Chapter Seven

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"So...we need to tell you something".

Maddie had gathered her best friends in the living room and they were all looking at her.

"What? That you two are officially together? Because we already know, honey".

"How?"

"Babes", started Rose. "You're too obvious. And doing casual hookups doesn't suit you at all. And you're living together. And it's Rúben. Come on now...who can resist that temptation?"

Rúben chuckled at the compliment and Maddie just shook her head, sighing. Of course she couldn't fool them.

"It's not that. Or not just that. There's something else you need to know".

"What? Are you pregnant or something?", said Lindsay as a joke...but then realised her friend's expression. "Wait. Are you?"

"You are?", asked Rose and Ruth at the same time.

Maddie nodded and the screams began. They ran to their friend to hug her and to touch her belly. She was the first friend in the group that was going to become a mum, so it was a big moment for all of them.

"Really, though. That's how I look when I'm bloated", said Ruth. "How was I supposed to guess this?"

They kept chatting and congratulating her friend and Rúben decided to move to the kitchen to let them have that moment. He loved that Maddie could finally share the news with them. He knew how important her friends are and not being able to tell them was taking a toll.

"Good job, Dias", said Rose. "That baby is going to be so sexy when it grows up. What a set of genes".

He laughed but the word genes reminded him the baby might not be his. Not biologically anyway. But he or she would hopefully look like Maddie whatever the DNA test says.

"If it's a girl, I swear I'll die from anxiety when she gets to her teenage years".

"And I'll help her sneak out to meet all the cute boys or girls she likes".

Rúben raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not a fan of that plan".

"I'm the cool auntie", said Rose with a shrug. "It's what we do".

The girls stayed with Maddie for a little longer and Rúben ordered some food for all of them. They kept trying to include him in their conversation but he could tell it was Maddie, and the baby, they cared about.

"We'll leave now. You need to rest".

"Now you know, we can hang out more".

"We will", said Ruth, kissing Maddie's forehead. "Keep us updated. About everything".

"You take good care of her or else", said Lindsay, pointing an accusatory finger at Rúben.

"Yes, ma'am".

Rúben walked the guests to the door and when he got back to the living room, he saw Maddie falling asleep.

"You should go to bed. The sofa isn't comfortable for naps".

"Too far away", she whined and Rúben lifted her in his arms and took her to bed.

"I'll tell Lindsay you're doing well so far".

"I just do it because I'm afraid of her, of course".

"She'll get really angry if you don't take a nap with me".

"I thought about going shopping while you slept. We need food...".

"And I need cuddles!"

"Ok then. I can't say no to cuddles either".

**

Rúben's parents were used to visiting him more often. But due to work stuff, they hadn't been able to make it to Manchester since before Maddie moved in with their son. So it was a bit of a surprise to find her there when she opened the door. Rúben kept them updated but didn't update on this big change.

"Oh, Maddie. You are here ...", said Rúben's mum and that caught his dad's attention.

"Hello, Madison. Are you ok?"

"Hi. I'm fine, thanks. Um...Rúben is in the shower. He'll be out any minute...", the bedroom's door opened, interrupting her. "There he is".

"Hi, mum. Hi, dad. Maddie is here".

"We could tell", laughed his mum.

They both felt so uncomfortable all of a sudden. This was hard. Maddie's people knew but...she was the one who was pregnant. Rúben's family was another story.

"Yes, um, there is something you need to know".

"You two are finally together?", asked his mum, excited. His parents knew about their son's crush and always liked Maddie. So they were hopeful something could happen between them at some point.

"Yes. But that's not all ...".

Maddie instinctively touched her belly, which Rúben's parents didn't miss.

"Are you...?"

Maddie nodded. "We didn't know how to tell you. Umm...I know this is weird. Like, it's too fast. And we didn't really plan it but we're happy about it anyway. And we hope you can be happy too".

Their reaction was to hug her and Rúben couldn't help but smile. It was so important to have his parents by his side at such an important moment in his life.

"This baby will be a Benfica fan. Non-negotiable", said Rúben's dad and Maddie laughed.

"That's fine by me. Our little bilingual baby".

"I didn't even think about that".

"We might even make it trilingual if I speak Spanish too. But it might be too much".

"We'll see what we do when the time comes".

"I want to learn all the names of baby-related things in Portuguese, though", said Maddie, excited about learning more languages.

"I'll teach you all of it", said his mum. And Rúben thought there was no way he could be happier than at that exact moment.

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