Time flies, for real this time

The days right after they decided felt like walking through fog. Alex went to work the next morning like nothing had changed but everything had. He poured coffee and wiped counters while his head kept replaying Mia’s words. “I want to keep it.” He had said okay. Now he had to mean it every single day.

They told her parents first. Mia called them on speakerphone while Alex sat next to her on the couch, holding her hand so tight his knuckles went white. Her mom cried. Her dad was quiet for a long time then asked practical questions about doctor visits and money. By the end of the call her mom had already said they would help however they could. Alex felt a small piece of weight lift. Her parents were steady. They didn’t yell. They just started making plans.

His parents were different. He drove home that weekend and sat at their kitchen table like he was twelve again. His mom’s face went pale when he told them. His dad stood up and walked out of the room for ten minutes. When he came back he didn’t yell but his voice was hard. “You’re nineteen, Alex. What were you thinking?” Alex sat there and took it. He didn’t have a good answer. He just said they were keeping the baby and he was going to do right by Mia. His mom cried in the bathroom later. His dad kept shaking his head. But before Alex left his mom hugged him and said they would figure it out. It wasn’t warm. It was something. Slow acceptance started there in small ways. His dad started texting him about cheap baby furniture links. His mom asked if Mia needed anything for morning sickness. It wasn’t perfect but it was more than he expected.

The first month was the hardest. Mia threw up almost every morning. Alex woke up early on his days off to make her dry toast and sit with her on the bathroom floor. He rubbed her back and felt useless. She kept saying sorry like it was her fault. He kept telling her it wasn’t. School got harder for her. She dropped two classes and went part time. He picked up every extra shift the cafe would give him. Money was tight from the start. Her parents sent a little every month to help with rent and groceries. It helped but it also made Alex feel like he wasn’t providing enough. He hated that feeling.

By the second month her morning sickness eased. Her belly started to show. Small at first. Just a little roundness under her shirts. Alex caught himself staring at it when she changed clothes. It made something in his chest ache in a way he didn’t have words for. This was his kid in there. Their kid. He started talking to her stomach at night when they lay in bed. Stupid things like “Hey little one, your mom is tough” or “I’m gonna try not to mess this up too bad.” Mia would laugh soft and run her fingers through his hair while he did it.

Living together happened gradually. She started staying at his place more and more. Her roommate situation got complicated with the pregnancy and Mia didn’t want to deal with it. One weekend they moved her things over in one trip. It took two car loads. Alex cleared half his closet without her asking. He moved his few books to make space for her textbooks on the small shelf. Her hoodie went on the hook by the door next to his jacket. Her toothbrush sat in the cup with his. It felt permanent in a way that scared him and settled him at the same time.

The first weeks of living together were messy and good. Alex came home from long shifts to find her asleep on the couch with a textbook open on her chest. He would carry her to bed even though she always woke up and told him she could walk. She started cooking simple dinners on his days off. Nothing fancy. Just pasta or soup. He would stand behind her while she stirred and wrap his arms around her growing belly. She would lean back into him and sigh like the weight of the day got lighter when he did that.

They still had their moments. Quiet ones. After dinner they would sit on the couch with her legs in his lap. He rubbed her feet even when they weren’t swollen yet. She would tell him about the baby kicking for the first time. He felt it one night with his hand on her stomach. A tiny flutter. It made his eyes burn. They kissed a lot. Slow kisses that didn’t always lead anywhere because she was tired or he was exhausted from work. But sometimes they did. Careful. Gentle. Her body changing made everything feel new again. He was careful with her belly. She was careful with him when stress made him quiet. Those nights reminded him why he had waited so long for her in the first place. The closeness went deeper than before the pregnancy. It wasn’t just want anymore. It was knowing she was carrying his child and still choosing to lean on him every night.

Stress showed up in small ways. Money arguments that weren’t really arguments. Just tired talks at the kitchen table about how they were going to afford diapers and a crib. Alex worked doubles some weeks and came home so wiped out he could barely talk. Mia got frustrated when her body ached and she couldn’t study the way she wanted. They snapped at each other once or twice. Nothing big. Just “you’re not listening” or “I’m doing the best I can.” Then they would end up on the couch holding each other and saying sorry until it felt okay again. Living together forced them to see every version of each other. The grumpy morning version. The worried at 2 a.m. version. The one who cried in the shower because everything felt too big. Alex loved her more because of it. He saw how she pushed through exhaustion to make sure he ate. How she rubbed his shoulders after a bad shift without him asking. How she talked to the baby like it could already hear her plans for its future. It made the hard days worth it.

Her parents helped more than he expected. They sent money for prenatal vitamins and a small bassinet. Her mom came down once and helped them paint a corner of the bedroom a soft yellow. She didn’t say much about the situation but she hugged Mia tight before she left. Alex felt grateful and guilty at the same time. Grateful for the help. Guilty that he couldn’t do it all himself yet.

His parents were slower. His dad still brought up “what were you thinking” sometimes when they talked on the phone. But his mom started asking for pictures of Mia’s belly. She sent a box of baby clothes her coworker gave her. Small steps. Alex didn’t push it. He just kept showing up when they asked and let them come around on their own time.

By month four Mia’s belly was obvious. She wore his shirts more than her own because they were softer. Alex loved coming home to see her in one of his old t-shirts stretched over the bump. It did something to him. Made him want to protect her even more. Made him want to work harder. Made him want to kiss her until she forgot how tired she was. They had careful nights together when she felt good. Slow and close. Him being extra gentle. Her guiding his hands. Afterward they would lie there and talk about names or what kind of parents they wanted to be. He still overthought everything. What if he was too strict? What if he wasn’t strict enough? What if the baby could tell he was scared? Mia always seemed to know when his head was too loud. She would pull his hand to her belly and say “feel that? That’s us. We’re doing this together.”

Month five brought more stress. Mia had to drop another class because the fatigue hit hard. Alex took on another shift and started skipping some of his own classes to work. He hated it but the numbers in their bank account didn’t lie. They fought about it one night. She said he was pushing too hard and would burn out. He said they didn’t have a choice. Then she started crying and he felt like the worst person alive. They made up in bed with him holding her from behind, his hand on her belly, whispering that he was sorry. She forgave him fast. That was her way. It made him love her harder and doubt himself more.

By six months the apartment felt like theirs in every way. Her books mixed with his on the shelf. Her prenatal vitamins next to his coffee on the counter. A small pile of baby things in the corner of the bedroom. A secondhand crib they put together on a Sunday afternoon with her dad on video call giving instructions. Alex came home from work one night to find her sitting on the floor folding tiny onesies her mom had sent. She looked up and smiled and his chest got tight in that good way again. Living with her had changed everything. He saw the way she moved slower now but still tried to do things for him. He saw how she talked to the baby when she thought he wasn’t listening. He saw how she looked at him when he came through the door after a long day like he was exactly what she needed. It made all the stress feel smaller. It made him want to be better than he thought he could be.

She moved in fully by then. No more going back and forth. Her lease was up and it just made sense. Alex helped her unpack the last boxes on a rainy Saturday. They put her clothes in the closet next to his. Her favorite blanket went on their bed. When they finished she stood in the middle of the living room with her hands on her belly and looked around like she was seeing it for the first time.

“This feels like home now,” she said.

Alex walked over and pulled her close. As close as her belly would let him. He kissed her forehead and then her mouth. Slow. “It is home,” he said. “Because you’re here.”

That night they lay in bed and he talked to her belly for a long time. Told the baby about the cafe and how he was going to teach it to make coffee one day. Mia laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. Then she got quiet.

“I’m really glad we’re doing this,” she said. “Even when it’s hard. I’m glad it’s with you.”

He looked at her in the dark. Six months pregnant. Tired. Beautiful in a way that still surprised him every day. He thought about the first time he saw her at the cafe. How long he had waited. How scared he had been to ask what they were. Now they were here. Living together. Having a baby. And he still felt like he didn’t deserve how good she was to him.

“I’m glad too,” he said. He meant it more than he could say.

The next week was hard. He worked four doubles in a row because someone quit. He came home late and sore and worried about bills. Mia was uncomfortable a lot. Her back hurt. She couldn’t sleep well. They were both stretched thin. But they still found moments. Him bringing her favorite ice cream home even though it cost extra. Her waiting up to rub his shoulders even though she was exhausted. Small things that reminded him why they were doing this.

One night after a bad shift he sat on the edge of the bed watching her sleep. Her hand rested on her belly. The baby kicked once and she stirred but didn’t wake. Alex felt the same mix of terror and love that had been with him since the test. He was going to be a dad in three months. He was living with the girl he had wanted for so long. They were making it work even when it felt impossible some days.

He reached into his drawer and pulled out the small box he had been hiding for two weeks. He had saved for it slowly. A simple ring. Nothing fancy. Just something that said he was serious. That he wanted this forever. Not because of the baby. Because of her. Because living with her had shown him parts of love he didn’t know existed. The quiet parts. The tired parts. The parts where you choose each other even when everything is hard.

He waited until the weekend. They had a rare day off together. No shifts. No classes. Just them. Mia was on the couch in one of his shirts, reading. Her belly made a little tent under the fabric. Alex sat next to her and took the book from her hands. She looked at him curious.

“You okay?” she asked.

He nodded. His heart was beating too fast. He had practiced what to say but now the words felt stuck. He got down on one knee in front of the couch. Her eyes went wide.

“Mia,” he said. His voice shook. “I know everything is crazy right now. I know we’re young and scared and money is tight and my parents are still weird about it sometimes. But living with you these last months… it made me love you more than I thought I could. I see you every day. Tired. Strong. Carrying our kid. Still choosing me even when I’m stressed and quiet and overthinking everything. I don’t want to do any of this without you. Not the baby. Not life. I want to marry you. If you’ll have me.”

He opened the box. The ring sat there simple and small.

Mia’s eyes filled with tears. She put both hands on her belly like she was steadying herself. For a second Alex thought she might say no. That the stress had been too much. That she would realize she could do better.

But then she smiled. That warm smile that had started everything.

“Yes,” she said. Her voice was thick. “Of course yes.”

Alex let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He slid the ring on her finger with shaking hands. It fit. She pulled him up and kissed him hard. They stayed like that on the couch with her belly between them. Kissing and crying a little and laughing at how crazy it all was.

Later that night they lay in bed with the lights off. Her head on his chest. His hand on her belly feeling the baby move. The ring caught the little bit of light from the window.

Alex still had doubts. He probably always would. About money. About being a good dad. About whether he was enough for her and the baby. But right now, with her wearing his ring and their kid kicking between them, the doubts felt smaller than the love.

They had three months left until the baby came. Six months of stress and help from her parents and slow acceptance from his. Six months of living together and learning each other in the hard ways. But they had said yes to all of it. To the baby. To each other. To forever in the middle of the mess.

Alex kissed the top of her head.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” she whispered back.

The apartment was quiet. Their future was loud. But for the first time in months Alex let himself believe they could handle the noise together.