Prompt: (action) pacing nervously
Entry for the Gringotts Prompt Bank
Various Prompts: Charmed
(Action) Taking a pregnancy test
(570 Words)
Two Minutes
Marcus had sensed that something was wrong the minute he'd come home. If he were being honest, he'd known it before he'd unlocked the door – Katie had been acting weird, as if something unsettled her, and she'd spent an unnatural amount of time with her mother between training sessions. That alone wouldn't have alarmed him, but she'd also avoided him – as good as that worked when you were living and working together – and they'd barely talked for a week.
So, as he opened the door to their apartment and spotted the white package on the table, he realised what everything had been about. Katie just entered the living room, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and shock.
"I thought you wanted to go for a beer with the boys?" she asked after clearing her throat, her voice sounding shaky. Marcus walked closer to the table and grabbed the package, gulping hard as he realised that it was one of these pregnancy tests the muggles used.
"Have you... have you made it yet?"
His vision slightly blurred as he asked this; the thought that Katie might be pregnant was waking a mass of different feelings inside of him.
Katie shook her head, her face pale, and Marcus, seeing how she visibly trembled, hurried to cross the distance between them to pull her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, taking a few deep breaths, and Marcus ran his fingers through her hair, mumbling soothing words. After some time, she lifted her head and looked him into the eyes, whispering: "I was too scared to take it. What if it's positive? I don't want to be a mother yet, I want to play Quidditch and see the world with you..."
A sigh escaped her lips and Marcus pressed a kiss onto her forehead, answering: "We're going to figure everything out. But we'll have to make this test first."
Katie nodded, closing her eyes for a moment to take a deep breath before she let go of Marcus and walked over to the table to grab the package. Marcus stayed in the living room while Katie prepared the test, and as she came out of the bathroom, he'd started to pace nervously over the length of the room. In his mind, a thousand questions and even more doubts were swirling, and he was barely able to catch a clear thought. He wasn't sure if he was ready to be a father – his own family hadn't been the best example, and he was afraid of being as distanced as his father had been to him.
Two minutes seemed to be an eternity to them, and being patient wasn't exactly easy. At some point, he stopped pacing and embraced Katie, feeling the need to show her that no matter what would happen, he was there for her. Neither of them dared to take a look after the time was up; their gazes were locked, and Marcus could see his own fears and doubts reflected in her eyes.
Eventually, Katie's eyes moved down to the test lying on the table, and suddenly, her face lightened. All the dreads seemed to be wiped away, and she laughed unburdened before kissing Marcus and pushing him backwards towards the couch while undressing him, whispering something about having to celebrate.