To Lyger 0: To be fair, Konya-san wasn't the host for this party; the host was actually Takeji's father.


Kagami stood in front of the sink, gripping the counter tightly with both hands to keep her fingers from trembling, her knuckles turning white. Her stomach churned, its contents threatening to come back up. Under her feet, she could feel the gentle motion of the boat, rocking with the light swells that steadily nudged it up against the pier. Her eyes automatically searched for the small porthole window through which she could see a speedboat motoring past them, its wake trailing out behind it and adding to the swells. But after the last year, she was no stranger to the motion of the Liberty while docked; in fact, on the few occasions recently that she had slept somewhere other than the cabin she shared with Luka, she had found herself missing the gentle motion that rocked her to sleep. During the day, except during the worst of storms, she barely noticed the river's movement.

No, the nausea she felt this morning did not come from the rocking boat.

Running her hands under the water, she very carefully washed before cupping her hands to catch some of the cool water, splashing it on her face to wake herself up and then brushing her hair with methodical strokes. She was already wide awake, though most mornings she was still a bit fuzzy until her first cup of Anarka's strong coffee. But there couldn't be any fuzziness today. For that matter, there might not be any coffee, either. Her empty stomach roiled with anxiety. How long would this take?

Academically, she already knew the answer to that question; she had excelled in biology in collège, as she had excelled in every class she took. But what would it mean for her if her suspicion was proven correct? Her mother had warned her, when she and Luka had become serious last year after their trip to Le Havre. She had reiterated her concern Kagami had gotten hurt in Tokyo, and again when she decided over the winter to move in with Luka's family permanently. While she had given her blessing to their relationship and wished for Kagami to be happy – and had even acknowledged that Luka made her happy – she had also reminded her that she intended for Kagami to one day succeed her as the owner and manager of the Tsurugi Group. Her mother had been grooming Kagami for that position since before Kagami could walk. And family, she had reminded her, though beneficial in many ways, could also cause serious problems in business. Especially if Kagami was unmarried. Many of the company's clients were far more traditional in their views; how many would refuse to work with Kagami?

What would her mother say?

Of course, regardless of what her mother said, Kagami could already hear the excited cheers and squeals from her real family. Her mother had given birth to her, raised her, brought her to Paris… but until this past year, she had treated their entire relationship as though it were a business transaction. Since she had moved out – and especially since the six weeks apart – she and her mother had started to get along far better than they ever had in the past. But that didn't quite make her mother her "family." And while her mother might react poorly, Anarka and Juleka and Rose… all of them would be absolutely thrilled if she left the bathroom and showed them a positive result. Although after the looks Anarka had given her last night, a part of Kagami wondered if she already suspected.

Letting out a breath, Kagami slowly unclenched her hands from the counter and looked up at her reflection in the small circular mirror above the sink. Her hair was still wet from the water she had splashed on her face in a vain effort to rinse the sleep out of her eyes; her initial brushing hadn't quite gotten it to lie flat. Picking up her brush again, her hands still shook. She swallowed, staring at the brush for a long moment before raising it to her head. But still she paused. Could she continue through the day like this, after what she had just done? She was scheduled to meet with a prospective client at work today; she needed to make sure her appearance was appropriately professional to make a good first impression.

But, then, would that even matter anymore? Next year, would she be able to continue working? Would she have to take a break from the Tsurugi Group for a few months? Would she have to leave for a few years, even? How would her mother respond to that? And her clients… so many of them were now her friends – even the ones who hadn't been her friends before she started working with them. Sure, they would be happy for her. But would that happiness sour if she had to pass them off to another marketing consultant? Would any of them break off their contracts with the Tsurugi Group if she wasn't handling their accounts personally? And if she didn't pass them off, would she even be able to devote enough time to her work, with all the other demands on her time? The Tsurugi Group, Luka, her family, Kitty Section, the Heroes of Paris, university starting in a couple weeks… Luka had warned her a dozen times over the summer: she needed to give herself breaks, or else he feared that she might crack. And with something like this to draw her time and attention…

How would she possibly be able to take time to herself?

Kagami's breathing hitched, and she suppressed a sniffle. Finally, she dropped the brush onto the bathroom counter and leaned back against the wall. The anxiety in the pit of her stomach rose.

"Kagami? Babe?" Luka's voice came through the bathroom door, colored by a hint of concern. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Y–yes!" she responded right away, trying to keep her tone of voice cheerful. "Everything's fine!"

"It's just… you've been in there a long time – you have to leave for the office in twenty minutes, right?"

Looking down at her watch, Kagami let out a muttered curse. "I'm coming," she told him, glancing down at the counter. Still not ready yet. With a sigh, she opened the door and jumped in surprise, looking directly up into Luka's worried face.

Seeing her face, Luka's expression immediately softened, and he pulled her into a gentle hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead and running one hand through her hair, stroking her back with the other. Kagami drew in a breath and closed her eyes, melting into the embrace. For a long moment, he held her to his chest, until finally she stopped shaking. "What's wrong, babe?" he finally murmured against the side of her head.

Kagami pulled back, staring down at his chest. "I'm… late," she finally admitted. "I–I think I might be… pregnant."

Luka suddenly tensed against her, his arms tightening around her back. Nervously, she looked up to find him staring down at her with an expression of excitement. "Yo–you are?" he gasped. His eyes widened, and he lifted her off the floor and nearly bumped her head into the ceiling. "That's amazing! Incredible! Wonder–" He hugged her tightly for a long moment before placing her back down on her feet, still holding her by the waist. His voice finally trailed off, and he leaned back, studying her face. His brows knit together in concern. "It–it is good… right?"

She sniffled, feeling wetness on her cheeks, and blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. "I just… I don't know!" she finally burst out. "If we have a baby, that means everything changes!"

"It does!" he agreed, nodding. The corner of his lips quirked upward.

"Our life would suddenly revolve around a baby! What would that mean for my career?" she demanded, frowning, folding her arms. "What would that mean for us?" Her eyebrows raised. "What would Mother say about it?"

Luka squeezed her upper arms gently, and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Babe," he told her earnestly, looking her in the eye. "Listen to me. It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. Your education and career don't have to suffer because we have a baby; you don't have to take more than a few hours off for labor if you don't want to. You can keep on working and going to university; I'll keep him during the day. I'm normally on the boat most of the time, anyways. So, I can practice and write just as easily while watching our baby as otherwise – maybe even better, with another muse right there. And if I need a break, I know for a fact that Mom or Juleka or Rose would be absolutely thrilled to watch him for a few hours."

"But what about us?"

"What about us?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I didn't think we were exactly in trouble," he pointed out raising an eyebrow. "But we'll work through this the same way we work through everything else: together. If anything, I think it could even bring us closer."

"Mother doesn't want–"

"Your mother doesn't want a lot of things," Luka pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "But if she's worried about her reputation, if you have a baby now, without being married, we can set that to rest this afternoon."

She blinked, her eyes widening in shock. "Wait, you mean…?"

He shrugged. "Why not? It's a few euros, a ceremony, and a piece of paper."

"I'm sure Marinette and Adrien would disagree after last week," Kagami interjected under her breath."

"Regardless," Luka went on, "it wouldn't change anything for us, one way or the other. We were together yesterday. We're together today. We're going to be together tomorrow. Either way, whether we have the ceremony or not, we're together forever. A team."

Kagami threw her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly, resting her cheek against his shoulder. His arms wrapped protectively around her, and he brushed a gentle kiss against her crown, nuzzling her hair. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath. "We don't know yet," she murmured softly. "I might not actually be pregnant after all. I'm only a couple days late."

He hummed, tracing his hand down her side. "Well, if you aren't…"

She smiled, finally allowing herself to relax. Maybe they would have a baby; maybe they wouldn't. But maybe she didn't need to worry about everything that could go wrong if it happened. When she had Luka, the two of them could face anything together. Finally, the timer on her watch beeped, and she leaned away from him to glance back at the test sitting on the bathroom counter.


AN: Tomorrow, look for the first chapter of "Long Live the Queen."