Weeks went by, speeding at best. Arianna began to lose track of time when she was with her silver-locked fiancé; days melted into days, until logging her life was almost impossible.

On occasions there was excitement, drama even. But Arianna thought that her favorite part of living with Sephiroth was the daily minutia, the placid little conversations that were supposed to matter the least. She thought those were the most fun.

But lately, a new worry had been brought to her attention. Usually, she was extremely regular, to the point of being able to enter her beginnings on the calendar to see that she started each month around the same time. But this was the second month now where she had missed her period completely.

Anxious curiosity got the best of her, and three positive pregnancy tests later, it was perfectly clear that she had a secret. A secret that could change her life and the lives of everyone connected to her.

She wasn't sure what to do. Telling Sephiroth was out of the question, and every time she was around him now, there was a bit more nervous tension than the last time. She hoped he didn't notice.

For awhile, she wondered who she could tell, someone who wouldn't blab the news to every life form contacted until Arianna felt the time was right. Then she decided to do something she had been meaning to do for awhile: It was time to write her cousin back.

Dear Kylene,

In response to your last letter, yes, I DO think that Midgar fever is a serious mental condition. I swear, at first, when I came here, I was freaked out of my mind. The city is so big compared to Nibelheim! But, now that I'm here, I just love it! I feel reckless, like I can do anything. Maybe that's just because I'm in love...

Yes, love. You can blink your bulging eyes of surprise now. And you said I'd never snag a guy! Well, the tables have turned, and we're engaged to be married. We're just not set on a date yet. I say summer; he says winter. He says twilight; I say dawn. It's a constant battle of the wills, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I'm not going to tell you much about him, though, because you'll think that either I'm psychotic or he is when you really find out his identity.

How are Junior and the kids? You realize that it's been a couple of years since I've seen the gang all together. Don't worry - you're all invited to the wedding! Even Junior's mom can come! That old broad's always been the life of the party!

Sincerely,

Arianna

PS. I'm in love with a sex god. I mean it! It seems like his libido is three times that of an ordinary man's! I've got enough seed in me to grow a whole garden. I'm also pregnant with his child... he just doesn't know it yet.

She sat back, read over the letter a second time, and sighed. It was the first time she had spilt the beans to anyone, and she wondered if it was acceptable now. Her cousin would freak the moment she read it, but Arianna knew to trust her, which chased away all the thoughts of taking back what had been written.

"What are you writing?"

She jumped, covering the stationery with her entire torso. Holy shit. She looked over her shoulder, to see Sephiroth standing there, curiosity glimmering like moonstones in his eyes. "Just a letter to my cousin," she responded, failing terribly at trying to sound casual.

"Can I read it?"

HELL NO. There was no way she was going to let a few misplaced words reveal to the currently uninformed Sephiroth that he was the father of her baby. He was still too squeamish around children.

"Why would you want to read something as trivial as a letter?"

He smiled. "Because you're hiding it from me." He reached to grab it, but Arianna swiped it away before he had a chance to touch it. He lunged playfully at her, when she zoomed to the staircase and up the stairs, folding the letter as she ran. But Sephiroth's legs were longer, and he made short work of the distance between them that she had so painstakingly tried to cover.

When she reached the bedroom doorway, one good tap with his hand to the back of her foot was all it took to make her lose balance and spiral onto the top of the bed. Without missing a beat, she flipped herself onto her back and luckily slid the piece of paper into her bottom pants pocket before he jumped on top of her like a hungry leopard. His hands automatically went probing under her, but when he came too close to recovering the note, she bit his arm roughly. Not too hard, but enough to make him recoil. She had to stop him from reading that last sentence. There'd be hell to pay if she didn't.

"Oww..." he whined half-heartedly, sticking out his bottom lip. He rolled off of her, temporarily leaving the letter be, and rubbed his injured limb. "Fine. Now I don't want to know."

Arianna knew that was a lie. If anything, Sephiroth was even more curious now. He looked at her sulkily. It was a really funny look.

"What?"

"You're a biter. I asked a biter to marry me..." he mumbled, looking away from her, as if her appearance burned his eyes. "...What did I get myself into?"

She giggled. He was surprisingly good at acting like a spoiled brat.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle," she cooed, scooting closer to him. One hand was in her back pocket --- she knew he'd reach for it at any time. The other wrapped around his neck, and she started planting fiery kisses upon it. The combination of those burning kisses and the mystery composed in the note at her backside made him hard. Then again, it didn't take much from her these days to cause that.

He began to kiss her back, their lips locking for a moment as their saliva intertwined. He shifted her, to where she was almost splayed across his lap, his arousal digging into her thigh beneath their clothes.

But then she broke from his grasp, saying, "Hold on. I still need to mail this letter." He made a soft sound of protest, only to get a raised eyebrow in response.

"Don't worry. I'll be back." Then she left the room.

"The post office is five minutes away," he called after her. "If it takes you more than ten to get back, I'm going to be pissed."

"TIME ME!"

He heard the exterior door shut. Sephiroth smiled to himself. She sexually tortured him like this on a regular basis, just to see how much he was willing to take. Well, he could take anything she could dish out. If that's what he had to do to be able to experience the euphoria of holding her in his arms.

He had been analyzing his overly abundant emotions lately, and he had come to a realization. He realized that the best part of his relationship with the girl was very simple. It was the fact that... no matter how stupid he acted around her, Arianna would never judge him. They were both just a couple of idiots, young and reckless, and they recognized it. And he understood that he'd be willing to be an idiot alongside her, for as long as she lived.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna ran up the stairs after entering the house, giggling all the way. She went into the bedroom, meeting Sephiroth's gaze triumphantly.

"Seven minutes," she announced, proud of her own efficiency. Sephiroth didn't say a word. All he did was beckon for her to come join him in the bed, where he was naked under the sheets.

Undressing as quickly as possible, she closed the bedroom door and made her way over to the bed. Cloaking herself under the bed-sheets, she snuggled close to her man. But her mischievous smile vanished when she saw the strange look in his eyes.

"Sephiro--"

"Shh..." he whispered, mounting her gently.

The next wordless act she experienced wasn't the hot, sweaty sex that she had been expecting. Instead, it was tender, passionate. Moan after moan was wrought from her lips, only matched by the surprisingly plentiful noises coming from Sephiroth himself.

It seemed he had completely let himself go, and when it was over, she lie awake in his sleeping arms, pure awe in her mind. That was beautiful. Sephiroth had never made love to her like that before.

Now she felt extremely guilty for with-holding information as precious as pregnancy from him. It's just that she knew he wasn't ready for the idea, no matter how ready he seemed. She'd tell him of their impending parenthood. Just --- not today.