Marriage

Throwing herself out of a moving car wasn't a good idea, it never had been and even less so now that she had a life growing inside her that she had to take care of. Because it was definitely the only thing going through her mind as they drove through the city and the familiar streets she had lived on all her life began to pass by the window. She hadn't been able to let her mother know she was accompanied, she had only asked if they were both home and the woman said yes, so now she had a hole forming in her chest from thinking about the conversation that awaited her.

The car stopped and she with trembling hands searched for her keys, Kiba next to her held the bag with her new medicines, test results and some groceries. When she finally found in her coat pocket the key ring, she opened the door, her parents were on the couch watching TV and raised their heads in her direction, before losing her momentum she took a step to enter and thus at once allow the Inuzuka to cross the frame as well. The surprise on their face was evident, turning off the TV at once and straightening up on the couch.

"Good evening," it was Kiba who greeted.

"Go-good evening," her mother was the first to react. "Tenten, you didn't tell me that you would bring a visitor to have something ready. Have you already had dinner?"

"Yes, mom." After reviewing some of the suggested dinner options on the diet they had gone to a restaurant down the road, "thank you" she closed the door and the Inuzuka took her by the hand. "Mom, dad, let me introduce you to Kiba my... boyfriend?" Only there it dawned on her that technically he wasn't just her boyfriend anymore and should extend it to fiancé-and-father-of-my-child or something like that.

"Kiba Inuzuka," confidently he took the few steps that separated them from the couch and extended his hand to shake that of her parents, who stood up before taking it and each said their names. "It's easy to see where Tenten got her eyes," from her father and her mother's hair color.

"Why do we owe it to this young man to finally show up here?" Her father looked directly at her and couldn't help biting her lip.

"Oh yes... about that," she didn't want to stutter or look more nervous than she was. "I think we should all sit down."

"Would you like some coffee? I'll make some."

"I was forbidden it," she said reluctantly between her teeth and her mother's eyes widened exorbitantly as she examined her completely.

"What about you?"

"I would like to, dear." Her father also looked her up and down.

"Yes, thank you." The dining table was square, the two men facing each other as they sat down. "Would you like a yogurt?" she nodded more for the sake of having something to hide behind when pretending to drink it than because she wanted the drink itself. The cups were set out for those who would drink coffee and it could feel the tension start to build. "Well, we can't drag this out..."

"You pregnant my daughter," interrupted her father with a tone that wasn't a question, it was an accusation.

"That's right, today in the morning we were at the medical center to have her examined and to know how they are both evolving." He looked in the bag for the sheet with the ultrasound and handed the sheet to her mother, who held her breath when she saw the image. "There is also the disc in case you want to see the video."

"14 we... 3 months."

"3 months!" Replied her father, looking at the top of the sheet where it said the weeks and the approximate date of conception. "Have you been hiding this from us until now?"

"No dad," she defended herself at once. "I didn't know it either, we found out last night..."

"Did you know she has a boyfriend for so long?"

"S-something like that, but I didn't know that they already..." she had stopped short of imagining it was going to be an awkward conversation.

"We've been talking about it, deciding what we're going to do and..."

"You're not going to force my daughter to have an abortion."

"What! No, no, no such thing has ever crossed my mind. We're going to have it."

"And we're getting married," she said mumbling.

"You're what?!" the expression was in chorus.

"As Tenten said, we've decided it's best for both, her and the care of her pregnancy and for the baby's upbringing when it's born."

"It's a bit hasty. What do you do, boy?"

"I am finishing my degree in International Economics and Finance, my family owns a business corporation so the moment I graduate I will take my place on the board and I have a position already defined waiting for me." That was what was understood as having the life solved. "Neither Tenten nor my child will lack anything."

"I guess you will wait until the baby is born to do the marriage thing."

"No, in fact it will be soon," or so Tsume had said, "probably this month."

Her father frowned and silence settled for several minutes, being broken at the end by her mother to ask her about the recommendations that the doctor had given her and mentioning that in her case she had had nausea from the beginning so they had realized that she was on her way very early, besides that at that stage of gestation she already had a slight belly.

With the conversation much lighter she said goodbye to Kiba who told her that if she felt sick, she shouldn't hesitate to call him and let the doctor know, no matter what time it was. From the bag she took out a small cheese, more yogurts and some other things for her diet, taking at once the medicines that were due at that hour.

"Tenten honey..." her parents were now on the couch again and although the TV had been turned on they didn't seem to pay attention to the program and beckoned her to come closer. She sat down on the other piece of furniture. "Are you sure about this?"

"It's for the best mom, I love Kiba and..." she put a hand on her tummy. "I have to do what's best for the baby," she sighed before continuing, "you saw the recommendations, I've been careless which is affecting it"

"But you don't need to get married, or join that family. We can make it on our own."

"Mom..." she sighed again. "I know you are short and I am an expense to you, I won't be able to work in my condition. Besides you saw that hateful diet, we won't be able to afford it."

"Tenten... he seems like a nice boy, but his mother is still his mother."

"He defended me from Tsume," she clarified while she thought that he had never mentioned her humble origin. "Besides he has never said anything about not responding or anything like that, we love each other and we plan to have a home together... and that's what we are going to do."

"Well, at least he had the pants to come to face what he did," there was resignation in her father's voice. "Tenten, remember that you can still count on us for anything. We may not have the money that family has, but we'll manage to get everything our grandchild needs if we have to."

"Thanks dad," she got up from her seat and hugged them both. "Thanks mom, I'm going to go to bed."

"Rest, honey."

She texted Kiba to tell him she was already in bed and after putting the phone aside her mind went back to what she had been thinking about since the clinic, at first she hadn't been able to process that there was a living being inside her, and not having realized it before. The first trimester was supposed to be critical for development and there she was, she had skipped it with a blunder, guilt was creeping over her at the thought of her sloppy eating resulting from both her ignorance of her condition and the only food available in the house.

She had reread the diet several times and there were many things mentioned there that she knew by name or by pictures because they were expensive and she had never tried them. For example fresh blueberries, beyond some jam that claimed to have that flavor, she had never tasted one, and now in the refrigerator she had a pound of them, along with some kale and other vegetables, because Kiba insisted on going to a store and buy what she needed.

And with her marriage for once in her life she could say that she felt interested, she had been annoyed by Tsume's accusation about it, but after talking with the Inuzuka about what they were going to do, she realized that the most reasonable and the best thing to give a future to her baby was that. Her parents were financially strapped and that's why she had started looking for a job, she couldn't burden them with this new expense, not only for her diet, but for medical appointments, vitamins, transportation and later everything that would be needed for the birth.

She was in love of Kiba, she loved spending time with him and although it was rushed, she didn't see anything wrong with getting married, besides by leaving her parents' house they would have a slight relief by being able to do without her feeding and supporting, it was a good thing for everyone in general.

.

It probably hadn't been the original intention, but it almost provoked him to call his mother to thank her because the semester in London was being used as a term paper, so he didn't have to worry about a monograph or research, only about his classes.

It was still his last semester and they were heavy, but for the moment he was doing well. While the foreign exchange professor was talking in the background, he was slyly looking at the file on his phone that his mother had sent him a few minutes before. Just for that he didn't thank her, because she was still trying to control his life and although getting married was a fact, he did not expect a document with the requirements that same Monday after deciding it only on Saturday.

The first thing was the documentation to be able to carry out the civil union in front of a judge, so the birth certificate of both of them and the copies of the IDs were needed. He smiled sideways, it was going to be the perfect opportunity to see the photo that Tenten hadn't wanted to show him. She had already made the appointment for the following Saturday, the location was in the next town to the one he lived in and that struck him as odd before reading the rest, he had assumed it would be at the house with at least twenty guests.

No, the explanation was simple, it was going to tell anyone who asked that they had eloped to get married without telling anyone and found out about the pregnancy later, a ridiculous thing to have to be putting together a whole scenario to justify such a thing. Now, Tenten's maiden name wasn't going to be pronounced under any circumstances, they knew each other because she was Hana's classmate and she was a graduate of that school, that was the only thing that would be mentioned about it.

He rolled his eyes, he thought maybe some of the fellow students would recognize her eventually, but at the same time he told himself no, from what the brunette told him about her time at school no one determined her, in fact they shouldn't even remember about the scholarship. Probably if they crossed her sometime in the future at some social event upon hearing she had her same last name they would treat her kindly, she was for the most part a creep of people and he hoped he would never become like that, although he knew that upon graduating and starting work he would surround himself more and more with these. That was what was marked on his path having been born among the most privileged in the city.

Whatever, going back to the ceremony, he also had to buy the wedding rings for that day. So after leaving class he called the brunette, he had no idea of the size of the ring so he asked her to measure her finger, wrote down the number and asked her how she had slept, hearing her complain because she wanted her breakfast coffee, although she had liked to eat fruit with yogurt and the blueberries were tasty. When he said goodbye he got in the car to go to the jewelry store, he chose the platinum wedding rings as he preferred it over the gold color and had them engraved with the date at once.

While the saleswoman was making the invoice, he was looking at the engagement rings, it wasn't on the list and technically it wasn't necessary to buy one, but he was looking at one with 3 diamonds that somehow made him think of Tenten and that he was sure would look good on her finger. The sales lady showed it to him, 2 of the diamonds were pear shaped and the center one was round, as he looked at it closely the woman explained that the amount of stones signified the stages of the relationship, but what came to his mind was that they would be 3 soon, and seen out of the corner of his eye it appeared to be a single stone. So he took it too.

Fortunately, he had brought forward his university pending on Sunday and so he could give himself that afternoon to get that taken care of. He went to the grocery store to buy some other things for Tenten to eat and went to her house, she looked surprised to see him at the door and smiled when she saw an almonds bag, sitting together on the couch while she was eating.

"Here," he had written on the documents and she had enlisted them, she had her birth certificate at hand so she had taken out her ID just a week ago.

"You look cute," he said all at once as he looked at the picture and she pouted, sticking her tongue out in his direction. "Seriously sweetie, it's not that bad."

"So it's bad."

"I didn't say that, but keep in mind that all those pictures are bad." She didn't stop pouting, "but well, going on with the preparations..."

"What else is missing? You only told me it would be on Saturday and those two documents."

"What's missing is that you wear this," he showed her the jewel on his hand and the chocolate orbs alternated between him and his hand.

"Kiba... it's beautiful," like a little girl she reached out her hand for him to slip the ring on her finger.

"Not as beautiful as you," he kissed her to reaffirm his words.

.

On Thursday a package had arrived at her house, when she uncovered it, she saw a dress and understood at once that it was to be worn on Saturday. She spread it out in the air to appreciate it better, it wasn't white, it was very light pink, in the chest area it had a beautiful lace and it was slightly tight although the material felt a little elastic, just above the navel it became loose and the skirt was multi-layered, so it looked a harmonious fall. She measured it at once, it fit her well, although it could also be because she still didn't feel major changes in her clothes size.

On Saturday morning her mother had arranged her hair, doing something similar to her usual buns but a little more elaborate which gave a slightly elegant touch to the hairstyle, her parents had asked for the day off from their jobs so they could accompany her. Although Tsume's instructions were precise, the official story would be that they had eloped so she didn't want to see on any social network photos of the event and that it would be noticed that someone else had attended, because obviously the woman and Hana would also be present.

The well-known prenuptial had been signed the day before, a man dressed in an elegant suit had come to her home with the document and she skim read it as many legal terms escaped her, it said what she already knew, in case of a divorce no matter which of the parties requested it, she would receive nothing. Beyond being sure of her feelings for Kiba and that obviously the child was his, there was the issue that the last thing she cared about was money.

She greeted the Inuzuka who was in a tie-dye suit similar to the one he had worn when they went to the restaurant for her birthday and they left at once. They were all going in silence so she spent her time searching the radio for a station with music she liked. It was almost a 2 hour driving to the place where Tsume and Hana were already there, the first one dressed as if it was an ordinary day and the young girl in a nice spring dress and a big smile.

It wasn't exactly a chapel or anything like that, it was just a medium sized room with a few chairs and that was it. She heard in the distance the woman repeating to the man in charge that if anyone ever came to ask him, only she and Kiba had attended, no one else, reiterating something about a signature. She didn't want to think at that moment how many things besides their prenuptial, had had to be arranged with signatures and other threats or bribes to make the wedding story fit. There was no doubt about the influence and power the older woman could wield, a part of herself wished she could have her far away from her life, but she knew it wasn't going to happen, whether she liked it or not, she was her mother-in-law.

"At least for some things you do have good taste," after glancing at the ring on her hand the woman pronounced those words.

The event was very simple, although it was a civil ceremony the man was talking about love, commitment and the importance of respecting the couple. After making them sign a certificate, he finally told them that they could kiss, officially leaving aside being the single Tenten Ama to become the married Tenten Inuzuka. Both Kiba and she smiled before and after that first kiss that sealed them as husband and wife, being the turn to her mother approached to hug her.

They took a couple of pictures and after that they went to a new place where they would all share a lunch and that's all, those were the plans for that day. Hana dedicated herself to talk to both her and her parents while on the opposite side Tsume looked at them with contempt without addressing them. At the end the two Inuzuka women left in the car with the driver and for their part they got back in the car with Kiba to go to their own home.

Traffic had been a nightmare, so after dropping her parents off the idea of driving back out of city to his apartment sounded exhausting and they definitely weren't going to spend their first night as husband and wife on the huge property.

"Let's go to a hotel."

"Can it be the hotel where my mother works? They're not going through a good time and..."

"Sure, as long as you're there..." he leaned far enough from the seat to kiss her and then he did look up the address.

Sunday they had woken up late, she had to say she loved waking up in his arms. Between the two of them they thoroughly checked the menu looking for her to eat there so they could order room service, and finally past noon they left on their way to the property. She wasn't sure what, but there were still some details to be arranged and for some reason that gave her a bad feeling, especially because Kiba seemed to evade the subject when she asked him, they hadn't talked about whether she would move into the apartment or wait until he finished university.

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All corrections and comments are always well received, they help me improve a lot.

Hope you like it!