It was nice going back to their normal routine after the emotional trip the previous day had taken them on. After easily escaping from Sara's inquisition the two had spent the day fighting monsters, locating missing kids, finding lost wallets, and figuring out that the lost kid was somehow responsible for the missing wallet. Kinda strange, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Through it all they said nothing of the newly dominant issue in their lives, instead embracing the normalcy of bracer activities. Despite having resolved a lot of the emotional turmoil the previous day they knew that there was still quite a lot to talk about, but that could wait at least until the evening. Of course just because it wasn't something they chose to speak about didn't mean it wasn't constantly plaguing their thoughts.

Sadly all good things had to come to an end eventually, and that end came after they reported in daily mission success and began the drive home. Casual conversation continued, but was stilted as they each waited to see who would be the first to bring it up.

It was Fie who relented once they entered their shared home, leveling a fierce glare upon her partner. "It's all your fault, you know?" Clearly he didn't know, so she elaborated. "I can't believe you knocked me up!"

Wait. That's what she had been thinking of? While technically Fie wasn't wrong, it wasn't something he could let stand. "...Weren't you the one who brought home the-" Her eyes narrowed dangerously, promising pain if he continued on that train of thought. Not something he wanted to risk, especially since apparently mood swings were a thing among pregnant people. Still, he had his own pride to consider and wasn't going to accept the blame for this. Thankfully there was one tried and true solution to solve this problem. "Err, I mean... I can't believe Sara tricked you into bringing home that drink." Blame their teacher for everything!

Something which she seemed to agree with. "Right!" She decided to amend her statement. "I can't believe Sara knocked me up! Err... That sounded a lot better in my head."

Considering how much she looked like she had just swallowed something extremely bitter Rean decided to take pity on her. "I'll just pretend you didn't say that." He received a grateful nod for his kindness. "So did you just spend the entire day deciding on who to blame, or were you actually thinking of something useful?"

All the good will he earned from his previous comment was lost as the former jaeger looked quite offended by his accusation. "Of course I was! ...I was also trying to think of who would be a good babysitter for our child when the society finally makes their move."

"Huh?"

"I mean if we're lucky Ouroboros will make their move in the next couple months and we can finish it all up and be back home in time for everything, but I doubt we're that fortunate. Hopefully they're at least kind enough to wait until I'm no longer useless. And don't even think about suggesting I stay behind when they finally do appear. If I can fight, I will fight. Not just for our future, but for our kid as well...

...Of course that means we would need someone to watch over our child while we are away. Do you know how incredibly awkward it's gonna be to find someone to babysit while mommy and daddy are away fighting an evil cult hellbent on destroying the world? That's why I was trying to figure out who to blame!"

He had to concede that she made some valid points. As much as he would have loved to hang it all up and be a good parent to their imminent child, his sense of duty would not allow it. He had the power to help protect the people in this world and with that power came great responsibility. When Ouroboros next reared its ugly serpented head, he would be quick to answer the call to arms. Not as the Ashen Chevalier, or as a proud Erebonian, or even as a member of Class VII, but as a father seeking to defend his child. And so he couldn't begrudge Fie for feeling the same way, as despite her flippant attitude towards most things her sense of duty was at least as strong as his was.

At the very least, he could provide an answer to her question. "If that time comes, I'm sure my parents will be delighted to spend time with their grandchild." His parents might not agree with their decision to keep fighting, but he was sure that at the very least they would accept it.

"Mmm, I figured." She agreed with a sigh. "Guess we gotta pay them a visit sometime soon... but not too soon! Sara's already suspicious of us."

He let out a short laugh. While he agreed with her that letting the others know was going to lead to some serious headaches and be a total pain in the butt, he couldn't help but think that not telling them was going to backfire in a huge way down the line. Still, he couldn't deny that it was entertaining seeing her obsess over being stealthy about the entire matter.

"Mom did ask if I would be willing to help them organize the storage room at some point." It was more of a casual suggestion and not an actual request, but what the others didn't know wouldn't hurt them. "We could always spring it on them then."

"Visiting under a false pretext... How devious." It was obvious she approved of his idea. "Still, let's wait a couple days just to be safe."

That was something he could accept. He made a mental note to message Elise later and see when she was next available to visit Ymir, as it was something she deserved to hear in person just as much as their parents did.

With their future plans decided the two began to focus on more immediate goals. Or more specifically, dinner. Although they did eat dinner the previous night, it was a very simple meal that neither of them could really recall thanks to the emotionally draining day, so today seemed like a good day to stop by Kirsche's and go a little crazy. Fie had initially wanted to simply get takeout, but he had convinced her of the value in eating in and chatting with the other residents of Trista, especially as they were trying to play it up as if nothing had changed.

His suggestion almost ended up backfiring, as they returned to their home just in time to witness someone standing at their door. Given how she was glaring at said door in consternation it was obvious that she had been standing there for quite some time debating her next course of action. "Altina!" Rean called out, getting the attention of his former partner and student.

Said girl turned to the two and her eyes briefly lit up in joy, before narrowing back in annoyance. "...You weren't home." She accused.

"A certain someone insisted that we eat out." It was pretty obvious who Fie was accusing as both girls leveled glares at their Chevalier, not at all concerned that it wasn't really something they could actually be blaming him for. "What are you doing here?"

The younger girl gave a minute shrug of her shoulders. "I was in the area and thought about stopping by. Is there a problem with that?"

"Of course not." Rean would never have a problem with any of their friends paying them a visit. "Our home is always open to you. Come in."

The three of them made their way into the house. Altina looked around curiously at the place, not seeing many changes since the last time she showed up there. Despite that, she kept looking around for any little discrepancy.

As she did so she recalled her earlier conversation with Sara. She hadn't been lying when she said that she was in the area, but that wasn't the main reason for the visit. The former member of the Intelligence Division was trying to see if she could discover whatever it was that caused the instructor of the original Class VII to contact her. Something that would cause her own instructor and his fiancee to act weirdly...

She raised an eyebrow when she witnessed Fie taking her orbment out of her pocket and setting it on a nearby table. While not too dissimilar from what she was used to, there were enough subtle differences to catch her attention. Like the fact there were a bunch of lights glowing on it. "Is that...?"

"Ah, right." Rean answered for his partner. "Yeah, that's the new ARCUS III. The Bracer Guild agreed to test it before a more general release."

"It's got a lot of new features." Fie added with a grin. "But my personal favorite? Anti-stealth detection systems." Said grin turned positively devilish. "It's been having a blast since you showed up."

The young rabbit narrowed her eyes at the implied challenge. "Claiomh Solais!" At that command her trusty combat shell appeared behind her. With the combat shell's stealth function disabled the orbment stopped glowing. Not willing to concede defeat just yet she gave it another order. "Ebon Shade!" This time the stealth generator was applied to her as well. And yet as soon as that happened the ARCUS III once again lit up brilliantly.

"Pretty handy, right?" Oh how she wished she could wipe that smirk off the silver-haired bracer's face. Instead she settled for glaring at the stupid machine, pondering the possibility of her being able to wipe out all the models from existence before they were released for general use. The rational part of her mind understood the futility of the idea, but that didn't stop the temptation in the slightest!

With one final look at the despicable machine and the older girl who was clearly delighting in her misery, the pouting rabbit once again returned to her observation. While interesting, and oh so annoying, she didn't think a new orbment model would be responsible for any unusual actions. This time she began analyzing the two people in question.

Rean looked the same as he always did. Even though it had been a few months since she last saw him it was nice to see him back to normal after his whole ordeal. He was still the same kind man she had become so fond of, especially now with the Twilight handled and the weight of the world off his shoulders.

Fie... was harder to read. Altina felt that she had gotten a decent handle on the former jaeger in the past couple years, but even still the older girl was always good at hiding her true feelings, even if she now did so with a mask of casual playfulness, a far cry from her first encounters with Class VII and the stoic looking girl who was a member of that group. On the surface she still seemed the same as usual, but underneath it all.. Was it a trick of her eyes or did Fie look somewhat tense?

Unfortunately for Altina, while she had indeed become good at reading the two bracers opposite her, the reverse was also true. "Crap." Fie muttered as she understood why the younger girl was staring at them so intently. "Sara put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Huh?" Rean was a bit slower on the uptake, but it only took him a second to connect the dots. "Ah... I see."

Even though her current mission was to investigate the two lovers, she wasn't one to actually lie to them. "She did." She answered calmly. "She thought the two of you were acting unusual so she asked me to look into it. I was already in the area, so I accepted her request."

"I see..." Like Altina, Rean wasn't exactly keen to lie to her. But at the same time they had decided to not yet reveal the truth either... "Well, it's not anything bad, but it's not something we're ready to share with everyone else yet..." He answered lamely.

Luckily for him, a solution presented itself from the most surprising source. "It's fine. Go ahead and tell her."

"What?!" He wasn't expecting Fie of all people to suggest that. "I thought we were keeping it a secret for now?"

Said girl shrugged. "From the others I would say yes, but she can keep a secret." She paused before turning to Altina. "You can keep a secret, right?"

Altina blinked at the question. While she couldn't say she was fond of being asked to keep something from everyone else, at the same time she was delighted that they were willing to trust her with whatever it was they were hiding. And now she was really curious! "Of course, so long as Rean wasn't lying when he said it wasn't anything bad..."

"Haha... It's not, I assure you. The truth of the matter is that..." In a way it was good that he was struggling to find the words now, as this was a good rehearsal for when they told it to his family and their classmates later on. "...Fie's pregnant."

"Fie... is pregnant?" She repeated his words with shock plain in her voice.

"Yup. Rean unleashed his beastly urges upon me and now I have a baby inside me." Fie joked, fully expecting the girl to join her in giving the former instructor a hard time.

But Altina ignored her. "You're pregnant..." She muttered once again. "How far along are you?"

"Uh... About two months along. We only found out yesterday."

That would certainly explain their mysterious absence from their work the previous day. "What plans have you made for it?"

"Not much yet. Linde's gonna provide us with some stuff the next time she visits, but until then..."

The young rabbit appeared completely unimpressed by the older girl's answer. "You two have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

"We did only find out yesterday so we haven't had much of a chance to-" The mighty Ashen Chevalier wilted under the withering glare sent his way.

While Rean took the path of the excuse, Fie instead went for a counterattack. "And you know any better?"

"Of course." Unfortunately for her, Altina was more than prepared for that. "Despite the different circumstances of my creation – or perhaps because of it – I have been studying how and what other people live for. That includes the birthing process. So yes, I know far better than you do. At the very least I know it is something that you cannot just play by instinct. You need a plan. And if you don't come up with one soon...

Fie winced. She wasn't used to being told off by a girl even tinier than she was, and the worst part was she wasn't sure how to respond in the face of such aggression. The threat was obvious, as they had just made her privy to a secret that they didn't want shared.

Unlike her, however, Rean merely started laughing, causing both girls to turn their attention to him. It felt strange being the one receiving advice from Altina for a change. "Sorry, sorry." He waved them off. "You don't need to threaten us. We're going to be consulting with my parents... soon and once we do that and get the information from Linde we'll make a plan, I promise. It'll be ready by the next time we see you."

The homunculus stared at her former teacher for a couple seconds, searching his eyes for something only she knew what. Eventually she seemed to find it and nodded once. "Alright, I'll believe in you... for now. You'd better have that answer soon though. I'll be back in..." She seemed to be having a mental debate on when she was next available. "...one week."

He really was the student and she was the instructor. "Thanks, Altina. I'm glad our child will have such a reliable big sister to look up to..."

"What!?" For the first time since after learning their secret, Altina's composure slipped at hearing those words. She stared wide-eyed at the swordsman after hearing his statement. To the side Fie appeared thoughtful as she too considered his words.

Too late did Rean realize what had just slipped out of his mouth. Hurriedly he attempted damage control. "Uhh, I mean... You've always been looking out for me, so I was hoping you would do the same for them as well. I don't want to make assumptions or make you do something you don't want to do, of course, but..." He was rambling and he knew it.

"I think it's a good idea." Fie added with a shrug. "You're right that we don't know what we're doing, and while I think we will learn it in time, having someone reliable around to be a big sister isn't the worst idea. So the role is yours, if you want it."

"M-Me... A big sister?" She still seemed quite shocked by the idea. "I-Is that even alright? I mean I'm not even related to either of you..."

That was enough to get amused reactions out of the two bracers. "I don't think blood has ever mattered to the two of us. As far as I'm concerned you've always been a part of the family."

"Ah..." The offer must have meant more to her than they had expected, as tears were welling up in her eyes. "I accept!" The little bunny rushed forward to capture the two of them in a group hug, which they saw no reason to refuse.

The three of them remained in that position for a few minutes. Fie couldn't help but look amused as Rean awkwardly tried to pat the head of the girl who was buried in his chest. She strongly suspected that Altina was crying.

Her suspicions proved accurate when the girl in question finally pulled away from them. "I might have accepted the position of big sister, but don't ever expect to hear me call you my parents." The glare she shot at them might have been intimidating if her eyes weren't red and puffy with lingering traces of tears remaining.

"Please don't." Fie immediately agreed. "That would be on a whole different level of cheesiness." She knew she was right when even the king of cheese awkwardly nodded in agreement.

Altina gave one more glance around their residence, but this one was more speculative than the earlier ones had been. "I guess I need to get used to being here..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." Rean hurriedly reassured. "Aren't you still busy traveling around the country?"

She shook her head, waving off his concerns. "I was, but I think I've seen most of what I wanted to see in Erebonia. I'm planning on spending the next week in Crossbell with Juna and after that Leonora has invited me to spend time with her new fleet, but beyond that I had no plans. Perhaps it is time for me to settle down... Maybe I'll become a bracer, since you're going to be needing a new partner not long after I get back..."

That last comment was a targeted attack against Fie and she knew it. Sadly for her she knew there was no refuting that statement. "Don't remind me." She wanted to live in blissful ignorance for what little time she had left to her. "Still, that sounds like a great idea to me. Someone needs to keep an eye on a certain idiot who has a habit of doing stupid things."

"Hey!"

Altina nodded along with her. "I agree wholeheartedly. Let to his own devices he is liable to get himself killed."

"Altina!"

"Definitely. I bet he's already planning on doing reckless things to protect me even though I'm still perfectly fine right now..."

"Fie!"

The two girls started grinning at his expense and after a few seconds of indignant silence Rean relented and joined them in amusement. Privately he wondered if the worlds opinion of the Ashen Chevalier would change if they found out that he was a big softy who was controlled by the girls in his life, but decided it didn't matter. It made him happy and it made them happy. That was all that mattered to him.

Eventually the two finished making fun of him and conversation continued. "But in all seriousness I'm sure the guild would love to have you. Sara and Toval have been making us do most of the paperwork lately so it would be easy to get you in if you wanted." Fie normally wasn't one to be giving recruitment speeches like her seniors, but getting Altina on board would be pretty awesome.

"You can even stay here if you need a place." Rean added. "We're gonna need to setup a second bedroom for the little one anyways, so it'll be fine if you want to use it until then."

She seemed to consider it for a minute. "I'll think about it, but I'm not sure I want to stay in the same place as the two of you and your obscene activities. You've made it plainly obvious that getting her pregnant was an accident so clearly the two of you lack any sort of restraint..."

"Can't really deny that." Fie accepted the criticism with a simple shrug. "Still, we can at least blame this on a liberal amount of booze." It wasn't actually that much booze, but her pride demanded that she embellish a bit.

Sadly for Fie... "I doubt it was that much. We've all seen the video. Many times, actually."

Rean accepted the withering glare sent his way with silent acceptance. Still, he would never regret recording or sharing that video. "Oh!" He exclaimed as a thought came to mind. He turned to his life partner. "At least now you have an excuse for not being able to drink. That's got to count for something, right?"

He looked so earnest at that idea. She almost regretted deflating that happy expression. "...I hate you so much." Almost. He wasn't wrong, of course, as she at least knew enough to stay away from the booze while carrying, but he didn't have to make it out like it was a good thing!

The black rabbit looked rather amused at their interactions. "Are you going to blame alcohol for all of your disgusting proclivities?"

"It's just sex." Fie countered. "I'm sure that eventually you'll find someone to-"

"Nope! Nope! Nope!" Rean interjected hastily. "She's far too young to even be thinking about such things!"

Both girls stared at him with matching deadpan expressions. "Wow, really embracing that dad role already, huh?" Fie turned to an equally unimpressed Altina. "Sorry, but it looks like you're already gonna be suffering the consequences of your decision."

"...I am filled with regret."

"If it makes you feel better, it's usually entertaining to watch. You should have seen his reaction when he found out that Elise and Patrick were going at it."

"They're what!?" He panicked at this unexpected news.

Fie blinked in visible confusion. "Oh? Didn't I tell you already. Oops. My bad." If Rean had been thinking rationally he would have noticed the telltale grin that hinted that she was messing with him.

But he wasn't, so he didn't. "Where's my tachi? We need to go and protect Elise's innocence right now!"

Better to end this charade before he actually went out and murdered someone."I'm just joking. They aren't doing anything like that. Probably... Maybe? Dunno, I don't really keep tabs on what they're doing behind closed doors." Her attempts at calming him down were probably less than successful, but now her curiosity was piqued. Perhaps she should do a little clandestine investigation at some point just to be sure?"

"Pffft!" Fortunately, despite Fie getting herself distracted there was still another who could calm the hero down, and she did so by laughing. "You still are as deranged as ever, aren't you?" For some reason that made Altina happy.

"Haha, very funny." He was willing to move past this topic of conversation. But that didn't mean he was going to forget it. Perhaps he should find the time to sit Patrick down and discuss what would be considered appropriate behavior. Again.

Both girls sighed in unison, already knowing where his thoughts were headed. "I do not believe you have any standing to lecture others on what is appropriate after you just impregnated Fie." Altina's words cut deep as he knew there was no arguing her point.

Something which Fie seemed to agree on. "She's right, you know? You always try to act all high and mighty, but you're definitely the biggest perv I know." Her words didn't cut nearly as deep, as he was calmer and thus more aware of the fact that she was just messing with him.

"While this is all quite..." Altina paused while searching for the right word. "...entertaining, I think it's time for me to leave. I'm supposed to be on the early train to Crossbell tomorrow morning. While I will keep your secret from Sara and the others, I still plan on stopping by on my return to hear the answer you've promised me."

"Of course. I promise we'll have a plan by the time you return." Rean gave the younger girl a hug as she prepared to leave.

Fie also did so once he was finished. "Trust in us, alright? We might not have an answer just yet, but that doesn't mean we aren't gonna do our best. We just need a little time."

"Understood. Until next time." The younger girl exited their home, gave them a final wave, and made her way towards the train station. The two stood there watching her go until she finally entered the building and out of their sight.

"Well that was something." She finally remarked as they made their way back inside.

He nodded along in agreement. "That's one way of putting it."

"Guess we should see your parents sooner rather than later so we don't get chewed out by your student again..."

"Can't say I was expecting that to happen. Still, at least she's looking out for us."

"Mmm...I didn't mind much. Kinda thought it was funny." A thought came to Fie's mind. "If we're already headed up that way I think I'll shoot Linde a message telling her that we can stop in and visit her instead of waiting for her next visit to the capital. Should be a lot faster that way."

Rean smiled and nodded, impressed at her quick thinking. "That's a great idea. Let's shoot for tomorrow." For as much as she tried to appear nonchalant about things he doubted there was anyone in the world who truly cared as much as Fie did. He would have to step up his game lest he get left behind by her.

"I swear. If I had a mira for every trip we made to Nortia I would be as rich as Alisa..."

"That's true..." He hadn't really considered it, but they really did go that way a lot. It made sense since that was where his family was, but they really could use a change of pace. "Next time we see some guild requests in another area we should snag them up. Make a little vacation out of it."

"Bold of you to assume we're gonna have time for a vacation, even a small one. Between our work, preparing for the wedding, and now this... Getting tired just thinking about it."

He could definitely agree with that statement. "If we need to we can always push back the wedding for a few months so we can deal with the baby first-"

"Nope." She shot him down almost immediately. "I know practically speaking it makes no difference, but if we're gonna be parents I want to do it right. Husband and wife and all that stuff. If it means the next few months are gonna suck, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to let you make."

"Haha... Just yesterday you were afraid you didn't know what you were doing and now you're already vying for the title of 'Mom of the Year'."

He earned himself an elbow to the gut for that comment. "Shut up!" She muttered with an embarrassed blush. She probably thought he was teasing, but he was being dead serious.

"Still, I wasn't expecting our little family to grow so quickly..."

"And yet you were practically tripping over yourself in your rush to force Altina into it..."

"It just slipped out!" He was glad that she hadn't refused or it might have been an embarrassing moment for him. "I noticed that you were quick to agree."

Fie simply shrugged. "I didn't say it was a bad idea. You know who is gonna be most excited to hear that news when everyone finds out? Millium. She's definitely gonna try and set herself up to be the eldest sister.

"Ugh... I don't want to think about it." He loved Millium, he truly did. But that girl was an agent of chaos and mayhem and he wasn't sure he wanted her anywhere near their children.

Fie appeared amused by his comment. "Good luck with that. Maybe if we're lucky Jusis will keep her away, but I doubt it."

"We're doomed." He moaned pitifully, but with an equally amused grin on his face.

"Well, if we're going to Ymir tomorrow we should probably call it early tonight. Should at least do a couple early requests before we head up there, even if Sara is already suspicious of us."

It was a sensible idea. Maybe tomorrow would finally afford them a return to normalcy. They certainly could use one at this point.

Oh, who was he kidding. There's no way his parents will let tomorrow be normal. He had to brace himself for more insanity to come.


"...And that concludes my investigation." Came the soft voice on the other end.

Sara hummed thoughtfully. "So there was nothing unusual?"

"Just a small family issue. They will probably be taking a trip to Ymir in the next couple days, but there's nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Alright, thanks for the help. Have fun in Crossbell." With that the line went dead.

Sara frowned as she considered Altina's words. While she doubted the girl was lying per se, it was obvious that she wasn't giving the full story. Unfortunately, she had made a mistake when she enlisted the assistance of the bunny.

Although she may claim otherwise, that girl was utterly devoted to Rean and given their similar personalities had become close friends with Fie. She almost certainly knew the answer to this mystery, but had no intention of sharing it with others. If anything, she probably tipped off her favorite little gremlin students that she was onto them.

A part of her wanted to give up the investigation, as it was clearly becoming more of a hassle than it was worth. Still, there was an instinctive feeling in the back of her mind that told her that this was something worth doing, as it could potentially lead to a treasure trove of teasing material. That sixth sense had gotten her through many scraps over the year and she trusted it implicitly.

So she needed a new plan. Thankfully, an idea was already forming in her head. Given the upcoming anniversary that was in a few days perhaps it would soon be time to cash in on an old promise and take the kiddos on a trip back home...