- 1 Week Later -
[3 Months, 3 Weeks Into Pregnancy]
I sat alone in the kitchen sipping my cup of tea as the sun’s light poured through the window. I had a lot of thoughts going on in my head, especially concerning Adagio’s pregnancy and the baby. I was worried a great deal for my girlfriend, aware of the burden she’ll inevitably face, but I knew she was a strong-willed woman who’ll pull through. The other thought regarded our baby’s living space in the house after Adagio gives birth.
‘Where shall the baby’s nursery be at? Do I even have a spare room? What will the baby need for its room arrangements?’ I thought.
A lot of thoughts have been going on in my mind lately as days passed and turned into weeks. I closed my eyes and sighed, taking another sip of my tea.
Suddenly, an idea flashed in my mind. How could’ve I forgotten? I had an empty spare room that hasn’t been used since I got the house. A rush of determination flowed throughout my body. I downed the rest of my tea and got set to work. I grabbed some sticky notes and a pen and began writing down a checklist.
List of things for baby’s nursery
- Crib
- Bedding & Sheets
- Crib Mattress
- Mattress Pad/Waterproof Cover
- Baby Monitor
- Crib Bumper
- Table-Top Changer
- Receiving Blankets
- Storage Basket
- Baby’s Mobile
- Room Thermometer
I looked at what I’ve written down. I felt a sweatdrop roll down my forehead.
‘How am I going to carry all of this back home?’ I shrugged off the thought and dealt with the situation I was in. If it’s for the baby, then I’ll do it.
Satisfied, I groaned, ripped off the list, left the kitchen, and went upstairs and got changed into a pair of blue jeans and a white short-sleeve shirt. The weather has been warm fairly recently as expected of the summer. I grabbed my house keys and left the house, making sure to lock the door behind me.
Adagio had gone out with the girls today, leaving me alone in the house. I might as well go outside and enjoy the sun while on a self-errand.
I walked down the road towards the main high street while texting on my phone. I thought it’d be good to leave Adagio a notice that I’ll be gone for a while just incase she comes home early.
For a while, I walked down the high street until the mall came into view. I made my way towards the mall and entered. I pulled out the checklist from my pocket.
“Alright, let’s get this done and over with,” I mumbled. I set off further into the mall and walked around searching for the items on the list.
I looked at the mountainous pile of items stacked onto my trolley. I pulled out my checklist to see if I missed anything.
List of things for baby’s nursery
Crib ✓
Bedding & Sheets✓
Crib Mattress ✓
Mattress Pad/Waterproof Cover ✓
Baby Monitor ✓
Crib Bumper ✓
Table-Top Changer ✓
Receiving Blankets ✓
Storage Basket ✓
Baby’s Mobile ✓
Room Thermometer ✓
“Phew!” I exhaled deeply, rubbing off the sweat from my brow and forehead. “Looks like that’s all of it.”
Satisfied, I pushed the packed trolley towards the counter.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Clavier!” a female store clerk greeted happily.
I chuckled and flashed my own smile, greeting in return. “There’s no need for the formalities and good afternoon to you too.”
I began taking out the items of the basket and placing them onto the counter gently as the young lady scanned the items. It wasn’t long until she finished and had them packed in multiple bags.
“Are these gifts for a friend expecting a baby?” the clerk asked.
I shook my head. “No, it’s for my girlfriend’s. We’re expecting our first child in six months,” I replied.
The clerk gasped in surprised and let out a cute aw. Her personality reminded me of Fluttershy in a way.
“Oh, wow. That’s great news! Who’s the lucky mother?”
“Adagio. Adagio Dazzle,” I said happily. The clerk’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“Woowww~ two celebrities. The baby’s going to be lucky,” she said, giggling. I chuckled.
“Well, thank you. I appreciate it on her behalf.” The clerk nodded and handed me the bags.
“Have a good day sir and congratulations to you both!” I smiled and nodded.
The clerk bade a farewell and waved cheerily as I left, returning the gesture. I carried multiple bags on each hand. I could feel the weight bearing down on my arms that’ll make my return journey home more difficult. I placed the bags down for a few moments.
What have I gotten myself into?” I groaned lowly. I mentally slapped myself.
‘No, stop thinking like that. This is for the baby!”’ I thought self encouragingly.
Nevertheless, with a boost of strength, I stood up and picked up the bags again and began making my way towards the mall’s entrance. Just as I was about to leave, two voices called out.
“Clavier!” two voices shouted out.
I turned my head around and saw two of my relatives, specifically my cousins, Octavia and Vinyl, waving at me with bright smiles on their faces. I turned fully facing them, placed the bags down, and waved back. The two approached me.
“Clavier!” the duo exclaimed.
“Tavi, DJ, it’s good to see you both!” I greeted. I opened my arms wide and welcomed the two into an embrace which they accepted.
“Hey, cuz!” Octavia, greeted.
“Hey, ‘Clever Boy’,” Vinyl greeted. “How’s it been?”
I chuckled at the nickname she’d given me.
“Oh, nothing. Life’s been great. What about you two?”
“We’re both studying at Canterlot University Musical Academy!” the duo replied in unision.
A smile formed on my lips, genuinely happy for the two. It was a little sad that I’m going to be behind in my dreams, but my time with Adagio and our baby is worth the while than anything else.
“Wow, that’s sounds great. Did everything meet your expectations?” They nodded.
“Hold on a sec, big guy. Where’ve you been? How come we haven’t seen you at uni? I thought us three planned on going and graduating together?” Vinyl questioned.
I scratched the back of my head, unsure how to explain my current situation. But this was my family I was talking about and I promised to stop hiding secrets from those I loved.
“Well, how should I put this…” I paused, tapping my chin with a finger. “A new member of the family’s coming,” I teased, grinning.
Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. They turned their gaze back to me as I continued to grin.
“A new member of the family? Is Auntie Del and Uncle Grand having a baby?” Vinyl asked.
I burst out laughing uncontrollably.
“What’s so funny?”
I allowed a few moments for my laughter to die down before speaking.
“Haha, good one, Vinyl. But no, someone else is,” I teased again.
“Ugh, just tell us!” Octavia groaned. I chuckled.
“You’re such a killjoy, Tavi.” I pouted. “ You two are going to be elder cousins,” I declared, smiling.
The duo looked at each other again, confused. Their eyes widened at the realization, (Except for Vinyl who’s eyes were covered by her pink shades. Still, her expression was clear).
“Are you going to be a… dad?” I nodded.
“Oh… OH MY GOODNESS! THAT’S AMAZING!” Octavia yelled.
She grinned and gave me a tight bear hug. The mall was silent. I looked around and noticed awkward glances our way.
“Sorry,” Octavia apologized, sheepishly grinning.
“Dayuummm! Clever Boy’s been getting the music on, especially dubstep if you know what I mean,” Vinyl teased, wiggling her eyebrows. “Wub-a-dub-dub wub-a-dub-dub. Wub-a-dub--”
Octavia smacked her lightly on the back of the head.
“Ow! That hurt! What was that for?”
“Oh, please. That was just a light tap. Control your manners will you? You’re embarrassing our cousin,” Octavia hissed. Vinyl pouted.
“Come on, he’s loving the attention,” the DJ mumbled. I rolled my eyes.
“If I may ask, who’s the mother?” my cellist relative asked.
“Oh, well it’s…” I paused, trailing off my words.
“It’s Adagio, isn’t it?” Vinyl finished. I looked at them both and nodded. The duo gasped.
Vinyl clicked her fingers, grinning. “Knew it!”
“Oh my. That’s quite the news. Well, that’s wonderful! I’m happy for you two!” Octavia exclaimed. I smiled and thanked her.
Vinyl sighed. “I knew it was going to happen anyway. It’s dead obvious!”
“No it wasn’t!” Vinyl shot back.
“Was too!”
“Was not!
“Was too!
“Was not!”
“Girls! Stop!” I interrupted. They stopped with their eyes fixated on me. “Enough with the argument. I didn’t expect anyone knew I had feelings for her at the time except Flash.”
“Flash? Why is he the only one that knows?” Octavia whined.
I chuckled. “Because he’s my best friend.”
“But we’re you’re cousins!” I patted Octavia’s head, chuckling at her cute behaviour. “My, you’re carrying a lot of items. Are those for the baby?”
I nodded.
“Well, you’re one heck of a dedicated parent huh?” Vinyl cut in. I blushed, eliciting a chuckle from her. “Need any help with that? Looks like you bit more than you can chew?”
“Well, thanks for the offer, but I’m sure you two have other things to do,” I dismissed.
“Nonsense! Vinyl and I were just heading back home for the weekend. Please, let us help,” Octavia offered. I sighed, knowing it was useless to argue.
“Fine, you can both help me. Come, let’s go.”
“Yay!”
The duo cheered like a couple of kids and helped carry the baby’s items back to my house.
My cousins and I reached my house. We went inside and brought the baby’s items inside first before bringing them to the spare room.
“Whew! That was more difficult than I imagined it to be,” Vinyl sighed, relieved.
“You can say that again,” I huffed tiredly. “Anyway, I think that’s all the help I need, thanks guys.”
“Oh no, we’re not done yet. We’re going to help you set the stage up for the baby,” Vinyl insisted.
“You make it sound like it’s a party we’re setting up,” Octavia remarked. She replied with a chuckle.
I sighed. “You two aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?” The duo shook their heads assertively. I groaned.
“Geez, stop being stubborn and let’s get on with it!” the party DJ exclaimed.
“Yeah!” Octavia and I agreed.
Octavia, Vinyl, and I examined the pile of items before us and got set to work. We agreed to start the harder stuff and make our way down to the easier bits.
First, we picked out the largest item we had, the crib. We took it out of the box and read through the manual instructions on setting it up. It was a simple process even for those that’s never done something similar before such as crafting, etc. Thank Faust we have these. We each had our own responsibilities as a team: Octavia relayed the instructions from the manual while Vinyl was in charge of managing the tools, and I was the builder.
Even with the three of us in sync as a team, setting up the crib took quite a while with minor problems here and there, but we overcame them and eventually finished making it.
“Whew! That took quite a while,” I huffed. I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
“Come on, Clavier! We’re not done yet!” Vinyl reminded. I nodded and got back to work.
Crib ✓
Next, our work became much easier. We got out the bedding, sheets, crib mattress, crib bumper, and the mattress pad/waterproof cover and placed them delicately inside the crib. It wasn’t long but we wanted to make sure everything was neat, comfortable, and most of all, safe for the baby when the time came.
Bedding & Sheets✓
Crib Mattress ✓
Mattress Pad/Waterproof Cover ✓
Crib Bumper ✓
After that, we set up the baby monitor so Adagio and I could see the baby from our room. It took a few minutes to set up. We decided not to plug it in since the baby won’t be here for the next five or six months.
Baby Monitor ✓
We were nearly done. The last bits were a piece of cake. We got out the baby mobile and set it up on the ceiling in the middle of the room where the baby’s crib will be.
Baby’s Mobile ✓
Next, we got out the table-top changer when the baby’s diapers need changing and the room thermometer to make sure it was set at the right temperature, neither hot or cold. The thought of my child getting an illness made me sad a bit but I shook it off.
Table-Top Changer ✓
Room Thermometer ✓
Finally, I got out the storage basket to place the baby’s necessities in there. For now, I bought the receiving blankets and placed them in there.
Receiving Blankets ✓
Storage Basket ✓
I stood up and examined the fruits of our work. Everything had been set up neatly and just where I planned them to be. There was still plenty of space for other items but I made a mental note to write down the next list for the near-future.
“I sure had my work cut out for me,” I mumbled.
I heard the girls clear their throats, annoying glares thrown at me.
“Don’t you mean, ‘We’?” Octavia emphasized. I chuckled nervously.
“Eeyup, and you two. My bad.”
“Honestly, wow. This looks great already! I’m loving it! I’m sure the baby will too,” said Octavia.
“Just need to add a music player and fill it with dubstep music baby style,” Vinyl added. Octavia slapped her around the back of the head. I laughed at the scene.
“By the way, why haven’t you bought paint and coloured the room?” Vinyl asked.
“Adagio and I don’t know the baby’s gender yet,” I replied. Vinyl’s nodded in acknowledgement.
“Ah, I see. Well, I hope you two will find out soon. I have feeling it’ll be a girl. If it is, I’ll teach her the ways of the dub.” She and I shared a laugh.
“Sure will. Alright, thank you guys for helping me today. You didn’t need to but you both insisted. I appreciate it,” I said graciously.
“Oh, here we go getting emotional. Come hug auntie Vin,” Vinyl cooed.
I laughed and accepted her embrace. I felt Octavia’s arms wrap around my neck as she joined in the moment.
“Would you two like anything to eat or drink? I’m sure you two are hungry,” I offered.
The two shook their heads.
“It’s fine, thank you,” Octavia dismissed.
“Not hungry. Thanks anyway,” Vinyl dismissed.
I nodded in acknowledgement. I escorted the two out of the door and bade each other goodbye. I stood outside for a while and watched my beloved cousins walk down the road. I smiled, happy that I’m lucky to have a loving family. I felt the fatigue wearing down on my body. I grabbed a notepad, a pen, wrote down a short note for Adagio, and left it in the baby’s room. I went to the living room and collapsed onto the couch. My eyes closed and I drifted off into unconsciousness happily.
[Adagio Dazzle’s P.O.V.]
I came back home after I spent the day with the girls. It was for the best and I might as well make the most of it as my pregnancy progresses. I grabbed the spare keys to Clavier’s house and unlocked the door.
“Clavier, I’m home!” I called out.
No response.
“Clavier?”
I went to the living room first and found Clavier asleep, snoring softly. I smiled, went over to him, and shook his shoulders.
“Hey, Clavier. I’m back,” I whispered.
He didn’t stir but remained silent, still sleeping. I assumed he was tired and I left him be. I left the living room and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. As I went, I saw packaging and boxes lying outside the door to one of the spare rooms. Curious, I went over and examined them. There was pictures of a crib, a baby’s mobile, and other necessities for a baby.
‘Could it be Clavier who went outside and bought these?’ I thought.
My curiosity continued to build up. I opened the door and went inside the room. I gasped in shock as my eyes were greeted by the sight before me. Inside the room was a crib complete with bedding, sheets and mattresses, baby’s mobile, a monitor, storage basket, and a table-top changer.
I walked around the room and examined it. Everything was neat and well organized. On top of the storage basket, I saw a small note. I picked it up and read it.
“Dear Dagi,
I was feeling a little sad and lonely without you by my side as you went out to spend time with the girls. Instead, I went outside on an errand and decided to go shopping for things for the baby’s room. Well, I hope you’ll like it and I’m sure our baby will too. :)
SURPRISE! :D
Love,
Clav"
My mouth quivered and my eyes began to tear up with joy.
“Clavier, you idiot… a handsome and wonderful idiot,” I muttered jokingly.
I rushed out the door and made my way to the living room. I sat down on the couch and laid Clavier’s head on my lap. I leaned my head down and planted a kiss on his lips as I embraced him longingly. Clavier did not respond supposedly from fatigue but I didn’t mind. I wanted to thank him. I broke off the kiss and sat down on the couch as I caressed his hair.
“Thank you, Clavier. You’re going to make a great father.”