It hadn’t been the easiest pregnancy.  She was sick a lot in the beginning, the middle seemed to be dragging on forever, plus the wedding that had required much of the energy she even had left, and as she neared the end, there was the unwelcome intrusion of Katsaros into her life, and subsequently Raizel Cohen. 

The flurry of activity really didn’t allow for her to spend much time with her husband, which seemed so strange, considering they were very much newlyweds.  Even if they felt established and were very pregnant, as she was reminded every single time she felt her back pinch or feet sting.  But, with it being only a little over a month since they had actually tied the knot… Akiva couldn’t help but want to do something.

She had racked her brain trying to think of something they could do together that would make both of them happy, and it was the first time she realized how active Dreogan was and how unappealing (and completely unrealistic) most of his favorite activities were.  This was especially true when she realized how hot it could get during the day and how absolutely uncomfortable that made the six month pregnant woman. 

So, she tried to compromise to her best ability. 

It was also lucky that they really didn’t have to go anywhere – and it was going to be a complete surprise.  The backyard was, thanks to a few charms, all set, and she had all the necessary items already assembled.  It was lucky Dree was going to be late from work so she could put the finishing touches together…

They had food already prepared, thankfully, even if they were leftovers, and dessert was interactive this time.  Hopefully Dree would like it, she thought, as she scrawled a note on a piece of paper, Backyard! and put it on top of the pile of post for the day.

Dreogan was a man of habit and she had no doubt he would check there first… so she made her way into the backyard, food on the outside table, the tree decorated with floating candle lanterns, and some very basic summoning and charming to create a suitable outdoor fire space.  She dropped into one of the white chairs and sighed, an anxious, but excited feeling in her stomach. 

She really hoped he would like what she thought up…

It was quiet in the house when Dreogan arrived, though, he reasoned as he entered the kitchen, Akiva'd most certainly come home for the day. The post was out.  Dreogan shuffled through several of the letters--habitually picking the ones that looked most like they could contain howlers--before noticing a small, folded piece of parchment, in Akiva's writing.  He opened it, read over the sparse lines, his brows knitting in interested confusion. Out... back?

Satisfied that notes were not as pressing as his wife, Dreogan dropped the pile where it had laid--causing Gordon to open a lazy pair of eyes from where he sat on a bar stool--and passed through the kitchen out back to their modest back yard.  Dreogan had taken the effort to install a fire pit there shortly after spring had spring, which--shamed to say it--they had not taken the opportunity to yet use.

It seemed Akiva was making the time now.  He looked at the chairs, the lights, her--well, just her and smiled broadly as he approached.

"Well," he said, spinning her and pulling her close, looping an arm around her middle affectionately, hoping--really hoping that the baby picked this moment to kick. "Mrs Eleor," he kissed her neck and pulled back, grinning.  "Fancy seeing you here."

As soon as Akiva saw the lights flick on inside, she did her best to get out of the awkward seat - she wasn't having too much trouble quite yet, but she knew it was only going to get harder, and stood, waiting for her husband to make his way out back.  She could see through the kitchen window, the way he picked up the mail and then paused - she could only assume on her note, before putting it down and starting toward the back.

She giggled to herself, feeling suddenly giddy and excited, and letting her breath hitch like a teenager as the back door opened and he walked through - smiling at her like he would when nothing else seemed to be bothering him. 

Taking a few steps forward, she met him in the middle ground between her set-up and the house, laughing as he took her hand and spun her into him, reminiscent of kitchen dancing, which seemed to be a more common occurrence, under much more pleasant circumstances than the first time. 

She rested her hand on his upper chest, smiling dreamily, still shaking with residual giggles, wrinkling her nose at him.  "I'm so glad you could make it, Mr. Eleor," she could not help but blush at his affection. 

She leaned forward and caught him in a playful kiss.  "What do you think?" she inclined her head back but did not move from his arms, still giggling with delight. 

"What do you think?"
 
"Perfect," he said, not taking his eyes off of her and going in for another deep kiss. After a time, he pulled back in the embrace, smiling as he took in the surroundings.  "This setup is quite nice, too!"
 
He laughed at his own, predictable cheesiness. If Adon were here, he'd be cringing and trying to change the topic to something not... sentimental.  But Adon wasn't here.  And work wasn't here.  And Gordon and Tabitha--he took a moment to confirm this, scanning the surroundings again--yes. They were not here.
 
Just him, Akiva, some lights, and what he hoped were someting like s'mores.  Or tin-foil dinners.  Or--well, nearly anything edible.  From the sudden knawing feeling in his stomach, he would not be surprised if he had not taken the time to eat lunch that day.
 
"Here," he said, shuffling them over to the chairs.  "Do you want to sit?" He hesitated before saying, "Actually--can we... stand like this a little longer?" He laughed nervously.  Recently, they were always doing something.  There were very few moments when they were here, together, like this. 
 
A brief kiss to her temple before he asked, "So... ah... to check--" because he was beginning to grow fearful he'd forgotten something. An engageme--no. Not a birthday, either. The anniversary of their first date? When had that been?! "What's the occasion?" he asked, trying to be as non-chalant as possible.

"Mmm," Akiva agreed with a laugh, hugging onto him after a rather pleasant kiss.  She had a sneaking suspicion he didn't know how good of a kisser he was, or maybe she was just too in love with him to think any differently.  But, she couldn't help but giggle wildly laughing at him with his goofy comments and sweetness.

He even laughed at himself, and Akiva felt warm inside.  How long had it been since they'd had one of these moments? It always seemed like something was going on, something to rip them away from happy little things. 

These happy little things though, Akiva cherished.  She was so glad she had thought of it - after all, after long, it wouldn't just be the two of them anymore.  There'd be the little Eleor in the world, and he or she would consume much of their time - hopefully followed by several more Eleors along the way. 

But, that was getting far ahead of herself, and honestly, she didn't even know how she would deal with one - it was all very new to her, obviously, and would be for Dreogan too.  And she shook her head, "I like this better too," she murmured against his neck, hugging him close and breathing in the scent of his cologne.  She loved his smell, and let out a deep sigh. 

The baby kicked and she laughed a little, shaking her head.  "No occasion," she smiled, her nose wrinkling as she did.  "Just because I love you," she kissed the tip of his nose and laughed, "and I thought we deserved it."  She reluctantly moved out of his arms and grabbed the tin foil packages from the table. 

"What do you say to being a little adventurous?" she raised her eyebrows, trying not to smile too wide (failing miserably, at that), "Dessert before dinner?"

"Love you, too," he said softly what was the automatic response these days. Whenever Akiva entered the room, whenever Akiva left it, the baby kicked, or they were cuddling, or he caught a glimpse of her across the room...  He hoped she never got tired of hearing it.  He felt his heart beat a bit faster, feeling the fluttering response from Baby Eleor and he grinned. 
 
"Adventurous?" Dreogan asked, chuckling as he looked at the tinfoil bundles--which didn't seem too adventurous.  "What did you put-in-" He grinned when he listened to her proposal.
 
"I don't know," his voice adopting a lilting skepticism. "That sounds like a lot of spontenaeity and change and unpredictability all at once..."  He pulled her in for another kiss. "But no.  I won't say no to a little dessert," he said, twirling her back out.  He glanced at her curiously, wondering if they would need to go back into the kitchen, or if they'd settle into the chairs.  Dreogan was hungry, though, and before long, he'd want whatever was in those packages. 
 
Leaning down to start the fire with his wand, Dreogan felt a brief lament that he hadn't thought to hook the firepit up to a gas line, or. . . or had some kindling on hand to start a fire with matches.  There was a certain genuineness and a feeling of wholesomeness that came from doing things the Muggle way...
 
After muttering a mild incendio, Dreogan reached back, holding his hand out for the packages.  In an off-handed tone, he said, "I wonder... it's almost been six months... Do you think we ought to determine whether Baby Eleor's a he or a she?"
 
Dreogan was, for the most part, a plan-eight-months-in-advance, but he had to admit, his wedding had been planned rather hastily (even postponed a couple of months, in fact), and, well they hadn't planned on having this child, but here he--or she--was, joining them for this backyard bonfire.  "I mean," he added, straightening and surveying his work, "it's not strictly necessary--" he glanced back at her, "but it might be nice to... get things in order before he--or she--arrives." That would mean more shopping. Maybe more registries, probably a baby shower, more questions about which names they would choose--
 
Dreogan was beginning to remember why they'd put it off for so long. "There will be a lot to take in, all at once, on Baby Eleor's birth day, is all..." he said, returning to her side and kissing the top of her head.  "But, Ms. Adventurous, I think we can handle whatever comes our way: whatever you want."

Akiva was pleased, more pleased than she had been in some time.  She giggled with him, putting her hands on his shoulders and leaning up to kiss his nose as he told her he loved her, and then his lips to seal the deal.  He was adorable, and she was very sure she never wanted to stop thinking that way. 

Picking up the tinfoil packages, she smiled.  "Well," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him - at least she tried to - she was not quite skilled in the art of eyebrow wiggling, but she did try.  "Here we have bananas filled with marshmallows and chocolate chips," she held up one little package in one hand, and then held up the other, "these are s'mores." 

"I know it might be a little bit much for you," she tried to keep a straight face, but was woefully unable to do so, breaking into a broad grin as he leaned down to light the fire, "but I think I can get you through it - if you want to, of course," she put them back down on the table and ghosted her fingers up his back as he started to speak. 

Her husband brought up something interesting.  She licked her bottom lip and kept her hand on  his back as he started to stand.  "I hadn't considered it," she thought out loud, putting her hand on the swell of her abdomen. 

Did she want to know?  She knew he liked to be prepared, if everything had gone according to plan, they would have known the exact moment she would become pregnant months before it was actually going to happen and it would have been years down the road.  Of course, nothing had really gone according to plan, they both acknowledged with laughter most of the time, and she bought herself some time to think.

Putting the wrapped packages on the grill over the fire, Akiva continued to consider.  "I don't know," she said contemplatively.  "There are certain benefits to knowing," she turned and draped her arms over his shoulders - the growing bump definitely putting a bit of space between them, she had to reach further nowadays for such contact, thinking of all the things they could do if they knew: pick the name for certain, decorate the room, buy clothing - but they didn't necessarily have to wait to do any of those things.  There were gender-neutral things they could do, and Akiva wasn't sure how she felt about pigeon-holing their child into a gendered existence too early..."I think the surprise wouldn't be so bad." 

"It'd be fun," she considered, "not knowing until it's happening."  She leaned her head on  his shoulder.  "But if it meant a lot to you, particularly because we've had quite few surprises in the past couple of months, I wouldn't be against it."  She kissed his cheek, wrinkling her nose at him, "you need to shave," she said fondly, rubbing his arm playfully. 

Akiva made a case for Not Knowing--indicating a preference, but left it to him.  But he'd just made a case for Knowing. And had left it to her.

They often played at this: the Whatever-You-Want game.  And often times, it was a negotiating game, between a their priority--which seemed, for both of them, to make the other person happy--and the person's own wants.  But this time, it felt more like a need.  He looked fretful a moment, wrestling with a deeply buried anxiety.  It was more than just a need to be prepared. A hesitancy to break form and have dessert before dinner.  This was not a fear of not knowing.

This was, quite simply, a fear of not knowing his child.  "Yes," he said, finally, giving a bit of a sad smile as he kissed her temple.  "I'd like to know.  Get as involved and into it as soon as we can."  Not that they weren't already involved parents.  Most of their conversations these days referred quite generously to Baby Eleor, as though Baby Eleor were already around.  And, he guessed, he--or she--was.  Right there, between them.

This reassured him somewhat. Yes, Dreogan was already very much a father, and he didn't necessarily need to know the child yet to know what the child meant to him.   "Would..." Dreogan very seldom asked directly for anything; it felt very selfish, somehow.  "... that be alright?  We could go to St. Mungo's together.  Any time in the week."  He meant this week.  Tomorrow, if they could.  Why did this feel so urgent? Why did his heart feel like it was suddenly racing?

He gave a light, nervous laugh to relieve the tension.  Halt the panic.  "I thought you liked the scruff," he chimed in--even if she'd made the off-handed comment a couple of minutes ago.

It became immediately obvious that this was not just about planning.  Dreogan's mirth was only surface level, his eyes were anxious and there was something below the surface, bubbling.  She knew he was prone to anxiety, she knew as much from haphazard sleeping, and the fact that she cooked for him was probably the only reason he ever ate. 

It saddened her a little, to think there was something pressing in the back of his mind, that made him feel the need to know and rush.  Granted, the life they were living was not a conventional one - newlywed, starting a family, and dealing with huge professional changes at the same time. 

But, she understood, to some degree, and smiled at his request - so hesitantly asked for.  "Dree," she soothed, reaching up to play with one of his messy curls, curling it about her finger, and then smoothing it down again.  The fresh baby pink paint on her nail contrasting against the darkness of his hair.  "That would be absolutely alright." 

Her hand slid down, rubbing his cheek with the soft back, she smiled at him adoringly.  "It doesn't matter to me," she turned her hand and brushed her thumb over the expanse of his cheek, catching the corner of his lip.  He looked so anxious... she hadn't done this so he could be anxious.   

"Here," she offered in a soft voice, hoping the color on his face would subside, it looked like he was on the verge of panic, and she didn't want that.  "Sit," she smiled as her hand fell to meet his and she pulled him toward the chairs near the fire.  She situated him in front of one and grabbed the arm of the other, dragging the surprisingly light chair closer so that when she managed to awkwardly sit down, their knees could touch. 

Reaching over, she gave his knee a gentle squeeze.  "My schedule," she smiled a little, "is far more flexible than yours.  Whenever you're free, I'll go."  She licked her lips though, gazing away momentarily before deciding it was time to be brave, and ask the question that needed to be asked.  She had been learning a lot about being brave recently, and this was as good a time as any. 

"I know," she started, still soft and imploring, "this isn't just about planning.  What's the matter, Dree?"

The feeling of her finger in his hair could not have had the effect she was expecting.  Dreogan stiffened, pulling a protective arm around her as he clenched his jaw.  This was not about--this, what this was about was him needing to protect his wife and child.  And even if he feared failure, success could only come through determination.  And that feather-soft touch reminded him not of what he had to lose, but what he had to do.

He settled down close to her, leaning in. "My schedule is as flexible as you need it to be. Always," he said, stubbornly.  "This family's the most important thing to me."  He lightened his tone a bit, smiling.  "But Tuesday works well."

"This is about planning," he insisted firmly, reaching out to grasp her hand tightly.  "It is just about planning for more than baby names." It was about giving him things to do, in order to distract from what he felt.  To even, possibly, prevent a cause for this fear.  "One never knows exactly what the future will hold," he said, with a sadly ironic smile, "but from what indicators I've had... we've both had--" it did not take a Seer to realize that Terry's retaliation was not going anywhere, with the sort of persistence he'd demonstrated, "it won't be easy.  And I want to do all I can to be as involved as I can," he repeated, "with us, with Baby Eleor--with our family." While he could. 

"I want to make sure you're taken care of, that I'm doing everything I can.  Just in case."

It was impossible to keep the larger world out of their life together, no matter how much Akiva wished it wasn't.  The bubble they secured for themselves in this protective space only stretched as far as the manicured lawn, and outside of that, it was a freely moving world. 

She smiled at him, reassuring and understanding.  She hadn't meant to assert that it wasn't important to him, of course, and she knew he understood that - he just wanted to say it, for both of their sakes, she imagined. It was nice to hear, anyway, and she leaned into him, breathing deep.  "Tuesday is perfect." 

Tuesday could have been lifetimes away in that moment though.  It would bring a... sort of real smack to them, to know for certain.  She rested her hand on the curvature of her stomach, watching the rise and fall with one eye while the other was trained on her husband.  It was scary, it made it so much more... real, which was hard to explain, even to herself.

With this little person living in her, it wasn't as though she wasn't constantly aware of his or her presence, but it would be so much more real, to have a name and not have to refer to Baby Eleor as such, but rather his or her future name - the finality of it - she shivered, taking his hand and squeezing back, clinging to him, hoping maybe she could hold him in place for a minute, before he drifted into thought.

There were words unspoken in Dree's little confession.  It was almost all of his thoughts, of course, but little things - worries - were silently slipped in between phrases.  The way he smiled and gripped her hand told her as much.  Maybe it was just the hormones, but she felt her eyes welling up.  She gave his hand a tight squeeze and pushed the impulse to cry back.  She couldn't do that - dissolve into tears, even if she wanted to.  No, it wasn't the time for that.

She nodded resolutely, making sure her voice wouldn't waver, "I never expected easy," her lips quirked into a smile, a soft laugh shaking her shoulders, she hadn't expected easy in a long time, particularly after she got to know him and his dreams - big, encompassing.  She was swept up in them as much as she was in him.   

It didn't appear he was exactly looking at the short term as cake either, and another pain seized her heart as he talked about just in case.  She hated just in case, and Akiva did not throw around hate easily.  "You are," she reassured him, removing her free hand from her stomach and clasping it over their entwined fingers, "I just want you to know that."  She don't think she could have adored him anymore than she did, and it stung, to know that she couldn't just tell him he was being silly and that they could move on - that would be naive, and they had had enough of that to last a lifetime at this point. 

"I trust you, and," she added with an extra squeeze, meeting his eyes.  "I have faith."  Which, though it made have sounded naive, was perhaps the strongest inclination of Akiva's understanding of not only Dree's capabilities, but also of the way things were supposed to happen.  She had to have faith that it would unfurl as it was supposed to.  "Plus, an excellent - albeit demanding -  self defense instructor," she added to make the exchange slightly more light-hearted after a confession of that magnitude.  If anyone was going to force her to take care of herself, it was Raizel.