Work Text:
Double Pink
It was his birthday. Birthdays had been such an event when he’d been a child. Family and friends and balloons and cake. (A clown once, but he’d not been a fan). Both before and even after his father’s death they’d been something he looked forward to.
As an adult, he’d always celebrated too. Less cake and balloons more beer and other age-appropriate fun as the years went on.
Sometime past thirty-five, after spending two of them in a POW camp, they’d stopped being all that though.
This year however was different.
Because he was with Juliet. Not just with, but engaged to her. To be married. (For real this time.)
Birthdays had not been a part of her childhood or adulthood and his insistence they have a party that day two months ago when she told him it was her birthday had been met with eye rolls.
Except when it came right down to it she’d been quite pleased at being celebrated.
And thus, last week she had insisted he was to be properly celebrated when his day rolled around as well.
So they had a party.
A small one but still.
No gifts. He’d gotten the best gift of his life from his father as a child - a Tigers child-sized baseball jersey he’d worn every day until it fell apart from being washed so often - and nothing would ever beat that.
(Though he was hoping that perhaps there would be some new interesting underwear for him to ‘unwrap’ off Juliet in a bit.)
“Well that was quite the adventure,” she said, coming up to watch him finish brushing his teeth. She wore a skimpy pink robe and held one hand behind her back. “I will never bet on Jin’s flexibility ever again, that is for sure.”
He grinned before spitting out the toothpaste suds. “You really should have known better.“
“Oh hush you,” she said, then pulled a gift from behind her back.
It had simple yellow paper and a red bow.
“I thought we decided no gifts unless I could remove them with my teeth,” he said, smiling and honestly more excited about what she had on (or not) under the robe than the gift.
“Well, this one is not just for you.”
He kept smiling. “It’s too small for lingerie. I mean you have small boobs but-”
“Finish that sentence and I’ll take it back,” she said, waving the gift at him.
He took it.
It was rectangular and a little longer than his hand. Weighed next to nothing. Not very thick or wide. He shook it and it rattled a little.
“Oh bloody hell just open it Thomas,” she said, “We don’t have all day.”
“We don’t?” He supposed they didn’t, his birthday would be over in sixteen minutes.
To annoy her he opened it extremely carefully, tugging at the tape rather than just tearing it into it. The first side he got was just a barcode. The other seemed to be instructions.
The front though… it said ‘pregnancy test’ and he just stared at it for a long time.
“Remember last month when Kumu got her scooter stolen?”
“Yes?” he said, not sure what it had to do with the pregnancy test in his hand.
“And someone returned it the next day?”
“Mmm?”
“And you lost your wallet but when you went back the guy at the store recognized you and someone had handed it in and every last dollar was in there.”
He remembered that. Vaguely.
“Then the same week, I was heading back from the store and I notice a commotion and it’s this girl and a guy and a father and daughter and they were all helping the girl after having sent her would-be attacker running,” she said and while this was all fascinating he was still staring at the white and pink box in his hands.
He wanted to think it meant what he thought it did, so badly but he was afraid to hope. Because she’d been so sure. People bad. The world is bad. Bringing a child into it would be wrong.
“Right?”
“Want to know what that week also was?” she continued, clearly into the story.
“No?” he said, thinking back but nothing came to mind.
“The week I was meant to get my birth control renewed,” she said, softly.
“Yeah?” he said.
“Yeah.”
“I assume this ties in with this,” he asked, looking from the box and into her eyes. Trying not to let the excitement show on his face, quite sure he was not managing to.
“I’ve decided maybe you’re right.”
“I’m right?” That was sure something coming from Higgy. More surprising than the pregnancy test even.
“About this one thing. About maybe people are good. At least enough of them.” She put her hand over his on the box. “And even if they weren’t… I don’t want my life to have this regret. Because of some terrible what-if scenario where we die and she’s left all alone.”
“That won’t happen,” he promised.
“And if it did….we'd have loved her and protected and cared for her until that day. And she'd have that. Always. Like how you never doubted your father’s love even though he was lost to you,” she said, ‘speech’ apparently over, she made a face. “Now, while unlikely this test will be positive as I’ve only been off the pill for three weeks, I quite urgently have to pee so if you want to-”
He was already tearing the box open, not even attempting to use any of the finesse he had for the wrapping paper.
Magnum had spent his whole life thinking no birthday gift could ever top that Tigers jersey from his father.
That night, however, two pink lines on a plastic stick did.
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(END)