Peter's hand lazily traced over his stomach, rubbing the now taught skin. His shirt was pulled up just over the large bump as his hands made odd shapes. Joy woofed lightly at him as she nosed his other hand onto her snout. "Hey there," he snickered, rubbing the soft fur on her nose. She woofed again, her tail wagging widely as his hand moved from her snout to her head and then to her ears, rubbing the velvety fur. "You're a good girl, aren't you, Joy?"
The dog woofed again as if she was aware of what he was saying. "Yes, you are," he cooed again. She wagged her tail hard enough that it was beating against the wood of the coffee table. He hummed, running his hand lazily over her fur as he looked back to the mindless show that was playing on the television.
The light shifted and moved around as the characters interacted on screen, his mind drifted off, traveling elsewhere. His hand moved lazily up and down his stomach in odd patterns as he thought about possible reactions that Wade might have had to his pregnancy.
He could have accepted it.
He could have left him.
He could have beat him until the baby was dead.
The more he thought about, the more he realized that his loving and supportive boyfriend would have done nothing other than hold his hand throughout the entire pregnancy. He would have been there when Peter had woken up at two in the morning in immense pain. He would have been there when Peter had his panic attacks about his baby refusing to move. He sniffed, wiping at his eyes as tears began to rise in his dark eyes.
He quickly wiped the tears away, screwing up his face as he refused to cry for the second time that day. He sat up on the couch, which caused Joy to make an unhappy noise at the lack of affection that she was getting. "You're fine, Joy," Peter teased. She woofed darkly at him, moving her snout so that it was in his lap once again. His hand continued to pet her, continuing the motions that he had done before.
After another episode of the show he was watching, he felt an odd fluttering sensation in the back of his stomach. He gasped, tracing his hand over the taut skin of his stomach once again, and then the fluttering feeling reoccurred. "What the Hell," he whispered, pulling up his shirt to reveal his stomach. He ran a hand over his stomach again and then watched as his skin moved with the fluttering sensation.
"Stephan?" Peter called out, panic filling his voice.
"Yes?" the older man called from the other end of the house.
"Something weird is happening!" he shouted back, slowly standing up from the couch. His stomach fluttered again, and the skin moved with the feeling just like it had before.
Stephan met him in the hall, his eyebrows knitted together as he placed his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Peter? What's wrong?" he asked.
"There's this feeling in my stomach and it keeps happening every time I touch it, and my skin moves too," Peter rambled, feeling his anxiety bubble up in his chest.
"Show me?" Stephan asked, sounding a bit bemused. The teenager pulled his t-shirt up to reveal his stomach, then ran his hand across the stretched skin, showing the older man the fluttering movement. "That is completely normal," Stephan smiled.
"What is it?" Peter asked, his eyebrows knitting together.
"That, is your baby moving," Stephan smiled, and the only look only grew as Peter's face fell from the panicked expression and then lit up with joy and contentedness as he felt his baby move again.
"No way, really?" he asked. Joy walked slowly in from the living room, sitting down near her owners and letting out a loud, bored yawn. "That's so cool. They're finally moving!"
"Have they not been moving beforehand?" Stephan asked, moving to sit down on the dining room table.
"No," he shook his head. "It was really beginning to worry me."
"That worry may have been why they hadn't moved until now," Stephan chuckled, which caused Peter to blush darkly.
"Well, at least they're moving now," he smiled, running a hand over his stomach once again. He shoved his shirt back down over the bump and shifted awkwardly. "Sorry for worrying you."
"It's fine, Peter," Stephan shook his head, patting his arm in a way of comforting him. "Now, I'm going to take a nap."
Peter nodded and walked back to the living room. He sat down on the couch heavily, his hand never leaving his stomach as he rubbed it in circles. "You scared me so bad, baby," he whispered as the outline of a tiny foot pressed up against his skin. "I'm so glad that you're okay."
Joy hopped up on the couch, sniffing at his hand for a moment before she nosed it out of the way, laying her head down on the bump. "You're a good girl, Joy," Peter praised, running a hand over his head. He slowly before to slip into a sleep as his baby moved around inside of him and his dog cuddled against his sides.