A Surprise
Four
"Do you want to tell your parents?" Ruki asks once she's regained her breath and they've settled into a comfortable position.
"About what we just did?" Jen quips in a muffled voice, head resting on her shoulder and lips pressed against her neck. "Never."
She uses the fingers she's been running through his hair to tug sharply on a few strands. "About the baby, idiot." She can feel every tiny movement of his body as he laughs, thanks to the way he's got half of his body on top of her, one arm slung around her waist and a leg curled around hers. Ruki smiles, and the way her lips curve upwards hints at contentment as well as mischief.
"There's only so many ways to make a baby, Jen." Her fingers go back to combing out the midnight-blue hair she'd messed up. She wonders sometimes how he would look like if his hair had remained the same shade of blue it had been when they'd first met. "Your parents are going to figure out what we just did, as you so elegantly phrased it, as soon as we tell them."
Jen groans as he emerges from where he'd been hiding against her neck, propping his head up with his free hand. "Don't sound so happy about it," He chides a grinning Ruki. "Your grandmother is going to kill me when she finds out, and then you'll be left to raise this baby on your own."
"I'll have Renamon to help." Ruki retorts, using what little energy she has in her body right now to get up and flip them around so that she's on top. She rests her head on Jen, her chin pressing into his chest.
"Do you know how long it took to convince my family I only moved here because it's closer to work?" She glares at him. It's not very convincing, especially with the way her lips keep twitching with a barely-restrained smile. "Months, Jen. It took me months. And then you had to go and knock me up."
"Hey," He protests, pulling up the sheets to cover her newly-exposed back. Terriermon walked in on them this way once and it is… not an experience he is keen to repeat, suffice to say. "You'll get off easy here. Everyone's going to say you were victimized and taken advantage of and I'll be the bad guy."
Ruki bursts out laughing. "You? Taking advantage of me? I think both of our families know me well enough to know the opposite probably holds more truth."
"Because everyone knows who wears the pants in this relationship." Jen deadpans before he gives in to the smile that's tugging at his lips.
"Well… neither of us, right now." Ruki manages to say before she starts laughing again.
"Very funny, Ruki." He drawls before he wraps his arms around her middle and pulls her up so that her face is level with his. She's still laughing when he kisses her, and she starts again after one last tug on his lower lip, a short burst of amused laughter.
He'd managed to flip them over while she was otherwise distracted, and now he looks down at her with one hand propped up under his chin in a loose fist. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy."
That gets her to sober up immediately, though a soft smile lingers long after her laughter dies down. "I don't think I've ever been this happy." She whispers a confession and sighs when he leans down and starts pressing kisses to her shoulder.
Ruki's just about to reach up and lace her fingers in his hair to guide him when Jen comes to an abrupt stop. He mumbles something into her skin.
"What was that?" She asks, somewhat distracted as her ears pick up on a faint tapping sound.
"It's Saturday." Jen repeats, lifting his head up. It takes about two seconds for her to understand what he's getting at. It dawns on her around the same time the tapping sound grows louder, and she unceremoniously flings him off her and pulls up the sheets to cover them both.
"Shit!" She curses viciously, reaching blindly for a second blanket so that she can leave one with Jen and wrap the other around herself. A quick glance at the window reveals a smiling Culumon, palms tapping against the glass as the small Digimon hovers in the sky, right outside their fourteenth-story apartment. Jen bursts out laughing and she turns around to punch him in the arm.
"Jen! Where are my clothes?" She hisses, finally locating that extra blanket.
"How would I know?" He retorts and she's going to kill him, he's way too amused right now. "You woke me up at three, I wasn't exactly conscious enough to pay attention to your clothes once I got them out of the way."
"Why do I even put up with you?" Ruki mutters, securing the blanket around herself.
Jen waves to Culumon as Ruki gets up and crosses the room to let their visitor in. "Because you love me?" He hazards a guess.
"God knows why," Ruki rolls her eyes, and it doesn't even matter that she's being so prickly about this because she didn't deny it. Declarations of love from Ruki are the rarest of precious things, but even confessions like this one are far and few in between, and he appreciates each and every one of them.
"Good morning!" Culumon squeals as soon as the window is open, flinging himself at Ruki. She quickly shuts the window and awkwardly pats Culumon with one hand while the other holds the blanket in place.
"Good morning to you too, little guy." Jen laughs at the energetic Digimon and the way he keeps bouncing from one shoulder to another while flying around Ruki.
"Jen!" Culumon squeals, flying over to land on his chest. His oversized ears flap about as he bounces up and down, using Jen as a trampoline. "Culumon hasn't seen Jen in so long! Does Jen want to play, Culu?" The small Digimon demands his full attention, so he doesn't notice that Ruki's come to sit next to him until the bed dips under her weight.
"Guilmon and Culumon came up with a new game!" Culumon chatters on, though he finally gives up the bouncing and plops himself down on Jen's chest, seemingly prepared to settle in for a while. "Can we all go to the park, Culu? And play? Impmon created a new game too! Culumon has so many games to play, Culu!"
Jen turns helpless eyes upon Ruki, who laughs and picks up a very excited Culumon. "Maybe later, okay?" She suggests, walking the small Digimon to the door. "Why don't you go and have breakfast with the others first? Jen and I will be out soon."
"Breakfast?" Culumon echoes with a curious lilt.
"Yeah, I'm sure Terriermon will share his cereal with you." Jen speaks up, prompting Culumon to jump out of Ruki's arms.
"Terriermon!" He squeals and flies out of the door as soon as Ruki holds it open. She shuts the door behind him and locks it for good measure before she pulls the sheet away from her body and throws it at Jen before he can suggest anything.
"Dibs on first shower." She declares as she heads for the bathroom.
"Oh, no." Jen protests as he finally gets out of bed. "I'm not waiting until you're done."
"I don't even take that long." Ruki scowls as he joins her in the bathroom.
"I know." He grins, reaching behind her to turn on the water. "Still, I suggest we share."
She narrows her eyes at him in warning. "Fine," She gives in. "But no funny business, Lee. We've got two impatient Digimon out there and one who'll probably know exactly why we took so long."
"No funny business, I swear." Jen holds up both his hands in the universal gesture of look at innocent little me. Surprisingly, he actually keeps to his word and they're soon getting dressed.
He watches as Ruki clips her Digivice to the waistband of her shorts.
"We're just at home, you know." Jen reminds her unnecessarily. They both know why she never goes anywhere without it. The first and only time she'd ever done that, she ended up stabbing a Digimon to save Renamon. She isn't taking that risk ever again.
"Hmm?" Ruki hums distractedly, securing the device before she looks up at him.
Jen drops the matter. She'll loosen up about this when she's ready and until then, there's no point in trying to convince her that Renamon will be fine even if she leaves the Digivice in their bedroom while she eats in the kitchen.
"Are you ready?" He asks instead, watching her comb through her damp hair with her fingers. Ruki nods so he opens the door, and they're immediately greeted by loud squeals and excited shrieks.
"All I wanted," Ruki sighs, "was a nice, quiet morning in bed."
He bumps her shoulder with his own. "At least it's practice for the baby. Once the kid's here, we're never getting another quiet morning."
Ruki groans.
"Wonderful."
.
.
.
.
.
Culumon and Terriermon eventually talk Jen into taking them to the park, so all of them pile into the car and head out. They make a stop at Ruki's old home first.
"You sure you want to deal with this alone?" Jen asks for the seventh time as he comes to a stop by the gates.
"It's safer for you this way," She smirks. "Grandmother can't kill you if you're not around when I tell her."
"She'll just kill me the next time she sees me." He mumbles under his breath.
"We'll see about that." Her words are meant to be comforting, but somehow they fail to reassure him. "Maybe I won't even tell her today." Ruki adds once she catches sight of his terrified eyes.
"You should," Jen sighs. "We both should. I'm just… Despite what I said earlier, Ruki, we both know that as soon as people find out, they're going to go after you, not me. And I can't bear the thought of what they'll say about you and our baby."
Ruki leans over to kiss him chastely. The Digimon are still in the back, after all, making a polite effort to pretend they're not eavesdropping. "When have I ever cared about what people say?" She smirks before she opens her door and steps out. "Bye, guys!"
The Digimon call out their good-byes from the back. It had taken some convincing to get Renamon to go to the park along with the others; the fox had planned to hang around the Makino house to support Ruki and if necessary, to transport her away. Her Tamer had insisted that she be allowed to do this alone, and had talked Renamon into going along with the others. Renamon had, however, managed to extract a promise from Ruki that she would call on her partner if things didn't go well. "I'll see you all later."
Jen leans over and catches her hand before she can shut the door. "You'll call when you're done, right? I've my phone with me, or you can call Renamon." He doesn't want her walking all the way to the park after she's done here but knowing Ruki, that's exactly what she plans on doing.
"I'll call." She promises. Jen has his doubts but there's really nothing he can say, so he lets go of her and waits until she's safely on the other side of the gates before he drives away.
Ruki watches the car grow smaller and smaller until it turns a corner, and then she inhales deeply in anticipation for what's coming next and walks into the house.
"Grandmother?" She calls out, walking down the hallway. "Is anyone home?" In hindsight, she probably should have called ahead to ask that question.
She's about to pull out her phone and do just that (a call would be easier than searching the whole house, that's for sure) when the door to the living room slides open.
"Ruki?" Her mother questions, popping her head out. "Oh, it is you! Come on in!"
"Mom? What are you doing here?" Ruki asks, stepping into the living room. The TV is on and there's a glass of wine on the coffee table.
"Shooting finished ahead of schedule," Rumiko beams, pushing aside some throw pillows to make room for Ruki. They sit on opposite ends of the sofa. "So here I am." She picks up her glass of wine.
"Would you like a glass?"
"I can't… um, no thanks." Ruki catches herself just in time. "Where's grandmother?"
Rumiko sighs. "She's gone off on another one of those group vacations of hers. It's just me, as usual. It gets so lonely here sometimes." She laments. "Are you sure you don't want to move back here, honey?"
"Yeah, pretty sure." Ruki says, maybe a tad too quickly. "I mean, it's way too far from the office, and I've gotten used to Jen's place, actually."
"Such a nice boy." Her mother comments. "It was so sweet of him to offer you that spare room. I remember how stressed out you were when you moved back here after college and you were stuck in traffic for an hour every morning."
"It was a great offer, that's for sure." Ruki says because her mother expects her to say something.
"He really is a lovely boy, you know. I had a bit too much to drink during your birthday last year – oh, don't look at me like that, I've apologized! – and I went on and on about how quiet the house is, since you'd moved out and your grandmother is always gone. The poor boy put up with my rambling for nearly an hour, and not only that, he's even kept in touch with me ever since. Sometimes he calls me up just to check on me." Rumiko babbles on, oblivious to her daughter's sudden change in posture. This is news to Ruki. "I've told him before that he doesn't have to keep calling, but he says it's no trouble and he just makes sure to give me a quick ring right after he talks to his parents."
Her mother's eyes fall upon her with a sudden sharpness to them. "He's such a sweet boy, Ruki. Are you sure you're not interested? I mean, I'd never push you into anything, of course, but you've known each other since you were children, and you get along so well-"
"That's actually why I'm here, Mother." Ruki says a little too loudly, effectively cutting her mother off.
"Oh!" The elder Makino squeals, clasping her hands together in delight. "Did he ask you out? Finally? Ruki, did you say yes? Oh, of course you did, you wouldn't be here otherwise!"
"Mother!" Ruki exclaims forcefully, putting a halt to Rumiko's daydreams. "That's not it."
Rumiko remains silent for but a moment. "Then what is it, Ruki?"
"It…" Ruki struggles for words. "Promise me you'll stay quiet and listen and won't say a word until I'm done."
Her mother nods eagerly and mimes the motion of zipping up her lips.
She rolls her eyes. It helps calm her down a bit, despite the nervous beat of her heart pounding erratically against her chest.
"Mom… I'm pregnant." Her mother gasps but somehow manages to keep her thoughts to herself, for now at least. "Jen's the father. That's what I was talking about." Short, blunt sentences seem to be the most effective, and the easiest to blurt out. "And we're keeping the baby. I wasn't sure at first, but this is what we both want. And I hope you can be okay with this."
When it becomes apparent that she's said her piece, Rumiko smiles. "Can I speak now?"
"Oh," Ruki says, taken aback and still nervous. "Go ahead."
"Ruki!" Her mother squeals, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so happy for you!"
"You…" Ruki gasps into her mother's hair. "You are?"
"Well," Her mother releases her from the lung-crushing embrace. "If this is what you want, then yes." She says simply, looking Ruki in the eye. "I hope you and Jen can work it out though, it'd be such a shame if your friendship is messed up because of… a one night stand or…" Rumiko hesitates, trying to be polite while subtly fishing for information.
"Mom!" Ruki exclaims, embarrassed. "It's nothing like that. We've been together for ten years."
"What?" It's her mother's turn to exclaim, complete with impossibly big, questioning eyes.
"Well, we didn't really see it that way at first - or rather, I didn't let him see it that way - but we've talked about it and decided that those years count too, so yes, we've been… dating," She trips over the unfamiliar word; she's never had to label her relationship with Jen and such a simple term seems odd and ill-fitting, somehow, "for ten years now."
"That's longer than your father and I were together, from our first date to the day we signed the divorce papers." Rumiko comments, though her daughter doesn't really see how that's relevant to the current situation.
Ruki waits for more. Surely her mother has something else to say. Even if she's okay with the baby, her revelation means that Ruki had lied to her mother and grandmother when she'd convinced them to let her move in with Jen. The only reason they'd finally agreed to it was because they had faith in both Ruki and Jen, and trusted them to behave themselves properly.
A minute passes and still her mother says nothing, just keeps smiling that happy smile at her. Rumiko looks dangerously close to shedding some happy tears.
"So…" Ruki begins hesitantly. She's definitely pushing her luck here. Why not just accept her mother's silence for acceptance and quickly excuse herself? "You're okay with this? I mean, us having a baby without, you know, doing it the traditional way?" She almost winces at that. Oh, great, now she's gone and opened that can of worms. She should just settle in and prepare herself for hours of her mother trying to talk her into getting married.
"Well," Her mother laughs. "I'd be a hypocrite if I weren't, Ruki."
"What?"
Her mother reaches over and pats her hand. "We never told you this because I didn't see the need to, but you aren't actually a honeymoon baby."
"You and Dad had a shotgun wedding?" Ruki blurts out.
"No!" Rumiko exclaims strongly. "No! It wasn't at all like that. No matter what happened later on, your father and I actually did love each other when we got married. And we had no idea then. It was only a month after the wedding that I found out."
"You were conceived," Ruki groans at the implications of her parents conceiving her and her mother laughs at her childish antics. "Two weeks before the wedding. We didn't say anything but everyone assumed otherwise, so we went ahead and let them think you were a honeymoon baby. And you had excellent timing. You were a week overdue, which no one could have expected. So we told everyone you were three weeks early instead, which placed you firmly within wedlock. No one ever suspected anything."
"Wow, Mom." Ruki says, reeling from her mother's story. "I think you've managed to surprise me more than I surprised you."
"Oh, believe me." Rumiko smiles. "I am very surprised. It's just not showing that much because I'm happy as well as surprised, and I'm better at showing happiness."
Ruki smiles back at her mother; it's one of the warmest smiles she's ever given Rumiko.
"Um, Mom," She fidgets with the hem of her top. "Could you... not tell Grandmother? I'd rather tell her myself."
"Of course, Ruki." Her mother agrees easily.
They sit in silence for a while longer, but it soon grows uncomfortable. As much as she loves her mother, they've just never been that close. And while she can happily deal with prolonged periods of silence, her mother feels awkward and uncomfortable if conversation isn't constantly flowing, and it shows in the way she keeps opening her mouth, trying to fill the silence with something, and then abruptly pressing her lips together, deciding not to say whatever words she'd been on the verge of sharing.
"I, uh, I should go. Jen and the others are waiting for me."
"Oh!" Her mother brightens up. "Are they outside?"
"Um, no. They're at the park." Ruki explains.
"Was Jen too scared to come along?" Her mother teases as she gets to her feet to walk Ruki out.
"Not too scared…" Ruki mumbles under her breath. "No," She says to her mother. "He wanted to be here, actually. I just thought it would be better if I came alone."
Her mother smiles knowingly. "You were scared I'd start screaming at him, weren't you?"
They reach the main part of the house. "Well, not screaming, exactly, but…"
Rumiko sighs. "I know I haven't done much to gain your confidence, Ruki, so I understand why you might have been hesitant to come to me. But it means the world to me that you would willingly tell me this, honey, and I'm so happy."
She doesn't tell her mother that she'd only planned on telling her grandmother first; it seems an unnecessary cruelty to the smiling woman. Instead, she hugs her.
Ruki can count on one hand the number of times she's initiated contact with her mother, and apparently her mother knows how out of character this is as well. Rumiko savors the moment in silence, holding her daughter close for as long as she'll let herself be held.
She finds more comfort in her mother's arms than she'd thought possible, and they remain that way for a long time. Eventually, careful not to push Ruki too far, her mother pulls away. She tucks back a strand of Ruki's hair, straightens her clothes and wipes away a non-existent smudge on her face.
"Come back soon, okay? And bring that boyfriend of yours." Rumiko's mischievous smile is overshadowed by her bright eyes as she holds back tears, but it is a valiant attempt, nonetheless.
"Okay." Ruki laughs, fighting against tears of her own. She inhales deeply to compose herself. "Okay." She says again when she's convinced she has her emotions under control.
"I'll see you soon, Mom." She promises, and her mother gives her one last smile before she vanishes back into the house. It's better that way; Ruki hates the idea of her mother just standing there, watching her daughter leave.
Renamon appears by her side as soon as she's out of the gate.
"That went well." The fox comments.
"Were you spying on me?" Ruki asks suspiciously.
"Not spying," Renamon corrects. "Observing, so that I would know when to step in if necessary."
"And I suppose Jen was perfectly fine with that plan." Her Tamer states.
The fox does not bother to validate her guess; they both know she's right. Instead, Renamon places a hand on Ruki's shoulder and they vanish.
Ruki keeps her eyes closed, putting enough faith in Renamon to navigate them through the shadow world. The next time she opens her eyes, she finds Jen's staring back at her. Around them, the park is filled with families making the most of their Saturdays.
"So?" Jen asks anxiously.
Ruki laughs. "Guess what? My mom doesn't want to kill you, after all."
I did not know where to end this chapter. I'm sorry if it cuts off too abruptly.
Also, things will start moving faster now. As of next chapter, each part of the story will have minor time jumps between chapters. We're talking two, three weeks at a time, so don't worry about me skipping the entire pregnancy or anything like that. Worry about me spending the entire story writing about the pregnancy, instead.
Read! Review! Ramble on and on about this ship because they are so perfect and I ship it so hard and I HAVE ALL THESE FEELS.
E Salvatore,
November 2014.