𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ── 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅!𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊 ── 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇 ── 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕 𝒘/ 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 ── 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 ── 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕!𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊 ── 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 ── 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 ── 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚 ── 𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 “𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕” ── 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒅!𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 ── 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅!𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 ── 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉 ── 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 ── 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 ♡
The apartment was too quiet.
Not the comfortable kind of quiet Nanami preferred after work—the kind filled with the rustle of newspapers, the low hum of the kettle, and his steady breathing beside you on the couch.
No, this silence felt sharp.
You stared at the tiny white stick sitting on the bathroom counter like it had personally betrayed you.
Your hands trembled as you sank onto the closed toilet lid, one palm flattening over your stomach instinctively.
A laugh almost escaped you, except it turned into something dangerously close to crying.
Because this wasn’t supposed to happen now.
Not when Nanami had only recently started sleeping through the night without jolting awake from missions. Not when he had finally begun letting himself believe in a future that extended beyond surviving week to week.
Not when he looked at you like you were the safest thing in his life.
The front door clicked open.
You nearly jumped out of your skin.
Nanami’s voice drifted through the apartment, calm and warm and achingly familiar.
“In the bathroom,” you managed weakly.
His footsteps approached immediately. Measured. Unhurried. The same way he approached everything in life.
Then a pause outside the door.
You opened the door before he could ask again.
Nanami stood there in his usual suit, tie loosened slightly, blond hair falling over tired eyes. The moment he saw your face, every trace of exhaustion disappeared.
His hands were on your shoulders instantly.
You shook your head too fast.
“No, no—it’s nothing bad, I just…”
“That generally concerns me.”
Even now, he sounded so painfully composed that another hysterical laugh bubbled out of you.
His expression softened immediately.
The nickname nearly destroyed your remaining composure.
He guided you toward the bed, large hands steady against your waist. Nanami knelt in front of you once you sat down, still wearing his work clothes because he clearly hadn’t even thought about himself yet.
“You’re frightening me a little,” he admitted quietly.
Your fingers twisted together.
You had imagined this moment a hundred different ways.
Maybe with a tiny pair of baby shoes wrapped in a box.
Not you looking like you’d witnessed the apocalypse in oversized sleep clothes.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” you whispered.
Nanami’s brows pulled together.
You grabbed his hand slowly and pressed it against your stomach.
For a second, he simply looked confused.
His eyes widened almost imperceptibly.
Nanami Kento was not a man easily shaken. You had seen him stare down curses without blinking.
Now he looked utterly speechless.
The clock in the kitchen ticked loudly.
Your heart pounded so hard it hurt.
“I know this is sudden,” you rushed out. “And maybe terrible timing and I know your work is dangerous and I know we haven’t really talked about children seriously yet and—”
Then suddenly his hands cupped your face.
Like you were something unbearably precious.
“Why,” he said softly, voice rougher than before, “would you think this is bad news?”
“I just… I didn’t know if you wanted this.”
Nanami looked genuinely stricken.
He exhaled shakily through his nose before pressing his forehead against yours.
“You think I wouldn’t want a family with you?”
Tears spilled immediately.
Because hearing it out loud shattered something inside your chest.
Nanami closed his eyes briefly.
“I won’t pretend I’m not terrified,” he admitted. “The world is cruel. My job is cruel.”
His thumb brushed beneath your eye, wiping away tears with impossible gentleness.
“But you carrying our child…”
You had never heard that happen before.
“It may be the happiest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Nanami immediately pulled you against him, wrapping both arms around you securely.
“There you are,” he murmured into your hair. “Please don’t cry like this alone again.”
You clutched his shirt tightly.
You laughed wetly against his chest.
He sighed softly, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m unhappy.”
Another long silence settled between you, this one warm and full instead of frightening.
Then quietly, almost shyly, Nanami knelt again in front of you.
His hand rested carefully over your stomach.
A look crossed his face you had never seen before—pure awe.
“…There’s really a baby in there.”
You smiled through tears.
Nanami huffed a breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
Then he leaned down and pressed the gentlest kiss against your stomach through your shirt.
The gesture was so tender it nearly made you cry all over again.
“You’re both under my protection now,” he said quietly.
And somehow, with Nanami looking at you like that, you believed nothing in the world could ever harm you again.
