Elain lays out a tiny little pumpkin with two bigger pumpkins as a way to tell Azriel she's pregnant but he doesn't get it. Happy Fall!
Ship/Trope: Elriel x pregnancy announcement (modern au) A/N: This prompt makes me want to cry tears of joy. Happy Fall! I hope you like it! T/W: none
Elain looked at the little table she had sitting in the entryway. She had arranged the pumpkins in at least thirty different ways, finding flaws in each arrangement, but finally settled on the way the pumpkins were lined now. With her head cocked to the side, she sighed.
She had tossed in some flowers, making the pumpkins pop among the baby's breath and broomcorn. If she hadn't been so nervous, she would have thought the display was cute as hell. Yet, she felt nauseous as every long, agonizing second on the clock ticked by.
Azriel should be home any minute.
She wished he would hurry.
Elain typically considered herself a pretty patient woman. But now? Every second that passed made her anxiety grow. She had only found out the news the day before and she had been planning to tell him that night, but he had gotten home so late from work and she was already asleep by the time he rolled through the door. She figured that this announcement should be more than a simple roll over in bed and muttered, "Hey, I'm pregnant."
Being the first of October, Elain had recently gone on a pumpkin rampage. She had gone to the pumpkin patch, Azriel in tow, and filled a wagon with pumpkins of all different shapes and sizes. The three she had chosen went from one of the biggest, to one in the middle, then the tiniest one she had gotten to place in the arrangement on their kitchen table.
For now, the three pumpkins sat together on the entryway table. The biggest one to represent Azriel, the mid-sized one to represent herself, then the tiniest to represent how their love had come together and made something far more beautiful then her mind could comprehend.
Elain had just sat down on the couch when she heard her husband's car pull into the driveway. She was instantly on her feet, checking herself in the half-bath's mirror, then waiting by the front door to see his reaction when he caught her display.
The front door opened.
Azriel stepped inside.
And he instantly froze, staring at Elain who was waiting in the foyer, wearing the cutest of dresses with a smile on her face.
He blinked. "Hey."
"Hi," she beamed. "How was your day?"
"Good," he said, slowly, setting his keys down on the table by her pumpkin display. "Yours?"
"Good," she said, a little too quickly. He went to step further inside but she blocked his path. "Do you notice anything different?"
Azriel's eyes grazed down Elain's body. "Um...new dress?"
It was, but she shook her head. "Look again."
Azriel huffed a laugh before looking around him. "Uhh...babe, I'm sorry, but I'm so tired. I have no idea."
Elain's smile faltered. "Are you sure?" She gestured to her pumpkins, hoping to make it painfully obvious.
Azriel stared at the pumpkins for a few seconds before giving her a smile. "Oh, of course, you put out the pumpkins. They look great, babe."
He went to step further inside but Elain blocked his path, once more. "Is there anything that you notice about my pumpkins?"
Azriel's sleepy smile wavered as he looked at the pumpkins, once more. Elain could tell that he was trying his best, even after his long day at work. "They're....all....round?"
"No. Well, yeah, but look at the sizes--"
"They're all orange," he stated, gesturing to the pumpkins with a hand on his hip. "I mean, that's nice--"
"I'm pregnant," Elain blurted.
Azriel froze, eyes darting to Elain. For a minute, they watched one another in silence. "What?"
"I'm pregnant," she breathed, eyes welling up with tears. "That's what the little pumpkin was supposed to represent. A baby, Az, I'm having a baby. We're having a baby."
Azriel's eyes fluttered to the pumpkin, then back to Elain. "We're having a baby?"
Elain nodded as her tears welled and spilled over, onto her cheeks. "Yeah, we're having a baby."
She feared his reaction as he said nothing but then he stepped forward and took his wife into his arms, sweeping her off the ground. Spinning her around, he peppered her lips and neck with kisses as she laughed, her arms around his neck.
Once he set her back on the ground, he leaned back, eyes lined with tears. There were very few times that Elain saw Azriel get emotional: at their wedding the first time he saw her, every year on the anniversary of his mother's death, and now. A tear fell down his cheek and crossed the smile that was beautifully displayed on his lips.
"You're sure?" he whispered, and Elain's heart beat a little bit faster as she nodded. When he kissed her this time, it was soft and sweet and gentle. "You have no idea how happy I am."
"Me too," she promised, and Azriel looked back at her little pumpkin display with a smile before brushing her hair back and holding her close against his chest.
Elain could see it, could see the future. A baby, half her and half him, with two loving parents that would do anything for them. Azriel would be a fantastic father, Elain had no doubt. She couldn't wait to watch him fill that role.
Completely forgetting his exhaustion, Azriel led Elain further inside and to the couch, where he pulled her onto his lap and they talked about that future that would soon be theirs.
