69. Shattered

When she got home from doing the groceries after visiting Mayoi she found him washing the dishes from his lunch. She pecked him on the cheek in a surprising display of affection before walking toward the fridge to put away the cold food. He started.

"Tsumiki? Are you okay?" His cheeks were slightly colored, still in the newlywed phase himself, but worry was laced in the expression.

"Huh? Um. Yes." She fidgeted, not meeting his gaze and continued to put away the groceries. Her weight shifted from foot to foot, and still she was unable to meet his eyes. Her stuttering became more prominent.

"Really?" He turned the tap off and grabbed a dish towel to begin drying the newly cleaned dishes.

"Mhmm." She nodded fervently.

"Well… If you're sure…" He picked up a plate and bega—

"I'm pregnant." Tsumiki said quickly while closing the fridge.

The plate crashed to the floor as she sheepishly looked up at him, finally forcing herself to focus on him.

Surprise was never a common expression on Io's face. Much less was it a reaction frequent. Twice in her entire time of knowing him had she given him quite the shock—or so she assumed; that's for another time though.

"Third time's the charm I guess..." She said softly after wincing at the cup he held dropping from Io's hand and hit the floor in a smashing display of the delicacy of pottery. "Perhaps making him worry and face her while doing dishes wasn't the smartest of ideas..." She thought before bending down to pick up the largest pieces as he still stood, gaping at her.

Grabbing the dust pan conveniently beside her she gently placed the shards in it before sweeping the rest up. Tsumiki glanced up to see he was still out of it. "Io…?" This worried her, considerably so.

He blinked a few times. "You're not lying?" He asked cautiously, a hand reaching out to her shoulder as she turned to toss the dangerous pieces away.

"No, why would I though?" She hummed, closing the lid of the trashcan, satisfied to have been able to pick up all the pottery before anyone could get hurt in the future. Suddenly the world spun a bit and she was once again facing Io.

"Io?"

A grin was on his face. Not a wide grin, but a pleasant one, surprisingly, one she had never seen before.

"Tsumiki, you're having a child."

She nodded in agreement, not quite understanding what he was getting at.

"You're having a child!" The grin was still there, and suddenly the floor disappeared from her feet as she was picked up and held tightly. Never did she expect him to be so happy. Her worry melted into relief, which quickly turned into happiness. He walked out of the kitchen and to the living room where he sat down with her. He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, eyes shining with mirth while Tsumiki squirmed.

"You're not angry?"

"Why? Why would I be angry?" He gave her exuberant but short kisses all over her face, his hands at her cheeks, and nothing but adoration in his gaze. She smiled keenly at him. "Wait when did you find out?" Io asked, pulling back.

"Earlier in the week…" His delighted laugh responded to her slightly ashamed answer, she had wanted to tell him but the words kept hitting a wall and she just couldn't say anything. Glad that she finally did though, she curled up next to him. "You're going to be a father…" Tsumiki murmured in slight disbelief, realizing just how far they had come from once being innocent high school students.

Last one for the day I'm afraid. Hope you all enjoyed these 3 chapters. I originally aimed to be done with two more by tomorrow but I seem to have gotten distracted and am currently trying to make a remix. Let it be known I've never actually made a remix... I'll try to get back on track though.

Thank you! (I own nothing. What a pity)