Time That Remains
The days were a lot longer now. Rias had some bouts of morning sickness every once in a while, but for the most part it was manageable. Issei was having trouble keeping everything a secret. So far, the only ones who knew about the baby were Akeno, Kuroka, Asia, and Sirzechs. Everyone else was still in the dark. It had been about two months since they found out, and the wedding had still not happened. Now they had to come up with a way to let the gang know before Rias got too big to hide it any longer.
"Rias, how are we gonna tell them?" Issei stroked her head as she laid on his chest in bed. The two were granted alone time due to being engaged. They had been tossing around ideas on how to announce to the world that Rias was pregnant.
"I don't know lover boy. I thought you were the smart one?" She giggled.
"We both know that is a lie." He kissed her head. Suddenly, an idea came into his head. "Rias, I've got a perfect idea." Her jaw dropped when he explained his plan.
"That's bold Issei, even for you." She held his hand. "But I like the idea. Let's do it."
Within a week, the wedding was planned, and the date was set. Sirzechs had taken care of everything. The event was to take place in Kyoto. The reception, at the Gremory house in the Underworld. Today, Rias, Akeno, Venelana and Grayfia were in search of a wedding dress for Rias.
The group entered the store to buy the dress. Issei was not invited and Rias was a bit upset. Simply to make it easier, she had informed the older women that she was with child. Unsurprisingly, they had taken it quite well. Both were over the moon for the Ruin Princess.
"We might have to accommodate for the size, but that won't be hard." Venelana said as she looked through dresses.
"I'm not big yet, mother." Rias rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile. Her life was amazing.
"You will be, honey."
"But not right now, I'm still my size." Rias pulled out a dress that had an interesting design on the side. A great western red dragon was articulately printed onto the dress's mid torso area. "This is perfect." A tear fell from her eye. She as marrying a dragon, so it made sense.
"He will drop dead seeing you in this Rias." Akeno giggled as she helped Rias collect all the dress's parts. She went into the changing room, leaving the other women outside to wait. After a few minutes, Rias emerged in her dress.
"Wow". Akeno smiled at her friend.
"You are truly beautiful Rias." Venelana was so happy for her daughter.
"Stunning, my lady." Grayfia was also amazed by the dress.
"Thanks you guys." She turned to look in the mirror and saw herself for the first time. Unlike her dress for Riser, this one was more over the shoulders covering her chest more. The veil was red and matched the dragon printed on the side of her dress. The large bottom showed that the dragon wrapped around the dress with the head resting in her front. From what Rias had been told Ddraig looked like, she guessed that this was the same species.
"Rias?" Akeno asked, her friend had been looking in the mirror for a while now. "What do you think?"
"It's absolutely perfect." Rias started to cry tears of joy, and Akeno embraced her. "I never thought I would find love Akeno. Now I am marrying the man I want to spend the rest of eternity with and I have his child in me."
"We will all be with you Rias. I'm so happy for you." The fallen angel began to cry with her friend. She too awaited the day that she could marry the Red Dragon Emperor.
With Issei
While the girls were off getting a dress for Rias. Issei, Gasper, Kiba, and Sirzechs were out getting a suit for Issei to wear. The group had gone out and found a tailor to custom make a suit for Issei that would also give it a symbolism for the Gremory House.
"Hello gents, what can I do for you today?" The older man who ran the tailor shop asked them.
"We are here to buy a suit for my future brother-in-law here." Sirzechs smiled placing a hand on Issei's shoulder.
"Any specifics you would like before we get started young man?"
"What do you have in red?" Issei grinned catching an eye from Kiba. The tailor walked in the back to fetch a pallet of colors.
"Any reason you chose red? Besides the obvious." Kiba asked as he too looked around for a nice suit for the wedding. He was the best man after all.
"Yeah, red is the reason I know who Rias is. Her hair looked like my blood the day that Raynare killed me. It's the reason that I am where I am today." Issei grinned as he picked out the shade of red that he wanted.
"Won't red stand out a little?" Gasper asked as he looked for tuxes. Normally he would have worn his school dress, but he wanted to try a suit and see if he liked the feel.
"Think about who I am marrying Gasper. Red hair, red suit. Everything is gonna stand out." The realization finally hit him. "Wow, I'm gonna marry Rias." He became lightheaded and almost dropped if not for Kiba's lightning fast reflexes.
"Woah, buddy. I got you." Kiba helped his friend up and over to a chair. "You okay?"
"Yea, it just hit me. A year ago, I was a simple pawn in the service of Rias Gremory. My only goal was to be the Harem King. Now, I am marrying the woman of my dreams and I am surrounded by the best family a guy could ask for."
"Yes, you have come a long way." Sirzechs approached the younger man. "The tailor is ready to get started now."
"Alright. I will be out in a little while." Issei stood and walked into the back and got measured.
About 15 minutes later, Issei walked out in a bright red silk suit. Underneath, he had on a black vest and a white dress shirt. The blazer was bright red, almost the shade of Rias's hair. The pants matched the shirt, and he wore a pair of jet black shoes.
"You look amazing Issei!" Gasper shouted as he saw Issei's suit.
"You are very, very, red." Kiba chuckled at the man he saw as a brother.
"Well, if you were going for her hair color, you nailed it." Sirzechs stood and prepared to pay the tailor for his work and time. "Thank you, sir. Keep the change."
"I wish you best of luck." The old man called as they left his shop with the desired goods. Issei had his suit. Kiba and Gasper had both acquired their own black suit as well.
Now all that was left was for the day to finally arrive. All Issei had to do was wait for the weekend. 5 more days, and he would be Issei Hyoudou-Gremory.
