Fandom: Girl Meets World
Pairing(s): Riarkle
Characters: (Major) Riley Matthews and Farkle Minkus, (Supporting) Topanga Lawrence-Matthews, Cory Matthews, and Auggie Matthews, (Mentioned, mean kinda?) Sophia Mars Minkus (oc)
Rating: T because, like, retrospective thoughts about sex and language.
Description:"The color pink has never seemed so intimidating" Riley finds out she is pregnant for the first time as a Senior in college. (Pregnancy-Test fic)
Author's Note: This is Riley finding she's pregnant with Sophia, for those of you who have read Just Go To Sleep, Riles. If you haven't…GO DO IT! It's basically a sequel!
"Okay, Riley, breathe. Just breathe," The jumpy brunette muttered to herself, bouncing on the balls of her feet as her gaze flickered over the shelves before her. "It's just a little plastic stick! Nothing to be freaked out about."
But it wasn't just a little plastic stick and there were about a million to choose from and there was definitely something going on to be freaked out about.
Riley Matthews had never bought a pregnancy test in her life and had only seen one done once before, the time Maya had had her 'big scare'. How was she supposed to know whether to go digital or not? Cheap or expensive? A single test kit or the pack with, like, ten?
How did other women do this?
And who the fuck thought to put the goddamn diapers across the aisle from the pregnancy tests anyway? Because whoever it was, was an asshole.
Riley was nearing the point where tears of frustration were welling in her eyes when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Starting, she gasped and whirled around.
A woman, a little older than her, stood there with a kind smile on her face and a small toddler on her hip. "Want some help?"
"I- Uh, would you mind?" Riley stuttered, sheepishly.
With a laugh, the woman stepped forward and passed her child off to Riley without warning, looking over the tests more closely. The brunette yelped, holding the child in her arms awkwardly.
Holy fuck, she couldn't even hold a goddamn baby!
But the little boy seemed completely at ease, oblivious to Riley's discomfort. He was more interested in the necklace hanging from her neck on a long, shiny chain with a glittering pendant. Maya had given her the necklace a few months ago, on her birthday.
"I like ClearBlue or First Response," The boy's mother broke back in, turning to Riley with a box in each hand. She looked the brunette over and narrowed her eyes, "How pregnant are you thinking?"
What?
Riley had not had the courage yet to even think in terms of being a certain amount of 'pregnant'. Because she wasn't even sure she was and if she was then… Well, wasn't that it? How could one be more or less pregnant?
She must have looked at lost as she felt because the mother giggled and held a hand up, "Forgive me. I mean, how many weeks along do you think you are?"
Um, hopefully, none? Riley wanted to answer but instead instantly blurted out, "Over a month?"
Because fuck Valentine's Day.
And Champagne. That's where this whole mess had started, with the two of them a little drunk and a lotta careless.
The woman nodded, putting one of the boxes back and turning back to Riley with the other. She took her baby boy back, relieving some of the pressure in the girl's chest, and passed the test over with a smile.
"Good luck."
And then she left, casually grabbing some Pampers as she passed.
"Good luck?" Riley echoed incredulously under her breath as she looked down at the pregnancy test in her shaking hands. What did that even mean?
Riley Matthews knew that she did want a family, a baby, with Farkle Minkus someday. How could she not? She was too maternal in nature to never be a mother and Farkle, well, Farkle would be an incredible father.
Just the thought brought a million flashing images to her mind…
Farkle watching Bill Nye the Science Guy with a little boy with big blue eyes or teaching a little one to walk as they gripped his hands with each step or kissing a small princess' forehead to check for fevers the same way he did whenever Riley was sick.
That thought made her throat tighten and her eyes burn. Oddly, it wasn't out of entirely out of fear or dread, either. It came from the beauty that the thought called to her mind. And, god, it would be so beautiful.
Someday.
It would be so beautiful, someday. They weren't ready for that now though.
Right?
Riley nervously paid for the test and made her way home in the same public subway system she'd been taking her whole life, heart pounding in her chest and grocery bag crinkling in her hand. Reaching the shitty studio apartment on Adams Street where she and Farkle had now been living for over two years, she struggled with the lock on the front door that always caught and slammed a shoulder against the wood to get it open.
She was lucky Farkle wasn't home, his temporary assistant position at Minkus International keeping him pretty busy in the time not already dedicated to school or his paid lab internship.
Just another reason they couldn't be having a baby… There was no time for one!
But even stubborn Riley Matthews had to admit at this point that the possibility wasn't exactly… ludicrous.
Something was defiantly off, different. Her body didn't feel… right?
Not that is felt 'wrong' either; that wasn't quite the word for it.
But she couldn't exactly ignore the fact that suddenly her usual breakfast of oatmeal and apples looked incredibly unappetizing and made her stomach churn threateningly. Farkle's cologne, her favorite scent in the whole world, had started triggering her gag reflex as well, to the point where she'd started having to dodge hugs and kisses just to be sure she wouldn't loose her stomach all over her fiancé.
And her boobs!
All her bras felt suffocating and painful, making her sore by the time she was finally home every evening and able to change out of them.
All that, combined with a period that simply refused to come, and an offhanded joke from Maya —geez, you're moody. What are you, pregnant?—, had made Riley think that maybe, just maybe, there was a situation that needed handling.
After all, she could remember Valentine's Day very vividly and knew that she and Farkle hadn't been as careful as they normally were. It had happened once or twice before and had never been a big deal, they'd figured 'what the hell', right?
Well, none of the other times came with side effects, like this one. Riley admitted, grudgingly, as she ripped open the test box and allowed a slim, wrapped stick to fall into her hand. Suddenly, she felt sick again.
Maybe she should wait? Take the test in a few more weeks? What if it was too early and she got a false positive or something and it turned out to be nothing? Because it had to be nothing…
She hadn't even told Farkle she was late yet, that any of this was even a possibility…
That everything might be about to change.
She barely managed to take the damn thing with all the complicated instructions —Only test for five seconds, wait at least two minutes, results may be faint, works best first thing in the morning. It felt like having a lab day in high school biology. Instead of extracting the DNA of a strawberry, however, she was testing to see if a tiny human being was currently residing in her uterus.
1 minute, 45 seconds.
Riley wished she could just stop thinking. Thinking always got her into trouble, always made everything a million times worse. She wished she could just relax.
1 minute, 10 seconds.
She wasn't even making any sense, but how could she? How did someone not loose their cool when doing this? How did they not completely freak the fuck out?
37 seconds.
It wasn't going to be positive. It just couldn't be.
23 seconds.
But… But what if it was positive?
12 seconds.
Once again, fuck Valentine's Day.
3 seconds.
Riley was ninety-nine point nine percent sure that she was going to throw up as her phone timer hit zero and her gaze flickered to the upside down test waiting on the counter. Slowly, she made her way over. With shaking hands, Riley picked up the thin, white stick; the pregnancy test quivered in her grip, her light blue nail polish contrasting with the bright pink cap.
Drawing in a shaky breath, Riley counted to 3, prayed, and flipped the test.
The color pink had never seemed so intimidating, especially as it defined two bold lines.
Positive. Unquestionably, undeniably positive.
Her vision blurred as a hand came up to cover her mouth, her heart racing a million miles a minute and her breathing coming in gasps.
Oh, god, she was pregnant.
And incredibly lightheaded.
Trembling with tears — Happy? Sad? Scared? All of the above? — welling in her eyes, Riley sat on the closed toilet lid and tried to think straight. It felt a little like trying to breathe underwater or read a sign from 100 miles away.
Pregnant. Knocked-up. With child. Expecting. Having a baby. Bun in the oven.
Holy mother of god, she was pregnant!
The ridiculousness of the mere thought made her giggle, which broke into a sob and then something kind of like a strangled laugh. A kaleidoscope of emotions flirted with her racing heart, fluctuating too fast for her to even know what she was feeling.
Her hand slipped from her mouth, trembling as it fell over her flat stomach, checking that it was still just that — flat. Only it wasn't… there was the slightest curve, firm and round against her palm. Somewhere beneath her skin, sheltered within her body, cells were multiplying and colliding and creating. Pieces of Farkle and piece of her becoming irrevocably sewn together to form one, precious life.
Sitting there on the toilet lid with a positive pregnancy test in one hand and the other covering her middle, Riley Matthews had never felt so lost and there was only one person in the whole world she wanted to talk to. One person who would make it all okay, somehow.
Riley really wished she had waited until Farkle was home.
But she also wasn't sure she could face him just yet… So, Riley decided to go for the next best thing.
She needed her mother.
Spending the night at my parents. Text me if you need me.
Love,
Riley
Farkle Minkus read the post-it over three more times with a crinkled brow before sticking it back to the fridge.
He'd come home, tired and more than a little worn down, expecting to slip into his normal spot between his fiancee and the back of the couch and bury his face in her silken hair. Work was long and degrading and hard and he'd just wanted Riley.
But he'd gotten a post-it note.
It'd been forever, a year or more at least, since Riley had last spent the night at her parents. Now, when she did it was normally because she was having a sleepover with Maya or because Farkle had to cover someone's late shift and she didn't want to sleep in an empty apartment.
Not because… Well, he didn't know.
Running a hand through his styled hair, Farkle loosened his tie and shot Riley a quick text.
To The Babe: I'm gonna miss you :(
After hitting send, he quickly reheated some leftovers for dinner and ate while scanning through his advanced economics book. The tension in his muscles demanded attention and he decided to take a shower before settling in for the night.
Glancing at his phone, Farkle saw that his fiancee had 'read' his text but hadn't replied.
…Had he screwed up?
He couldn't remember doing anything, thinking retrospectively as he headed to the bathroom. Stepping into the room, Farkle stepped onto something crinkly and bent over to pick up a slender, empty, open packet.
What the- His narrowed eyes scanned the letters printed on the side.
First Response Pregnancy Test
Farkle's stomach hit the floor, the air swept from his lungs.
Everything began clicking together at a dizzyingly quick pace, leaving the genius feeling as if he had been picked up by a tornado and was spiraling around a funnel cloud. Riley's absence and vague note, even the text he'd sent that had gone unanswered…
But if Riley had thought she was, He swallowed hard and rubbed his forehead, She would have said something. She wouldn't keep something like that to herself.
Still, who else would have been using a pregnancy test in their apartment? Maya, maybe? Though Maya wasn't the one acting weird the last few weeks. No, that had definitely been his fiancee. She'd complained for weeks about feeling funny but he'd just thought, well, honestly he hadn't really thought about it at all and maybe that was why she hadn't said anything else?
God, Farkle thought he might be sick.
Riley might be…
He needed to talk to Riley.
Farkle was panting and buzzing by the time be made to the Matthews' residence, pressing a little frantically on the speaker box. He really hated that he had to be fucking buzzed in just to see the woman that could very possibly be having his baby. It seemed really fucking unnecessary.
"Yes?"
He leaned into the box, recognizing his fiancée's gentle voice, "Riley, I think we need to talk."
There was a long silence. "Farkle, I told you-"
"Actually, I don't think you did." He cut in, impatiently. Farkle didn't have to say anything else, Riley knew exactly what he was referring to and her head spun on the other side of the speaker box. Without another word, she buzzed him in.
Farkle climbed the stairs two at a time, almost tripping multiple times. He didn't care just then, he just needed to get to Riley. Everything would make sense once he saw her like it always did. She gave his life clarity, perspective, and without her, things blurred and got foggy.
When he reached the Matthews' floor, Riley was already in the open doorway with her arms crossed. Her hair was hanging in a half-updo, the top twisted into a clumsy bun. Her expression was one of slight annoyance and indifference, but her eyes held something else. Something that made Farkle really fucking nervous.
"So, when were you going to tell me?" He asked, stepping up to her.
Behind her, he could see Topanga watching them closely from the kitchen while Cory and Auggie glanced around on the couch in confusion. Riley darted her head back to look at them, shifting uneasily on her feet before hissing, "Farkle! We are not discussing this right here!"
Looking back at her father, mother, and brother, Farkle raised his hand in a quick wave. Cory slowly responded, a questioning look on his face. Turning his eyes back down to Riley, Farkle nodded, "Fair enough."
She looked relieved for a second before Farkle reached out and lightly grasped her arm, "Hey, remember this?"
The genius dragged her out into the hallway, letting the door close behind her, just like they'd done so many times before. Farkle kept his firm but lose grip on her arm as he pulled her up the staircase that lead to the rooftop.
Once they were through the heavy metal outer door, Farkle let Riley go and spun to face her, looking a little manic, very tired, and desperate for answers.
"Are you," He faltered, closing his eyes and shaking his head before opening them and trying again, "Riley, are you pregnant?"
Her eyes darted away from him as the word left his mouth and it was all the answer he needed. The earth seemed to tilt on its axis because holy shit Riley was pregnant; he was going to be somebody's father, someone's Dad.
Who in all the cosmos had thought that that was a good idea?
Still, as cold terror saturated his system, Farkle could feel something else blossom in his chest. Something warm, fierce, and protective. It took him a moment to realize it was… love. A love similar to his for Riley in intensity and yet entirely different.
Riley shifted, crossing her arms over her chest again and drawing his eyes to her abdomen. Did it look any different? Did she? Had he just been blind for weeks?
"Look, Farkle, I know we weren't plan-"
Before he could even register his own actions, Farkle closed the space between them and swept the love of his life into his arms, kissing her like he might die if he didn't. He honestly thought he could…
Pressing her against the wall behind them, Farkle set her feet back on the ground, moving his hands to cup her face and kissing her until his lungs screamed for oxygen. Pulling away ever so slightly, so that his lips still brushed hers as he spoke, he let out a breathless laugh of disbelief.
Riley, a little dazed from the kiss, opened her eyes to meet electric blue. Her rapidly beating heart stood still for an instant and melted as she took in the tears pooling in the boy's eyes and heard the little break in his voice as he asked, "We're having a baby?"
Breaking into an involuntary smile, a single petrified laugh slipped past Riley's lips as she nodded, nose brushing against Farkle's, "Yeah, we are." Biting her lip, she brought a hand up to brush her thumb over the curve of her fiancé's cheekbone. "You're not mad?"
"Mad?" His voice broke again and he groaned in frustration, clearing his throat. Riley took his hands in hers and waited for him to continue, "Why would I be mad? Terrified, yeah, but not mad. Riley, we're having a baby! That's…"
Her grin widened until her cheeks hurt and she nodded, filling the blank for him, "Insane?"
"Completely fucking insane," Farkle implored, shaking his head in disbelief and gazing up at the sky before his eyes fell back down to the woman he was going to marry, the woman who was now carrying his child. "It's a good thing, right? You're happy?"
Riley paused for a second, eyebrows drawing together before she slowly nodded, a giggle bubbling up and slipping out, "Yeah, I am."
Farkle leaned down and hugged her against him. Riley's chin rested on his shoulder as she gripped back onto him. Burying his face in that silky hair, hair he prayed their son or daughter would get, Farkle took a deep breath.
"Me too."
And that, my friends, is the story of how Riley and Farkle learned of the budding existence of Sophia Mars Minkus… I don't even know if she's developed enough at this point to even be a girl, honestly, but ONE DAY! Happy Mother's Day, guys!