DO I WAIT FOR DAD to be completely drunk or completely sober to tell him that Suki's pregnant?

On the one hand, if I told him while he was drunk, he might be so far gone that he'd literally pass out from shock.

On the other, if he was sober, I would actually get the feedback and answers I wanted of him. Would he be supportive? Could I trust him to be civil and refrain from saying inflammatory things if Suki ever came over to the house? What is his stance on money?

I kind of need him sober to answer those questions.

In the end, I settle for a median point between drunk and sober. Dad is sitting in the armchair, watching the football. He's drunk enough to be nicely mellowed out, sober enough to have the coherent conversation I need to have with him. After doing my science homework for the night, I creep down the stairs.

Dad doesn't spare me a glance as I stand in the doorway, but I know he notices me. The way he swills the beer bottle is too controlled. I clear my throat, and his eyes flicker to me over the length of the bottle. "You remember Suki?"

Dad finishes the beer before speaking. He smacks his lips and belches. "Yeah. Finally break up with her?"

"No," I snap.

Dad furrows his brows, prompting me to spit it out. Just say it. Just say it. Just—

"She's pregnant."

The silence that follows reminds me of free fall. I've dropped a nuclear bomb, and it hasn't the the ground yet.

My fists grip my trousers so tightly that they've turned into two balls of white-hot burning steel.

Dad levels a dangerously calm look at me. "Come again?"

I shake my head, my whole body trembling.

"Say it again, Terrence."

For a moment, Dad and I stare each other down. His eyes are surprisingly alert, focused on a single point between my eyes. I can see the trembling rage in his irises, and behind that, emptiness.

I avert my gaze to the floor, and whisper, "She's pregnant."

More silence. As soon as I raise my head, a piercing smash echoes through the living room. Dad moves so quickly that I can't catch the motion; one second he's glaring at me, the next a large wet patch is on the wall behind the TV. Following the sound of smashing glass, the wet patch grows and darkens as the beer seeps into the creamy wallpaper.

"Fuck." A wrangled chuckle rips out of him. "Fuck!"

Another bark of laughter, this time hysterical, and then he's lunging out of the armchair for me.

"You fucking moron. I always thought you had enough wits about you to handle yourself, but clearly, you don't. What the fuck? How could you be so stupid? The only thing you needed to know was to wrap it the fuck up! And you fucked it up! You fucked it all up!"

Dad is in my face yelling, spittle and venom landing on my face. I flinch away. "Dad—"

"Now, look what you made me do!"

It's as if he just noticed the beer stain on the wall, as if he wasn't the one to throw the bottle. He points accusingly towards it.

"Do you want me to be angry? To scream at you?"

"Dad—"

"Get out."

He steps back out of my personal space, turning around and running a hand through his thinning hair.

He says frantically, "Get out of my house or I don't know what I might do."

I blink. "It's— it's ten o'clock—"

"Get the fuck out!" he roars.

Perhaps it's because I'm already trembling so badly, but I swear Dad's voice shakes the room.

I always thought he was a sleepy drunk. Before tonight he's never yelled so ferociously or thrown anything. But before tonight, his situation was very different. I just told him he's going to be a grandfather.

I unhook my down jacket from the coat rack and speed out of the house, slamming the door behind me. I hear the deadbolt slide home.

Dad was right kicking me out. I don't feel safe with him. Though it pisses me off immensely. I don't know who the man sitting in the living room is, but he's no-one I've met before. I wouldn't know how to handle him, let alone have a serious conversation about the future.

Fuck him anyway. I don't need him.

Suki and I have gotten this far without his attitude, and we can keep going that way.

The icy wind hits my face immediately, chilling my throat with every breath I take. Crap. Forgot a scarf. Making do with a sleeve held in front of my face, I wander down the street and take a left.

Where do I go? In my bones is a deadset conviction that Dad won't let me back into the house tonight. He will either be too angry, or he'll drink himself into a stupor before he can unlock the door.

I could walk around the block and round again to the house, hoping the back door is unlocked. I could find some park bench or something at Haywood Park and be homeless for the night. But then I might freeze...

Who is he to kick his only son out of the house anyway?

That doesn't bode well for his granddaughter, having someone so irritable in her life. Maybe Suki's parents could let me crash at her place until I've earned enough to rent a place. It could be small, one bedroom, one bathroom. I mean, a baby is tiny. Cassie's bassinet will fit in the corner.

I curse. Babies grow. Fast.

We can't do this without our parents supporting us.

By the time I notice where I've subconsciously walked, my blood is a hot concoction of paranoia, anger, and determination. I barely feel the wind, but I know if I touched my skin it would be ice cold. Somehow I'll make things turn out okay. I will. Everything will be okay.

I clamber over the Yamatos' back fence, in reverse of the day that I jumped off their veranda. Suki's bedroom light is on, but she's not by the window.

I wonder what she's doing.

Suki answers my call immediately. "Hey, baby... You still up?"

"Mm-hmm. I just had a shower," she purrs contentedly. "We can talk while I do my moisturiser and stuff? Let me put you on speaker."

"Sure," I mumble. Gosh, she sounds so cute when she's relaxed.

I hear rustling in my ear as Suki sets up her phone against something. "So, have you told your Dad yet?"

"Yes."

Her voice lowers into concern. "Oh, wow. How did he take it?"

I cough. The seconds tick between us until I decide to just be honest. "He kicked me out. I'm outside your window right now."

"What?" Two seconds later, her window cracks open and Suki leans out. Her hair is wrapped in a towel, and she wears a thin pajama shirt. The cold wind whips her clothing around her pale frame, and she shivers.

"Oh, my God, Terrence. Can you— hold up."

I hear the call disconnect in my ear, and pocket my phone. When Suki returns to my vision, she hisses, "My parents are in the living room. Get up here!"

I hoist myself onto the railing around the ground-floor porch. My arms easily reach the gutter, and I feel around until solid brick meets my numb hands. Pulling my torso onto the veranda, I swing my legs over until I can walk myself right up to Suki.

My voice cracks when I see her staring at me with blatant worry. "Suki. It was bad."

"Shh... it's okay," she murmurs. She wraps an arm around me as soon as I'm standing in her room. "Come here."

I step closer, burying my face in the soft flesh of her neck. Her plum scent is stronger than I've ever smelled it; so that's what it is. Body wash.

I'm too swept up in the smell of her, her warmth, the unbelievable satin texture to her skin, to realise that she's stripped me of my jacket and sweater. A tap of her finger on the waistband of my jeans informs me she wants me to remove those, too. I slide out of them as she places a cushion beside her pillow.

I speak around the lump in my throat. "I'm all snowy and sweaty and you just showered."

"Do I care?" She pulls aside her duvet, spearing me with an impatient expression. God, I love it when she's mean. "Get in."

In my shirt and underwear, I slip into the bed. The warmth hits me immediately, freakishly, delightfully scalding against my skin. How does she get her bed so hot? Suki pulls a console into her hands, notching up the electric blanket.

Ah. Genius, her.

She gives her hair a quick blow-dry, switches off the light, and then joins me. I can't help but notice her moisturiser discarded on her dresser, left open, and how her messy, unbrushed hair tumbles down her back. Usually her nighttime hair and skincare routine takes half an hour, but it thrills me to be prioritised first. Our limbs find each other habitually until her arms curl around my back and we lie nose to nose.

"Do you want to talk or do you want to sleep?" Suki whispers, inching forward to trace circles on my frozen cheek with the tip of her nose.

What do I want?

If I talk, all the memories and fears of tonight will come spiralling out. Dad reacted exactly how I thought he would. Exactly how anyone would if they found out their son's an idiot. A fucking idiot who has no idea what's going to happen, or how to look after the people he loves most.

"Sleep," I answer. "But will you talk to me? Your voice is nice."

"Alright." Suki presses a lush kiss to my collarbone. Being this close to her in the dark is intoxicating, even when we are lying completely still. Each breath of hers is melodic, mesmerising, all I need. "What about?"

"Cassie."

A beat of silence. Suki pulls away slightly to watch my face. "You sure?"

"Absolutely."

I smile genuinely, tightening my hands around her shoulders. Suki hums, weaving another one of those magical ramblings she loves. "Well, Cassie's been kicking a lot more than usual. Here. If she moves tonight, you can feel her."

Suki turns over, her warm back pressing into my chest. She guides my hands under her shirt—I don't miss the shiver that runs through her when my cold fingers make contact—to the swell of her stomach. Her belly is warmer than the electric blanket, warmer than warm, and I hold it like something precious.

"What else? Hmm," Suki continues. "Cassie doesn't like ham. Or cheese. I get really nauseous if I smell that. Cassie likes grapes and cantaloupe."

"Cantaloupe? Expensive tastes."

"I know, right?" she chuckles wryly. "Bleeding me dry already. You know, when I play cello these days, my bump touches the back of it. I think it's the vibrations of music in the wood or something, but I swear she likes the cello. I'd be really happy if she was musical. It doesn't have to be cello or strings. Anything but drums."

I press my nose into her hair, inhaling the smell of her shampoo. "Why not drums?"

"They're so loud. No-one can practice the drums quietly. I'd get a migraine if I had to listen to it every day."

"I heard there's such a thing as electronic drumkits. Plug headphones it. Silence. Problem solved."

"Oh." Suki falls into a thoughtful silence. "Yeah, no. No drums."

"I didn't know you were a music elitist."

"Good, good. So I still have an air of mystery about me."

I let out a breathy laugh, careful to keep myself quiet. Her parents probably won't visit Suki over the night—I'll make sure to sneak out early tomorrow morning—but I don't want to alert them to my presence.

"No drums, then."

I know I shouldn't be enjoying myself right now. My Dad threw a drunk tantrum, I got kicked out of the house and have no idea where to go from here, future-wise. But I'm fucking ecstatic right now. I want to spend forever like this.

I feel surrounded by Suki. Holding her, listening to her husky bedroom voice daydream about Cassie, smelling her on the sheets. This is the thing I'm working so hard for. Suki and me in bed, shut away from the rest of the world. Nothing can hurt us here. No disapproving parents, catty teenage girls, gruelling winter night shifts.

She would never have to stress again, we would never want for anything, if I could convert happiness into dollars. Fuck knows when I'm with Suki I've got heaps of it to spare.

"Terrence?"

"Hmm?" I murmur, running my lips against the top of Suki's head.

"Would you ever marry me?"

"Is that hypothetical or a proposal?"

"I can't even afford cantaloupes, you think I can pay for a wedding? Hypothetical."

I feel the darkness creeping into the edges of my mind, ready to whisk me away to a blissfully oblivious sleep.

"In a heartbeat," I mumble, unable to even open an eye. So comfy. "Hypothetical or not."

"Me, too."

I'm not awake for much longer, but I know my hands stay wrapped around Suki's abdomen the whole night.

Cassie never kicked once.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

A / N:

This scene where Suki takes Terrence in for the night is probably My Favourite. When it's just them, the banter and chemistry is actually amazing (IMO). When the world gets involved...

Do you guys have favourite scenes from what's happened so far? (To jog your memory, here some of my fondest: swimming in Haywood Lake, teaching Terrence to waltz, the Golden Week picnic, Suki's cello song for Terrence.)

Aimee <3

P.S. I was undecided on whether I shipped these two, but this triple update and that highlight reel just convinced me. I do.