“Last night was alright, in the end…” Gath smiled as he rolled over in bed to get his alarm clock. “Clearly, because we have overslept.”
“It was fun, actually!” Retvik admitted. “Made some new friends. Chatted with the Raptor. She is always nice to talk to.”
“Seemed very excited about her new collection of house fighters. We did not really hire anyone new while we were in charge…” Gath was still smiling, as he climbed out of bed. It was just him and Retvik, so he was happy to wander around the house naked.
Retvik rolled back and forth a few times. He was comfortable and warm, he didn’t quite want to get out of bed yet. His stomach didn’t feel particularly settled though, despite having taken those anti-emetics last night. They had done the job, Retvik hadn’t thrown up at the party or anything embarrassing like that, but he still didn’t feel great.
“Hey Retvik?” Gath shouted from downstairs. “Two little things, firstly, what do you want for brekkie? Secondly, you still want to… use these pregnancy tests we got last night?”
“Uh…” Retvik hesitated. He didn’t really want to think about it. Maybe last night was just a fluke. Maybe he had just eaten something funny. Or picked up a small virus from somevok. Maybe it was nothing.
Or maybe it actually was something… They HAD been… cuddling a lot lately…
“Retvik?”
“Yes. I do. It is probably nothing. Probably. Nothing at all…”
Retvik finally hauled his tail out of bed and clomped down the stairs into the kitchen. A carrier bag sat on the counter, almost taunting Retvik.
“While you do that, do you want me to heat up some sausage stew for you?” Gath asked. He too was being somewhat cautious. Retvik’s nervousness confirmed Gath’s suspicions that he was genuinely scared, and why Retvik had refused all alcoholic drinks the night before. Gath though knew not to be too optimistic. Yes, he really wanted kids, but his partner’s feelings were more important.
Retvik eventually stopped staring at the bag and grabbed it. “Yes… yes please, Gath… I shall be back in a moment.”
He climbed back up the stairs to the bathroom, and gently closed the door. Retvik opened the box and pulled out the instructions. There were four vacuum-sealed strips inside. He had done this before, but sometimes these things were different.
Downstairs, Gath was feeling somewhat nervous. He was probably having the same thoughts Retvik was having, just with more pragmatism. It was unlikely that Retvik was pregnant. After all, just a couple of years back, he’d suffered a major injury to his stomach and womb. And Gath… well, Gath had always had problems. He simply wasn’t fertile. It wasn’t an uncommon problem with Ethran-types but for some reason his infertility affected both his male and female sides.
Gath shook his head and returned to reality. The stew was nearly warmed through. He had to make sure it was completely hot, just in case Retvik had a stomach bug. Or maybe they simply hadn’t heated up their dinner properly last night. Retvik was always susceptible to stomach bugs and uncooked food.
The bathroom door opened. Retvik didn’t say anything as he walked down the stairs, locked the front door, then handed a test strip to Gath.
“You’re…”
A small, uncertain smile flickered across Retvik’s face.
“Yes.”
Gath wasn’t sure what to say. Neither was Retvik. A timer binged behind them, the stew was ready.
“You should have breakfast,” Gath smiled. “You’re eating for two now.”