"ENDER! YOU! STUPID! MAN!" shouted a feminine voice while poking his chest, before suddenly switched to whispering.
"Do you know how worried have I been? As I was coming home, I've heard a lot of people talking about a certain black haired teen stealing a suit in the rich side of our market and running away. I remember thinking there was no chance for it to be you. Stupid me. As hours passed after I came home, I've started fearing for the worst…"
When the angry whispering had stopped, Ender finally got the chance to look at his attacker's face.
The aggressor was Catherine, a petite and vivacious girl.
She stood in front of him with tears streaming down her face. Her appearance was endearingly youthful, with a petite frame and delicate features.
She had large, expressive eyes that glistened with the unshed tears, their colour a shade of soft, melancholic green and her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, while her lips quivered with emotion.
Ender almost broke at the sight of his girlfriend's state. With slow movements, he hugged her.
After Catherine managed to somewhat reign in her emotions, she started whispering again.
"Thank gods no one is saying anything about your eyes."
Indeed, had anyone said anything about Ender's eyes he could have been screwed. While the city's guards wouldn't arrest him based on the vendor's words, unless he paid a fortune of course, his life could have gotten a lot harder.
After all… not everyone had heterochromia. Ender's left pupil was dark purple, while his right one was light blue.
"Yeah, that could have been bad…" Ender murmured so quietly that Catherine didn't catch what he said.
"Did you say anything?"
"Nope," Ender quickly evaded while flashing her a smile.
Before Catherine could protest, Ender lifted her up and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'm so sorry for worrying you love… You know the saying from that mediocre poet. All's well that ends well."
Catherine couldn't stop a smile from blossoming on her face, after hearing those words.
"Yes I do. Can I ask of you something?"
Ender's face were adorned with a slight smile. He guessed what Catherine was going to ask for. "Can you please promise me that you won't go around performing such risky steals anymore?"
"You know I can't promise that," Ender said while shrugging helplessly.
"I'm serious Ender. Can you promise me that you won't go around looking for trouble, at least for a few months?"
This time Catherine's tone, contained a different emotion. She was pleading. Ender was sure. He was shocked by the sudden change in her demeanour.
"What's with the sudden pleading? Are you sure you only got scared, or did perhaps something else happen?" Ender enquired carefully.
"Scared? I was terrified, you brainless pig," Catherine huffed and lightly slapped his head.
After her quick vent, she went silent though.
Catherine started fiddling with her fingers and Ender noticing this, let her gather up some courage. After a whole minute of unbearable silence she finally started speaking.
"I-I know we weren't planning on it just yet… B-But I am pregnant!!"
Ender was in cloud nine. He was hugging Catherine so hard that she felt some difficulty in breathing. After a few moments he noticed her discomfort and let go.
"BUT THATS BRILLIANT NEWS!!" exclaimed Ender, before he started jumping around. He was going to be a dad. A dad. He was going to have a child and raise it together with Catherine.
They were going to see him or her slowly grow up and prosper. Even though they weren't planning on it, Ender was ecstatic. He would have to change some of his plans though.
"I'll have to put off the academy for a little while to help you raise our kid and I will also have to start an honest job and stop the thieving… There's no way I'll be rotting in a jail while you take care of our kid… We'll also have to buy a house. There's no way we are raising our kid in this shack."
Catherine couldn't be any happier with Ender's reaction to the news. The fact that he was planning for their future, was an icing on the top.
"Thank you Ender… I love yo!."
That night, the young couple could have confidently said that they had the best sleep in their lives, without even including their extracurricular activities.
The next morning, Ender woke up first.
Catherine was still laying peacefully on his right. She was like a delicate masterpiece painted by dreams. Her black hair was spread gently on a pillow, and her steady breaths showed she was in deep slumber. Soft sunlight that came through a crack in the house's wall, illuminated her face and highlighting her features.
'She must be dreaming something nice,' thought Ender upon seeing a faint but content smile on her lips.
He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before moving down. He stopped at Catherine's belly and looked at it.
A minute passed. Two minutes passed.
Ender was brought out of his stupor upon hearing a bird chirp right outside of their shack.
He leaned closer the Catherine's belly and whispered, "How can I already love you so much, without even knowing you?"
Unbeknownst to him, Catherine was up and heard him. Her eyes teared up and she almost got caught but she controlled herself. After that, Ender got up and made his way out of the house.
He had to go and find a new job after all.