You had to ask multiple butlers to guide you but you finally made it to the dining room. You had thought you could make your own concoction but naturally there was someone to do it for you. As you ordered a PB&J with a side of pickles, you silently stared at all the empty seats around you. Why did such a small family need such an extravagant dining room? Did they have guests often? No way, you thought, they're assassins who live on a mountain. What a hassle. Before you could even continue to postulate about who would or even could visit, your sandwich arrived. Alternating between bites of sweet sandwich and bitter pickle, you became so entranced that you didn't notice the new arrival in the room.

"I did some research."

You choked on your sandwich/pickle mush and looked up quickly. It was Illumi. Unfortunately. You regained composure of your esophagus enough to ask "About?"

"My baby." He moved to sit at the seat closest to you, which was still a few feet away, and continued. "My baby is quite developed now and the chance of miscarriage is substantially lower. So I think it is worthwhile to start becoming attached to them. They have nails now, you know? And they can open and close their hands and mouth. It's amazing really. I'm sure my baby will be very strong. It's probably been doing this for awhile now."

You felt a twinge of guilt. Not even an hour ago you wanted to get rid of this thing inside you. But it didn't occur to you how... developed... it was. Nails? Really? You thought. And it moves? It was unsettling to you and you peered down at your covered belly. However, something popped into your mind quickly as you replayed what was said to you.

"It's not just your baby, you know. This thing is at the very least ours. Maybe more so mine right now because I have to care for it all of the time."

Illumi pondered for a moment. You did have a point, but he certainly didn't want to share the baby with you. He wanted all of the praise for doing a great job raising them.

"I'll just have to take care of you too then." He concluded.

Your heart jumped a little bit inside your chest. Certainly he didn't intend to say such a sweet thing. It seemed... out of character?

"At least until our baby is born. Then it can be just my baby."

Your heart quickly settled. Of course that's what he meant. You rolled your eyes and continued eating. What a jerk. He doesn't care about me at all. If that's the case then why did he even... you blushed just thinking about the act that brought about the little alien. However, Illumi quickly gave you something else to blush about. Quicker than your eye could catch, he appeared crouched next to you. Slowly, he slid his hands under your shirt and lightly rubbed your belly.

"Hi little baby, I'm your father. You might call me daddy or papa or whatever you like. I'm excited to meet you." Your heart swelled. Regardless of whether or not he liked you, he was certainly going to love this baby. The thought gave you some comfort and you didn't notice the weird look he was giving you as you dreamily stared forward. You only snapped back to reality when his hands, warmer than they looked, were retracted. Standing up and beginning to exit, he glanced at your confused face as well as at your meal. "Babies start to hear around 23 weeks. They learn to recognize their mother's voices very quickly. I'd also like for our baby to recognize mine. I will be sure to speak with them often. I'll also be re-figuring your meals. This meal is not satisfactory for fetal development, however I can let it slide for the time being. After all, I do know of these 'cravings' my mother spoke of."

And with that he left, leaving you to pout over your food. I'll eat what I want to eat. You thought defiantly. You looked down at your little alien.

"And I definitely want you to recognize my voice most of all. Even if I'm not as excited to meet you right now."