[A/N: I didn't expect that many people would read this short story of mine, but thank you! Thank you for your comments and kind words, I really appreciate it. Without further ado, the second part of the story is out.]

LORELEI

"Since when?" Natanong ni Loki. Nakauwi na kami— well, pumunta muna kami ng hospital dahil sa ka-oa-yan ni Loki kanina sa party. He really attracted a lot of attention there.

"... Just a week and a half ago," I answered as he lies down on our bed while I sat on a chair near him.

"How—? What?" Napanganga ito habang nag-iisip. Tinignan ko lang siya ng mariin. Parang 'di niya alam kung paano ako nabuntis. Detective nga, makakalimutin naman.

"Damn that hotel..."

I frowned at his reaction. "Ano? Ayaw mo sa bata?"

I kinda expected something else from him. Akala ko ay magiging masaya siya dahil magkakaanak na kami. Magkakaroon na kami ng additional na tao sa pamilya, pero mukhang ayaw niyang mangyari 'yon.

"No, it's not that." Sabi niya. He looked at me with a concerned look plastered on his face. "... Ugh, this is making me nuts. I just don't know if I'm mentally stable and ready to have a junior in the family. I shouldn't have let my juices stay in y—"

Bago pa siya makatapos sa pagsasalita, pinanlakihan ko na ito ng mata para hindi niya na sabihin ang sasabihin niya dapat. Typical Loki, he's always straightforward.

"Fine then." Tumayo siya mula sa kama at naglakad papunta sa'kin.

The next move he did surprised me. He knelt down before me and put his hand on my tummy, and just stared at it, as if he's mesmerized by the fact that there's a human being inside. He rubs my tummy in the process.

"Lorelei,"

"What?"

"Are you sure that I'm good enough to become the father of your child?"

Kinunutan ko ito ng noo. "My child? It's our child. At bakit ba hindi ka confident sa sarili mo? You've always been so confident about almost everything."

"Becoming a parent is a big responsibility." He said. "It's like having a new pet at your home. You must have an adequate amount of attention around it, or else the baby might die."

Sinamaan ko naman siya ng tingin. How dare he compare our child to a pet? Ginawa niya namang hayop ang anak naming nananahimik sa tiyan ko.

"Kailangan mo siyang bantayan ng minu-minuto, kailangan mo siyang alagaan ng mabuti, kailangan mo din siyang turuan kung ano ang tama sa mali." Pagpapatuloy nito at nakita ko ang pagdilim ng mga mata nito. "I honestly don't know if I could be the father everyone expects."

"It'll be a piece of cake if I leave our child in the middle of the room all day though. That way, it'll be less of a drag."

Mas sinamaan ko naman ito ng tingin. "Ano ba yang mga pinagsasabi mo?"

"Jokes." Sagot nito.

"Hindi ka nakakatuwa. Edi sana hindi na tayo nag-ganun kung ayaw mo din pala ng bata."

"You clearly misunderstood me. I told you already, I don't know if I could be a good father." He explained before placing his head on top of my lap. "... My dad and I don't hang out too much, so I perfectly don't have a clear idea on this subject."

I bit my lower lip as I reminisced about Loki's father. He wasn't that close with his family members and all his life, he's been solving crimes for his deceased friend, Rhea. Naiintindihan ko kung bakit siya nagkakaroon ng pagdududa sa sarili niya ngayon.

He may be confident when it comes to solving crimes; but when it comes to family business, his heart goes weak.

I ruffled his hair. "Loki, listen to me."

Tumingala naman siya at tinignan ako. His dark black orbs stared into mine, and at some point, I felt like I was getting dragged into him. This may be cringy, but I just can't help but stare into his eyes for a long time. It makes me feel like I want to save him from a sea of despair, of sadness, and of grief.

His eyes before was full of remorse, anger, and loneliness. But now, his eyes depicted happiness with a little feeling of doubt in them. Just like before, I want to save him. I want to stay by his side and prove to him that he'll become one of the best fathers in the world. 

I don't want my Loki to feel like he's useless, forgotten, and isolated. After all, this is how much I like this guy. I don't want to see him sad and emotionless anymore. 

"Ako din, nagdududa din ako kung magiging isang mabuting ina din ako. Naiintindihan ko kung bakit ka natatakot pero, kasama mo naman ako sa lahat. Sabay tayong lalaban at magtutulungan, para sa kapakanan ng magiging anak natin. We just need teamwork, you know? Aren't we partners in crime?"

"We are," He chuckled.

"Magtutulungan tayo para sa kanya," Sabi ko at itinuro ang tiyan ko. "Becoming parents of a child requires hark work, but we'll get through this and you'll become one of the best fathers this world has ever seen."

"Asa,"

"Idiot,"

"What if I didn't become one of the best fathers?" He asked.

"Edi okay lang," I told him. "Your child and I will still think that you're a great one."

Tumayo siya sa pagkakaupo niya at inilagay niya ang kamay niya sa harapan ko, parang sinesenyasan na hawakan ko daw 'yon, which I did willingly. Hinawakan ko ito at nagulat ako nung bigla niya akong hinila't niyakap ng mahigpit.

"Thank you Lorelei, for everything." He whispered at my ear.

I nestled myself on top of his shoulder, as he ruffles my hair and hugs me tight by my waist. His sweet scent, that I love to smell everyday, ran through my nose, making me bury myself more into his shoulder. 

"Thank you Loki, for being my home."

"You know what, this is getting cringy, It's definitely not my style." Reklamo niya. "But it's fine, as long as it's with my partner in crime."

Natawa naman ako sa sinabi niya at hinampas siya sa likod. "I feel the same."

***

The next few months became hard work for both of us, literally. Preparing for parenthood definitely requires a lot of time, pressure, energy, and well, money?

Loki has decided to work at home for my pregnancy. Ang OA nga niya, kaso gusto niya daw kasi akong mabantayan ng ayos, lalo na't panganay namin ang dinadala ko ngayon. Loki became too sweet and too conscious about my pregnancy honestly.

Tulad nung isang araw, bumili siya ng limang pack ng gatas para sa mga buntis. Mas mabuti na daw yung may stock kaysa magkulang. Tapos bumili din siya ng mga dasters ko, and guess what kung ilan? Labing-lima ba naman! Take note, hindi pa malaki ang tiyan ko pero nag-oover-react na siya masyado.

Then he hired a certain amount of workers to renovate our home. Magpapagawa na daw siya ng isa pang room para sa anak namin. He also computed how much it'll cost if he bought baby needs right now, RIGHT NOW, when I'm only in my third month of pregnancy. 

"Loki, we need to talk." Sabi ko nang makita ko siyang nagsesearch ng baby needs and health kay Manong Google.

"No, it's 10:00 in the evening. You should be asleep now. I already prepared your dinner by the bedside table." He directly said while typing on his laptop.

"Hey, don't you think that this is too much?" 

"Alin?"

"This?"

"What?"

I mentally face palmed. May pagka-slow nga pala si Loki. Sa sobrang pag-aaruga niya sa'kin ay nakalimutan ko na. 

"Loki, this is too much. Hindi ka dapat masyadong bumili ng ganito kaaga. I still have 6 months, you know."

"I don't care. I want to prepare this early, para sure." He said.

"Loki!"

"K."

Ah, his iconic line just came out. Feeling ko mas mastrestress ako sa kanya kaysa sa pagbubuntis ko. "Look, I appreciate all of your efforts so that my delivery of our baby will be safe and secured, but I personally think that it's better if we bought the baby needs when I reached my sixth or seventh month."

"The earlier, the better." He simply said. Nagiging sarcastic nanaman siya. "Just leave all of this to me, Lorelei."

"I just want to tell you that preparing this early is too much. Madami na tayong nagastos, eh dapat nga mas nag-iipon tayo ng malaki dahil sa magiging hospital bills natin." I told him directly.

"I told you, leave it all to me." He confidently said. "All this time, I've been secretly earning money inside you teddy bear, Theodore, for emergencies like this."

Nanlaki agad ang mga mata ko. "Ha?! Ginamit mo si Theodore para diyan?!"

"Chill, it's a joke. Anyway, you need to sleep. Leave everything to me, Lorelei." He said.

"But-"

"I know that I'm doing everything too early, but let me do this. I can't stay still and now that you're on your third month, it just made me more excited for our child to come out. The pieces of the chess must be completed before our child comes out. Let me do my thing, Lorelei. This is where I'm good at."

Now I know why he's so agitated and excited.

Even though it's too early to prepare, I just let him be. After all, he's doing whatever he can to make my pregnancy a successful one. I must cooperate with his delusions and excitement for now. 

I should just believe in Loki's doings.

***

My high school life was full of fear and grief, because of what happened to me at my previous school. When I met Loki, my life suddenly turned into a mystery because we kept on dealing with crimes that kept on appearing at our school.

At some point there, my life suddenly depicted rainbow colors, with each color representing my feelings and emotions. My world became bright because of our constant adventures, along with Jamie and Alistair. 

Many things happened back then and that's what made us to become the people we are now. Bonds were destroyed once, but was mended again. Someone in our group was a traitor, but in the end, that someone became a true friend of our group again. The bonds of the QED club was never destroyed and will never be.

Looking back, I'm glad that I transferred to this school, full of mysteries. My once gloomy school days became enticing and exhilarating, and it's all thanks to Loki, inviting me to his club. 

"Papa, the mastermind is M!"

Our daughter yelled as she watched the movie Loki suggested. Nakaupo siya sa lap ni Loki habang nanonood habang ako ay naghahanda ng kanilang kakainin.

"You're correct again," Loki said and pinched our daughter's nose.

"Sabi ko sayo eh! Hehe." She playfully smiled.

Eris Mendez, 4 years old. We named her after the goddess of chaos. At first, I didn't want the name because it will be similar to Loki's name, the god of mischief. Pinagtalunan pa nga namin 'yon. We settled it with Loki's so-called game.

Gumawa siya ng codes 'tas ang challenge is, if nahanap ko si Theodor sa loob ng isang oras, ako ang masusunod sa pangalan. If hindi ko nagawa, siya ang magdedecide.

Of course, I don't need to say who won.

Eris was like the girl version of Loki, but she's more cheerful and kinder. Nakuha niya ang looks ko at utak, pati na din yung detective vibes naming dalawa. Napaka-bait niya ding anak, masunurin din. 

Tapos tinuruan lang siya ni Loki ng mga morse cods and mythologies, naging hilig niya na agad. Kaya ayan, 'yan ang naging bonding ng mag-ama ko.

"Mommy, mommy! I gat it correk!" She enthusiastically said when I sat down beside them. Natuwa ako sa pronunciation niya, ang cute.

"Very good, Eris." I complimented her effort.

"Lorelei, our daughter is weird. She doesn't want to watch children movies or series. She only wants mysteries with thriller." Nagtatakang sabi ni Loki.

"Hindi na nakakapagtaka," Sabi ko.

We're both detectives, what else can he expect?

With Eris becoming an additional person to our household, our life became noisier and excitement always filled our day. Loki and I promised that we'll nurture Eris' talents as a detective and to protect her from anything at all costs.

She became our source of happiness and contentment. Eris is so cute that I just want to stay by her side and wish that she'll never grow older. 

I looked at Loki, thinking about how much I was thankful for him for everything. Our love story didn't start as what people would call, kilig, but I'm glad that he's the one I got married to. 

"Loki, I have something to say by the way." Sabi ko, nang maalala ko na may importante pala akong sasabihin sa kanya ngayon.

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant again."

And he passed out on the sofa, with his mouth wide opened.

~End

***

Thank you po sa pagsubaybay sa story na ito! Hehe, sana hindi 'to lubugin ni kuya Cris grr.

Magpropromote na din po ako ng other stories po hehe, sana po basahin niyo at salamat po sa suporta!

Broken Series:
1st story palang ang out.

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