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They stayed on the couch for hours. The test was still on the coffee table but neither of them looked at it anymore. Mia kept her hand in his the whole time. Every few minutes she would squeeze like she was making sure he was still there.

Alex’s head wouldn’t slow down. He kept seeing the same pictures over and over. Him at the cafe trying to work extra shifts. Mia missing classes because of morning sickness. Telling his parents. Telling her parents. Diapers and bottles and no sleep. All of it while they were still basically kids themselves. He loved her. That part was solid. But love didn’t make any of this easy.

Mia was the one who said it first.

“I want to keep it,” she said. Her voice was quiet but steady. She looked at him when she said it. Not away. “I know it’s crazy. I know we've only been together for like a month. I know we’re young. But I don’t want to… I don’t want to not do this.”

Alex felt the words land in his chest. Part of him had been waiting for her to say she couldn’t. Part of him had been hoping she would decide for both of them so he wouldn’t have to carry the weight. But hearing her say it made something shift.

He swallowed hard. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. Her eyes were wet again. “I’m scared. Really scared. But when I think about not keeping it… it feels wrong. Like I’d always wonder. And I want to do it with you. If you want to.”

He looked at their hands. Her fingers laced with his. The same hand that had traced his face during those late nights when everything felt simple. Now it felt like the most important thing in the world.

“I’m scared too,” he said. The words came out rough. “I don’t know how to be a dad. I barely know how to be a boyfriend. What if I mess this up? What if I can’t give you what you need? Or the baby?”

Mia turned toward him more. She put her other hand on his cheek. Gentle. Like she was trying to hold him together.

“You already give me what I need,” she said. “You show up. You overthink everything because you care. That’s more than enough for me right now. We’ll learn the rest together.”

He leaned into her hand. His eyes burned. He had spent so long doubting that she could really want him. Even after the drawer and the I love you and the two weeks of trying to balance everything. Now she was saying she wanted to have a baby with him. It felt too big. Too good. Too terrifying.

“What about school?” he asked. “Your classes. My shifts. Money. We can barely take care of ourselves.”

“We’ll figure it out,” she said. She sounded like she believed it more than he did. “I can take fewer classes next semester. You can pick up more shifts if you have to. My parents might help. We don’t have to know everything tonight.”

Alex nodded even though his stomach was still in knots. He wanted to be the guy who could handle this. The guy who didn’t panic. But his brain kept listing every way it could go wrong. Every way he could fail her. Fail their kid before it was even born.

Still, when he looked at her face he knew he couldn’t say no. Not to this. Not to her.

“Okay,” he said. The word felt heavy and light at the same time. “We keep it.”

Mia let out a shaky breath. Then she leaned in and kissed him. Soft. Slow. Not like the kisses that used to lead to more. This one felt like a promise. When she pulled back she rested her forehead against his.

“I love you,” she said. “We’re going to be okay.”

“I love you too,” he said back. His voice cracked. “I’m still scared.”

“Me too.”

They stayed like that for a long time. Foreheads touching. Hands still linked. The apartment felt smaller and bigger at once. Like the whole future had just moved in with them.

Later Mia made tea even though neither of them really wanted it. They sat at the kitchen table and talked about small things. Doctor appointments. Telling people. Names they liked even though it felt too soon. Every time Alex started to spiral she would reach across and touch his arm. Just a small reminder that she was still there. Still choosing this with him.

He kept thinking about the last two weeks. How normal it had started to feel. Her stuff at his place. His clothes in her drawer. The way she had gotten used to being his girlfriend. Now they were going to be parents. The quiet pull between them had turned into something permanent. Something that would last longer than either of them had planned.

Part of him still doubted. What if she woke up tomorrow and realized she had made the biggest mistake of her life? What if he couldn’t step up the way she needed? What if the stress of it all broke what they had just started to build?

But when she looked at him across the table with tired eyes and a small smile he knew he was going to try anyway. For her. For the baby. For the version of himself that had waited so long to have something real with her.

They went to bed late. Mia curled against his chest like always. Her hand rested on her stomach even though there was nothing to feel yet. Alex held her tighter than usual. He stared at the ceiling while she fell asleep.

His mind was still loud. But underneath the noise was something steady. They had decided. Together. That counted for something.

He kissed the top of her head in the dark.

“We’re keeping it,” he whispered to himself. Testing the words.

They felt terrifying.

They also felt right.