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nubiawrites · 5 days ago

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Well there goes me crying this morning. I am ready to show the good times in part 2. They have a good village around them. And Sammy gotta make an appearance cause some things happen in the second book of this series.

one shot: blue part one

Pairing: Aaron Pierre x Black Original Character

Warnings: 18+. unprotected sex. pregnancy. miscarriage.

Summary: iriye and aaron's road to becoming a family.

Notes: off the bat, this is at least 10k. I wanted to split it up because there is a second part to this but this was the perfect stopping point. This is set in the future, four years after the events of the actor and his muse. I was very much inspired by @kumkaniudaku as the universe she has made with Terry and Patrice is one of my favorite stories to read. I also put a line in here to warn where one of the warnings happens, as I do not want to trigger anyone. To find it, hit control or command f and enter trigger ends. I was inspired to write this as a Black woman who is looking at her own future and relationship when it comes to the idea of having children. I hope you guys love it as it was made with so much love, care and research. The songs Blue and Mine by Beyonce inspired this piece. Enjoy part one.

MASTERLIST

Iriye didn’t know when it happened, but babies were becoming a common thought in her head. Maybe it was because of her birthday passing, a party Aaron threw in her honor. She was buzzing from seeing how he had gathered close friends and family to celebrate her. Even Vivian turned up, her nose growing wider daily as she waddled in flats, a glow about her. She looked glamorous, even with the weight of carrying her first child.

“You look stunning,” Iriye admired, Vivian chuckling at her praise.

“I am trying my best. This little girl is taking all my energy,” Vivan rubbed her hand over her belly, humming.

“We can sit if you want,” Iriye said. Vivian just shook her off.

“If I sit, I’m gonna fall asleep, and I don’t know when I might be out at a party after she’s born,” Vivian admitted.

“How much longer do you have till she’s born?” Iriye asked.

“Two more months and then Gabe, Charleston, and I become a family of four,” Vivian said, teary-eyed. Iriye turned to find a napkin and handed it to her. “I never thought I would love doing something more than acting, but becoming a mom… nothing beats it.”

Across the party, Aaron made himself a drink as Kel chatted about how Nelly was driving him crazy. Nelly had been taking her job as producer on Lanoire Productions' new show very seriously, and Kelvin was starring in it, so the two were budding heads. But to Aaron, their friendship turned into something more, and neither could see it.

“Like what does the color of my suit have to do with anything?” Kelvin asked.

“Listen, Nelly knows what she’s talking about when it comes to production and such,” Aaron said, mixing his whiskey sour.

“She said that about my suit tonight,” Kelvin stated. Aaron chuckled. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s gonna take you two some time to figure it out. Your relationship,” Aaron chuckled. He heard Iriye’s laugh from the other side of the room, and he bit his lip, watching her with Vivian, holding a hand to their friend’s baby bump. He watched them for a minute longer, seeing Vivian walk away, and he caught Iriye’s eye. The look in it took him aback: longing. Aaron mouthed three words: I love you. Iriye returned them: I love you, too.

The party ended later that night. Iriye enjoyed a glass of wine while Aaron rubbed her feet in his lap.

“Thank you again for my birthday. Even though I’m still not the best about celebrating myself, I appreciate you putting this party together,” Iriye admitted.

"It was nothing at all. It put itself together honestly," Aaron said, being humble. He knew he had done quite a bit, but it was all worth it to see how happy Iriye was. "I'm just glad so many people were able to come."

“It was so nice to see everyone. I gotta send thank you emails. You even got Vivian out. I know she's been relaxing and such. Nesting for the baby to come," Iriye laughed softly.

"You and your bestie were chatting up a storm," Iriye playfully rolled her eyes at Aaron.

"I didn't know Vivian that well three years ago," Iriye stated. "She's probably due any day now, and then she's supposed to be filming with Tamara in about three months. I think she's bringing the baby with her to the UK."

"I would imagine Vivian wouldn't want her eyes off of her kid." Aaron rubbed the arch of her foot, and Iriye moaned.

"She's gonna make a great mom," Iriye admitted.

"You know you would make a great mom, too," Aaron stated. Iriye raised a brow at him as she sipped her wine.

"What are you talking about?" Iriye asked him. Aaron moved till she was sitting in his lap, putting her wine glass on the ground for her. "What are you up to, Mister Pierre?"

"I just wanna talk to you," Aaron whispered against her ear. "I saw the way you looked at her while you two talked-"

"Okay stalking much," Iriye teased, her hand curling around his neck and stroking the hair at the nape of it.

"And we've been together for about four years now. And maybe... Maybe we want more than just the two of us. Maybe we could make... A baby. If you wanted that," Aaron explained.

Iriye raised her eyebrow at Aaron, chuckling softly at his words.

"Is this because I'm thirty-four. Are you trying to get me to do this because I'm getting up in years?" Iriye teased. "I get it. A baby would be something... Good. But are you just saying this because you think it's what I want or because you also want that?"

"Is it something that you want?” Aaron asked.

“Yes. I mean, we’re both in a great spot financially with our jobs, and we have this beautiful place together,” Iriye went on before Aaron interrupted her.

“Yes, but emotionally,”

“Is it bad I want to say… yes. It’s not just seeing Vivian. On set two weeks ago, I held the baby Samantha, who was cast for an episode. I forgot she was on my hip and was going about my business as usual,” Iriye admitted, Aaron chuckling at the image of Iriye with a headset, comforting a fussy child. “What about you? You didn’t say if you wanted that.”

“I can’t lie. I’ve thought about it some,” Aaron stated. “Last film I was on set for, and you came to visit. We were walking in the park early in the morning in New York. Remember when we saw the toddler with grass stains on their pants? I kept imagining what if that was us,”

“Well, it can be reality. Do we want to do it? Make the next big step. Have a baby,” Iriye asked.

“I do. Do you?” Aaron looked up into her dark brown eyes, her reddish brown skin beautiful as he looked at her.

“I do, Aaron. I do. Let's do it. Let’s have a baby,” Iriye said with a giggle. Aaron kissed her softly before picking her up. “Aaron, my wine.” She felt a smack to her backside as he laid her over his shoulder.

“You won’t be needing that, love.” Aaron led them to the bedroom, where they worked on their baby-making moves for the rest of the night.

It took two weeks to coordinate a day off as Iriye was in the throes of prepping for season three of the show she was on. She managed to get the morning off, and Aaron and she drove to her OBGYN’s office.

They probably looked like a pair, holding hands happily as they watched the different stages of life around them: expecting mothers and some even with their babies in tow.

“Can you believe this could be us in a few months?” Aaron asked, leaning on her shoulder as she looked at a pamphlet about fetal development.

“Maybe. We gotta see how this appointment turns out,” Iriye stated. “Did you know I wanted to be a doctor once?”

“Did you?”

“I did,” Iriye nodded. “But then I broke my arm and at the age of seven, that dream was long gone,” Aaron chuckled, and she kissed him softly, brushing her nose against his.

“Broken arm made the dream die?” Aaron asked.

“Seeing them put it back together was wild,” Iriye said. “But the first pilot I ever wrote was a terrible medical drama,” She said with a smile.

“Using the trauma for creativity. I love it,” Aaron teased. He took the pamphlet from her and read it till Iriye’s name was called.

Iriye and Aaron headed back into Doctor Lathan’s office. Her walls were littered with her life’s work: families of different backgrounds and the babies Doctor Lathan helped bring into the world.

Doctor Lathan came into her office, Iriye squeezing Aaron’s hand.

“So this is the partner,” Doctor Lathan said, holding her hand to Aaron. She was an older Black Woman who didn’t look a day over forty-five.

“Nice to meet you, Doctor Lathan. I’m Aaron.”

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m guessing we’re not in here for a check-up,” Doctor Lathan sat down with Iriye’s chart.

“We’re looking into our options for having a baby,” Iriye said, feeling Aaron squeeze her hand.

“Well, congratulations. Were you two debating options? Trying naturally, or did you want to go about IVF or surrogacy?” Doctor Lathan asked, opening Iriye’s chart and making notes.

“We wanted to try naturally before looking at those options,” Iriye explained.

Aaron let Iriye take the lead, just listening and offering his thoughts, but knowing that, ultimately, whatever Iriye wanted, he would give her.

“I think the most important thing is that Iriye is happy and healthy, so the baby is too. I want to do everything I can to alleviate any stress or pressure. Support her,” Aaron admitted, Iriye trying her best not to be too in awe of this man.

“That’s good to hear. So we will take some vitals from you, Iriye, and then Aaron, we’ll do some from you as well. We check the results to see if we need to worry about anything. And since Iriye has not been on birth control for a year, it makes things easier as she doesn’t have to wait for the birth control to leave her system. So you two can get started as soon as you want to,”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Iriye tried to be calm and collected. But she knew they would get to business as soon as they got home.

Aaron and Iriye took all the pamphlets and information, knowing what they would need to make this thing good. When they got home, Iriye felt Aaron help her out of her jacket. He moved her hair to the side, laying soft kisses down her neck before pulling her in for a hug from behind.

“Hi,” Aaron said, his hands rubbing the front of her body.

“Hi,” Iriye said, humming as she felt Aaron close to her.

“You want me to make something, or do we order in?” Iriye bit her lip, turning to face Aaron.

“I don’t know,” Iriye said. “I mean, whatever we pick, it might be in the story of the day we conceived our child. You know, the one that we tell them to annoy them,”

“Always looking for the angle for a story,” Aaron kissed her thoroughly on the lips.

“You know me,” Iriye whispered against his lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and Aaron lifted her, legs wrapping around his waist. He walked them to the bedroom, taking her down on the bed for what would be the first of many times they would try to conceive.

Three weeks in, it was bliss for Iriye and Aaron—lots of laughter and giggles. Hurried hands took time to pull the other into positions every night they had free. Some days, quickies were when Iriye worked from home for her writers' room or after Aaron was done with auditions.

Of course, Iriye researched the best positions for conceiving a baby. If they were going to do this, they would be the best at it.

“You got a pregnancy pillow?” Aaron said, eyes wide, as he lifted the pillow from the box.

“When you say it like that, it sounds wrong. It’s just a pillow meant to help elevate the hips, making your swimmers get to their destination super easily,” Iriye explained.

“Yep, that whole sentence was super sexy,” Aaron teased.

“Well,” Iriye moved to her jean dress, unbuttoning the top until the lacy bra she had brought from the store was revealed. “What about this being super sexy?” Aaron licked his lip softly.

“I think I need a closer look at that,” Aaron said. Iriye walked over to sit in Aaron’s lap. He moved to unbutton the rest of her dress, seeing the matching panties. She was just about to take her heels off. “Nah, keep them on.”

Making a baby was fun, but waiting for the fruit of their labor was stressful. The anticipation only worsened when they went to see Vivian, Gabe, Charleston, and their little bundle of joy, Liberty.

“She has your nose,” Iriye said as she looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully in her crib.

“I know. I’m gonna protect that nose from the world. I let someone talk me into a nose job when I was eighteen. Never again,” Vivian said, looking in adoration at her daughter.

“I’m sorry about that,” Iriye said, looking at Vivian, and she gave her a small smile back.

“It’s a lesson I should have never had to learn, but I’m glad I did because now, I get to protect her the way I should have been. Be the mom I never had,” Vivian admitted, pausing when Liberty squirmed in her bassinet. Her little hazel eye peeked open a few times as she yawned. “Hi sleepyhead,” The baby released a soft coo, and Iriye was in awe.

Iriye helped Vivian get Liberty ready and cleaned up, then they headed out to the living room. Gabe brought Vivian over a mocktail, and Aaron came over to see the baby Vivian was holding.

“She’s gorgeous, Viv,” Aaron said, and Vivian smiled.

“Thank you,” Vivian said, trying to take a sip of her mocktail.

“We can hold her if you want to drink and eat,” Iriye offered. Aaron smiled softly at those words. Vivian put her drink down.

“Okay. Just make sure to cradle her head,” Iriye could see the little worry in Vivian’s eye, but she made sure to help Aaron hold the baby correctly, trying not to giggle as he looked like a giant with the baby in his hands.

“How do I look?” Aaron asked, gently rocking baby Liberty in his arms.

“Like a natural,” Iriye let slip out.

“That’s how it starts, you know? Baby fever,” Gabe joked, going to make Vivian a plate.

“Not bad at all,” Iriye smiled, watching Aaron with Liberty.

By the time they were leaving, Vivian had to practically pry her daughter from Iriye and Aaron, the two promising to bring more goodies for their little family.

They made it home and quickly became enraptured with each other again, bodies melding together.

Iriye rolled her hips in Aaron’s lap, Aaron focusing on where his length was connected to her center. Her hands were on his knees as she ground against him, feeling his length hit that right spot. She felt the sweat on her skin and the heat rising between them.

“Look at me,” Iriye whined. Aaron’s eyes looked up at her, and she smiled, leaning forward to kiss him. “I love you,”

“I love you too, Iriye.” His hand slid to her stomach, and she found herself clenching around his length. “I can’t wait for you to have my baby,”

Iriye threw her head back and cried out, her end hitting her hard. She continued riding him until he spilled into her, Aaron turning them so she was on her back. She stroked his cheeks as he caught his breath.

“We’re going to have something we share forever. Apart of me and you,” Iriye said softly. Aaron opened his eyes, the deepness of the blue in them striking her to the core.

“Our child,” He said, pulling her tighter to him. As much as Iriye knew they would regret falling asleep on the couch, she couldn’t find it in herself to convince Aaron to move them as they were entangled.

“Can we get pineapple on the pizza?” Iriye asked one of the writing room PAs, Elias, as he was taking orders for the office. Her show’s writers’ room was working out of the expanded Lanoire Production offices on the Warner Brothers’ lot. She had been craving pizza badly and decided to change the plans, paying for lunch for the writers’ room and everyone working in the office.

“Pineapple. Ew,” Nelly said, furiously typing on her phone. They were in the main conference room, giving everyone a couple of minutes to get their orders and clear their head before they got back into planning the rest of the season for the tv show Iriye created.

“Tell Kel, we said hey,” Tamara chuckled as she walked behind Nelly, Nelly hiding her phone.

“I don’t know what you two are talking about,” Nelly stated.

“Girl, we know you and Kelvin are a thing. You guys aren’t slick about it,” Iriye stated, grabbing another bag of chips from the snacks area. “God, why didn’t anyone tell me how good these vinegar and salt chips were?”

“I did. For many years. Why are you joining the party now?” Tamara tried grabbing a chip, and Iriye playfully slapped her hand.

“Okay, snackie gonzalez,” Tamara chuckled. Nelly eyed Iriye carefully.

“What?” Iriye caught Nelly looking at her.

“I don’t know. You just look… different. Glowy even,” Nelly stated.

“I noticed that, too. What’s the new skincare routine?” Tamara moved closer. Iriye playfully rolled her eyes at them.

“Nothing new. Just washing my face and wearing sunscreen,” Iriye took a sip of her water, happy that some writers started coming back into the room, making Tamara and Nelly leave.

Before she got home, Iriye stopped at the grocery store to pick up some things, including the one thing that had been on her mind: a pregnancy test.

She didn’t want to do it alone, so she waited until Aaron got in from dinner with his agent. Iriye sat up upon hearing the door to their apartment open and shut.

“Hey, baby,” Iriye called out. Aaron rounded the corner to the kitchen with a smile.

“Hey, love,” Aaron came over to kiss her lips before seeing the box on the counter. “Wait…”

“I think we should pee on this. I mean, I pee on this. You can watch,” Iriye rambled on.

“You want me to watch you pee?” Aaron raised an eyebrow. Iriye playfully hit him.

“I meant to be in the bathroom for moral support or not. I don’t know,” Iriye climbed off the stool, and Aaron pulled her in to kiss her neck and shoulder. “I added pineapple to my pizza and have been craving vinegar and salt chips. I hate vinegar and salt,”

“Yeah, you’re pregnant,” Aaron said, pulling her back into his arms and resting her head on his. “Plus, your skin is all glowy.”

“That’s what Tamara and Nelly said,” Iriye pulled away and grabbed the box.

“Well, there's only one way to confirm it,” Aaron said, taking the box from her and moving to find a plastic cup from when they had a barbecue. “I’m gonna need you to pee in this here cup,” Aaron joked.

After handling the business of peeing in a cup, Iriye was sitting in Aaron’s lap while he sat on the edge of the bathtub.

“How much more time,” Iriye asked, her hand playing with the tag in the back of Aaron’s shirt.

“Well… It’s been two more minutes since you asked a minute ago,” Iriye groaned, and Aaron chuckled at her. He moved to nuzzle her neck and kiss it softly. “You’re in a rush,”

“Maybe. I wanna know. Whether it’s a yes or a no,” Iriye lamented.

“Once we find out, it’s not just us anymore. It’s you, me, and our baby. Baby Edwards-Pierre,” Aaron explained. Iriye raised her eyebrow.

“What does your last name get to be at the end?” Iriye raised her eyebrow at him. “Baby Pierre-Edwards sounds better to me.”

“It has a nice ring, but just think about it. Iriye Edwards-Pierre,”

“Aaron Pierre-Edwards,” Iriye stated, blinking at him.

“We've got nine months to work it out on the remix.”

“You and Kelvin gotta stop going on TikTok,”

The alarm went off, snapping them out of their conversation, and Aaron put Iriye on the side of the tub to walk over to the cup and grab it.

“You ready?” Aaron asked Iriye. She nodded and took the stick from the cup, her finger hiding the screen.

“I love you,” Iriye said, Aaron’s smile growing.

“I love you, too. Even if I’m holding a cup of your pee,” Aaron stated, and Iriye playfully rolled her eyes.

“Dump it,” Aaron went to flush it down the toilet and then went to wash his hands. “You didn’t even touch it.”

“Sanitary needs, baby,” Aaron returned to her, and she bit her lip. “Whenever you’re ready,”

Iriye waited one more moment before removing her finger from the screen on the test. She stared into Aaron’s eyes, seeing the softness and wonder there. She looked down at the screen and read it.

One word: pregnant. It stunned her. It was just a word, and it had her planning the rest of their lives together. They needed to make a college fund, baby-proof the apartment, and get a house instead.

“What does it say?” Aaron asked.

“I’m pregnant,” Iriye said aloud, bringing the words to the world. Aaron took the test from her hand, and his grin grew to Cheshire proportions as he saw the words. He picked her up, spinning her in his arms and kissing her deeply.

“Baby, you’re pregnant!” Aaron laughed, Iriye giggling at his reaction. He put her down and kissed her again. Iriye wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her close. “I didn’t think falling even more in love with you was possible. Every day you prove me wrong, and today, my love for you just… It’s overflowing.”

Iriye’s eyes filled with tears, and she bit her lip, trying to hold them back.

“Really?”

“Yes, Iriye. I’m so in love with you,” Iriye kissed Aaron again, and she felt him kiss down her lips and then to her neck.

“Baby,” She moaned softly as he skimmed her breast. She was about to take her shirt off when she felt Aaron stop at her belly.

“Hey…” Iriye looked down to see Aaron kissing her belly. She ran her hand over his head as he spoke to her belly. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m your dad. And your mommy is right above us and she is amazing cause she’s doing all the heavy lifting by carrying you, feeding you, and keeping you warm,”

Iriye smiled, tears flowing down her face as Aaron spoke to her belly. She was sure she couldn’t distinguish what he said above her sniffles and sobs. But he returned to kiss her, and she pulled him close.

“We’re gonna be parents,” Iriye whispered, soaking his shirt in happy tears, holding each other in the bathroom.

It took them three days to get in for an appointment with Doctor Lathan for an ultrasound. Iriye was giddy as she listed the answers to the nurse’s questions before the doctor came in. Aaron just held her hand through it all, kissing the back of it or pecking her lips.

Doctor Lathan came in with the chart, smiling softly at the couple. “Well, we have the results from the blood test. Congratulations. You are pregnant. Seven weeks along. Now, change into the gown and we can have a look at the fetus on the ultrasound,”

Doctor Lathan stepped out, and Iriye got changed into the gown. She had to bat off Aaron’s hands and lips as he tried to pull her close. She lay back on the table, and Doctor Lathan and her nurse returned with the ultrasound machine.

Iriye bit her lip as she looked at the screen, seeing it go black for a moment. Aaron stroked her hand, trying to calm his nerves and hers.

“And there it is,” Doctor Lathan pointed to the screen, and Iriye saw the tiny speckle. “The fetus. The baby,” She turned a knob and a steady heartbeat flowed through.

“It’s so tiny, but it’s making that much noise.,” Aaron said in wonder.

“And it will get even bigger in the next months. We just have to get through the first trimester. That’s usually when the risk of miscarriage is higher,” Doctor Lathan explained. “Once you’re out of there, it goes down significantly.”

“Okay,” Iriye said, awed by the life growing inside her. “Can we get pictures?” Iriye asked.

They left the appointment and headed to a restaurant for lunch, Iriye in the mood for something savory. While waiting for their food, Iriye was cuddled up close to Aaron in their booth, looking through a baby clothing website.

“Those are so cute,” Iriye said, showing the little booties. She added it to her cart.

“The tracksuit looks adorable too. And it’s unisex,” Aaron said, sipping his water.

“We’re really gonna have the cutest baby ever,” Iriye added the tracksuit to the cart. “So when are you thinking about telling your parents and my mom?”

“My parents are coming out towards the end of next month. By then, you should be well into the second trimester, so it seems safe. We can fly your mom down too and tell them all at once,” Aaron reasoned.

“You don’t want to tell them sooner?”

“Doctor Lathan said we have to make it out of the first trimester,” Aaron reminded her.

“I get that. I'm just buzzing. I’m excited. We did it.” Iriye explained. “Why not share it now?”

“I just want things to be alright before we tell anything. And it will be,” Aaron assured her.

“Okay. I won’t say anything,” Iriye said, mimicking herself doing a lock and key moment with her lips.

And Iriye stuck to her word. It’s just that everyone else figured it out easily.

Iriye was in her office, trying her best not to eat more peanut butter cups, when she heard a knock at her door.

“Come in,” Iriye said, chewing her last peanut butter cup.

Tamara and Nelly came into the office, stopping at the door.

“Anything I can do for you two?” Iriye said.

“No but there is something you can do for us,” Tamara said. Iriye raised her brow at them. Nelly pulled a pregnancy test out from behind her back.

“Pee on the stick!” Nelly stated.

“Guys!” Iriye said, hoping no one overheard them.

“It’s that simple. We need to know,” Tamara crossed her arms.

“It’s either that or a drug test,” Nelly demanded.

Iriye huffed before saving where she was in the document she was working on.

“Shut the door,” Iriye said. Tamara and Nelly came into the office. She grabbed her bag and pulled the sonogram out. “You can not tell Aaron or Kelvin that I showed this to you guys.”

Iriye slid the sonogram over to them, and immediately Nelly got excited, trying to hide her screams with her hand.

“You’re pregnant!” Nelly hopped.

“I am,” Iriye said, trying her best not to get teary-eyed. Nelly came to hug her while Tamara looked at the sonogram. “Tam?” She was nervous. Tamara looked up at Iriye and Nelly, biting her lip.

“You’re gonna be the best mom, Ri,” Tamara said with a watery smile, eyes filling up with tears. The flood gates came through, and Iriye was crying.

Tamara joined the hug, and the three women held each other as they cried.

“You guys are gonna make a player cry,” Nelly joked, trying her best not to sniffle.

“How far along are you?” Tamara asked, pulling back to grab some tissues for them.

“I’ll be two months by the end of this week,” Iriye grinned. “Aaron thought we should wait because the first trimester is the trickiest, and he wants to ensure we’re good. The baby and I,”

“You’re going to be a mom. That’s wild,” Nelly shook her hand. “We’re going to be aunts,”

“We are!” Tamara cried, and Iriye dabbed at her own eyes.

“You guys can’t say anything, or Aaron will be so mad. I haven’t even told my mom yet, and he hasn’t told his mom or dad or siblings,” Iriye stated.

“We won’t,” Tamara stated. “My lips are sealed,”

Iriye and Tamara turned to Nelly.

“What?”

“Don’t play, loose lips,” Iriye pointed out.

“I’m not going to say anything, I swear. And who would I say anything to, anyway?”

“Kel,” Iriye and Tamara said in unison.

“What? No. I’m not even talking to him right now,” Nelly rolled her eyes.

“But are you going to fuck him tonight?” Tamara asked, Iriye’s eyes going wide.

“You two have been sleeping together?” Iriye gasped.

“Define sleeping together?” Nelly asked.

For the next hour, Iriye and Tamara got the details on Nelly and Kelvin’s escapades, ensuring no stone was left unturned.

A week and a half later, Iriye was setting up game night for her and Aaron’s friends. Iriye had set up the snacks while Aaron was bringing packages to their apartment at the last minute. Aaron had told her he had it, considering he didn’t want her overexerting herself.

“I could have gotten those,” Iriye said as she went over to help him with a few boxes and packages, but Aaron turned away.

“Nah, love. I told you I was going to handle them. You've got enough to deal with carrying our baby,” Aaron stated. Iriye glared at him.

“I’m not helpless, you know,” She said as Aaron placed the packages on the coffee table in their living room. She saw a package and tried to pull it away discreetly, but Aaron caught on quickly.

“What is that?”

“What is what?” Iriye feigned, slipping the package behind her back.

“Iriye,” Aaron raised a full eyebrow at her before pulling her into his lap, Iriye shifting the package to her side. “Show me,”

Iriye huffed and opened the package, showing Aaron the baby clothes she had brought.

“They were gender-neutral and on sale,” she rolled her eyes. Aaron shifted her to his side on the couch, chuckled, and opened a package.

“We said we weren’t going to buy anything,” Aaron said, opening the box in his hand and then shutting it, trying to slide it to his side.

“What you got there, babe?” Iriye asked.

“Nothing,” Iriye locked eyes on his before trying to reach for the box. But Aaron was quicker. “It’s nothing,”

“Show me,”

“Opening another person’s mail is a crime in this country if I remember,” Aaron chuckled as Iriye tried her best to climb over him to the package. “Be careful, love,”

“Just show me. I won’t get mad,” Iriye stated. Aaron handed her the box after he pulled her back onto his lap. Iriye opened it and pulled out a tracksuit set for a baby. “Now Aaron,”

“It was cute. And I don’t even order many things,” Aaron explained. Iriye then pulled out another one in his favorite color. By the time she was done, she had pulled three more out.

“Now that is a lot of tracksuits for one baby,” Iriye raised an eyebrow at Aaron.

“Just preparing them for their future,” Aaron said. “Don’t worry, though. Yours should be coming soon.”

“Wait… you got us matching track suits,” Iriye asked.

“Of course. We gotta look good as a family,” Aaron said with a shrug. Iriye cupped his chin, and she leaned in to kiss him softly.

“We’re a family,” Iirye repeated before she leaned in for a more extended kiss.

“We can cancel game night, right?” Aaron mumbled against her lips.

“I don’t think so, but if we don’t answer the door, they’ll get the memo.” Iriye reasoned.

“Right, love,” Aaron kissed her again, leaning her back against the couch.

Sadly, they didn’t cancel game night as Kelvin showed up twenty minutes later to set up the karaoke machine he had brought. And of course, Nelly so happened to meander in a good ten minutes later, perfectly timed. Aaron pretended not to notice the hickey on her shoulder when Nelly took her jacket off. Iriye just rolled her eyes.

Tamara and Cece came, along with a few other friends. Viv made a big deal of entering the house, each hand holding a wine bottle.

“She’s already two sheets to the wind. My mom took Libby for the weekend,” Gabe remarked.

The party was in full swing, everyone convening around snacks as Vivian came to refill everyone's glass with their wine. Iriye had been doing her best to excuse herself to the kitchen to fill her glass with grape juice, not wanting to seem too out of place for saying no to a glass of wine.

“I got a special bottle I’ve been drinking,” Iriye said when Vivian tried to fill hers. “It was a gift from the studio. Hella expensive,”

“Mhm,” Vivian giggled, winking at her. Iriye raised her eyebrow at her.

“What?” Iriye asked her.

“Nothing… you just seem… bright. Glowy even,” Vivian said, her smile coming through.

On that last sentence, Kelvin came into the room with a bag of chips.

“Well, duh. She’s with child,” Kelvin said, chewing the last of his chips.

There was a silence until Iriye smacked Aaron’s arm.

“You told Kelvin?” Iriye whispered.

“No, I swear I didn’t,” Aaron stated.

“But he told me in the kitchen twenty minutes ago,” Vivian giggled.

“Aaron!” Iriye glared.

“She guessed it!” Aaron exclaimed.

“Not really,” Gabe stated. “I might have told Vivian after we got drinks that one night,”

“Man, come on,” Aaron stated.

“You told Gabe before me?” Kelvin held his hand to his chest, hurt.

“I was knackered,” Aaron shrugged.

“So who told Kelvin?” Iriye asked.

“Nelly did,” Kelvin stated.

“You weren’t supposed to say anything, Kelvin!” Nelly rolled her eyes. “There’s a reason why pillow talk stays in bed!”

“Wait, Nelly and Kelvin are fucking,” Viv asked.

“Is it safe to say, we’re the only ones who know how to keep things quiet?” Cece whispered to Tamara.

“So I didn’t tell Nelly and Tamara, which means,” Aaron looked towards Iriye, playing with her sleeve. “Anything you wanna tell me?”

“They practically figured it out,” Iriye raised her hands in surrender.

“Okay. So we all know Iriye is pregnant,” Tamara stated. “I guess this is the part where we say, congratulations!”

Soon, the other women in the room embraced Iriye. Gabe slapped Aaron on the back while Kelvin dapped him up, trying to convince Aaron to make him the godfather.

“Now that all of this is out of the way and we’re laying everything out, Kelvin and Nelly… what the hell are you two?” Iriye asked.

The rest of the night was filled with joyfulness and laughter, and everyone enjoyed themselves. At the night's end, Iriye was shuffling through their fridge, looking for ice cream to eat while Aaron rinsed some wine glasses off and dried them.

“There we go,” Iriye smirked as she pulled out one of the cartons of ice cream she had stashed in the freezer.

“Were you hiding ice cream?” Aaron asked as Iriye hopped to sit on the counter.

“Well, yes.” Iriye picked up a spoon and opened the carton, digging in and humming as she tasted the Vanilla Bean ice cream. Aaron dried his hands and moved to stand in front of her.

“Any way I can get some?” Aaron raised an eyebrow at her. Iriye nodded, taking a scoop and raising it to his lips, watching him take some off the spoon. A little slipped down his chin, and Iriye leaned forward, licking it off with the tip of her tongue.

“Your tongue is cold,” Aaron chuckled, and Iriye giggled.

“You never had an issue with that before. Remember our anniversary two years ago,” Iriye hummed. Aaron groaned, moving closer to her, his fingers flexing on her thighs.

“That was a fun time,” Aaron stated.

“It was.” Iriye pressed her chest against his. “We should run that back with the ice cream.” She said, handing the ice cream his way.

“Whatever the mother of my child wants,” Aaron said, putting a scoop of ice cream into his mouth. He leaned forward to kiss her, and she shivered, feeling the cold from the ice cream in her mouth. He pulled away after they kissed each other a moment longer. “You head to the bedroom and strip down… I’ll meet you there,” He helped her from the counter, playfully slapping her ass as she walked away.

By the end of that night, the ice cream was long gone, and their bodies were sticky from coming together in different ways. Aaron held her closer, and for a moment, everything was good. They were happy. They were going to be okay.

Iriye wished she could have held onto that moment even longer. Feeling him hold her and caress her stomach. Talking to their baby. Something they had made together.

A week and a half later, Iriye was shopping on her day off. She had been strolling through a bookstore she loved while Aaron grabbed both smoothies from a local cafe nearby. Once she was finished paying for her books, she went to walk back his way, taking in the day when she felt something was off. She sat outside the shop, trying to figure out why she felt like that. She watched as Aaron took a photo with a fan before making his way out to her, a pomegranate smoothie in hand.

“Here you go,” Aaron said, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. Iriye took hold of the smoothie, but didn’t take a sip. “You craving something else?” She shook her head. “What’s wrong, love?”

“I think I’m just not feeling good,” Iriye stated, standing up and wincing slightly as she felt a sharp pain.

“Let’s get you home. You’ve been walking for a bit,” Aaron took hold of her bag and the books she brought, Iriye grabbing the smoothie to take with her.

They returned to where they parked his car, and he quickly grabbed her bags and put them in the back seat. Iriye leaned against the car, winced again at a sharper pain hitting her stomach, and let out a small cry.

“Iriye, baby,” Aaron said, heading over to her. Iriye felt tears welling up as she felt like water was gushing from her bottom half.

“Aaron. We gotta go. We gotta get to the hospital,” Iriye stated, trying to hold it together.

Six days later, the hospital visit still felt like a blur for Iriye. Aaron was comforting her and telling her she was okay. The doctor told her the news… she had a miscarriage. She had tried to block out the bad parts because she would cry if she thought too hard, and she was sure no tears were left. She was tired of it anyway.

She heard footsteps from the bathroom and saw Aaron coming in, a pair of sweats low on his hips.

“You’re up,” Aaron said. “I didn’t wake you running the shower, did I?”

“No,” Iriye sighed. “Is my mom still here?” She asked.

“Yes. She’s in the kitchen. She was talking about making blueberry muffins when I came in from my workout,” Aaron stated.

“You went to work out?” Iriye asked him, appalled a little.

“I did. I left a note. I didn’t want to wake you. I know you didn’t sleep last night,” Aaron reminded her. Iriye turned to lie on her back, biting her lip to hide her shame.

Iriye had gone to her home office in their apartment, knowing her mom figured that she didn’t need to see any of the baby's clothes she had brought. But Iriye needed to know that what she and Aaron had created was real. So she went and hugged the clothes to her face as she cried late into the night.

“You could have gotten me up,” Iriye stated. “I’m not fragile. I’m not gonna fall apart,”

“No one said you were, Ri.” Aaron watched as Iriye got up out of bed, Aaron moving to help her, but she swatted his hands away. “Iriye,”

“I need to start calling people. To thank them for the flowers,” She had seen the bouquets from friends and family whenever she felt like venturing out of the room. It wasn’t often, but she saw the different flowers. Even noticed a small bouquet of them from Samuel Arenas. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in two years, but word must have gotten around to him.

“I already sent out thank yous. Told people to give us some privacy. Luckily, they pushed back production shoots for me in London so we could get more time together,” Aaron explained.

“My show. I have episodes to produce, Aaron.” She moved to find her phone, and when she clicked it open, she saw the picture of the ultrasound that she had made her background. She shut it, her eyes closing and trying to shake the images in her mind.

“I’m sorry,” Iriye said to the nurses as they helped her out of her ruined clothes and into a clean hospital gown. Aaron was trying to put her clothes into a bag that the hospital offered, but the nurses shooed him away to sit.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Amiyah, an older Black nurse, assured her. She helped Iriye get onto the table, and Aaron reached for her hands and kissed the backs of them.

“I love you so much, you know that, right?” Aaron said, trying to stay calm for Iriye as tears flowed down her face. He was pushing tendrils of her hair back, and she nodded.

“I know,” Iriye stated. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Iriye sobbed. He shook his head.

“It’s okay,” Aaron affirmed.

“It’s time for the ultrasound to confirm if you’re having a miscarriage,” Amiyah explained.

Iriye shut her eyes as she lay on the table, hoping this was a big mistake. The blood that was left in her body was not abnormal, and their baby was okay. Soon, the wand they used entered her, and she watched as they looked around on the screen, Amiyah keeping a look of neutrality on. After a few more minutes, she turned the monitor to them.

“There is no fetal heartbeat detected.” Amiyah stated. Iriye looked at the screen.

“Can you um… can you try again?” Iriye asked. Amiyah nodded, doing another sweep and nothing could be heard.

Iriye’s bottom lip trembled while Aaron sniffled.

“Can we try again? Please?” Iriye felt like everything was out of control.

“Iriye, baby,” Aaron said, making Iriye turn to him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Iriye laid her head back against the table, breaking down in tears.

trigger ends

“Can you change my phone background, please?” Iriye asked Aaron, handing her phone to him. “I’m going to check on my mom.” Without another word, Iriye left the room.

The smell of heavenly baking hit her senses, and Iriye saw Eve nursing a cup of tea.

“Hey, mommy,” Iriye said, kissing her cheek.

“Hello to you, too,” Eve said, passing a mug filled with hot tea to Iriye. “I was expecting to bring this to your bed. You should be resting,”

“I rested enough,” Iriye reached for a muffin, and her mom popped her hand.

“It’s still hot,” Eve said. “And besides, Aaron has never had my blueberry muffins.”

“He’s had blueberry muffins before,” Iriye stated.

“Keyword: my,” Her mom went to put one on a plate. “You can share one with him. Talk to him,”

“What’s there to talk about?” Iriye asked. Iriye’s mom cleared her throat.

“Iriye Renee Edwards,” Her mom demanded. Even in her state, she knew using her middle name meant business. “Just because you’re grown doesn't mean you’re not my child.”

Iriye rolled her eyes and took the muffin and tea to the bedroom. She paused at the door before she pushed it open, a clearing of Aaron’s throat stopping her halfway in the room.

“My mom says you get the first bite of the muffin,” Iriye said, her voice coming out meek.

It wasn't rare that she saw Aaron get emotional, but it was rarely because of her. And for that, she felt like the worst person, even more so given the situation.

“Oh. Thank you,” Aaron said, Iriye seeing the tell-tale sign of his jaw twitching.

Iriye walked over to him with the plate in hand, placing it beside him before taking a spot.

“You should eat something,” Aaron stated. Iriye took the knife off the plate and split it in half.

“Pick the side you want,” Iriye stated. Aaron sighed softly before taking one part of the muffin. Iriye took the other. He watched her, and Iriye took a bite, showing that she would try to eat. He took a bite of his.

“You know… it would have been three months next week,” Aaron stated. “We would have made it out of the first trimester,”

“I know,” Iriye stated. “I’m sorry,”

“Iriye-” Iriye stopped him.

“I’m sorry for being snappy before… it happened so soon, and it will take some time to heal. But I… It’s only been a week, and I feel like if I don’t move forward, I’ll be stuck, cause you’re just… you’re acting normal. Working out,” Iriye rambled. Aaron tsked.

“I’m anything but normal, Iriye,” Aaron explained. “But right now, what I’m worried about more than anything is you,”

“And who's worried about you?” Iriye asked. Aaron took a moment to breathe, thinking it over.

“I told my parents… about the miscarriage. We talked about it. Prayed about it,” He explained. “My sister said it’s common and often happens in the first trimester.”

“But why did it happen to us?” Iriye asked. There was a silence between the two for a while.

“I don’t know, love. I wish I had all the answers to give you,” Aaron said, choking up. “I wish I could… take it all away.” A sob broke through, and Aaron tried composing himself. But in the safety of their room, Iriye held him closer to her body. When the first sob broke, Iriye couldn’t help but feel her eyes tear up. His face soaked her shoulder and neck, tears rolling from her eyes. Soon, their cries matched each other, Aaron holding tight around her waist.

Iriye tried to shift, moving the plate aside and lying back, pulling Aaron with her. She let him wrap himself around her, his head on her stomach. After a while, the tears quieted down and Iriye continued stroking the back of his neck.

“I shouldn’t be the one breaking down,” Aaron stated. Iriye looked down and saw him lifting his head to look at her. “You went through it—the miscarriage. The d and c procedure,”

“We went through it. It was our baby,” She said, trying her best to cover her eyes for a moment as she felt tears coming back up.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay, you know. I went to work out because your mom said it was okay for me to have some time to myself,” Aaron explained. “I was trying to focus, but I kept thinking of you. I felt like such an ass,”

“I’m being an ass,” Iriye whispered.

“You have every right to be,” Aaron corrected her. She tried pulling him up to face her, and he crawled till they were turned on their sides, facing each other. Her fingers brushed the unshed tears from his face.

“Can I ask you something?” Iriye looked between his eyes. “Do you still love me?”

Aaron furrowed her brows at her.

“Of course I still love you,” Aaron said, sitting up. “Iriye, I do,”

“Okay,” Iriye nodded, getting teary-eyed again. Aaron pulled her close, pressing a kiss against her head before going to her cheek and then her other. He pressed a soft kiss to her lips and pulled her in close.

“I love you, too, Aaron,” Iriye said, the two holding onto each other. As long as they had each other, they would be good.

Two weeks later, Iriye was in her OBGYN’s office, talking to Doctor Lathan as she checked up on her. Aaron had a fitting and was apologetic for missing it.

“Everything seems to look good. Hormone levels are coming back down,” Doctor Lathan explained. “Emotionally, how are you feeling?”

Iriye bit her lip. “Some days are good. Some days are bad. But talking to a therapist has been helping. Aaron has been really good about giving me space to process it alone, but we’re working on it together. I think he feels guilty because he has to leave for filming in two weeks, and I won’t be with him, so we’re making the most of it.”

“And have you two been intimate?” Doctor Lathan asked. Iriye raised an eyebrow, trying to find a way to word it.

“No. I think we’re still trying to deal with the loss. It feels weird to. I mean, I’m not gonna lie. I want to. Like really badly,” Iriye admitted. “Sorry, that’s probably too much information.”

“It’s completely normal. Some couples wait months out. Others get back to it once things have been cleared. Sometimes fertility levels can be higher after a miscarriage, so that’s just a discussion for you and your partner to have if you do decide to try again for a baby,”

Iriye nodded, taking this information in. It was something she needed to think about with Aaron and discuss.

Later that night, Iriye and Aaron shared takeout on the couch while some mind numbing reality show played. Aaron refilled Iriye’s wine glass, and she smiled at him, taking a sip immediately. She hummed happily afterwards.

“I missed that,” Iriye said, Aaron chuckling at her.

“I bet you did,” He said, tapping his glass against hers before taking his own. Iriye swirled the wine in her glass, stretching her legs from under her. Aaron pulled them into his lap, massaging a calf with one hand. “You never told me how the appointment went.”

“Pretty good. I seem to be going back to normal, physically, at least,” Iriye explained. “And she said that it was okay to have sex,” She added on before sipping her wine.

“What love?” Aaron turned to her and Iriye felt shy.

“We can have sex?” Iriye stated. Aaron swirled the wine in his glass.

“We can or we will?” He asked, and Iriye swatted his arm.

“Do you want to have sex with me?” Iriye asked him.

“Well, yes. But do you want to have sex with me?” Aaron asked.

“Can I admit something?” Iriye asked. “I do, but I’m nervous.” She put her wine down. “What if it feels different for me or you? And then what if you want to use a condom or vice versa, because we never discussed if we wanted to try again for a baby and I-”

Iriye was immediately cut off by Aaron kissing her deeply, his hand on her throat. She moaned into his mouth. He pulled back, pulling her lip between his teeth before letting it go.

“So… you do want to have sex with me?” Iriye was still trying to focus, and Aaron pulled her into his lap. She could feel how hard he was, and she ground against him, her dress pushing up her thighs as Aaron grasped her hips.

“I wanna do more than have sex. I wanna make love to you. Fuck you. Claim every part of you,” Aaron groaned, and Iriye felt her cheeks warming, a shy smile on her. “But do you want me?”

“I want you, Aaron,” Iriye whispered. “Please,”

Aaron didn’t waste any time putting his glass aside and lifting her as he got off the couch. He pulled her in his arms, and Iriye wrapped her legs around his waist.

Aaron made it to their bedroom and lay Iriye on the bed. Clothes were hurriedly pulled away, and Iriye smiled at Aaron, a newfound vulnerability and connection built between them.

“You’re beautiful,” Aaron stated. Iriye bit her lip before kissing him deeply once again. His hands moved to her sides and traced up to her breast. Iriye allowed him closer as she cradled her legs against his sides.

“Aaron,” She breathed as she felt Aaron push his length inside of her. His hand moved to grasp her thigh, holding it high on his hip as he began to roll his hips inside of her.

“You’re so wet, Iriye,” Aaron moaned, his hips keeping an even pace.

“Aaron, fuck you’re so deep,” Iriye grasped onto his sides, her nails digging softly into the flesh.

Iriye moved her hips against his, them moving in sync. Aaron leaned down, kissing her lips before trailing down her neck.

“Right there,” Iriye cried, feeling him hit that spot inside of her that he knew drove her crazy. “Oh my god,”

“Iriye, you’re so tight,” Aaron grunted, his hips moving a little harder into her. His hand moved to hers and placed them by her head.

“Aaron, fuck,” She intertwined their fingers, feeling him roll his hips into her repeatedly.

“You’re so fucking deep,” Iriye said, Aaron moving to kiss her again. Iriye wrapped her legs around his waist, and he moved a little quicker. She could feel the little pit building inside of her, wanting to reach her end.

“Iriye,” Aaron moaned, feeling Iriye’s walls tighten around him. “You’re so pretty like this under me,”

“Aaron, baby,” Iriye cried as she felt him speed up, thrusting harder into her. “Fuck…” Her walls began tightening up around him. “You’re gonna make me cum,”

“I want you to. You wanna come for daddy?” Aaron said.

“Yes, I wanna come,” Iriye cried out. She rolled her hips harder, trying to keep up with Aaron.

“Oh god,” Aaron began thrusting faster, Iriye’s back arching up into him. His mouth found hers again, and he licked into hers, hearing the wet slaps of their bodies combining.

“You fucking me so good,” Iriye moaned as she could feel herself getting closer to her end.

“Come for me, Iriye!” Aaron groaned, thrusting harder as Iriye’s moans grew louder.

Aaron thrust harder into Iriye, hitting her G-spot, and Iriye threw her head back.

“Oh god! Yes! Yes! Aaron,” Iriye cried out into the night, her walls tightening as she felt her end hit her.

Aaron kept thrusting into her, his hips pounding into her as she rode out her waves. He thrust into her a few more times till he came in iriye, skin slick with sweat as he lay on top of her.

Iriye didn’t mind his body weight on her as she cradled him, feeling his warmth surrounding her.

“I love you,” Aaron whispered against the skin of her chest, kissing down to nuzzle his head between her breasts.

“I love you, too,” Iriye giggled. Stop, you’re tickling me.” She felt the stubble of his beard scratch against her, and she whimpered, knowing she was still sensitive.

For the next two weeks, their nights shifted between moments of passionate lovemaking, cuddling, and talking, and some were somber. Iriye would get little pangs of sorrow, seeing things that reminded her of the child they lost. She would see the same moments of pause in Aaron whenever he was quietly studying or taking a moment for himself. His eyes were watery. They at least had each other to wipe the memories away.

But once Aaron left for shooting in London, Iriye tried her best to focus on work. The season of her show was wrapping up, and she had been having meetings about the next film she should write.

For the next month and a half, most of the meetings were in person, so Iriye had time to figure things out before she joined Aaron in London for a much-needed vacation. But the longing didn’t help as she would lie in bed alone, thinking about how far along she would have been.

“You sure you don’t want one of us to stay with you?” Nelly asked as she, Tamara, and Iriye walked to their cars on the production lot.

“No, I’m good. I’m gonna go home to a bottle of wine, all my shows on DVR for me to watch and unwind,” Iriye stated.

“A wine dinner? Cece can make you something,” Tamara stated, but Iriye shook her off.

“I’m fine. And besides, Aaron is gonna be up in the next hour by the time I get home, so if anything, I’ll bug him until he tells me to go to bed,” Iriye explained.

“Are y’all going to have phone sex? You’re gonna have phone sex,” Nelly teased.

“No, we’re not.” Iriye could tell Nelly was trying to cheer her up from her impending sadness about Aaron's absence from work.

“Well, we are here for you, no matter what. You can call us at any time. We will come running, you know that,” Tamara said. Iriye took Iriye’s hand in hers and squeezed it. She hugged Tamara before grabbing Nelly for one. She watched as they got into their car and soon made it to her place.

Iriye had made herself a sandwich after slipping into one of Aaron’s shirts and going to their bed. She texted him good morning, knowing he was probably on set earlier. She found herself slowly nodding off when she finished her sandwich.

Loud knocks at her bedroom door abruptly woke up Iriye. She got up from bed, stumbling to the bedroom door, and opened it to see Tamara at the door.

“What? What’s wrong?” Iriye asked, trying to rub sleep from her eyes.

“Thank god! I thought you were dead or something,” Tamara said, checking Iriye to see if she was okay. “It’s twelve thirty-five Iriye,”

“Wait, I overslept! Shit,” Iriye looked for her phone and saw it was dead. “I had a meeting! I can’t believe I slept fo r over ten freaking hours,”

“The exec’s assistant called to ask if you were running late. I called Aaron, and he hadn’t heard from you since you said good morning last night,” Tamara explained.

Iriye ran a hand through her hair, feeling like she was a mess, and Tamara came over to her.

“Are you sure you’re not under the weather?” Tamara put her hand to Iriye’s head, and she frowned.

“No, I feel okay. I must just be tired. So many meetings and work stuff. It’s draining me,” Iriye moved to put her phone on the charger. “Give me about twenty minutes and I’ll be ready,”

Iriye went into the bathroom, getting herself together. She returned to the room, huffing as she realized what was wrong.

“I got my period,” Iriye rolled her eyes, seeing Tamara sitting at the edge of her bed. “It’s been a minute, so that’s probably why my body is off.”

“Aw, Ri,” Tamara gave her a small smile. “Please call Aaron cause he is steadily blowing up my phone,”

Iriye quickly grabbed her phone and texted Aaron, letting him know she was alive. She was immediately met with him FaceTiming her.

“Thank god,” Aaron said, his tone sounding worried as he came into the camera's view.

“My phone died. My bad. I overslept,” Iriye explained. “Tamara saved me, though.”

“I told her to,” Aaron stated.

“That man thinks he runs me,” Tamara joked.

“Okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Aaron said. “I love you. I gotta head to bed, but I will talk to you later, okay?”

“I love you, too, baby,” Iriye said, hating how things were rushed between them, but work called. Aaron hung up, and Iriye sighed.

“Another day in Paradise,” Iriye explained.

Soon, Iriye and Tamara arrived at the office, and her assistant, Cassie, caught Iriye up on things.

“Anything you need?” Cassie asked, eager to be of help to Iriye.

“Can you bring me a snack from the office and order lunch for us both. I’m starving,” Iriye hated feeling so off.

“I restocked your snack drawer, so you have some stuff. But I’ll get on that lunch order,” Cassie said. Iriye thanked her and opened the drawer, seeing the salt and vinegar chips. She hesitated for a moment, thinking of her former pregnancy craving.

Iriye took a bag out and opened it, took a chip out, and chewed it. She hummed quietly, knowing she must have been desperate to eat the chips. Iriye made a mental note to ask Cassie to keep them in rotation.

Iriye began to believe she was under the weather, combined with her period, as she felt so sluggish for the next week. She went to bed and slept for long hours. She powered through, knowing she had another two weeks to make it, and then she was off to London. It didn’t help that she began getting nausea spells.

Luckily, Iriye’s team at Lanoire worked with the executives and producers she was meeting with to arrange her schedule so that she could complete the meetings earlier, freeing her time up so she could feel better and get to Aaron sooner.

Aaron hated night shoots. They always threw his sleep schedule off, and as much prep as he had in ensuring his routine wasn’t rattled, he still felt off. He had just gotten himself relaxed enough when he heard his doorbell ring. He groaned as he got up, heading to the front door of his house. When he opened the door and saw her, he was prepared to kindly ask whoever it was to leave if it was anyone else.

“Hey, handsome,” Iriye smiled widely. Aaron’s eyes went wide, and she giggled as he kissed her.

“What are you doing here? Wait, did I read our calendar wrong?” Aaron asked if he had gotten the dates of her coming to London wrong.

“I got done with work early and I have some news I couldn’t wait to tell you,” Iriye smiled as she felt his warm hands on her cheeks. He noticed she didn’t have anyb ags besides her tote in hand. He began kissing her again, him trying to slip his tongue in but she stopping him. “You’re not gonna like that,”

“I have tasted you in many different ways, Iriye.” Aaron raised an eyebrow, and Iriye slapped her hand over his mouth.

“Well, you’re not gonna like the taste of morning sickness,” Aaron heard her words and raised an eyebrow at her.

“Morning sickness?” Aaron asked. Iriye bit her lip, and she reached into her pocket, pulling out a picture.

“Open it,” Iriye directed. Aaron opened the envelope and carefully studied the ultrasound. “I’m pregnant,“ Iriye said, tears coming.

Aaron was in awe at the ultrasound picture, looking back at Iriye and seeing how happy she looked.

“You’re pregnant again?” Aaron was afraid that she would say it was a prank. That this was a dream. Anything that made this moment feel unreal.

“I am, baby, I am,” Iriye could see his thoughts racing. “You’re gonna be a dad. We’re going to be parents,”

And with that affirmation, Aaron pulled Iriye in for a deep kiss. He lifted her up and spun her around, Iriye giggling.

“Put me down or we’re gonna have a problem, “ Iriye teased. Aaron listened and put her down, his joy not knowing any limits.

“I love you,” Aaron said, looking deeply into her eyes.

“I love you, too,” Iriye replied. Aaron’s hand went to her stomach, a tear running down his face, and she wiped it away, her own eyes filling up.

In that moment, Iriye knew that whatever happened, as long as Aaron continued to look at her like that, she would be safe, their baby would be loved, and their family would be whole.

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nubiawrites · 5 days ago

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Thank you so much for reading