Relkir was sighing. Relkir was sighing a lot. Despite doing everything the doctors had said, despite everything Relkir had been doing, the pregnancy test had come out negative. Again. And Relkir couldn’t understand why.
That being said, Relkir, had some idea what the problem was. Gath, Relkir’s partner, was a troubled being. They’d had a lot of problems over the years. Health problems. And although Gath had mostly recovered, the damage done had come back to haunt them. Relkir should have noticed early on, when they first started sleeping together, but they had never really concerned themselves with the details. Things would work themselves out, right? Turns out, Relkir was wrong, things were definitely not working out when it came to Relkir getting egg-ridden.
A knock on the door distracted Relkir. They put down the urine-covered stick on the edge of the sink, sighed some more, then opened up the bathroom door. It was Gath. Of course it was Gath.
“My little darling, are you well?” Gath asked. “You do not seem well, and you have been in here for a while.”
“I am…” Relkir hesitated, then frowned. They considered lying, saying they were fine, but Relkir didn’t like lying. “I am not well. I am upset. We have done everything we have been told to do, but I am still not egg-ridden.”
Gath frowned as well, then spotted the used pregnancy test.
“I… I can see… I am sorry, dear. We can keep on trying though.”
“I know we can, but I… I am just a little upset…”
“I understand. I am sorry.”
Relkir looked up at Gath, then tutted and gave Gath a hug. “Please do not apologise. It is neither of our faults. We are just struggling to find the balance and timing. It does not help that it is hard to work out the timings of a Rethan’s ovulation cycle. We seem to be on opposite ends of the two month cycle.”
“It is unfortunate, but we will work something out!” Gath was more optimistic. “Of course we will. Rethans having troubles with eggs happens enough that the doctors know what to do. And, well, worst case scenario, we just go for IVF or something, yes? It will not even hurt. Because I know I have hurt you a few times. We have been… rather vigorous in our play times as of late.”
Relkir shrugged. “You know I do not mind you being rough with me. And I have enjoyed our playtimes without using any projection. When I am egg-ridden, we will have to go back to using protection, but it has made a change, not having to worry about these things.”
Gath nodded in agreement. “It has been a lot of fun. I just enjoy spending time with you. In every way…” Gath paused, then glanced at the used test strip again. “So… I am curious, and I know that you know everything… How do those test strips work?”
“The pregnancy tests?” Relkir asked.
“Yes, those. I do not understand them. Not that I have seen one in a long, long time…”
Relkir thought for a moment, then frowned. “You used one when you were… when you were first egg-ridden.”
“Actually, Vikal used one. I… did not really need to use one because it was somewhat obvious I was egg-ridden… Well, it was not… but I did not show many egg-ridden symptoms until my stomach started swelling, and by then, I was only two weeks out…”
“Oh… I see…” Relkir muttered. “Was Vikal egg-ridden?”
“They… they were. But they were only just there…” Gath fell silent, sniffed, then took a deep breath and changed the subject. “So how do the test strips work?”
Relkir also took a deep breath, glad that Gath had moved on. “I am not completely sure, but when you are egg-ridden, you produce different hormones compared to when you are not egg-ridden. The test strips are sensitive to those hormones, and they change colour in specific areas if you have the egg-ridden hormones.”
“I see!” Gath perked up, enjoying the bit of new knowledge. That was one of the things they loved about Relkir, that Relkir knew so many things and was always happy to share that knowledge. “So what part of the test strip changes colour?”
Relkir pointed at a small circle on the test strip they had used earlier. “If the bit in the middle goes completely red, it means you are egg-ridden. Mine though did not change colour at all, which means I have none of the correct hormones. Sometimes they can not completely change colour though, and you need to go to a doctor to confirm. They are not completely reliable or accurate, sadly, because the chemicals inside can degrade or alter over time.”
“Can I try one?” Gath asked.
Relkir eyed Gath briefly. “It would not do anything. You are not egg-ridden.”
“Yes, but then we can see if the test strips are wrong. Because you may be egg-ridden and not know it because the test strips are broken.”
After some more eyeing, Relkir calmed down, shrugged, then handed Gath an unopened test strip and a clean tube made to hold urine. Gath sat down on the toilet with the tube between their legs and quickly filled it up, before awkwardly opening up the test strip and dipping it into the fresh urine. The test strip absorbed the urine and travelled upwards, to where the chemicals would react and show the test result.
Relkir and Gath remained utterly silent for a long time, staring at that test strip. Clearly, something wasn’t right.
“That…” Gath tried to speak, but couldn’t.
“That… is… uh…” Relkir was struggling to find the right words as well.
“Should I do another one?” Gath asked.
“No… Do you have work tomorrow?”
“Not really, no.”
Relkir took a long, drawn out breath. “Alright, first thing tomorrow, we go to the doctor. Get you checked out. In the mean time… no more alcohol at all, understood?”
Gath smiled, ever so slightly. “Understood.”