Chapter Text
Noah sprinted through the streets, moving as fast as his legs could allow. More than a few times he had to carefully dodge bystanders and mutter an apology to friends wanting to stop and talk, all of whom watched him with a raised brow. With how the young man was acting, one would think he was running away from some terrible monster, but there were no monsters, not even a single bunnit, to be found. So then what could possibly be making him act so strange?
"Mio!" Noah shouted as he burst into a room in the medical center.
"Gah, N-Noah! Don't startle me like that!" Mio recoiled from the shock of her partner suddenly appearing in front of her. His decision to yell despite them being in a fairly small room didn't help either as her sensitive ears flickered downward.
"Sorr-!" Noah cleared his throat when he realized his voice was still raised much more than anyone would consider necessary. "Sorry." It was then that he noticed they weren't alone. An older white-haired man eyed him with a questioning look and Noah shrunk back a little, the embarrassment of making himself look like a fool in front of a perfect stranger sinking in.
The feeling was shaken off quickly as the young Homs soon found himself at Mio's side, giving her a quick once-over. She was sitting at the edge of an examination table, her hands placed neatly in her lap. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, at least not visibly. Except upon further inspection, the Gormotti's hands seemed a little…stiff. Not nearly as relaxed as he originally assumed.
"Sena told me what happened and I-" He took a moment to control his heavy breathing. "I ran here as fast as I could. That's why I-" Another breath. "I'm kind of out of breath right now."
Noah remembered how mere minutes ago he'd approached the petite Blade in their usual meet-up spot at the canteen, asking her why Mio didn't seem to be joining them for lunch. The worried expression that appeared on Sena's face alone was enough to open a pit in Noah's stomach. She'd proceeded to explain how while the two of them were on a simple grocery run, Mio seemed a bit light-headed before suddenly collapsing. Sena had thankfully managed to catch her–and the groceries–before taking her to the medical center. Noah had about a dozen questions bouncing around in his head, like is Mio alright? and why didn't Sena tell me sooner? But he didn't stick around to ask any of them.
"I'm fine, really." Mio tried to soothe him, but the red tint on her cheeks suggested that there was more than she was letting on. "I just got a bit dizzy, is all."
"You collapsed, Mio. That sounds like more than just a dizzy spell."
"Ahem." The third member of the room garnered the couple's attention. He gave Noah another look. "And you might be…?"
Mio's ears then perked up. "Oh! So sorry, this is Noah, my, um, partner. "
As if Mio had flipped some kind of switch, the older man's frown was replaced by one of the widest, most welcoming grins Noah had ever seen from a stranger. "Oh, I see! I understand now. Don't you worry, young man, I gave her a complete check-up and I can assure you there's nothing wrong."
Noah allowed himself to sigh, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Well, that's a relief… But…people don't just faint for no reason, right? Surely there's some kind of explanation there?"
"That's true, there is a reason, but…" The doctor raised a finger to his chin before making eye contact with Mio. The younger woman tensed up even more as she realized what had to come next.
"I'll tell him," she said softly. The doctor gave her one last reassuring grin before stepping out, hoping to give the pair some privacy.
In the seconds that followed the man's exit, a strange silence fell upon the room. Noah watched as Mio pinched at the hem of her skirt. She held her gaze on her fidgeting fingers for as long as she could before the lack of any sound became near unbearable.
"S-so…" Mio began, not entirely sure how to continue.
"So…? Mio, what's going on? I know the doctor said nothing was wrong, but I'm starting to get a bit worried."
"I know and I'm sorry, but… It's just hard to put my thoughts into words right now…"
"Take all the time you need. Just know that whatever it is, I'm right here beside you, alright?"
Finally, Mio broke her staring contest with her lap and looked at Noah. At that moment, the gentleness in his blue eyes was enough to relieve some of the nerves she was feeling. Taking a deep breath, Mio stood from the examination table. She hesitated for only a second before taking Noah's hands into hers. She was sure he could feel her trembling. Then, like ripping off a bandage, she firmly pressed both of his palms against her lower abdomen.
"I know you can't feel anything yet, but hopefully this answers your questions…"
"Mio, what-" Yet another question was about to leave Noah's mouth when it felt like something got lodged in his throat. He may not have been an expert on these kinds of things, but that didn't mean he was completely oblivious either. The dizziness, the shaky hands, the reddened cheeks, all on top of the fact that she made it a point for him to feel her middle, right where something like that would be.
It suddenly felt like he was choking on air. After taking a moment to swallow nothing at all, Noah finally managed to put together a response. "M-Mio… R-really…? Are you really…?"
Mio nodded.
His breath hitched again. "...H-how do you feel?"
"Honestly," she started, the lump in her throat getting bigger by the second, "kind of scared."
Noah understood. He'd be lying if he said he didn't at least feel a twinge of fear as well.
Mio continued, holding onto Noah's hands a little tighter. "We didn't exactly…plan this. We're not even married yet. I know we've been together for a few years and we've talked about these kinds of things before, but I didn't expect all of this to happen so soon…"
Noah slowly nodded as she spoke. It was true that the idea of marriage and kids was never completely off the table for them, but they'd always assumed those things wouldn't come until at least a couple extra years down the line. Clearly, they were wrong. So what now? In his immediate thoughts, the next logical step to take was marriage, but would Mio even be content with a shotgun wedding? A bride that isn't happy with her own wedding sounded like nothing but a bad omen to Noah. He shook his head. Come on, don't think like that. We're going to be fine…hopefully. Ok, maybe marriage was thinking a little too far ahead. He instead tried shifting his thoughts to other things, things that would come in the more immediate future-
"Oh, spark." Noah's eyes widened in realization. "How are we going to tell our parents?"
Mio's mouth formed an 'O' shape. After taking a second to think about the question, however, she didn't seem so concerned. "I mean, we are adults, so it's not like they can get too mad at us. Besides, I can't really picture your parents getting upset. They're way too nice. My parents on the other hand… My pa probably won't be mad, but my mum might be a little angry with you. If she is, though, I doubt she'll hold any grudges about it."
She had a point, the reaction (and potential backlash) that their families might have to the news probably wouldn't be as bad as Noah originally thought. Though it still made his stomach feel like it was doing flips.
Mio must have sensed this as she caressed his knuckles in a calming manner. "Hey, don't worry about what everyone else will think, ok? If anyone has anything to say about us, snuff 'em."
For a moment, Noah could only stare into Mio’s eyes, not really sure how to respond. As blue gazed into gold and vice-versa, the silence was broken by a sudden fit of laughter that erupted from the black-haired Homs. Mio’s ears swiveled back and her blush flared up again when he hunched over slightly without any attempt to control his outburst.
“Wh-what’s so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing, it’s just…” Noah itched at his cheek as a few more chuckles left him. “It’s just that, well, you’re the one who just found out you’re going to have to carry and grow a baby in the coming months, yet I’m the one who ended up needing to be comforted. Doesn’t that sound a bit backwards to you?”
“Come on, now. It’s not that funny. I mean, yes, I’ll be the one doing most of the heavy lifting until our child gets here, but that doesn’t mean this won’t affect your life as well.” Mio tried to reason, but even she couldn’t help the small grin that appeared on her face. His laughter was just too contagious.
“Hmm… ‘Our child,’ huh?” Noah tried the phrase Mio had used once he finally settled down. It felt strange, yet surprisingly nice on his tongue. Carefully, he slid one of his hands over the area on her stomach where she made him feel just a couple of minutes ago. It was still flat, though he knew it wouldn’t stay that way for very long. He tried to imagine it, Mio with the same kind of swollen baby bump he’d seen on expectant mothers before around town. The idea made him shudder from a mixture of fear and newfound excitement.
He then felt Mio’s hand over his own, holding it in place. His eyes met hers once again. This time, she was beaming.
“You know what I said before about plans and marriage and such? I was kind of freaking out then, but now…I feel a bit more confident with you here by my side. So now I have a question I want to ask…” Mio’s heart thumped in her chest as she kneeled. She became flushed all over again thanks to how corny her actions probably seemed in that moment. Nonetheless, she looked up at her partner, who was watching her with wide eyes. “Noah, will you marry me?”
It didn’t take long for Noah’s face to turn a deep red until he and Mio were matching. Also much like Mio, it felt as if his heart was about to leap right out of his body. After having to steady his breath one final time, Noah knelt down to be at eye-level with Mio. “Snuff whatever kind of plan we had before. I want nothing more than to be with you, as long as you feel the same way. I love you, Mio. Of course I’ll marry you.”
Mio let out some genuine laughs of her own when she felt Noah’s lips on her forehead. Not because she found it funny, not at all. Tears also pricked at the corners of her eyes, but not because she was sad. She reached up to cup Noah’s cheek and guided his head down until his mouth met hers. She was happy. Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, she was happy.