So I edited the previous chapter, because I apparently can't math.

AN: Mono no aware is a Japanese term meaning 'awareness of the impermanence of things'. I don't think there's an appropriate translation in English, so that's what I'm calling it.

Also, 100 favorites and 138 follows. I'm breathtaken. I never thought my fic would get this big. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who read this so far.

Anyway, this chapter is like 90% Nagikae fluff. It was so therapeutic to write.

It was already November 1st. Autumn was now entering its chilly stage. When Nagisa walked to school that morning, he could see his breath. Soon it would be Christmas, soon the New Year, soon the baby's arrival…

He sighed, obscuring his vision in a cloud of his own breath. Akari's birthday was in eight days, and he had hidden her gift in the back of his closet at home. He smiled at the idea of it. She'd love it for sure. He was still debating what to do with the ring he had hidden with it.

The class was hyper today. Throwing pencils and pens at Nagisa. They must have been excited for the upcoming soccer tournament, he figured. Nagisa barely even blinked as he dodged the projectiles. But his lessons on the laws of physics seemed to get through to them, if the grades on the surprise end-of-the-day quiz were anything to go by.

When Nagisa arrived home a few days later, Akari was knitting in the rocking chair, chatting with someone on speaker phone.

"So I left with my friends, but by then there were two cop cars, and we-"

Nagisa recognized that voice on the phone. "Oh, hi Nakamura."

"Nagisa! I was just talking to Kayano about my weekend."

"Sounds like you had fun." Akari laughed. "How's Los Angles? Especially Hollywood!"

"It's… a wild town. You know who the locals are. They're the ones not panicking over the three earthquakes we've had since June. And then there's me, who sleeps through the earthquakes of course." The prankster laughed, then stopped for a moment. "Damn it, I kicked over my nail polish." There was shuffling, presumably to get a towel, and water running. "Huh, and Will and I just replaced the carpets last week… Anyways, how's pregnancy treating you?"

"Just as I thought I was getting used to it, the exhaustion, nausea, mood swings, cravings, and everything came back with a vengeance."

"Thank goodness my womb is as vacant as can be." The blonde chuckled from an ocean away. "Anyways, I gotta go to bed. It's midnight here and I have to be to work by six tomorrow to chase kids all day."

Nagisa looked at the floor of the living room. It was full of everything Kaede would need. A crib sat in the corner, lined with pink blankets and stuffed animals sat at its feet. Clothes were neatly stored away in a bin underneath. Rattles and pacifiers were in their packages, tucked in their own bin. All was ready… Except for one thing.

Nagisa looked around. They had been renovating quite a bit. Since their flat had only one bedroom, that left the question of where the baby's room would be. He and Akari had decided to request to the complex that they build an addition, as they did not have any neighbors (they were in fact the only ones in this wing of the building, for now). They had hired Chiba to design it and Itona to build it. Both would arrive this weekend to continue the project. Nagisa felt a bit stupid for waiting so long to figure it out, but both his former classmates insisted that one room would not be a long project to complete and would be done in a few weeks.

He wandered to said room. It was bare and empty. He got lost in his thoughts. How long had it been like this? How long since the assassination classroom? Over seven years. He thought back, feeling mono no aware. On that day when Koro-sensei stepped foot (er, tentacle?) in their shack of a classroom, Nagisa would never have guessed that he'd be here, doing this and teaching a class, in seven and a half years. Actually, if the Nagisa of that day had been asked about where he saw himself in seven years, he would have probably answered blown to smithereens with the rest of the planet.

What did Koro-sensei and Aguri think of them now, while watching them from Heaven? Sometimes Nagisa felt as if they spoke to him. They were proud, he was sure of it.

Nagisa sensed that Akari had walked up next to him. "Akari, dear?" Words spilled out of his mouth.

"Yes?"

"Do you ever feel like they speak to us?"

Akari didn't even need him to extrapolate, she knew who the 'they' were. "Lots of times. My sister visits me in my dreams a lot."

Nagisa anticipated this answer. "To say what?"

"Give me advice on work, on relationships… and I tell her, 'Nee-san, you're dead!'" Akari took a shallow breath before finishing the sentence. "… And she says, 'Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't talk.'" A few tears rolled down the black-haired girl's cheek. Nagisa wiped it away, and embraced her. Soon he began to cry with nostalgia as well.

The next week had begun. After a weekend spent working with Chiba and Itona to build the new room, Nagisa was back at school again. He decided it was now time to start the countdown again. November 6th. 46 days 'til finals. He looked around. Once again, all were present and on time. In contrast to last week, the day went smoothly. In Japanese class, they had started reading The Tale of Genji. He also assigned a research paper on it, due in early December. "I look forward to seeing what you all come up with." He told his class.

The only thing even close to anything that could be called an interruption was when the intercom boomed at around noon. "Kimiya Shisaki, please come to the front office." The student obeyed the unidentified voice and left the room, only to come back twenty minutes later. Nagisa thought nothing of it and went on with the lesson.

The day was soon November 9th. Nagisa was at the apartment getting everything ready, while Akari was out shopping with Okuda and Kanzaki. Dinner was on the table, and the homemade caramel pudding was sitting in the fridge.

Nagisa heard the sound of the door opening. She had arrived. He dashed into the living room to greet her. "Happy birthday, Akari." She accepted his embrace wholeheartedly. They walked, hand-in-hand, into the dining room where the dinner of yakisoba noodles that Nagisa had made for them sat (Akari had requested it that morning). It was delicious, the award-winning actress commented while wiping her mouth off.

The doorbell rang. It was Satoshi. He had been over quite a lot recently. Without haste, he kissed his daughter's head. "My baby girl's twenty-two already!" It was obvious he was feeling old. "And my older one's thirty-four…" He added under his breath. No one else noticed it.

Nagisa smiled. He still remembered what his reaction was when Akari confided in him that she had lied about her birthdate on her application to Kunugigaoka, and that she was actually a year younger than the rest of E Class. That came as such a surprise. After the tentacles had been removed, she could keep up with everyone else just fine. Nothing about her (aside from her size) ever screamed that she was younger than them. Nagisa guessed that that was just because of how good of an actress she was.

Satoshi gave her his gift. A big leather-bound binder with many cute little drawings carved into it, in which to place her scripts. He also handed her a plush doll. "For my granddaughter." He explained, hands trembling. Akari didn't recognize this, but it was Aguri's when she was a baby.

Okuda, Kanzaki, and Sugino had all given their gifts earlier that day or when they were visiting on Halloween. They all too, left gifts for Kaede. Karma rubbed Nagisa's head, ruffling his blue hair. "You and Kayano are finally growing up! You're both fifteen now!" Sarcasm dripped from every syllable. "Well, here's some stuff for your teen pregnancy."

"Haha. Very funny." Nagisa brushed out his hair, taking a moment to appreciate the size difference between himself, Karma, and Akari. It really was like Karma had grown for all three of them.

Nagisa decided it was time for his gift. He went to the back of the closet in their room and admired the shiny blue wrapping paper he bound it in. Underneath it was a smaller, unwrapped box that he stuck in his breast pocket. Walking into the dining room, he saw his girlfriend laughing with her father and their friend.

"Akari," He breathed.

She turned her gaze on him. Her brown eyes were the most beautiful he'd ever seen.

He gently handed her the box. "Here, for you."

Akari unwrapped it. It was a set of pearl earrings, to match the necklace he'd given her for White Day. Akari gasped.

"It's beautiful." She removed them from the box to put them on.

"Wait," Nagisa stopped her. "Look at them closely."

Puzzled, she did so. They were engraved with tiny lettering.

4/2/15 on one. 3/13/16 on the other.

Once again, she did not need to ask what it signified. She knew. The date she had transferred into E Class, the day she met him, and the day of their graduation from the assassination classroom. When she saw, she gasped again. "I love it." She kissed him, with a ferocity that made Satoshi a bit uncomfortable. They then devoured the pudding.

Now that the guests had all left, Nagisa and Akari were left staring out the window of their flat. The sun had already set and the night was illuminated by the moon and the stars. Nagisa found the constellation that looked like Koro-sensei again. He took it as a good omen.

"That was wonderful. Thank you Nagisa." She got up to grab a broom, but Nagisa stopped her.

"Let me do it."

"Thanks."

Soon it became clear he was deliberating something. Akari got up, brushed the crumbs off of her dress, and went to go sit down in the rocking chair. The blue-haired man mustered up all the strength he could and took the box out of his pocket.

"… Akari." He dropped the broom and approached her. She stopped rocking. What could he be planning, she thought to herself.

"We've been through so much together in the past seven and a half years. We held each other when we cried, we stared directly into the face of danger side by side, and when we reunited a year and a half ago, I knew my soulmate had returned. It was just the most wonderful feeling." Nagisa looked into her eyes again. They became more and more full of love with each word he said. "I was stupid to not realize what was between us for so long."

He took her hand, and got on one knee. "Akari Yukimura, will you marry me?"

Then came the waterworks. She cried for the second time in a week. She wrapped her arms around him. "Nagisa." She hiccuped, trying to catch her breath. "I love you so much. I've been waiting since that day in the Japanese silver grass field to hear you say that." Then there was a sniffle, and she caught her breath.

"Yes. Of course I'll marry you." The ring slid right on.