Time Marches On

While Deimos leisurely ate the fruit that Ikigai had put together and looked to her expectantly for an answer to why they were having such a lavish meal, he tried to guess what reason she could possibly have and came up short. He couldn't fathom what kind of surprise or news she could possibly have for him and he most certainly wasn't able to think of what she did end up revealing to him on his own. He could see the bit of nervousness that peeked out as he called her out on the meal that she had prepared and it made him even more curious. He waited as she took a deep breath and then she finally told him what all of this was about. Pregnant. She was pregnant. At first his mind couldn't comprehend the truth of it, the paw that had been about to bring the fruit back to his lips again stopping mid-air as he froze, his aqua gaze widening with obvious surprise as the words eventually began to sink in. He clearly hadn't had the slightest clue. Perhaps if they had been intentionally trying to have their first litter then he would have been less shocked, but considering where they were in this relationship and what they were trying to build he was completely caught off guard.

"You're... pregnant?" he asked almost as if he couldn't believe his ears as he slowly lowered the fruit back to the table in front of them. That initial disbelief and shock that was easily seen across his scarred face slowly began to shift into something deeper—a mix of excitement and awe while a grin began to tug at the corner of his lips. He dropped the fruit he had been holding, a bit of giddy laughter escaping him as he shifted a bit and reached across to her to catch her cheek with his large paw, leaning over the table to press his lips to hers in a joyous, celebratory kiss. He still didn't think that his thoughts had really caught up to the reality of it just yet, but he knew that this was the last piece of the puzzle to bring him to what his family deemed "successful" in their customs and traditions. This was a milestone that he had begun to believe he would never actually reach as the years slowly began to catch up to him and now here they were. Ikigai had shown him more patience and devotion than he ever believed he deserved and now she was giving him the greatest gift she could ever give him.

As he pulled back from his enthusiastic kiss, he lingered there for a moment, his paw cupping her cheek as his gaze met hers again and he gave her a genuine grin. He had spent so much of his life perfecting this hard exterior, keeping others at a distance and showing them only what he wanted them to see, but she always managed to find a way through that barrier and pull emotions from him to the surface that he couldn't control. After a moment his paw eventually slipped from her cheek and instead moved to hold her much smaller, uniquely dexterous paw in his own. There was a part of him that hesitated, but only because this had come upon them so suddenly and he hadn't had the chance to really delve into the family she was now a part of because of him or their beliefs. Having pups was the whole cornerstone of the Mendacium way of life, but did Ikigai even understand what this step meant for them? "I don't know how much Manea might have told you about our family or our customs before you agreed to be my mate," he began, giving her delicate paw a gentle squeeze, "but in Mendacium law we are to take only one mate and all of our children must come from our one mate. Once our children are born... that's it. You are my one and only and the same will be expected of you."

As he spoke his grin began to fade a bit, his expression growing more serious. "I know you will say that you made a promise and a decision and your insistence that you're going to see this through, but... forget the packs and alliances and all of that other bullshit. If there's even a hint of a doubt in your mind about us, our relationship, about being my mate for the rest of your life... now is the time to voice that while it's still early on." He didn't say it plainly, but he knew Ikigai was talented with healing and would certainly figure out what he was implying. If she wanted to back out now there was ways to do it, but if this pregnancy went on and she had his pups then that would tie them together in a way that would forever bind them in the eyes of the Ancients and he needed to at least make sure she understood the seriousness of that.

"Deimos Medacium"