"WHAT?!" Vanessa looked from Yami to the blond woman at his side and back. The woman seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place where she knew her from. Vanessa sputtered a few incoherent noises before getting up and storming out of the room. Yami looked at her in confusion.

"What's wrong with her?"

Finral, Charmy, and Magna sighed simultaneously at their captain's blindness.

"Nothing. I'll talk to her later." Finral answered, wondering how Yami had never noticed Vanessa's infatuation with him.

Charlotte squeezed Yami's hand and looked up at him expectantly.

"Right." Yami sighed before looking at the spatial mage. "Finral, I'm sorry I lashed out at you." He looked at the group gathered before him. "I've never really been good with stuff like this, family stuff, but I want you to know, all of you, how much you mean to me."

Charlotte wrapped her arm around his, holding his large hand with both of hers. She laid her head on his shoulder, encouraging him. He sighed and lit another cigarette. A quick inhale and he blew out smoke toward the ceiling.

"None of us have any ties, not really anyway, to anyone else in this world. Except to each other. When I was shipwrecked here, I lost my family, my entire world. I had to build a new one from scratch. And it's taken this long for me to realize that as I built a life for myself, I also built a family. With all of you."

The remaining Bulls stared at him with various expressions of shock and awe on their faces. He looked at each of them in turn, wishing for the life of him, the entire squad were here. He reminded himself to go check in on Henry later. The sickly young man deserved to know as much as everyone else.

"So, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being harsh to you at times. I'm especially sorry for hurting you, Finral. You all know I don't actually mean it when I say I'll kill you, right?"

The squad members all slowly nodded, but could not speak for the shock.

"Soon, we'll welcome a new member of the family." He turned to Charlotte and brushed her cheek with his thumb. She nodded.

"Yeah." She stepped toward him and into his embrace. He lay a cheek on her head, and squeezed her tightly.

"You're my family too, right?" He whispered. He hoped for an answer, but he had spoken so softly, he was not sure she had heard him. She squeezed his waist, and he took the movement as all the confirmation he would need. He looked down at her, brushing her hair back from her face. He seemed to forget about the audience in the room .

"I really should get going." Melancholy filled her voice as she laid her head against his shoulder once more, nuzzling her nose into the muscles at his neck. He took the cigarette from between his lips, trying to keep ash from falling onto her.

"Do you?"

"Yeah." She looked into his eyes and smiled proudly as she rubbed her hands over his chest.

"You know, you can come back anytime." He leaned forward and kissed her.

"I may do just that, but now, I'm sure everyone's worried about me." She sighed as she took a step away from him. "And I'm going to have quite a bit of explaining to do."

He chuckled as he looked her over. The pale fabric was only slightly darker than her skin, somewhere between the color of her eyes and the color of her hair. The gown was short, but not indecent, as it hit her mid-thigh, and it hung on her body in a way which he found incredibly pleasing. He licked his lips, wishing he could pull it over her head once more.

"That you are." He lifted her hands up to his lips and kissed them both. "Want Finral to zip you home?"

"Can't. Doctor's orders. No teleportation."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that sucks."

She sighed.

"Tell me about it." She moved closer quickly and kissed him again. "Bye." She looked at him, reluctant to leave. He placed his arm over her shoulder and walked her to the door. He kissed her again as the door closed behind them.

"I don't want to leave." She admitted once the door shut fully.

"I don't want you to leave either, but you have to, and you know it."

She sighed as she picked up the broom she had ridden there in the first place.

Yami watched as she took to the air, and kept watching as she disappeared into the distance until he could see her no longer. As he watched, a noise in the woods drew his attention.

"Where the hell have you been?" Yami stuck the cigarette back between his lips as Asta emerged from the trees.

"Training."

"Oh. Where's Noelle?"

Asta shrugged.

"I dunno. I'm not her keeper."

Yami frowned as he flicked the ash from the end of the cigarette. He looked at the kid before him. He had set the rule himself, to not tell anyone outside of those present, but Asta was as much family as any of the others. Yami thought he should tell him.

"I'm starved." Asta said oblivious to Yami's soul searching. "Did Charmy eat all of the lunch yet?" The young knight pushed the door open and left Yami standing in the noon-day sun shaking his head.

Yami looked back to the sky, hoping to see the speck of her in the distance, but she was gone. She was on her way home to her own brigade. He wondered if she would tell them. He wondered if her own squad was as much her family as the Bulls were his. Somehow, he doubted it.

He turned back to the building and opened the door only to be greeted by Noelle screaming at Asta over where he's been. He watched the pair of kids for a moment before he slipped away.

He wound his way down the ever-changing corridors deep into the belly of the building. He glanced down a a hallway, where two people were sitting across from each other in the dark., their backs against the walls of the narrow passageway. The light was dim and he could barely make out the pair. They were talking in low voices which he could not make out. He squinted down the hallway where their forms were silhouetted against the light. He smirked as he recognized Finral and Vanessa.

He continued on his way through the haphazard layout of the building. Stone and brick walls gave way to wood and plaster and then went back again in a random pattern only defined by the imagination of the one who commanded them. He reached a door isolated from the others and knocked.

He was met with silence. He knocked again, knowing the room's occupant was likely shocked by having a visitor.

"Yes?" The voice which issued forth through the heavy wooden door was slow and deliberate. Yami opened the door and peeked in.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course, Captain." The words were exaggerated and elongated as Yami waited before walking through the door. "I thought you might be Asta."

Yami cocked an eyebrow up in surprise, and then chuckled.

"Figures the kid would find his way up here." He muttered with a shake of his head. "You know I can't stay long."

"Of course, but it is good to have a visitor. Asta keeps me company sometimes."

"I'm glad you have a friend, Henry."

The sickly, pale man smiled.

"Yes. But you are all my friends."

"You know what I mean." Yami stuck a cigarette between his lips but did not light it. The feel of the filter against his lips comforted him somewhat as he tapped his foot nervously.

"What brings you to visit, Captain?"

"I just... All the others know, and I figured I should tell you, since you couldn't be there when I told them." Yami rambled, taking the unlit cigarette from his mouth and placing it back again.

"Is something wrong?"

Yami shook his head. Being around Henry always made him feel on edge. He could feel his mana draining as the sickness within the other man siphoned it away. Even in the few minutes with him, Yami could see Henry's color improve and his movements quicken.

"No. I, um, I'm going to be a father." The words still felt strange in his mouth. A slow broad smile spread across Henry's face.

"Congratulations, Yami." The bedridden man nodded. "You are going to be a great dad."

Yami laughed.

"You think so?"

Henry nodded.

"If you can make a family out of them, out of us, then I know you will be a wonderful father to any child you have."

Yami shook his head.

"Doesn't mean it's not a stupid fucking idea. Anyway, you deserved to know since all the others do, well most of them anyway. But I have to go now." Yami rubbed his forehead as he backed toward the door.

"Of course, Captain. It was good to see you."

Yami nodded before pulling the door open. He stopped before he pulled the door shut behind him and turned toward the oldest member of the Black Bulls.

"Hey, don't tell Asta yet when he comes to see you."

"Why not? He wasn't there?"

Yami shook his head.

"No, and I don't think the kid can keep a secret."

Henry chuckled.

"As you wish, Captain."

Yami's gaze lingered on the long haired figure sitting up in bed for a moment before he closed the door. He made his way back through the labyrinth of corridors and stairs to the main living area of the building. Finral and Vanessa were no longer sitting in quiet conversation in the darkened hallway. When he finally made his way back to the common room, everything seemed quiet and normal.

Well, what passed for quiet and normal in the household, anyway.

Yami leaned against the wall watching his charges, wondering how things might change in the next few months. He could not imagine raising a child in the base, or that Charlotte would want to spend more time here than necessary. The thought bothered him. He wanted to be able to be with Charlotte, and not just on some random occasion when she needed him too. He had said it as a joke months ago, but he realized now how much he had meant what he said. Only he didn't want to wait until they were old to take care of each other, not anymore.

He lit his cigarette and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched. When his scan of the room fell on Vanessa, he frowned. He had been surprised by her reaction to the news. He hadn't expected enthusiastic supportive reactions from everyone. Hell, he hadn't expected more than mild shock from his gang. But Vanessa's anger was completely unexpected.

She was sitting at the bar, kicking back one drink after another. She was going through bottles as quickly as he went through cigarettes. He walked over and took the spot across the bar from her.

"You're drinking heavier than usual."

She gave him a dismissive snort before she drained another cup. She poured another drink for herself.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long has this been a thing, Yami?"

He raised his eyebrows, still confused.

"Well, since we were stuck in that cave, I would imagine." He assumed she had meant the pregnancy.

"No, I'm not talking about that." Her words were starting to slur together from the combination of the anger and the alcohol. "How long have you been in love with her? How long really?"

He sighed, breathing out a long plume of smoke as he did so. The answer to her question eluded him.

"I first realized it in the cave, but..."

"But?"

"It might have been longer than that. Maybe a lot longer." He admitted.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Why would I do that? It's not like we were, I mean aside from that once and that was on accident."

"Accident? You don't just sleep with someone on accident, Yami."

"We were both wasted, Vanessa. I mean, I know that's your normal state, but I don't ever let myself go to those extremes. I've regretted doing so ever since."

She blanched and closed her eyes, her face screwing up as if she were in pain. When she looked at him again, she had murder in her eyes.

"I don't even know what to say right now." Her voice was a tight whisper. "Ugh, I feel like such an idiot." She stood and started to storm off but slipped and fell to the floor instead. She pulled her knees to her chest as she lay on the floor.

"I should have known you could never feel the same way for me. I thought that after being by your side for all these years,that eventually, maybe, I don't know. That night I thought I had finally won you over, but..."

Yami squatted down next to her.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? I've never imagined us as a possibility. I've always seen you more like a sister. That's why I regret that night we did have sex. Not because I don't like you, but because you're special to me in a different kind of way."

She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes, unshod. Slowly she pulled herself up and sat facing him.

Yami took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air and smoke before exhaling slowly.

"I hated myself for taking advantage of you that night, because you were like my little sister, and I needed to protect you."

"I was a grown woman, Yami."

"I know. But you were still learning so much about the world; you were still so innocent." He took another deep drag. "Let me tell you a story. When I was nineteen, Julius sent me out on a mission. Actually, I hadn't turned nineteen yet, but I had my birthday while on the mission, so it's close enough. I don't remember the details of the mission entirely, but he sent me alone. He knew I had a hard time working well with others, so he would give me solo jobs from time to time. Anyway, the mission wasn't important, and I suspected even then the mission he gave me wasn't the actual mission he sent me on."

He sat cross-legged facing her. He flicked the ash from the end of his cigarette before placing it back between his lips. He could sense the others creeping closer to hear the story as well.

"After the mission, he told me to go to the most amazing noodle shop I had ever been to. For a sort of birthday celebration, which was the day before. The shop was in this town I had never been to before, but reminded me of Kikka, with the old stone buildings and the nobles with noses stuck up their asses."

Vanessa chuckled at the description despite herself.

"But the soup I had in that shop was amazing, like..." he licked his lips and gestured, his cigarette between two fingers, as he tried to find the right words to describe the food. "Oh, it was so good." He stuck the cigarette back between his lips.

"But as I was eating, all hell broke loose. Someone's magic went out of control and people started screaming and running in panic. Saying something about a curse. I had no idea what they were talking about, but well, when people run one way, I've always run the other. It's a awful stupid trait to have, really, but..." He shrugged.

"So I run toward the thing, and I see her. Her magic has gone haywire and is ripping everything up, tearing buildings to shreds and filling the streets with thorny mats. Now, keep in mind, I'd seen her before. We'd served together in a few battles in the war against the Spade Kingdom. Even then, she was a beauty, and all of the young men were trying to win her heart-Nobles and commoners alike. If I remember correctly, even Nozel and Fuegoleon tried flirting with her a couple of times. But she was as cold as ice and as sharp as the thorns on her briars to any man who came her way. Like the other young man, I also thought she was beautiful, but it's one thing to accept the existence of beauty and another thing to pursue it."

"And you didn't." She said.

He shook his head.

"No, because I knew I could never stand a chance with a woman like her. If she rejected royals, what would she think of a foreigner? Besides, she was nobility, and I had my own issues with nobility. Before that day in the town, I had admired her from a distance, never entertaining the thought of anything more."

"So what happened?" Magna asked as he settled down on the floor next to Vanessa. Yami looked at the gathered crowd.

"I was just telling this story to Vanessa." Yami complained.

"Aw, come on, Boss. Go on, please?" Luck goaded. Yami took one last drag on the cigarette before stubbing it out on the floor and placing another between his lips.

"Alright, fine. I see her in the market square, surrounded by her magic gone wild, but her vines kept growing quickly, filling the gaps I had cut in them almost as quickly as I cut them. But eventually, I reach her, or at least close enough to her to talk to her. She looked angry, disappointed, ashamed. And when she looked at me, she looked disgusted. It was a far cry from her usual calm and collected self. I said something to her. I don't remember what exactly, but something about trusting people. You see, she was always alone, even on the battlefield, though I know for a fact the Blue Rose squad drilled in two and three person attack cell formations. She never worked with anyone. She never trusted anyone enough to have her back."

He took a deep inhale, trying to recall exactly the words he had said which had changed the look on her face.

"Whatever I said, it got through to her. The briars faded away into nothing. I helped her up and as I touched her hand... Something happened. I don't know what. It sort of felt like getting hit by Luck's lightning, but not exactly. It was the first time I looked into her eyes. I can't explain what I saw there. I don't know what it was or why it struck me so, but ever since, I knew we were connected."

"Who would have thought Yami would be a victim of love at first sight?" Finral chuckled.

"Shut up." Yami blew smoke in Finral's general direction. "Anyway, whatever I had said had broken the curse. I didn't understand how or why at the time. Not until years later. Julius dropped the bomb on me one day after the Star Festival. I don't think he even realized that I didn't know what had happened that day."

"So what was it? How did you break the curse?" Noelle asked, her lavender eyes wide with anticipation.

Yami looked at the floor, his mind racing back to the afternoon he had broken the curse.

"Some curses have dispel conditions, you know? Well hers did. I fulfilled the condition." The gathered group practically leaned forward in anticipation. He could feel them pressing in on him as he took a long drag on the cigarette between his lips. He took it from between his lips and exhaled. Too deep now, he thought, as his heart pounded against his ribs. The only other person who knew the story was Julius, and even then, Yami had to be pretty drunk to tell him.

"The condition was to have a man steal her heart. I didn't know it at the time. In fact, I didn't know it until Julius told me years later." He stuck the cigarette back between his lips. "To be honest, even when Julius told me, I thought he was lying. There was no way someone like her could fall for someone like me. And I was so angry with him manipulating me like that. He knew the whole time. He knew when he sent me."

"Why didn't he tell you?"

"He might be an insufferable magic geek, but Julius always is looking for a way to game the system. And he's playing the really long game. He sent me there knowing I could break the curse, but he didn't tell me anything about it because he knew I wouldn't go otherwise. At the time, I was still trying to get over my earlier issues with the noble class here. It was fine on an individual basis; I worked with other knights who were nobles with no problem. But had I known what the possible outcome might be... well, I had to deal with lovesick noble girls before and it was never a pleasant experience."

He took a deep breath and looked at his audience.

"Charlotte was different, though. She had always been different from the other noblewomen I had met. Independently strong, determined." He sighed. "Always so sure of herself. Sometimes annoyingly so. She isolated herself so much; she never trusted anyone, not even her own squad. And despite people throwing themselves at her, she always turned them down. It was like she was waiting for something, or someone strong enough to break the curse."

"For you?" Gray asked in Finral's voice.

Yami shrugged.

"Perhaps, but I didn't know what had happened until years later. The squad had only been around for a couple of years. Our reputation was already starting to form. After the award ceremony, we were in last place-typical, I know, and Julius pulled me aside. He spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to convince me to go talk to her. Thinking back now, he was probably a little tipsy. He knew I liked her, so he tried, I dunno, I think he could have used his magic had he wanted, but time magic might not work that way."

He took a long drag and exhaled slowly as he flicked ash from the end of the cigarette.

"Anyway, that night we came home. The group was smaller then; Charmy was a rookie and I had just picked up Gauche somewhere. I was so frustrated with Julius and his insistence. I started drinking at the party and continued drinking through the early mornings. I wanted to drown out the feelings I had for Charlotte, feelings I had been able to ignore until Julius kept badgering me about them. So, Vanessa, when you started drinking with me, things took a strange turn."

He looked at Vanessa, ignoring the rest of the gathered crowd.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, or led you on somehow. That night was a very difficult night for me, and I needed the distraction. I would have usually gone to town, but I was already too drunk to fly straight. I never intended for anything to happen the way it did."

"Because you love her and you don't love me." Bitterness tinged Vanessa's voice.

"Well, not like that anyway."

"You know? I've been in love with you since you rescued me too." Vanessa shook her head, not caring who was watching her admission. "I would have followed you anywhere you asked."

"And now?" His gaze held her eyes.

"I don't know." She stood, suddenly sober. "Excuse me." She picked her way over, around, and through the circle of people who surrounded them as Yami told his story.

Yami and Finral both watched as she disappeared from the room. Yami caught sight of the girl-crazed young mage sigh. He wished he could do more, or say more, give her something to comfort her, or to let her down easy, but he had never been an easy sort of person, Yami thought. He had done all he could. He looked at the spatial mage who was still staring at the dark doorway. Someone else needed to go pick up the pieces.

"Well, I'm going to take a nap." Yami picked himself up from the floor with great effort. As the rest of his squad went off their own ways, Yami wondered if he had fractured his family beyond repair.

"Nothing to be done about it now." He muttered as he turned down the hallway to his room. "We'll figure it out when we need to." He collapsed onto the thin mat he used as a bed. Charlotte's scent lingered in the fabric, and he hugged the blanket to him, breathing deeply of her. He wished she hadn't had to leave as he willed sleep to come. With thoughts filled with her, with his skin craving her touch, sleep eluded him.

\*\*\*

Charlotte found herself circling above her squad's headquarters in lazy loops around the perimeter. She tried to work out what she could say to her squad. She was certain they would say something to her. She wanted to tell them, but the thought terrified her. She could not bear it, she thought, if they lost their respect for her. She had worked hard and sacrificed nearly everything to get where she was; she did not want to ruin that with one slip of the tongue.

She sighed as she angled the broom toward the gate, thinking the slip of the tongue which got her into this situation occurred weeks ago. When she landed at the gate, she was berating herself once more for her lack of self-control in the moment, and then again for how hard she was being on herself.

"Where have you been?" Her second in command stood at the top of the steps with her hands firmly planted on her hips. Sol was bouncing anxiously behind her. "We were about to send out search parties."

Mira's dark eyes flared when Charlotte met the short woman's angry face.

"I, uh, I just had somethings to figure out. I've had a lot on my mind."

"Well, you had us all worried sick."

"Why do you smell like smoke, Big Sis?" Sol said from her side. Charlotte hadn't noticed it before, but upon sniffing her nightgown she could indeed smell the scent of his cigarettes. And underneath it, she could smell him. She sighed, her eyes drifting closed as she inhaled deeply. She wanted him again. She wanted to turn right back around, grab her broom, and go to his side.

"I, uh, I don't know."

"It's not even the good smoke smell. It's the gross smoke smell."

"There's a good smoke smell?"

"Of course there is! You know, the good smell of camp fires and cooking meat?" Sol suggested. Charlotte's knowledge of camp fires and their smell was tied to the many nights between battles, where the crackle and smell of burning wood was undercut with the smell of blood and the screams of the injured.

"If you say so." Charlotte tried to push past her vice-captain, but the short woman stood in her way.

"You never answered my question."

Charlotte took a deep breath, tried to go around Mira once more only to be stopped again. She sighed and resigned herself to telling at least one person on her squad.

"Can we talk about it in my office in about five minutes?" She sniffed her nightgown once more. She needed to clean up after the flight and everything else. "Make that fifteen."

As she finally entered the building, she was accosted once more. Anais stopped her asking the same questions, only they were colored with concern for the child she carried. Charlotte commended Anais on her discretion, but the midwife reminded her how soon everyone would be able to tell and her discretion would mean little then. The healer urged Charlotte to open up about what happened.

"The squad deserves to know, don't you think?" Anais said as they reached the door the Charlotte's chambers.

"You're right. I will tell them soon. I promise." Charlotte had every intention of living up to the promise. She would tell them all of her condition, but she was still on the fence about telling them who had fathered the child she carried. She felt they would not be able to understand.

As she bathed, Charlotte wished for Yami's hands on her belly and his lips on her neck again. She thought seeing him would be enough to sate her desire, but in some ways, her desire was only heightened by the memory. She groaned in frustration. He had said she was welcome any time she wanted him, but she feared she would grow complacent and lazy, if she acted on her desire to be surrounded by his touch at all times. She needed to focus, she thought. Maybe it would be easier to focus if she could enlist some help.

By the time she had pulled herself from the bath, dressed and made her way to the office, Mira was already waiting for her. Thankfully, Sol was nowhere to be found. Mira would understand, she thought. Mira could sympathize.

"So?" The short dark haired woman asked as Charlotte walked through the door. She closed the door behind her and stood with her weight against the wooden door. She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant, Mira."

The other woman's eyes grew as wide as saucers are round.

"What?" She looked at Charlotte's belly before meeting her eyes again. "What?"

Charlotte sighed.

"I'm pregnant."

"How long?" Disbelief filled her voice.

"A few months."

Mira's eyes darted around the room before settling back on Charlotte who had now sat in the chair across from her.

"Sorry, I just never would have thought you of all of us."

"I know. I'm still trying to process it all myself. Sometimes I hate myself for it, for my moment of weakness."

"Weakness? Charlotte, you have been the happiest I've seen you lately. Well the past few months anyway. You've been sort of anxious the last week or so."

"That's when I found out. Anais confirmed it."

"She knew and didn't tell me? That little bitch..."

Charlotte smiled, knowing the pair had always been two peas in a pod ever since they both joined the squad. Charlotte might think of Mira as her best friend, but it had taken Yami breaking the curse for her to even seek out friendship among her own squad. Anais had a couple of years more experience dealing with Mira and they were always calling each other rude names in jest.

Mira's gaze went from hot to cool as she regarded Charlotte. Wheels spun in her head as she linked events.

"A few months ago, huh?" Mira scratched her chin. Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah." Charlotte shifted in her seat, knowing Mira would fit the pieces together.

"So how long were you stuck in that cave with Yami?"

Charlotte blushed.

"Long enough."

"Don't get me wrong, I would have done the same, but damn Charlotte. I can't believe you didn't tell me." Mira raised her eyebrows as another realization came to her. "That's where you were today, wasn't it?"

Charlotte put her head in her hands.

"Yes." She said, pitifully. "I can't stop thinking about him."

"Is he as dominate as I imagine? Or does he have a softer side? Is he really like a raging bull?" Mira gave her a wicked grin as she leaned forward.

"Mira!" Charlotte turned scarlet. Mira threw her hands up in defeat.

"Does he know?"

"He does now." She sighed. "I wasn't even sure I was going to keep it, keep her until today."

Mira leaned forward and squeezed her friend's hand.

"That's difficult decision to make. Either way, it's life changing."

Charlotte nodded, only now realizing how much she wanted to start a family with Yami. Perhaps, in a different life, they would have already be on that path, if he had not been a shipwrecked foreigner, or if she were her parent's child. She wondered, though, had things been different if they would have even met, or if they had, would she had fallen for him so completely.

Charlotte sighed.

"So when are you telling the squad?" Mira asked, leaning back in the chair.

Charlotte's heart raced as she worried about the reactions of those under her command. She imagined the varied nature of them, and most of them she imagined would be far more negative than Mira's.

"I hadn't really thought about it. I guess I should tell them soon."

Mira nodded sagely. The vice-captain's promiscuous nature had led to her own pregnancy a few years prior. Her son was adorable and lived with his father in a village in the mountain near the Spade Kingdom. Charlotte knew it had not been her first pregnancy, but it was the first child she had brought into the world.

"You're nearly four months along. I'm surprised your armor still fits comfortably. And everyone will start to wonder soon, because everything will start shifting."

"I'll tell them soon. I've had too many revelations for one day."

"Are you worried about what everyone with think?" Mira regarded Charlotte with a raised eyebrow. "Don't deny it, I know you too well."

Charlotte let out a long breath and nodded her head.

"Don't be. I mean, Sol's going to be heartbroken, but she'll accept it. And everyone else will be so excited for you once the shock wears off."

"You think they will be shocked?"

"Charlotte, I'm shocked. I was shocked when I found out what happened in the cave and I'm even more shocked that neither of you-grown adults that you are-didn't think things through enough to use any sort of protection. But you know what?" Mira leaned forward once more, meeting Charlotte's eyes.

"What?"

"I'm most shocked of all you hadn't pursued him sooner. Doubly so given how happy you've been since then. And don't think I'm the only one who's noticed."

"Noticed what?"

"How you've been humming to yourself, and staring off into the distance, smiling, when you didn't think anyone could see you."

Charlotte blushed and wondered how many others had noticed a change in her behavior.

"But," Mira tapped her chin in thought. "This does raise a question."

"What do you mean?"

"If both of you are captains and need to oversee your respective squads, who's going to raise the kid?"

Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the constriction of her breastplate. She unfastened the armor piece and breathed deeply. She had not had time to consider the logistics of what would happen after she gave birth. She hadn't wanted to think so far in case something happened to the child, whether intentional or not. But now she wanted the child, and she wanted Yami by her side to raise it. She sighed again. If she were to be truthful, she wanted Yami by her side now, even if only to hold her.

"I'm not sure." Charlotte admitted. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."

\*\*\*

Yami sat on the porch which had appeared outside the door that had opened up in his bedroom wall. At first it had pissed him off to have his space so drastically altered, but he had to admit the private bathroom was nice, and useful. He had a feeling Henry had made the changes on purpose, though he hadn't asked him to. The exterior entrance and attached bathroom was nice, but Yami was confused by another door added to the room. He was fairly certain the small empty room it led to had not been part of the house prior, and Yami couldn't quite figure out its purpose.

His feet dangled off the ledge made by the porch, reminding him of the house he had grown up in-only this ledge was made of stone where the other was wooden. He took a long inhale on his cigarette and blew the smoke out slowly. As he looked up in the sky, he noticed something flying toward the base. He squinted, trying to make out the object against the starlit sky. Eventually it grew closer and closer until the figure descended to the clearing around the house. The rider's blond hair was tightly coiled around her head, and she was missing her typical armor and helmet. Yami found himself wishing she was in the nightgown she had shown up in before.

She walked up to him and he stubbed the half-used cigarette out on the stone floor.

"What a surprise." He hopped down from the ledge and slipped his hands around her waist.

She pulled him to her in a deep kiss.

"And even more surprising." He kissed the tip of her nose. "What brings you back here?"

She rubbed her hands over his chest as she tried to decide if she wanted to wrap them around his waist or around his neck.

"Lots of things, actually, but can it be mostly that I missed you?"

A broad, toothy grin spread over his face.

"I missed you too."

"We need to figure out how we're going to raise this child, Yami."

He kissed her.

"Plenty of time for that later." He pulled her against him and she slipped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. She felt safe in his embrace, safe in a way she had never quite experienced before. He felt his breathing slow as he stroked her back, feeling a sense of peace he had chased for longer than he could remember.

"Right." She whispered as she lost herself in his warmth.

A/N: To Be Continued in Crisis.