Five Years Later

"Thank you for the lesson, Nee-chan!"

Even though I was in class I couldn't help but squeal at how cute little Kaito was as he bowed politely to me. Not being able to resist, I rushed over and scooped him into my arms, surprising a giggle out of him as he wrapped his arms and legs around me in a whole-body hug. All of the other small children in my dance class rushed forward and began hugging my legs as well and I couldn't help but laugh with delight at them. 

I bent down and gave each of the little cuties a swift kiss before putting Kaito down and telling him I would see him later. He waved after me, his brown eyes exactly like Auntie's shining back at me with excitement as I left my class in the capable hands of my co-teacher until their parents came to pick them up. Normally I would stay until they had all gotten back home, but today I had something important to do.

As I caught the bus that would take me to my home I reflected on how I had come to be here, driving away from Feel da Beat as one of its official dance instructors.

Auntie and Shin Woo got married less than a month after Castiel and I graduated from Sweet Amoris High. It was a beautiful ceremony and Castiel and I had stood proudly in the wedding party with them. Even more memorable for me though, was that after their honeymoon they officially adopted me as their daughter.

Father went through the federal court system and was found guilty of child abuse and attempted filicide, which earned him a sentence of 20 years in jail. The news had been devastating to me, since all I had wanted was for him to go back to his karate school to try and forget I even existed. Auntie and Castiel helped me through my guilt though and helped me understand that his punishment was what he deserved, even if it tore me apart.

Not long after Auntie (it had been too hard to change to calling her "Mom" so I stuck with calling her Auntie even after the adoption was finalized) and Shin Woo had gotten married she announced that she was pregnant. I fell in love with little Kaito the moment I held him in my arms and it had been torture to spend all day at college and miss out on his first laugh and first steps.

Shin Woo had convinced Castiel and I during our first year at Anteros Academy, the local university in Sweet Amoris, to create a music video and put it on several social media websites. The song Castiel chose was a love song he had written for me that I created a dance to. It had been an absolutely thrilling experience to make a music video with him. Little did we know, though, how much that video would change our lives.

To our shock, the video went viral and we were contacted by several talent agencies, both local and national. After talking things over with Shin Woo and Auntie we decided to sign a one year contract and start a band. To my embarrassment, I was the lead singer with Castiel as the lead guitarist and the agency matched us up with a drummer and a base player who became our good friends.

The band did really well for a startup and we were scheduled for several tours throughout the year. The life of a musician was exciting, but as we were on tours I would find myself constantly searching for privacy, which never seemed available. Everyone knew that Castiel and I were a couple, but that didn't stop crazy fans from throwing themselves at him and me. By the end of the year I was sick of it. I quietly quit the band when my contract was up.

When I told Castiel that I was quitting and going back to being a full-time student, he immediately said he would quit as well. I knew that being in a band had been his dream though, so I convinced him to stay and renew his contract for another year. At first the press had a field day, printing lies that Castiel and I broke up and that was why I left the band. We both vehemently denied the stories though and when the press saw that I was just going about my day as a normal college student and Castiel didn't look at anyone else besides me the rumors died down and they eventually started leaving me alone.

It had been weird, not having Castiel next to me at every moment of the day, but he came back to Sweet Amoris at every chance he got. Whenever I felt lonely I would go visit Shin Woo and Auntie and play with Kaito, which would always lift my spirits.

One morning, about six months later, I woke up in my apartment to find myself wrapped in Castiel's warm embrace. I wasn't expecting him to visit for a few more months so I immediately started checking to see if he had a fever or was injured in some way. When he woke up to find me in a panic he laughed, gathered me into his arms, and said something I would never have expected in a million years.

"Let's get married."

Castiel quit the band, paid the sizable breach-of-contract fee, and we started preparations for our wedding. I felt incredibly guilty about Castiel deciding to leave his dream behind for me for nearly a month, but he finally told me that being a rock star wasn't worth anything when I wasn't there next to him. That melted me completely and I stopped questioning his decision, which seemed to make him happy.

Our wedding was sweet and simple. We didn't want any press coverage of any kind, so we rented a private stretch of Coral Bay and got married on the beach right at sunset.

It had been everything I could have dreamed of. My favorite part had been that little Kaito (who was two years old by then) was our ring bearer wearing an outfit that Auntie had designed and made herself. Just like she had tirelessly hand-designed every inch of my wedding gown, which was more stunning than I could hardly believe. She used a creamy satin fabric and somehow made it so that while I was walking, or when the wind picked up, the train of the dress rippled just like the ocean waves. 

After Castiel and I were married and enjoyed our honeymoon in Guam (upon recommendation of Shin Woo who had fond memories of when he performed there during his own band years), we bought a cute two-story home just ten minutes away from Feel da Beat. Upon Shin Woo and Auntie's insistence I decided to start working at Feel da Beat with them as a dance instructor while I finished my degree. I had chosen to double major in Finance and Early Childhood Development. Being around Kaito made me want to do everything I could to learn how to help raise my own future children and monitor our family finances.

Castiel went back to university with me after the honeymoon to major in Musical Theory. However, because of his fame from being in the band, several companies began to approach him and asked him to create music to go with their video games. When those became successful he began to be approached by film companies asking him to write music for their new movies. Castiel loved his work and my favorite part was that he could do everything while at home. So even if he was in the middle of a song if I was missing him I could pop in and watch him work. Although if I did pop in it normally didn't take him long to put down his music and come join me for some 'us' time.

Although it made me a little sad in a way, something good that came about with Castiel making a name for himself in the music industry was that his parents actually started to acknowledge him. Castiel had been right about them not being put off by my family situation. They accepted me with open arms from the very beginning, although those arms were often across the world and their hearts seemed to only have room for themselves and their work. After we had been in a band though they actually came to a few of our shows, and when we announced our plan to get married I was shocked at how enthusiastic they were about it. Now, whenever Castiel's name was listed in a movie or anywhere for his music scores I was sure to receive a call from Castiel's mom gushing about how proud she was of her son.

Even after I graduated, I chose to stay at Feel Da Beat, because dancing was still one of the things that made me the happiest. Shin Woo put me in charge of the young children's dance classes which let me use my early childhood development knowledge as I taught them simple hip hop routines. The day Kaito joined my class had been one of the best moments of my life. Although it was super hard to treat him like all of my other students and not to lavish the little cutie with all my older-sister love.

A beeping sound signaled that my bus ride had come to an end and I stood up, bouncing slightly on the balls of my feet in anticipation. I could hardly wait to see Castiel. As the bus doors opened I hopped off and began jogging easily towards our home with the bright blue door. The rest of the house was a calm brown color, but having lived with Auntie's intense color scheme for so long it had rubbed off on me and one of the first things Castiel and I had done as a newlywed couple was to paint our front door. The second was soundproofing the entire basement floor so Castiel could work anytime inspiration hit him without having to worry about waking me up or disturbing the neighbors.

I realized that I was humming quietly to myself as I unlocked the door and I absently wondered which soundtrack Castiel created the tune for. With another grin, I pushed open the door and closed it behind me gently. A chorus of excited barking greeted me and I laughed happily, dropping to my knees and extending my arms so both Demon and Gemma could barrel into me.

Gemma was a beautiful German Shepherd that Castiel had bought for me for our first year anniversary. Demon was getting a little on in years but Gemma stuck by his side no matter what, always nibbling at his tail or trying to play with him however she could. I pet the two briefly before shooing them away. Normally I would give them more attention, but I still had something to discuss with Castiel.

Kicking off my runners haphazardly and not even caring when Gemma took off running after them, I rushed downstairs and burst through the door. Castiel jerked at my unusually abrupt entrance but his lips quickly quirked up into a smile as he looked at me. 

"Hey there, Ghosty. What's the rush?" he asked. 

I grinned, secretly loving that he still called me that silly nickname even though the talent show had been so many years ago.

Castiel turned to put his guitar on the stand next to the plush armchair he was sitting in and I quickly ran over to him. He looked up, eyes widening as I slid my knees on either side of his legs and sat on his lap. I then wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tightly while trying to keep from laughing like a maniac.

"Well, hello to you too," Castiel said with a pleasantly confused tone.

I had gotten a lot better at physical contact without dredging up bad memories from the past, but I wasn't normally this exuberant and I could tell Castiel was surprised. Even so, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He scooted forward so I could wrap my legs around his waist and sit more comfortably. After I couldn't hold it in anymore I leaned back and looked at Castiel with a huge grin.

"I made a decision today," I announced, trying to keep myself from squealing. 

Castiel raised one eyebrow and I reached out and traced it with my finger causing his other eyebrow to raise up in bewilderment. I couldn't help but giggle.

"What has gotten into you today?" Castiel asked with a baffled expression. 

I cleared my throat quickly, trying to calm myself down. To keep my hands busy I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck, clasping my fingers so they wouldn't be able to move on their own accord. 

"I am going to quit Feel Da Beat after the next recital," I said, trying to remain calm. 

Castiel's mouth dropped open in shock and concern raced from his grey eyes to his fingers which gripped my waist in shock.

"What? Why would you do that? I thought you loved teaching there!" Castiel said in shock. 

I couldn't keep the grin that was threatening to split my face in two from surfacing and I laughed happily, making Castiel's mouth turn down in a frown.

"I do love it there. But I found something that I want to do even more than that," I said with a happy smile. Castiel cocked his head to the side and reached one hand up to scratch his neck in obvious confusion.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" he asked. 

I unclasped my fingers from behind his neck and took his hand in one of mine. Slowly I lowered it so that it was pressed against my stomach and I put both my hands on top of his.

"I'm going to be a Mom," I whispered, surprised when my eyes began to swim with moisture. "And you're going to be a Daddy."

Castiel's face froze in a picture of shocked disbelief as he glanced from where I was pressing his hand to my stomach up to my tear-filled eyes. We'd been trying to have a baby since we got married and it had been almost two years since then. I had been getting worried that something was wrong with me but I was too scared to go to a doctor and get tested. But lately, I had been feeling strangely lethargic in the morning. When I finally plucked up my courage and went to the doctor's this morning they told me the news I had been scared I would never hear.

"You're... serious?" Castiel whispered, his face still registering only shock. I nodded happily, accidentally letting loose a single, happy tear.

Castiel's face exploded in a grin and I yelped as he rocketed onto his feet, gripping me around the waist and spinning me around his studio without worrying about the many expensive instruments strewn around. I held onto his shoulders and laughed happily along with Castiel. Suddenly he stopped spinning me and set me down looking worriedly from my face down to my stomach.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should've been more gentle," he apologized in an adorably concerned tone. 

I laughed and stood on my tiptoes so I could plant a kiss on his lips. He responded immediately, deepening the kiss and dipping me backward slightly. Once we broke apart I playfully nipped his earlobe and I shivered in happiness as a deep chuckle rumbled from his throat.

"The baby is still tiny, so you don't have to worry about being too gentle with me or anything. I won't start showing for several months, which is why I'm going to wait until the recital to officially quit from Feel Da Beat," I explained, looping my arms around Castiel's neck and feeling happier in this moment than I had ever felt in my life. 

Castiel cradled my face in his large, calloused hands and the look of love and adoration that he gave me made my whole body tremble with happiness.

"I love you, Ghosty," he whispered, his voice sounding a little raspier than usual.

"I love you too, Pooh Bear," I whispered back. 

He laughed quietly and I grinned wickedly up at him. He asked me to sing him the lullaby I had gotten from the Winnie the Pooh movie so often that I started calling him Pooh Bear a few years ago. He had been stunned at my attempt at copying his habit of giving me random nicknames, but it had stuck.

"You can't call me that in front of our kid," he said with a mockingly stern expression.

"Oh? And why's that?" I asked with a silly grin.

"I can't let my kid think I'm actually a stuffed animal in disguise," he growled sarcastically, but his grey eyes were sparkling with amusement and excitement.

I laughed happily and lowered my hands from his neck and instead circled his waist so I could press myself tightly against his chest. His heart was hammering rapidly under my ear and I smiled when he wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around my shoulders. Castiel lowered his head to press a kiss to the top of my head and I sighed in contentment.

No matter what happened, I promised myself and my unborn child that I would give him or her all of the love, support, and nurturing that Auntie had given me as a child. I promised to love it more than myself and to protect it with every last fiber of my being. Because whoever this child was going to be born as I wanted them to know that they were born as exactly the person they were meant to be.

The End