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Asuna sat alone at the dinner table in their room. She was wearing one of her favorite red dresses and her long hair was pinned up. Staring absentmindedly at the candleholder in front of her, she uneasily shifted in her seat, so many things running through her head, and not only pleasant ones.
The whole day just felt off to her. It already started in the morning when she was so tired she had preferred to replace her breakfast with more sleep. Not to mention that she wasn't really hungry either, not even later at lunchtime.
She more or less faked a good mood in front of everyone, including her husband. But he didn't buy it. He asked many times today if something was wrong. And he also insisted to cheer her up with a romantic candlelight dinner - cooked by himself, without her help.
That was the first time. She taught him a lot of stuff but she was always around when he tried for himself. And there were a lot of moments she had to intervene before something became inedible. She prayed to every deity she could think of that he wasn't too stubborn to let one of the chefs help.
The woman put her head into her hands. "Why did I agree to this?" she groaned, "It's not like I already have to worry about something else."
Voices from the hallway brought her back to reality. Three men and one woman talked a little before the door was opened and one man and the woman entered the room, carrying trays with food.
"Sorry, I kept you waiting. I took the chance to make also a little dessert." he told smiling, "it's your favorite." He added with a wink.
She smiled back at him, the first genuine one that day. He wore one of his official outfits - only without his crown - which usually was used for public appearances. She couldn't deny that it suited him so very well, his black clothing with golden ornaments, along with that cute smile on his face... it was this mixture of seriousness and adorableness she liked so much about him... Suddenly, she blinked several times embarrassed, she shouldn't stare so long at her husband, especially not when someone else was here.
"Prince Kirito, Princess Asuna, enjoy your meal!" the kitchen maid said quickly and rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her. This girl must have noticed Asuna's flushed red cheeks.
As soon as the couple was alone, he dimmed the lamps to the bare minimum and lit the candles on the table. Then he sat down next to her and gently placed his right hand on her left one.
"Do you feel better than earlier? I was worried about you the whole day. I hope this will help you."
"I'm fine, really. I'm... also kinda hungry." But still worried, she didn't dare to say out loud.
"Now if that isn't a good sign! So, take a bite and tell me what you think!" he declared and after an affectionate squeeze, let go of her hand.
"Well, it smells nice, so I can say you didn't burn anything." She sliced the meat in half and looked at it. "Also the chicken is well-done, that's good too. Let me taste it now."
Then she cut off a small piece and put it into her mouth. But she almost spat it out again. Her face suddenly grimaced. It was such a weird taste. A little bit too spicy for her liking but that wasn't the main problem.
"What the... what is this? Did you mix up sugar and salt?"
His gaze shifted nervously from his disgusted wife to the food on their plates to the blueberry tarts meant as their desserts. He cautiously took a bite from one of them. His expression changed into one similar to his wife's.
"Yeah... you... shouldn't eat them either." he mumbled and lowered his head, "I'm so sorry, Asuna, I wanted to treat you to a nice dinner but I ruined it."
He apologized but she didn't react to him. Instead, the woman's face turned pale even more and she held her stomach. She jumped up from her chair and rushed to their bathroom.
"A-Asuna? ASUNA!" he yelled after her but didn't get a response.
After some time, he opened the door and saw her kneeling in front of the bathtub, sniffing and shaking a little. Then she tried to stand up but her legs gave in. Luckily, he was already at her side and caught her.
"So we both ruined our romantic evening now." she uttered weakly.
"No, you didn't." he said in a soothing voice and grabbed a towel, "Here, let me help you."
The prince cleaned up her face, tossed the towel onto the pile of other dirty laundry, and guided her to the sofa in the living room. After wrapping her in a blanket, he walked back into the bathroom to clean up the mess she made, and returned to her. He put his arms around her and held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. Well, she was sure that he probably thought it.
"Sorry I gave you food poisoning." he apologized softly while stroking her upper back.
"Don't be ridiculous. It wasn't... the food."
"So... you know why you-"
"Yes... no... maybe..." she mumbled and shook her head to hide that she teared up, "I'm not sure."
He gently pulled her closer and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"What if we're not ready?" The first tears escaped her eyes.
"Ready? What do you mean with-" he began but stopped when it dawned on him, "wait, you're not talking about babies, are you?"
He put his hands on her shoulders, staring at Asuna with wide eyes.
"Well, considering everything..." she replied blushing, "it's not implausible."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked smiling and wiped the small tears from her cheeks.
"I wanted to be sure before. I will go to see my doctor tomorrow."
Kirito nodded and hugged his wife again, sighing happily. She returned it gladly, all the worries from earlier vanishing into thin air.
"I would like to have some tea now." she whispered.
"Then I'll order some for you, I'll be right back." He gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead. "I love you... both of you."
"Oh geez, we don't even know yet if it's a "both". Why are you always such a dork..." she mumbled as he stood up and went out the door.
Asuna got up too and walked to the dining table where their dinner was still waiting. She felt better now and actually wanted to try to eat at least the salad. The rest was already cold, not to mention that it had too much sugar, and her husband advised her against eating the dessert.
"Let's see..." she thought and picked up her fork again and tasted the salad, "that's nice actually, well done."
Some time passed and the prince came back from the kitchen, bringing her tea. He looked at her as she finished her dinner.
"Oh, so not everything is terrible. That's good to know." he stated surprised and placed the pot and the two cups on the table. Then he also started eating the only edible part of their meal. "So on the next try... I shouldn't make the desserts at the same time."
She just smiled at him as she poured the drink into their cups. The tea's aroma filled the room with a pleasant scent and her gaze shifted from the burning candles in front of her to her husband, who already began sipping his tea.
"Kirito," she said reaching for his hand as soon as he put the cup down and instinctively intertwined their fingers, "you did all this for me. And despite you mixing up sugar and salt and me being sick... it still turned out to be the romantic evening you planned. Thank you."
He smiled brightly at her, his dark eyes met her amber-colored ones, both pairs reflecting the candlelight. As if they were reading each other's mind, they simultaneously stood up and met in a loving embrace. She put his face into her hands, stroking his cheeks gently, their mouths only millimeters apart.
"I love you so much," she whispered softly, "you are the love of my life."
He closed the little distance between them by kissing her passionately as if he was answering her without using words.
The rest of the evening they were, while being wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the sofa talking, cuddling, and finishing the tea. After some time the candles burned out and only the moon illuminated the room. It didn't take long for Asuna to fall asleep on his shoulder, the worrying all day was pretty tiresome after all.
On the next morning she woke up lying in her bed, still wearing the same dress as yesterday, but her long hair was let down now. She didn't even notice that Kirito must have removed the hairpins and carried her from the living room to the bedroom after she dozed off. And the same two arms now held her, the right hand placed on her belly where maybe, maybe not, new life was developing.
Then she tried to get up but could barely move since he suddenly grabbed her tighter.
"Please... can we stay like this a little bit longer?" the prince mumbled and nuzzled her neck.
"Sadly not," she sighed, it was indeed really cozy like that, "first we need to have breakfast and then you have to attend a meeting with your family and I have to see the doctor, remember?"
He groaned and let her get up. She walked to the windows and opened the curtains, then to her wardrobe to pick her clothes for today, and then into the bathroom.
After washing herself and putting on a simple light brown dress, the princess returned to the living room, just in time for the breakfast to arrive. She sat down and began to eat, all the while her husband finally got up and walked, still pretty sleepy, from one room to another and finally sat down to next to her. Asuna just smiled at him every time he came in sight.
"Oh, my little adorable dork," she sighed dreamily and patted his hand. Then hers started shaking and he immediately grabbed it softly.
"Are you okay? Do you feel sick again?" he asked concerned.
"I'm fine. Just... nervous." An unsure smile graced her lips.
"Yeah, me too. I really had trouble falling asleep last night."
"It's weird. Yesterday I was worried that we might have a child and now I'm worried that we might won't." the princess mumbled and looked away for a moment but turned back to him when she felt his touch on her hand.
He emptied his cup and stood up, "Let's go. I don't think I can handle this uncertainty any longer."
She nodded in agreement, finished her tea, and took the hand he offered.
The couple was on the way to the throne room where the rest of the royal family held a meeting. Guarded by the two men, Drewbert in front and Big behind them, they walked down the hallway, their sweaty hands clenched together. Kirito's gaze shifted from straight forward to Asuna, who was looking at the ground more nervously than earlier, probably even more than yesterday. To the guards' surprise, they stopped at the door of the doctors office.
"Huh? My prince, my princess? What's the matter?" Big spoke up confused and Drewbert turned around with a similar reaction.
"There's something... Well, I need to talk to my doctor." Asuna said blushing slightly, still staring at the floor.
"But you don't look sick, my princess. So why-" Drewbert wondered but got an idea what it was when he noticed her reddened face, so he didn't question it any further.
"Are you pregnant, Princess Asuna?" Big just asked without hesitation. Apparently he couldn't let the matter rest which made her all flustered and intensified the red color in her face. It also earned him mean looks from the two men.
"Keep quiet, will you!?" the prince whispered angrily at him, "Listen, you two won't tell anyone about this here before we allow you to, am I clear enough?"
"O-of course, Prince Kirito!" the guards said in unison and saluted.
Then he turned to his wife and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "You're sure I shouldn't stay here with you?"
"It's fine, really. You better go to the meeting so at least you're not late. I'll join when everything is done, okay?"
He nodded and gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead. "Okay, see you later, my love."
She watched as the three men left for the throne room, then she took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and opened it when she heard an answer.
After some time Asuna left the doctor's office and immediately hurried towards the throne room where the whole royal family had gathered and were probably waiting for her. When she arrived at the pompous gate, the princess was greeted by a group of guards, among them were Drewbert, Big, and Leafa.
"Please enter, my princess. I think they're awaiting you." Drewbert said and pushed open the huge door.
Asuna nodded at him and entered. She rarely was in this room, it was still always intimidating to her. That's why she preferred the more casual meetings in the garden or courtyard, well basically everywhere else. The people inside really waited until her arrival it seemed as they stared at her as soon as she came in sight.
Now she stood in the middle of the room, Princess Suguha some distance to her right, in front of her some steps and two golden thrones where king and queen were sitting, and her husband very close to her left. He whispered something in her ear and she gave him an answer on the same way. Then his eyes widened.
"I apologize for my delay, your majesty." Asuna stated with a deep bow and then reached for Kirito's hand with her left one and gently placed her right hand on her belly. "But there was something I needed to take care of first."
The other three persons present looked curiously at the couple who had big smiles on their faces and a light blush on their cheeks. But the queen soon smiled as well.
Little tears formed in the corners of Asuna's eyes as she tried to speak up. She just couldn't hide her happiness any longer but somehow no words came out.
"It's okay, tell them," her husband whispered to her and squeezed her hand as encouragement.
"I... I'm..." And another squeeze of her hand. "I'm expecting a child!" A small tear of joy rolled down her cheek.
The queen stood up from her throne and clapped her hands together in delight. The king smiled big which was indeed a rare sight to see. Suguha quickly closed her distance to the couple to hug them, and very tightly at that. Whatever the original topic of the meeting was, at this moment it didn't matter anymore.
Besides the royal family, the parents-to-be merely told their friends at a nice lunch in the gardens. But somehow, the whole day was full of congratulations from more or less every person at the palace. The news apparently spread very fast. So at this pace, everyone in the royal city would know tomorrow, and probably the whole kingdom at the end of the week.
After dinner, prince and princess returned to their room and immediately changed into their night clothes. While Kirito dropped down on the sofa exhausted, Asuna sat down at her desk and began writing something. He curiously looked over to her.
"What are you doing?" he asked after some time and slid on the sofa closer to her.
"It's a letter to my family. They should hear the news from me and not from the gossip in town." she replied and quickly finished up her message with her signature and put it into an envelope.
Then she got up, walked towards the door, and in passing ruffled playfully the hair of the man who was intently and so very cutely watching her.
She went out of the room and was surprised when instead of the two guards, only Drewbert was standing there.
"Hm? W-well, I actually wanted to ask one of you to-"
"Drewbert! I've got the- oh, Princess Asuna!" Big just entered the hallway carrying a tray and presented it to her, "someone ordered... or should I say, made this for you."
She looked at the tray and found a pot of tea, two cups, and two plates with blueberry tarts on it.
"Thank you. Would one of you two be so kind to bring this letter down to the post office? I want my family to receive this as soon as possible."
"Of course, my princess. Wishing you a nice rest of the day." Drewbert answered, bowed to her, and left with the letter in hand.
Meanwhile Big went inside the room and placed the food on the table, wished the couple a nice evening with a bow, and closed the door behind him.
"So..." Asuna began and turned to her husband, "did you have anything to do with this?"
He just smiled mischievously and pointed to the piece of paper on the tray she didn't notice earlier. It was a handwritten note:
Again, sorry for yesterday. This time I put sugar in them. Now they're just as sweet as you! :)
Asuna stepped slowly towards him and put her arms around his shoulders. She had a similar expression as his on her face.
"I swear, if someone replaces you with a bagful of sugar, puts some black clothing around it, a crown on top, and two swords next to it, no one would even notice."
Before he could react in any way, she quickly sealed his lips with hers. Both were so lost in this moment that they almost forgot about their desserts waiting for them.
Late at night, Asuna woke up thanks to a movement she felt and a soft whisper she heard. She opened her eyes but surprisingly couldn't see the usual black-haired head on the pillow beside her. She tried to look around as good as possible from her position and finally found him. He was still lying next to her but lower than he usually would, his head around the level of her belly. And then, she also realized where this whispering sounds came from since he was softly talking to their unborn child.
"Little one, I pledge to protect you from any harm as long as I live. My life belongs to you and your mother, and I'll use it for both of you."
She extended her left arm to stroke his head, burying her fingers along with her silver ring in his black strands of hair. When he felt her touch and heard a sniffing sound, he turned his head upwards to face her.
"Stop saying such adorable things, you dork." she whimpered with a cute smile and shimmering eyes, "you're making me cry."
He shifted his position on the bed so that they were now eye-to-eye, and gently kissed first her tears away and then her lips.
"I love you, both of you." he said and smiled brightly at her.
She embraced him and he happily returned it, nonverbally making it clear to each other that no matter what their future may bring, they will be in this together. As prince and princess, someday as king and queen, as husband and wife, as father and mother.