immediately and unforgivingly to his former bodyguard, he already knew. The entirety of the dinner party turned to stare at the Chinese man incredulously. Mai could see the possibilities, some probably too ridiculous for mere mortals to comprehend, forming in Madoka's distinctly intuitive mind.
"If you'd give me your attention as well as your discretion," Naru shot two very pointed looks to Madoka and Evie specifically, "Mai and I have an announcement."
"Are you pregnant?" Evie accused. "Because I don't think the world can handle our children together. It needs time to recuperate."
Luella chuckled, only to let the sound die as her son turned his glare to her. Mai rolled her eyes. While it was a logical guess, she really wished people would stop asserting, however inadvertently, that she and Naru had a sex life in front of his parents.
"No, Mai is not pregnant as far as I know," he corrected with a strange mix of exasperation and sneering, "though given her recent eating habits, it's a possibility." He was going to pay for that one later, she decided.
Or now. He could pay for it now. She slapped his arm, heedless of the attention they were drawing from the next table. "I'm not pregnant, you smarmy bastard."
"Stop your flirting and tell us, Noll!" Luella interrupted, her pale blue eyes burning with curiosity. Mai blushed and restrained herself. It was so easy to fall into that pattern, she sometimes forgot about things like courtesy and public places.
Naru took a moment to look at her, the smirk gone and replaced not by a smile, but by a notable contentedness. His eyes were soft when he turned to face his family and friends.
"Mother, Father, I've asked Mai to marry me." Mai braced herself for the explosion, but none came. They were too dumbstruck, mouths fallen open, disbelief warring with possibility. She thought she could see the image of flowers and white dresses and grandbabies floating in Luella's mind as a grin split her cheeks.
"Really?" Evie broke the silence tentatively, as if asking might disrupt some wonderful dream. Mai couldn't help but wonder how much they had invested in her and Naru's collective life, if they were this reticent to believe them. Mai held up her left hand, where his ring had sparkled, unnoticed by a table of investigators, on her ring finger.
"I said yes, if that's what you were worried about."
Five minutes later, they were being escorted off the premises for disturbing the peace, and Naru had verbally abused the entire staff. All things considered, it went well.
Now to tell her side of the family.
I'll leave the reaction to your imagination. It's probably much more hilarious than mine could conjure. :) The beginning scene was interesting to write. I love the idea of Lin quietly freaking out about being a dad.
About the setting: In my head, Naru and Mai would live primarily in Japan, where she is most comfortable and he feels the most freedom. However, I believe they'd spend the summer in England, during which Bou-san would take over SPR, and alternate Christmas with Luella and Martin and the Irregulars.
PS, how did I do with Madoka? I have trouble writing her...
Next one: Telling Bou-san, Ayako, Yasu, John, and Masako. Poor, poor Naru.
