And Then, They Fell in Love

Disclaimer: I do not own the song "Lullabye". It belongs to Billy Joel.

Osamu found a place on the couch next to her and grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around his feet. “Tani called me this afternoon. She said she’d been over, but asked me to check on you after school. Did everything go okay between you two?”

The memory of her conversation with Tani fluttered back into Sara’s mind. She nodded briefly. “Just fine. I . . . learned a lot about her that I didn’t know before. She’s a very interesting person.”

He laughed. “That’s to say the least. She’s got some amazing stories I’ll have her tell you sometime.”

Sara took a deep breath and looked toward the kitchen, trying to find something, anything that might distract her from what she was about to tell him. “Do me a favor?”

A puzzled glance was sent her direction, but Osamu nodded his head anyway.

“Can you make me a cup of hot chocolate?” Sara hoped the warmth would calm her nerves and her twisting stomach. Osamu raised an eyebrow at her request, but rose from the couch and padded his way into the kitchen. The second he was out of sight, Sara buried her head in her hands, and debated with herself.

Should I tell him? You don’t even know yourself. Why cause trouble when there might be none to start. He’ll be fine with not knowing. No, he’ll be mad that you kept it a secret.’

“Sara?”

She glanced up to see Osamu standing in front of her, a worried expression on his face. He handed her the cup of chocolate. “Is everything okay? Are you going to be sick again?”

The chocolate calmed her nerves slightly. Taking a deep breath, Sara placed her cup on the table and stared Osamu in the eye. He matched her gaze. “Tani and I talked about some things while she was here. She told me things about herself that I think only you know. She told me about . . . Well, she told me about the baby she lost.”

His face immediately twisted into a grimace. “I’m still bitter about that,” he admitted. “Tani and I . . used to be very close. We still are, to an extent, but never quite the same as we used to be. I was the only person she told when she discovered she was pregnant. I guess, in an odd way, I felt like I lost the baby too.” A small blush covered his cheeks. “I assure you, though, it --”

“I know it wasn’t yours. But that’s why we need to talk.” Osamu’s confused look told her she needed to explain. “She told me that because the symptoms I’m having matched hers. Osamu . . . She thinks I might be pregnant.”

Complete silence filled the apartment as the Japanese boy stared at as if she were mad. “What?”

“There’s a chance. A minor chance, but there is one. I think. It fits.”

Osamu seemed to be scrolling through a mental flipbook. “I . . .” He turned his head and stared at the wall, leaving Sara to wring her hands in anticipation. Osamu bit his lip. “Are you sure? I mean, there’s no way that this could just be the flu or a stomach virus or . . I dunno. Maybe meningitis?”

“Since when does meningitis cause someone to skip for more than a month?”

He met her gaze with a frown. “You failed to mention that.”

“Now you know.”

Now was the time to find out Osamu’s true feelings on the matter. “If I am, what are we going to do? Our parents are going to murder us, you know that. We’re not married --”

“We can fix that.”

The answer caught her off guard. “Excuse me?”

“The marriage part. We could fix that, you know.” Osamu shrugged. “Why not? You love me, and you know that I love you more than life itself. If you are pregnant, what is stopping us from finally marrying? We’re graduating this weekend - we’re adults.”

Sara gave him a dull look. “Our parents would never approve.”

“Since when do we need their approval?”

She held up her hands. “Slow down. Why don’t we. . I don’t know, find out if I really am or if this is just some crazy bodily fluke?”

A nod. “Have you got. . . ?” Osamu trailed off, but Sara understood what he meant. She gave a small nod in return.

“In the bathroom. Tani bought it for me this afternoon, right before you came by.” He wrung her hands together, and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to God that he wasn’t going to explode for some unknown reason. Osamu had never shown ‘anger’ to her, but he hadn’t been under the possibility of fatherhood before, either.

“I’ll stay with you.”

Her head popped up. “What?”

“If you are pregnant, I won’t leave you. I’ve already told you before that I intend to marry you, and if that’s what it takes than alright.” Osamu tapped one of his feet against his leg, something Sara noticed he did when he was anxious. “Should we . . Do it now? Or wait to see if things get better for you?”

The question was, did Sara really want to know right now?

She wasn’t really sure that she did.

“How about,” Osamu interrupted her thoughts. “We wait until the night of graduation. That’s two days away. This could simply be stress from all the tests - and yes, that could cause you to . . . Um . . Skip.” For the first time since Sara had begun dating Osamu, she saw him blush. “That way, we won’t fail our final tests because of something else on our minds.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t anticipation make it worse?”

“Not if you put it out of your mind for a while.” Osamu snorted. “I have the ability to do that.”

It was decided they would wait until graduation. But as the days crept closer, the anxiety could have killed Sara. Every time she talked with Tani, her stomach would clench unpleasantly. Aoi even noticed something was wrong. As she clipped a final strand of Sara’s hair into place, her guardian spun her around and stared her in the eye.

“Something is wrong, isn’t it?”

“What?”

Aoi’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been acting strange this week. What’s going on, Sara?”

Oh God, she knows. “Nothings wrong,” Sara tried to make her smile convincing. “Finals and graduation have just been killing me, that’s all. Nothing to worry about, Aoi. I’m fine. I promise.”

“Would you tell me if something was wrong?”

“Of course.”

She patted Sara’s shoulder, and smiled. “Good. Now, go out there to your graduation. .and be prepared for the longest hour and a half of your life.”


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Aoi wasn’t kidding. If American graduations (the few that Sara had attended) were nerve wracking, Japanese graduations were ten times worse. The gym of the school had been decked out in the national colors, with a big flag behind the podium. The students were set alphabetically and according to gender, meaning Osamu was many rows behind her and on the opposite side of the room. He simply smiled at her before he sat, and then turned his attention to the speakers.

There was absolutely no talking. Sara shifted nervously in her seat, and did her best to pay attention to the speakers. They congratulated the students on making it thus far in life, and wished them the best in their journeys. The longest part was receiving her diploma. As an “A” she was one of the first students to get hers, but had to wait until the rest of the school did.

She also couldn’t help but notice the cheer that ran through the crowd when Osamu stepped to receive his. He gave her a wink.

As the ceremony finally ended, Sara filed out with the rest of her classmates. She blinked when she heard the music in the background. Yukio caught her by the shoulder. “Problem?”

“Are they playing Disney music?”

Yukio grinned. “Sure. Don’t ask - I think the chairman is actually trying to be cheap. But then again, with our ’star’ graduating, I’m surprised every camera man in town isn’t here.” His face darkened. “Really. What a pain it must be to be Ichijouji Osamu.”

“You know, I am not deaf.” Osamu snapped from somewhere behind. He pushed his way through the crowds and focused his gaze on Yukio. “You have no idea what it’s like to be me.”

Itaria rolled her eyes. “Alright boys, whip out the tape measures. This is a special and happy occasion, not one for jealousy. I’m sure Sara wouldn’t exactly appreciate you two gnawing on each other today.” She turned a bright grin Sara’s way. “You are officially graduated from high school. How does it feel?”

“A little frightening.”

“Aw, you’ll be fine.” Yukio placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you going to be going back to the States? I haven’t seen you applying for any colleges in this area.”

“I guess I am.”

“Of course she is!” Itaria exclaimed. “Her and Osamu are going to be married within the month and be popping out babies by next year.” At Osamu’s frown, she rolled her eyes again. “Don’t stare at me like that, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I assume you’ll be going to the States as well?”

“I’ve considered it.” Osamu replied.

Sara couldn’t help but notice Yukio’s face lost all traces of his grin, and his scowl deepened considerably.

The Ichijouji’s took them out for dinner that night. Ken and Osamu joked together the entire night, and for the first time, Sara was able to meet Osamu’s Uncle Tenshi. It was easy to like the tall, lanky man. Like his nephew, he too wore glasses, which he kept pushing up the bridge of his nose the entire night. He laughed and joked with the rest of the family, reliving moments with Shin, and teasing his nephews.

“You’ll fit right in,” He assured Sara. When she gave him a questioning glance, he rolled his eyes. “Osamu’s been talking about you non-stop for ages. Do you seriously think he’s going to let you go?”

I guess we’ll see tonight.


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Waiting was never one of Sara’s best qualities. She tapped her foot nervously against one of her legs, staring at Osamu with a worried glance. Both leaned against the bathroom counter, staring at the tile against the opposite wall. Osamu’s hand was gripping hers tightly, a sign that he too was just as scared and nervous as she was.

“I’m not sure what to hope for,” He admitted. “In a way, I think it would be fine. In other ways, the whole idea of parenthood scares the utter crap out of me. I mean, look at me. I’m anti-social, I hate people, little kids love me, and while I do okay with them, at other times they annoy me. I see things that aren’t really there, and sooner or later I will probably end up in a mental hospital . . again.” He sighed. “I’d fail as a parent.”

She squeezed his hand three times. “We’d work on this together.”

“Yea.”

The timer beeped, causing both to jump and send each other expressions of panic. “Do you want me to look or. . ?” Osamu trailed off.

“You look.”

Osamu grabbed the test off the counter, squeezed his eyes shut, and looked. His face drained of color. “A line is negative, and a plus is positive correct?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Plus sign.”

The entire world stopped. Sara’s head spun with a thousand scenarios. Her parents were going to murder her. Osamu’s parents were going to murder him. Either way, this poor child would never have a chance in life, because both of it’s parents would never live another day. If only there were a way . . .

Osamu seemed to be in a trance. He slowly placed the test on the counter, ran a hand through his hair, and walked out the bathroom door.

“Osamu?” she called to him.

Osamu flew back into the room and grabbed her hands, pulling Sara closer to him. Her buried his face in her hair, taking a few deep breaths before pulling away and staring her straight in the eyes. “Marry me.” he whispered.

Sara started against his chest, blinking in confusion. “Mar-- what?”

“Marry me, Sara.” His eyes stayed connected with hers, pleading. “I don’t care if we’re eighteen, I don’t care that neither of us have a clue what we’ll do about a house or bills or anything. Don’t you dare say this is just the impulsive side of my disorder. I’m very serious, Sara, and I’ve had a long time to think about it. I want to marry you.”

Sara was silent, her eyes moving to the floor instead of Osamu’s face. It was all happening too fast. Their relationship, her pregnancy, his proposal . . “Our parents would never go for this.”

Osamu frowned. “Who cares? We’re legal adults, and we have enough brains to make our own decisions. My parents can’t say anything about the matter -- my mother was seventeen when she married my father, and had me at eighteen.”

“Sounds familiar.”

A ghost of a smile flashed across Osamu’s face. “It could be better this way. Get married, get a little apartment. It doesn’t have to be very big. Large enough for you, me, and the baby. And while he’s little, he can sleep in our room. Then we wouldn’t have to walk half-way across the house to feed or change him.”

She gave him a patronizing look. “How do you know the baby is going to be a ‘he’?”

“She, then.” Osamu took Sara’s hands in his own, meeting her eyes once again. “Please, Sara?”

“Exactly where are we supposed to get married? I wasn’t aware there were Las Vegas type chapel’s in Tamachi. And we don’t have rings. .”

“All we need is a marriage license and a preacher. Rings are only tradition. . And besides,” He pulled the chain from beneath his shirt and waved the ring in front of her. “These could work. If you really want a ring, I drop you off at a jeweler while I hunt down someone for a license. “ He squeezed her hands. “Come on, Sara. Let’s get married. Right here. Right now.”

Every warning signal in Sara’s brain was going off, warning her that this was a bad idea. That her moment of impulsiveness was going to turn bad in some way, shape, or form. But looking back on everything, being impulsive had been the best thing. Her impulsive answer to go to the party was what brought her to see a different side to Osamu. Impulsiveness had lead to her first kiss. Impulsiveness had led her to Japan in the first place.

Impulsiveness had also created this baby that she was now carrying.

Sara thought of the reaction that her parents would have. They would be furious, no doubt. . But she had graduated from high school. . . And she was eighteen. There really was no way that they could stop her, even if they wanted to.

She took a deep breath, squeezing his hands in return. . And signed her life away.


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“That had to have been the craziest thing I have ever done in my entire life!” Sara exclaimed as she and Osamu tumbled out of the elevator in the hotel. Both were laughing, clutching at the walls to keep their balance as they stumbled through the hallway. They attracted a few strange stares from those who passed by. Some rolled their eyes, and grumbled about how the teenagers of the world had no respect for anyone but themselves. Others merely grinned, and commented “How cute.”

Neither Sara nor Osamu paid any attention.

Sara recognized the room immediately as a honeymoon suite. Osamu grinned and shut the door behind them. He stood against it and attempted to catch his breath, still laughing in between. “I can not believe we just did that. I mean, I want to believe it. I’m amazed that we did. . . But it doesn’t seem real.” Osamu made his way to her, and pulled Sara into his arms. “We’re married. Actually married.”

“Husband and wife.”

“’Till death do we part.”

He grinned and kissed her forehead. “Not for a while. Not at least until we’re about 110. Then I’ll be old and wrinkly, and you’ll have to feed me strained carrots.”

A snort. “I probably won’t be able to walk across the floor any more by 110. We’ll just have our grandchildren stick us on a cruise ship and we’ll . . Float away into the Caribbean or something.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he whispered, slowly pushing Sara back toward the bed. She grinned up at him and wrapped her legs around his waist, laughing as they fell onto the bed.

Her wedding night was everything that Sara had ever imagined. It wasn’t a long, drawn out, “let’s stay up until dawn!”, but not too short as well. She was thrilled.

Osamu pulled her against him, placing his lips next to her ear, and making small kisses there. “I love you,” he whispered to her. “I love you so much.”

Sara took his hands and wrapped them around her stomach, snuggling into his body behind her. He smiled against her skin and hummed slightly. He placed his lips against her ear once again, and began to softly sing, his hot breath on her ear.

“Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes

And save these questions for another day

I think I know what you’ve been asking me

I think you know what I’ve been trying to say.

I’ve promised I would never leave you

And you should always know

No matter where you go

No matter where you are

I never will be far away . . “

He continued with his song, and Sara felt her eyes fill up with tears. She promised herself to always remember this moment, and to cherish it in her heart. Little did she know this would later be a song she would never be able to hear without crying.

“Goodnight my angel now it’s time to sleep

And dream how wonderful your life will be.

Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby. .

Then in your heart, there will always be a part . . Of me. .

Someday we’ll all be gone, but lullabies go on and on. .

They never die; that’s how you and I will be . .”

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Author's Note: Alrighty, first thing is first. YES I realize this chapter had TONS of information and a lot to comprehend. However, you have no idea how many times I tried writing the wedding, graduation, and Sara's pregnancy as their own chapters. It just. . didn't work out at all. There wasn't enough information for it to hold up on it's own. So here you have it. Yes, Sara is pregnant. It wasn't a fluke. She is having a baby. I sincerely hope that this does not ruin the story for you - I do not exactly approve of out of wedlock conception, but guys, this is real life. This does happen. There is a huge clue to the ending near the end of this chapter. Those who know what to look for will spot it.

About three chapters to go . . the next chapter is going to be a killer to write. Bear with me guys. . the ending is extremely tough for me.