Sorry for the wait you guys, I've been really busy with high school and nothing seems to come to my brain anymore ha.

I glanced over at Kaito with a raised eyebrow, holding the baggy vest in my hands. He was sitting on one of the barstools beside the island, sipping a cup of water while waiting for the cupcakes to finish baking. I only stood there, wondering what the hell he was thinking. Did he really think that this orange vest could hide my bump from everyone while the party we were hosting tonight went along? I mean, sure it was only eighteen weeks and three days, but I was really starting to develop a belly; not anything too large, but people in public were now questioning my appearance. More on that later.

"Really, Kai, is this going to work?" I questioned, still standing in the same spot, in front of the entrance to the kitchen.

Kaito blushed at my nickname for him, but countered with his own pet name. "I'm sure, Eri," he said confidently. Getting up, he dumped the rest of his water into the sink and went to the oven to check on the cupcakes. "A few more minutes and they'll be ready for frosting. You go get dressed while I finish off the treats, okay?"

I nodded in his direction before slipping away to the second floor. I was glad that Kimi had to go out of town today (against Tomo's request—because that's Kimi for you); she would be planning everything and I didn't want her to stress herself out too much. For hell's sakes, she's expecting twins (yeah, I know—crazy shit). It's stressful enough for me to carry one freaking child; I can't imagine having to yank around two inside my body. Stepping into the bedroom, I tossed the vest on the bed and scampered into the bathroom, planning to get a quick shower before the party.

Stripping off my shirt and leggings, I gazed at myself in the mirror. I had cut my hair the day after finding out that Mini was a girl, so now it curled around my chin. My frame hadn't changed all that much, however; despite the growing belly, my limbs and other locations stayed relatively thin. One thing's for sure, though: my boobs are absolutely huge. Okay, yeah, I was at DD before this whole pregnancy thing, but now I was pushing E going on F (and it's only week eighteen!). Couldn't say that Kaito didn't enjoy the change though, ahem.

After a quick shower, I plucked the shirt that I would hide under the vest for the big reveal. It was a dark green, and around the chest area was a cute little image of a chibi Godzilla, with text above in pink saying, "Preg-zilla." Kaito, surprisingly, had picked it out specifically for this party. Apparently he'd been planning this damn party ever since he learned that I'd gotten pregnant with his kid. I swear to god, that moron is going to be the death of me eventually with all his weird antics.

Speaking of which, he was avoiding me lately. Why, I couldn't figure out. It made me suspicious but I let him be. After all, he could be just busy with something and just didn't want to drag me into it, knowing my whole situation and all. Shaking my head, knowing that the idiot was far too shy to go and screw another person (did I mention that Kaito is bisexual? No? Well now you know.), I slipped the black sleeveless vest over my t-shirt, surprised that it did in fact hide my baby bump pretty well. Kaito was right; apparently he knows maternity fashion really damn well.

Sliding on a long white skirt that flowed around my ankles, I made my way downstairs. Okay, so maybe taking an almost hour-long shower wasn't a great idea; it was already evening, and I knew that people would start showing up eventually. Kaito was hanging out in the kitchen still, making last minute adjustments to the chicken platter he had created out of nowhere (that man knows how to cook). He smiled over at me as I entered the kitchen, gazing at me with the most loving glow to him I've ever seen.

"Told you it would work," he stated before dragging me up against him, pressing his lips to mine. I laughed into the kiss and clutched his chef's apron (which was all decked out in cute ponies and unicorns—a joke from Ryouga). After pulling back, he just held me by the waist, comfortable with my hidden baby bump pressing into his lower stomach. "You're adorable in that, you know."

"Hush." Blushing in embarrassment, I turned to look at the platter containing all the food my wonderful (and cute) boyfriend had cooked up. "Wow. You sure went up to eleven on the food."

"The cupcakes are better." He gestured over to said pastry. I could only laugh; the chocolate cupcakes had pink frosting (referencing to Mini's sex) while I had the bright idea to put little baby figurines inside the cupcakes themselves so that when people bit into the treats, they'd instantly understand why we were holding this get-together in the first place. Well, unless the person is Yuma and then, well… who knows. Damn kid is completely oblivious to everything.

The doorbell rang, startling Kaito and I out of our moment. I left his arms to go get the door while he set up the dining room table. At the door were Yuma, his girlfriend Kotori, the Kamishiro twins, and a couple of the other ex-Barians (Durbe, Mizael, and Alit). I helped them inside, disallowing hugs for now until the great reveal at the end of the party.

After a half hour, everyone had come, sans a few. Only the people we were really close to were there. Chris and Akari hadn't come either; Akari had gone into premature labor and was currently taking care of her preemie while Chris worked to find themselves a good home. Tron was with them, thankfully; I couldn't handle that bastard here anyway.

I sat beside Rio on the couch. She and I had become close over the years, and now at sixteen, she was coming to that age where she was bound to ask questions about my pregnancy (once Kaito and I revealed it, that is). For now, she just questioned me about relationships; apparently she was trying to choose between Durbe, Vector, and Thomas, since all three guys were showing interest in her.

I gazed carefully at her. Rio's hair was long, very long, hanging down around her hips. Her eyes had narrowed into a more mature shape. She looked like a woman now. Smiling tightly, I shifted so I faced her, hoping to keep people's eyes off my midsection. "Rio, I suggest you take a long hard look at these guys," I replied to her previous question. "Durbe is the knight you've known since your past as Merag. Vector killed you three times. Thomas burned you alive—though against his will. But he saved you." Grasping her hands and forcing her to look at me, I gave her a stern look. "You're only sixteen, yes, but now is the time where you'll start to wonder if the guy you're with is really the one." I lowered my voice, causing her to lean forward. "Right now, I don't even know if Kaito is the one for me. But somewhere in my heart I know the answer. It's the same for you; choose who you feel deserves you the most."

Rio stared at me for a few moments, pondering my words. Then she grew a big grin, nodding. "Thanks Droite, I think I know who I'll choose." Pulling her hands from mine, she looked across the room, where my boyfriend was currently standing and conversing with Yuma and Ryouga. "Kaito's different now," she commented.

"Yeah, I know." Dropping my smile, I watched the blonde smack Yuma over the head for something. "I don't know what to think of him now, honestly."

"Well, I think you two will be good together, if you ever get married." Clapping her hands, she stood. Her light green skirt fluttered slightly underneath her heavy trench coat. "I wanna eat."

After capturing Kaito's attention, all of us managed to squeeze into the dining room. Yuma and Kotori sat together, Rio sat beside Thomas and across from Durbe, Ryouga plopped himself beside Kaito. Mizael decided to stay away from everyone and retreated to the end of the long table. Alit was being his usual weird self and hitting on Michael, who was busily sipping on some of the juice I had dragged from the fridge earlier. I smiled from my position next to Kaito, watching everyone be themselves as we dug into our food. Mmm chicken. Did I say that chicken is my biggest craving ever? Y'know, besides pickles and chips. And chocolate.

Kaito laughed at me a few times as he watched me shove a few pieces of chicken breast into my mouth in two seconds flat. Our little secret was oftentimes hilarious, especially while I ate. I was like a hungry whale, gulping up practically everything. I had lost my vegetarian ways pretty early on, and I was thankful for that. Mini seemed to crave meat as much as I did now. It was funny. Meanwhile, Ryouga was probably questioning me in his mind, occasionally looking over to see me either knawing on a chicken leg or something else (such as the corn—oh god, corn!).

After stuffing ourselves, Kaito nudged my side. I took that as a signal and wiped my mouth, standing and going to the kitchen to get the tray of cupcakes. This is it! The reveal was here and my heart was racing. Mini went into a flurry of action, causing me to wince as I felt her flip and kick around my womb. Geez! She's quite excited too.

Kaito got out of his seat and helped me lower the tray to the table. After we had passed out a cupcake to everyone, I stood beside my boyfriend at the head of the table, holding my breath as Kaito raised his glass of orange juice and clinked it with his fork.

"Okay, guys, I want to make a toast," he stated, causing everyone to fall silent. Our guests – excluding Yuma, who was staring at his cupcake and drooling—turned their attention to us. "We've been friends for many years. Who knew that a war could bring us together? I mean, three years ago I couldn't imagine that I'd be standing here with a group of friends as amazing as you guys and a beautiful woman at my side."

I blushed, wishing he hadn't said that in front of so many people, but he went on. "I'm grateful for Yuma having pulled us together like this." He gazed at the younger duelist with a smile. "I wanted to thank him especially for that." Putting his glass in the air, he waited for everyone else to do the same before finishing his speech. "A toast to friendship, love, and the connections we all share." After hitting our glasses together, he stated one last thing. "Okay, now you can eat the cupcakes."

Yuma was the first one to bite into his. He was happily chewing away before he stopped. Other people began to do the same, pausing before pulling out the little plastic babies I had shoved into the pastries either from their mouths or cupcakes. Rio was the first to make the connection, and she nearly dropped her treat in surprise. Placing her dessert on her plate, she covered her mouth and stifled a gasp.

"Droite, are you-?" she nearly choked out, making me laugh. Kotori was next in line to figure out what the hell was going on, and she did the same thing.

"Well, we have something to announce…" I began, unzipping the vest but keeping the labels together. Ryouga's jaw dropped and I saw out of the corner of my eye that Kaito was about to start laughing his ass off. Rolling my eyes, I dropped the vest from my shoulders and onto a stool behind me. "Kaito and I are going to be parents in February."

"No way!" Kotori nearly screamed. Yuma winced before spitting out the plastic baby, his gaze equally shocked.

Ryouga laughed slyly, standing and man-hugging Kaito. "You'll be a great dad, man; a great one." Kaito nodded, obviously happier than ever.

Rio came over and hugged me. "Congratulations!" Pulling back, she gazed at my now visible bump. "Is it a boy or girl?"

"We're having a girl," I replied, making Rio squeal. Kotori, who had come beside the blue-haired teen, likewise did the same.

"How far are you?" Kotori questioned.

"Eighteen weeks."

And so went on the various questions and answers being thrown around the room. For a while it seemed like that was all that was going to happen.

Kaito, however, had something else on his mind. After everyone had vacated to the living room, he pulled me into the middle of the room, in front of everyone, and held my hands in his. I stared at him, questioning what he was doing, and I could hear Rio and Kotori chattering in the background with Michael; apparently those three knew what was happening.

I certainly didn't expect Kaito to reach into his back pocket and suddenly drop onto one knee in front of me.

As I began to freak out beyond belief, Kaito gazed up at me with loving eyes, holding my hands with one of his while grasping a small velvet box in the other. "Droite, you have been the one who has been through everything with me from day one, even if I was a jerk to you in our early years. You have protected me and yourself from everything you possibly could, and that makes you the strongest person I have ever known." As I started to cry, he laughed. "You're my butterfly, my protector, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Opening the velvet box, he held it up to me. "Droite Yamamoto, will you do the honor of marrying me?"

I nearly screamed. Feeling everyone's eyes on me, I cried for a good few moments before almost falling over with my answer. "Yes, Kaito! I'll marry you!" Taking the ring, which was a silver band with an amethyst butterfly jewel mounted to it, I let Kaito sweep me up in his arms and swing me around. Our eyes met, and I could tell that he definitely was the one.

This was the man I was spending the rest of my life with.

Kaito's nickname for Droite, 'Eri', means 'my protector' in Japanese. I found it fitting that he'd give her that nickname.

Anyway, hope you found this cute! Review!