everybody tell me have you heard...

[songbird9.livejournal.com]

Who: Josiah and Song
What: Song has a little something to tell Josi... because it won't stay little for long.
Where: Rainbow's End
When: Thursday, June 9th



As wild as Refugee life was, Song had been given ample opportunity to learn the art of patience. It was a good thing, too. She was surprisingly relaxed about this encounter, after her initial panicked rambling. Josiah knew where she was. All she had to do was relax and wait... and hope he didn't catch her off guard. To avoid that, she'd picked out a new book and spent the last two days pouring through it, curled up in her favorite spot on the sofa by one of the front windows. As long as he showed up at a decent hour, she'd spot him coming. At least, that was the plan...

He wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting when he opened the front door to Rainbow's End. When he first posted on the network after four months of silence, he had really only expected teasings and greetings, not hints of some secret that it seemed everyone knew but didn't want to talk about. Playing guessing games over something that sounded serious at least wasn't high on his list for things to do, and while he hadn't exactly planned on stopping back (a pang of guilt went through him, though he couldn't say what was the cause), he figured that if Song had something to say, he might as well hear it from her face-to-face.
The front door to Rainbow's End always seemed to be opened, and he silently walked in, regretting briefly that he hadn't at least changed before stopping there. Perhaps Song wasn't the only one who was going to have some explaining to do.

Naturally, nothing quite went according to plan. Even a true bookworm wasn't immune to the tranquillizing effect of reading. And she hadn't even thought to choose a caffienated brand of tea. Somewhere near the end of a chapter she'd dozed off, still loosely curled up with her back to the room. The sound of the door didn't wake her.

For being such a popular gathering place, he usually found that Rainbow's End could be unnervingly quiet. Not that he was making it any better - the smart thing would have been at least to announce his presence, but instead he continued silently through the house until he came upon the living room. He ignored the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that told him he was trespassing.
He hadn't expected to see anyone in there, let alone Song.
For a few long moments, he only stood in the doorway, quiet as a ghost, gazing at her sleeping form. He couldn't decide whether or not he should let her sleep and come back later, or wake her up. Part of him was still morbidly curious as to the secret everyone seemed to be carrying, but another part of him wondered if it was best not to know at all.
Eventually, he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he crossed the room and sat on the edge of the couch.

Song had rather funny sensitivities when asleep. Once wrapped up in a dream, even loud noises were not likely to rouse her. She liked to back this up with a story about sleeping through a fire alarm... Movement, however, was another thing altogether. When Josiah's weight shifted the cushions, she came awake silently and opened one eye to peek at whoever had disturbed her.
Oh.
It was him.
Well, in that case she'd refrain from scolding. She was feeling generous, and he was in for enough of a shock already.
"Took you long enough."

"Hello to you too," he said with a faint smile as she finally shifted and awoke. "In my defense, I did say a few days."

She rolled over just a bit to see him better, keeping her legs tucked in and crossing her arms over her stomach. "I was more referring to the last few months. What's it been now, three or four?" That teasing lilt of hers was just a bit sharper than usual, but her smirk hadn't changed.

"At least it's better than a year?" he asked with a laugh, although the humor in it was strangely subdued. "I'll try to plan things better next time."

Her sly smile widened. "If you'd waited a whole year, the surprise would be entirely different. At least this way you'll get some say in things."

The smile didn't mirror itself on his face - instead, he looked apprehensive. "Oh really?"

She started to rise, then in one quick motion sat up and turned her back on him. She leaned against him, playing at casual. "I'm beginning to think that Cryptic is my first language. I just can't stand being blunt." She tilted her head back so it rested on his shoulder, and kept her voice light. "I have to ask, though, you and me - how long do you want it to last?"

He looked down at her, his brow furrowing at her question. After a moment or so of silence, he said, "I'd like to keep you... if I have a choice in the matter."

"Good. I'd hoped so. I won't hold you to it, though. You weren't here, and now it's a little too late. I made the decision all on my own, so it's all my responsibility..." She'd reached back while talking and found his hand, playing with it idly while she kept up her cryptic exposition.

"Song." There was a thread of uncertainty in his voice. "I said no games."

She rolled her eyes and, instead of answering out loud, simply pressed his hand flat against her stomach.
"... and no, I haven't just been eating too many truffles."

For a moment, confusion flooded his face as he tried to decipher her words again. He didn't say anything at first, glancing down from where she had placed his hand on her stomach and then back up to her face, frowning.
Then, very quietly: "Come again?"

"You're gonna force me to spell it out, aren't you?" More amused than anything else, she turned so she was facing him properly, no longer trying to hide the slight bulge of her abdomen. "Starts with a p... then an r... then e... g... n... are you getting this yet?"

A much longer pause now and that blank stare still didn't quite vanish.
"You're-... wait. So... Orpheus didn't come back?"

She almost laughed, despite the touchy subject. "No, he didn't. If it was his, why would I play up the mystery so much for you? My personal theory is that it happened when we..." she leaned forward to whisper a few details from his last visit, feeling foxy all of a sudden and determined to make him blush.

"That's not I meant," he groused. "I thought..." He trailed off, shaking his head, still letting the information sink in. He still didn't look quite stunned enough - the weight of her words obviously hadn't hit home yet.
The trick must have worked - he buried his face in his hands, mumbling something along the lines of, "that was your idea."

Now she did laugh, stifling the snicker with a hand as she leaned back to give him space. It took an effort to put on a straight face, but she managed, raising her eyebrows slightly while she waited for his brain to finish processing.

More silence.
"...you're pregnant." It was still slightly muffled since he had yet to raise his head from his hands.

"Yes, I'm pregnant." She nodded patiently, her expression unchanging.

"That..." He paused and then finally sat up, sinking back in the couch to glance up at the ceiling. There were too many emotions running through his mind: fear, joy, panic, love, worry... he couldn't sort them out. And there was that dark knowing in the back of his mind that he wanted... no, that he needed to ignore.
So instead, he let a smile slip onto his face and he pulled Song into a hug, holding her as if he thought she was going to vanish into thin air. "Too soon to start picking names?" he asked, a gentle tease in his voice.

She gasped in delight and returned the embrace, burrying her face in the crook of his neck. She didn't think it needed saying how relieved she was by his reaction. Even if he left again - for she doubted this would change his mind - at least he seemed happy. At least he wouldn't disappear forever.
"I haven't even thought about it," she admitted. "I was kinda trying to ignore it until I could tell you."

"A little difficult to ignore, don't you think?" he asked, glancing down at her stomach again.

"Says the oblivious one," she countered. Then she kissed him. It wasn't delicate, or seductive, or sappy enough to rot teeth. It was just honest and grateful, and a little defiant. Like the song said, the future doesn't scare me at all.