Chapter Text
The couple was still in shock from what they found out. After being in each other’s arms for what felt like forever, Vincenzo led her to the couch. She snuggled to him and placed her head on his chest. With all the worry gone, and the exhaustion from the emotional rollercoaster she found herself in the last few days, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. When she woke up, the opera was softly playing on their TV and he was absentmindedly caressing her upper arm. She moved her head and he immediately checked on her and found her awake.
“I’m sorry Tesoro Mio. Did I wake you?”
She shook her head.
“We should eat. Do you have a preference? Are you craving something now? That’s how it works right?”
She chuckled. Her consigliere is starting to become the super worried husband and it hasn’t been a day. She would tease him, but she was too tired and too comfortable in his arms. So she just shook her head and snuggled closer to him.
“I’m not hungry. I’d rather stay like this than eat.”
“We shouldn’t be skipping meals though tesoro mio, especially you.”
She looked at the clock and noticed that it’s past their usual dinner time.
“But it’s so late. I’d rather sleep. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You looked so peaceful while you were sleeping. I couldn’t bear to wake you up.”
“Hmmmm,” she hummed in agreement.
“Let’s order something light so we can sleep right after,” he said as he took out his phone.
He opened the food delivery app and scrolled through their options. He showed her several restaurants and she would just pout and shake her head. When he finally showed her a restaurant that she likes, she got excited and took the phone from him. She then selected several dishes muttering “ohhh I want this” and “let’s get this one as well” in the process. He just looked at her with an amused grin.
They were waiting for their food delivery to arrive. Vincenzo resumed watching the opera, while she was lost in her thoughts.
“Jagiya.”
“Hmmm,” he responded, while turning his face towards her and pressing the mute button on the remote. She will probably ask him if they can watch something else so what she said surprised him.
“Can we keep this between us for a while. We weren’t even considering having children. And I wanted to get used to the idea first. Plus, I’m sure you don’t want the tenants getting all excited. I think that would be too overwhelming for the both of us.”
He nodded and smiled. He tightened his hold on her as he kissed her forehead. His wife knows him too well. He knew she was doing this more for him.
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The following day, they went about their regular routine. When the couple arrived at the office, Mr. Nam asked if Cha Young was okay. Vincenzo replied that she has a stomach bug, and that he would be accompanying her to the doctor for a quick check-up in the afternoon.
The next day started the same until they went for a coffee run. Cha Young accompanied Vincenzo and they talked about different strategies and plans for the case that they are working on. Vincenzo carried the coffee while keeping an eye on his wife whose steps have more bounce to it than usual. When they arrived back at the office, Vincenzo distributed the drinks, and placed a parfait beside Cha Young’s iced americano. This surprised her because she can’t recall him getting the parfait. She gave him a questioning look and he just replied, “you have to eat.”
The following day it was a croissant. By the third day, she figured that he will be getting her a snack everyday and so she might as well tell him what she wants to eat that day. She was craving a flan so she made him drive to the cafe rather than the usual one a couple of blocks away. Once it was his turn to order, she pointed to the flan in the glass display case. He just smirked at her and told the cashier to wrap a slice.
Then there was the day she needed a file from the shelf behind him. It was on the top most section. As soon as she tried to reach it, he stood up and held her waist.
“Don’t try to reach for it. Tell me which file you need and I will get it for you.”
“I can reach it. It’s just that one,” she said as she tried to reach for the file again.
“Cha Young-a, I’ll do it,” he said and reached for it. He has a frown on his face and him calling her Cha Young-a let her know he meant business. From then on, Cha Young let her husband know if she ever needed a file. Of course, she could also ask Mr. Nam, but Vincenzo is closer to the files and her and well; she loves it whenever he comes by - occasionally giving her a kiss on her forehead whenever Mr. Nam is out or not looking.
When her morning sickness started, Vincenzo fought the urge to run after her whenever she stood up and rushed to the washroom. He gripped the arm of his chair as he frowned and worried about her. When she comes back, she sees him with a worried look on his face and she would reassure him that she is okay without saying anything. No words were needed as they’ve already learned how to communicate through facial expressions when they were fighting Babel.
And then there was the incident at the courthouse. After Babel’s defeat, Vincenzo never set foot inside the courthouse. He would,however, pick her up after a court appearance as he knows how hungry she gets during those days. Vincenzo thought about breaking that tradition one day.
The couple was sitting on their bathroom floor, a usual occurrence in the mornings. She groaned, she needed to get up, but the entire room was still spinning. She fought it though and tried to get up only to hold on to Vincenzo as soon as the room started spinning again.
“What are you doing?”
“I have a court appearance today.”
He nodded in understanding. She can’t possibly miss this court date as they’ve been preparing extensively for it.
“I’m coming with you”
So he sat in the gallery. She was taking deep breaths. He can tell by the movement of her shoulders. He took a deep breath to calm himself as well. After the judge walked in and she was once again seated, she took a sip of her water, more deep breaths. She kept sipping water. He started to get increasingly worried. He loosened his tie. He doesn’t know how long both of them will last. He knew how important the case is to her and how much their team prepared for this trial but he was worried that she might faint at any given moment. When she stood up to provide her statement, she gripped the desk and spoke slowly. He wasn’t able to take it anymore and texted Mr. Cho. A minute later, the fire alarm went off and the people started evacuating. Vincenzo opened the swinging divider to let Cha Young out to the gallery. Once she’s in the gallery, he draped his arm around her back, while the other held her hand. He led her out of the courthouse and into their car, walking carefully to make sure that the movement doesn’t make her more nauseous.
The minute they reached their car, Cha Young was dry heaving and Vincenzo was by her side, stroking her back and holding her hair. Once she was done, he opened the passenger door and assisted her in getting in. He opened the bottle of water and handed her some crackers hoping that it might help her. Feeling better, she closed her eyes.
She groaned when she felt the car moving, thinking that she was getting nauseous again. But when she opened her eyes, they were driving away from the courthouse.
“Where are we going? The trial is not over. I need to go back there. They might be restarting soon.”
“It will be postponed. The fire alarm system is broken so the building will not be up to code until at least tomorrow.”
“You broke the fire alarm system?!? But...we prepared so hard for this.”
“I know. But you are clearly not feeling well. ‘I’d rather we walk away with a draw than risk you passing out in the middle of an argument. It will not help our chances, but given the circumstances, this is the best course of action. Plus, you need to see a doctor tesoro mio. This can’t be healthy for your and the baby.”
Cha Young sighed. Vincenzo is right. And even if she wanted to argue, she knew she would not win this one.
After a chat with the doctor, they discovered that the late night super spicy ramyeon was the culprit. Vincenzo promised the doctor that he will keep a closer eye on her diet.
Cha Young never had a really bad case of morning sickness after that. The trial was rescheduled a week later. Vincenzo didn’t feel the need to go with her that day, but he did drop her off and picked her up. That night, when they were having dinner after her court appearance, Vincenzo’s phone rang.
It was Luca.