Summary: you are home for the holidays, and you bring your boyfriend, Asa, with you. You are pregnant and have to find a way to tell him before anyone else does.
You groaned to yourself as the motion sickness set in. Your boyfriend, Asa, looked over at you as you moved forward in your queue. Being a Canadian citizen, you were in a different queue than Asa, who was in the queue for foreign travellers. He gave you a small smile, which you returned.
As you moved along in the customs line, you found yourself feeling more nauseated than before. By the time you had left the line, you immediately b-lined for the bathroom, quickly spilling whatever was left in your stomach into the toilet. A few tears spilled down your cheeks as you heaved.
"Is anyone else in there?" you heard Asa call into the bathroom.
"No," you croaked before your head dipped back down towards the toilet.
You could hear him walk into the quiet bathroom, quickly finding you holding onto the toilet seat for dear life.
"You okay?" he asked, rubbing your back as you took a few deep breaths.
You gulped, nodding. "Yeah."
"You're never this sick when we travel," he sighed. "Did you eat something off?"
You shrugged as you wiped your mouth with a wad of toilet paper. "I don't know Ace."
You couldn't tell him the real reason that you were like this. It was true that you usually had motion sickness when you flew, but this time was different. You were pregnant; a discovery that you yourself had only made a few days ago during a check-up. You also found out late as you were almost 4 months in; it didn't seem to show until a month or two ago, but you figured it was because of your bad appetite. You hadn't found the time to tell him with him having been away until last night, when he met you at the airport for you to board the plane here.
"We can get you some tablets on the way there," he said as you washed your hands.
You simply nodded, looking up at your reflection in the mirror. Your eyes were bloodshot and you couldn't help but touch the dark circles that had formed under your eyes. Exams had been a week or two ago, and you hadn't fully recovered from your lack of sleep.
The two of you walked out, dragging behind your luggage. People gave you two strange looks, but you couldn't be bothered to care.
You quickly made it out of the gate, and you were quickly waved over by your friend, Luke, who you had asked to pick you up. He was bundled up in a thick jacket and scarf, a toque covering his long blonde hair.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, pulling you into a hug as soon as you were within arm's reach.
"Hey Luke," you said, happily hugging him back.
His hug lasted longer than they normally did, and he looked at you strangely when he pulled away. Could he tell? Asa couldn't even tell.
"Hey man, I'm Luke. It's great to finally meet you," Luke said, holding a hand out for Asa.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Asa," he introduced.
Luke looked between the two of you for a moment before a wide smile broke out on his face.
"We should get out of here before it gets any busier."
You sat in the back seat of the car with Asa as Luke drove away from the airport, smoothly driving down the highway.
"Luke," Asa said, cutting the silence that had been lingering in the car for almost half an hour. "Can we stop at a pharmacy to pick up some Advil for y/n? She's been sick since we got off."
Luke looked at you through the rear-view mirror, nodding. "Yeah, sure. Does the one on Main sound good?"
You glared at him. He knew that you hated that drugstore. You had once gone in for a flu shot, and they ended up giving you three more unnecessary shots. Even after that, you ended up catching the flu. You refused to ever go back to that store, terrified of that pharmacist.
"No. Go to the one on John."
"John Street is on the other side of the intersection," Luke whined.
You raised an eyebrow. "I think Anna is still interning there, so I'll go talk to her about whatever's happening."
"I thought Anna went to England with you," Luke said, turning into the drugstore parking lot.
You shook your head. "She backed out last minute."
You remembered that first year that you moved to London, when you had to find a roommate within a month or you'd risk your entire exchange trip. Which is when you had met Asa, who was looking for a place to stay as well.
"Oh."
You unlocked the car door and stepped out into the cold Canadian winter that you had been spared from the last couple of months. Asa stepped out as well, the door closing behind him cutting through the otherwise quiet parking lot.
You both quickly went inside, thankful when the warm air hit your frozen face. You smiled as you caught sight of your friend on the other end of the store.
"Hey Annie," you said, walking up to the counter.
Her face lit up when she looked up.
"Y/n!" she exclaimed, reaching over the counter to hug you, but to no avail.
She walked around the counter before pulling you into a tight hug.
"When did you get here?" she asked, excitedly.
"About an hour ago. I'm visiting for the holidays," you explained.
"Did you bring the boyfriend?" she asked, quietly.
You turned around, pointing over to Asa who was looking through a collection of greeting cards on a rack.
Anna's eyes widened. "Damn y/n! He's gorgeous."
You figured that Asa had heard you two as he looked over at you, giving you both a smile before walking over. His arms wrapped around you in a hug as Anna gushed beside you.
"Did you just come here to see me?" she asked, walking back behind the counter.
"Y/n has been pretty sick all afternoon. Do you have anything for her?" Asa said, giving her the signature smile that always drew you to him.
Anna nodded, reaching underneath the counter.
"Are you pregnant?"
The question made the colour drain from your face, almost immediately.
"She isn't," Asa said, before you could answer.
Anna took one look at you and she nodded. You knew that she knew; your face gave it away. Thankfully, Asa was behind you and was unable to see your face.
"Here you go," she said, pushing a light blue bottle towards you. "This should help. Check in with my mom if nothing clears up."
You smiled, handing her a twenty-dollar bill. "Thanks."
"How long are you in town?" she asked, putting the money into the cash register.
"About a week," you answered.
"We should have lunch before you leave," she said. "I'd love to catch up."
You nodded, giving her a quick smile. "Come on Ace, we should go."
You and Asa quietly walked out together, the icy wind hitting you like a tonne of bricks. You reached down onto the pavement, picking up some freshly fallen snow. You clumped it in your hands, letting some of it melt from the heat of your hands. You tossed it in Asa's direction, where it hit him on the shoulder.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, although, it was muffled by his scarf.
You laughed as you made your way to the car, Luke watching the two of you from the driver's seat.
"Did you get your drugs?" he asked as you slipped into the backseat.
You nodded.
"Was Anna there?"
"Yeah, why?"
He shrugged. "No reason."
The two of you glanced at each other through the rear-view mirror and you smirked. Luke had the biggest crush on Anna since you were kids, and he never built up to asking her out. He seemed down when the both of you announced your departure to the UK, but it seemed that Anna never told him that she was still here. He had left town to go to university as well, making their communication almost impossible.
The rest of the ride was silent, and you could soon see the ever so familiar house at the end of the street; the one that you had lived in for your entire life up until two years ago.
You and Asa unloaded your stuff from the back of the car and carried it through the thick blanket of snow that covered the driveway.
You offered Luke a coffee for his efforts, which he gratefully accepted. You fished in your pocket for your house key, quickly opening the door when you found it. You pushed the door open, and the heat overwhelmed you as you stepped inside.
"Mom? Dad? Bea? Benjie? Jess? Anyone?" you called into the seemingly empty home. It was just around 4 o'clock now; there should be at least one person home; not to mention, it was also a Saturday.
You pulled off your jacket and hung it in the closet, handing a hanger to Luke and Asa. You gave a questioning glance to Luke as you passed him walking into the living room. It was also empty.
"Did they go on vacation?" you asked, as you walked towards the kitchen.
As you opened the door, you were greeted by a large group of people, huddled over top of a table of food.
"Welcome home y/n!" they exclaimed, excitedly running up to you. There were aunts and uncles, cousins and friends; everyone that you had missed when you were in the UK.
Your older sister, Bea, was the first one to hug you, having clambered over a few chairs to get to you.
"Hey Bea," you giggled, happily hugging her tightly.
"Hey little sis," your older brother, Benjie, said, pulling you away from Bea and into his grasp.
"Hey Benjie," you exclaimed, hugging him as well.
Benjie's gaze quickly shifted from you to the kitchen door, where Asa and Luke were.
"You must be Asa," he said.
As soon as he said that, the noise level dropped significantly. So much so that an eerie silence was left in its place. You knew your family was skeptical of him, even going so far to assume that he wasn't even going to come back with you. But to be fair, he did work a lot, even more so now. It was a miracle for your scheduling to finally work out.
Asa looked around, noticing the silence. He looked at you awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to the sudden attention.
"Guys, this is Asa," you said, looping your arm through his. "My boyfriend."
Your father walked over, which made your heart skip a beat. He held out his hand to Asa, who nervously looked at it before shaking it.
"Welcome to the family."
The early dinner was well underway, and you were glad to be home. You hadn't seen so many of these people in so long, that it felt kind of good to be here. You went upstairs to get something from your suitcase to show Bea, but you ended up having to rest on the bed after another bout of nausea overcame you.
"Y/n?" Bea asked, walking into the bedroom. "Are you okay?"
You shook your head. "I think I caught something before I came over," you lied.
Bea gave you a knowing look.
"Y/n, you've never been good at lying," she said.
You sighed. "Fine, I guess I've been caught."
"Have you told him yet?" she asked, as you sat up in the bed.
You shook your head. "I wanted to tell him in person, but he got back from filming last night. And then we had the flight, and I just never found the time to."
Bea looked at you, sympathetically.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same boat," she said, laying down next to you.
She was only two years older than you, making her 23, which was still young to be having a child as well. You knew that her boyfriend, James, would be a great father, no matter his age.
"Benjie's going to kill us," you sighed, staring at the ceiling.
"We're adults now. And either way, I'm 3 minutes older than him, so he can back off," Bea chuckled.
Benjie was always protective of the two of you, being his only sisters. He liked to screen all of your's and Bea's boyfriends before you went on a proper date, to make sure that they were the "right fit". You having met Asa in the UK proved difficult for Benjie, as this would be the first time that they would come face to face; but you were sure that they were getting along.
"You've got to tell Asa, y/n," she said, a hand on her stomach, where she was beginning to grow as well. "Before it gets too messy."
"Tell me what?"
You sat up looking over at the door, with Asa standing there.
"And that's my cue to leave," Bea muttered, quickly getting up and leaving the room, shutting the door behind the two of you.
"Tell me what y/n?" he repeated, sitting down on the bed next to you. You bit your lip, considering your approach to this.
You could tell that he was getting nervous.
"I'm pregnant?" It came out more like a question than a statement, but no matter, it was out.
"You're pregnant?"
"Yes."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Like right now?"
"Yes. Right now."
He took in a deep breath, laying back on the freshly made bed. "How far along are you?" he asked, his eyes closed.
"Four months," you said, quietly.
He immediately sprang up, looking at you. "You waited four months to tell me that you were pregnant?"
"I found out last week,"
"And you never bothered to tell me?"
"You were busy Ace! I didn't want to take away from your job," you said, quietly shrinking back.
"Y/n, these aren't the types of things that you should be hiding from me," he said, sighing. "Hell, you shouldn't be hiding anything from me at all!"
"I'm sorry Asa," you said, your hands over your face, covering your teary eyes. "I didn't know how to tell you. It was just so new to me."
He pulled you into a hug, his chin resting on your forehead.
"I'm sorry. Please don't cry," he whispered rocking the both of you gently. "I'm happy about it, I really am."
"You are?" you sniffled, wiping a stray tear from your eye.
"I knew we'd have a family together from the moment I laid eyes on you y/n. It's just happening a bit earlier than I expected. I thought I'd be able to give you this first," he said fishing around for something in his pocket.
"What is it?" you asked, curiously.
"You have to move your hands away to find out," he chuckled.
You spread your fingers apart, looking through the gaps. Laying in his hand was a simple silver ring.
"I know you don't like diamonds and stuff, so I hope this will do," he said, taking one of your hands in his. "Y/n, will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course!" you said, excited.
"Good, because this would be really awkward if you said no," he said, sliding the ring on your finger.
"I love you," you said, pecking him on the lips.
"I love you too," he said, smiling. He placed a hand on your stomach. "Both of you."