Chapter Text
At his next prenatal appointment, Dr. Jewell asked him "Umm… how was the whole 'telling your family at Thanksgiving' thing?"
"Oh, how did it NOT go?! Most of the stuff they were saying sounded like nonsense. I even heard a piece of advice someone found on Facebook."
"Oh God…"
"It was something regarding the baby's gender and eating something, but I really don't care about the gender.
"The next day, my mom called me and gave me some reassurance. She said that that's how my family shows their love and that I'll feel better in a few weeks."
"Yeah, it's usually like that. The second trimester's even sometimes called 'the golden trimester."
And he did feel better. The second trimester made him less tired, his morning sickness seemingly vanished, and even though Christmas was still about a fortnight away, he was getting gifts of his own.
"What are you looking at?"
"Oh, nothing, it's just that I'm startin' to see a little pouch for your joey."
Radford's reference went over his head before it hit him like a thousand bricks a few seconds later.
"Am I showing already?" he asked, eyes wide, and Radford nodded, smiling.
He immediately went to the bathroom to check and sure enough, a tiny bump had formed around his abdomen.
He came out of the bathroom with a smile big enough to light up a room before sighing in a dreamy but shaky way. "Hoh my gosh. So this is, like, real now."
"I thought you knew when you took that test."
"No, of course I did! When I first found out, it was like having a little secret that no one knows about, but now,"—he put his hands on the sides of his bump—"that secret's out!"
"Wow," Radford said, still gazing at his beaming boyfriend. "Soon, your bike-riding days are gonna be over."
"And it's only gonna get bigger. I mean, I could always just grab a bigger uniform. Ugh, that's another thing: are you able to take me to and from work?"
"Oh my gosh, of course!"
As Radford wrapped Christmas presents, he felt a set of eyes watching him, so he looked behind him and found Kevin curled up on the couch, looking unsatisfied.
"How long have you been there?"
He sighed. "I don't know, but I'm just, like, really craving cheese and crackers, for some reason. I'm sure the grocery store's still open."
"You want them now?"
"I mean, yeah, if the grocery store's still open," he said, then added "Specifically the Ritz ones!"
When Radford got back, Kevin tore a pack of cheese and crackers open and ate one. The salt tickled on his tongue before a feeling of pure bliss followed.
However, he didn't like eating them whole, as he thought that it took too much time; If there was cheese that stuck out like a muffin top, he would lick that first. Then, he'd twist the cracker apart, lick the cheese off, and then eat the crackers with the salt facing up.
Kevin, who had yet another vivid dream, was writing about it in his dream journal. He was about to put the cap on his pen when he realized that he couldn't find it.
"What the…" he said to himself as he got out of his chair and started looking for it. This went on for a couple of minutes before he found that it was under his arm.
On a particularly slow day at CandyClub, Kevin was waiting at the counter, waiting for someone to come in when he felt something, a fluttery feeling that could only be described as butterflies in his stomach, as if he were anticipating something.
It was almost comical. What was he nervous for? Oh no, were they coming again? Did his body somehow develop some sort of defense mechanism that made him know when they were coming? What otherworldly horror would they bring with them this time? He certainly couldn't deal with that, given his condition.
Then, he put both hands on his bump when he remembered something Dr. Jewell had said:
"Now, quickening could feel like a few different things, like light tapping, bubbles popping, or as if butterflies are in your stomach."
The last description was similar to what he felt. Was that his baby?
He felt another flutter, almost like a sign of confirmation.
A warm, fuzzy feeling filled him knowing that the little life growing inside him was moving.
Wow… there's a baby in here, Kevin thought to himself. My baby.
His mind was all over the place, but one thing was for certain: it would definitely get less lonely around here.
When Radford picked Kevin up, he was smiling, which was atypical of him.
"What's up? Something's definitely up, why are you smiling like that?" Radford asked, teasing him playfully.
"Haha, stop!" he replied, laughing. "Well… it kicked for the first time today~"
"It did?!"
"Mhm."
"What did it feel like? Like, out of all the things Dr. Jewell said."
"Like butterflies in my stomach."
"Are you able to see it, like, move around from within? Or feel it under your hands?"
"I've only just noticed today, baby."
"Sorry, but I bet it's just so riveting. If you feel them again, let me know, okay?" he asked and gave his beau a peck on the side of his forehead.
"Yeah, sure," he said nonchalantly and put his head on Radford's shoulder, smiling. Radford wrapped his hand around Kevin's head and scratched his thick, black hair.
In the midst of the embracing, Radford realized something: if the baby's kicking now…
…he'd need some new things.
Kevin looked up at his partner. "Awh, what's wrong, Radford?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just… thinking about something."
That night, when they were both sleeping, Kevin felt it kick again.
"Rad!"
"Mmm?"
"Just wanted you to know that it kicked again."
"Oh, um, that's great," Radford said, sounding preeoccupied, but Kevin didn't notice. Outside was the moon, as full as his heart was in that moment.