It had been a full week, and his heat hadn't come. The sweats and disorientation had, however, and waking up had become something of a journey through several dimensions. Keith tripped on his own footing, crashing into the wall, on several occassions. Regris had joked that they should pad him in cushions, or perhaps the Terran thing known as bubbled wraps. Keith had responded that he only wanted that so that the bubbles would pop as he fell. Even he had to laugh at the mental image of himself, popping the wrapping as he went about the shack.

The humor aside, Keith's heats were never so bad, much less pre-heats. He had already been deep in pre-heat when they went camping. Coran had confirmed as much by identifying the scent he was giving off.

The idea hit him with little mercy.

"Ulaz, I think the condom broke."

Ulaz choked on the sip of coffee he'd just taken.

"Good morning to you as well, Keith." He pounded his fist against his chest, still giving the occassional cough.

"Sorry, I just.. thought of it now." Keith pressed cheeks with him. He was glad Kolivan was at the Garrison already. Of any of them, Ulaz would be the most understanding and supportive. If the suspiscion proved to be true, then that was exactly what he'd be needing.

Ulaz finished the rest of his coffee in two, large gulps. Keith felt bad for interupting his breakfast. But, when he said as much, Ulaz waved him off. He was glad to have another lead on what was ailing Keith, and the thought had not occurred to him before. He told Keith to wait in the kitchen while he collected his medical supplies. He was going to examine Keith.

Keith plopped onto the chair like gravity had suddenly increased tenfold. His upperbody draped over the table. His heart was frantic in his chest, but he tried to control it with slow, deep breaths. Things had been going well Shiro. Better than any other relationship he'd had before. But they were still new to it, and to each other. The thought of carrying his child right then was daunting. There was no way, Keith argued with himself, that could be the case. He was worrying for nothing. There were so many human diseases and illnesses that he might have caught along the way. As they had discovered before, his reactions would be different. So, as Ulaz came in and set down a bag, he concluded that the man would find something Terran.

Ulaz ran through the vitals.

Keith couldn't help but muse that even though he'd had his body his entire life, that he'd been through so many heats, he had no idea how pregnancy worked. Why, he questioned, had no one pulled him aside? Why hadn't someone explained it to him? Did they not know? Did they not care? What if Ulaz only knew because he was practiced medicine, and so he had to know? That thought made his blood feel cold. Bearers may be rare, but the whole population should know how their species births.

"Ulaz, how does it work?"

"Kit?"

"I know nothing about...," he pressed a palm to the swell of his womb, "this."

"Well, first we must establish that 'this' is the source of your ailement. But, as we wait for the read-out, feel free to ask questions. I must say I am suprised there is mystery."

Keith searched his face for any signs of sarcasm or joking. But there was nothing to say the other was taking him lightly. If Ulaz believed he would have already learned about his body, then the others would have to. Perhaps everyone had thought the same thing; why teach him what he already knew? But if that thought was held by everyone, then no one would take the time to explain.

If he did end up being pregnant, then he had a lot of catching up to do when it came to his body.

Their quaint little shack was about to become the cleanest it had ever been.

Agitation buzzed it's way all throughout Keith's body. His toes tapped and curled when he stopped moving. He shifted weight from hip-to-hip. The scar tissue built up within his cheeks was becoming tender under his teething. His legs ached with the need to walk; anywhere, nowhere, just go. Keep going. He'd walk into a room and promptly the thoughts dropped as if they'd been left at the doorway. But he didn't mind. It was good for him, actually. Forgetting his task made for an excuse to wander to another room, in the name of trying to remember. He'd washed his hands about three times then, putting away some dishes, only to be pulled away to something else to do in another room, to return again. The energy he left about was manic. It permeated the room, so thick in its intensity that it would choke anyone else besides him. Counter were wiped. He took several trips to and from the stream, to wash clothing and then bring it back to by hung on their clothing ropes.

If he stopped to cry here and there, if the verbal confirmation of his pregnancy, which had been a wild guess to start with, were indulged in, then the full weight of it would drop on him. So didn't stop. Not to cry. Not to think.

He cleaned.

And he cleaned.

And then he cleaned.

Until there was no more left to clean, at which point, he buried himself inside the bedding on his spot on the floor. Though he hadn't removed Shiro's hoodie, the scent had long since lost itself to the pungent lemon of wood oils and dish soap. He fell asleep, all too ready for a blank mind.

Keith dreamed of touch, of hands that were gentle and hands that weren't. He awoke marginally better than he had the day prior, but still there was a sense of being lost. There was dizziness, and he wasn't even upright. He'd been blinking away sleep when a roll of his stomach caused him roll sideways, pulling himself up on shaky arms, if just for the vomit not to choke him.

He'd only been... pregnant... a week a day. Hot, frustrated tears burned trails down cheeks, and he could almost imagine them singing the wooden floorboards. How could sickness take him on so fast? He shook as another heave ripped through him. Was it stress? Was there something else? There were no mothers around with Galran blood to ask.

The dream hadn't helped, that he knew. It had been so long that those scars had healed over, so long that he had forgotten they were there.

Breathing was difficult, as was pulling himself to his feet, but the only other option was to rest his head in his own vomit, so he gritted his teeth and eased his weight up. He stumbled close to the wall, to be able to use that support himself, and shuffled to the kitchen for a glass of water,

Pregnant. He tested out the thought a few times.

"I-i'm pregnant." He spoke lowly to the empty shack. It didn't feel real.

He looked down at his stomach, with its smooth curve around his womb. Tenatively, he brought his palm to the spot.

"It's gonna be ok, ok? I- we- your father and I will figure it out. It's ok." He whispered but the words felt more for himself. Fuck, he cursed, realizing he'd have to tell Shiro. He could only imagine how that was going to play out; 'Oh, hi, Shiro. I know you just started courting me but remember the other weekend? Yeah, the cabin. Right. Great times. So, uh, turns out, and this is funny because who would expect it, right? Ha, well, so, Ulaz ran some tests and wow, man, I'm fertile. Would you believe that? So, the cabin. Yeah. Well, the condom broke. And, did I mention Ulaz's tests said I'm fertile? Suprise, I'm pregnant. It's yours. Uh. I'm pregnant with your child. I don't really know you but uh, well, part of you is growing in me now. And it's a baby. We're having a baby.

We'r- I'm having a baby.

He thunked his forehead on the table.

Fuck.
I'm having a baby.

He woke up to the kitchen filling with voices. A warm palm cupped his shoulder. He groaned, feeling the creases caused by the table on his head as he lifted it.

"Have you eaten?" The voice was Kolivan's.

Keith groaned again, clicking his tongue between his bottom lip and teeth.

Behind him was the sound of a cabinet opening and items shifted around. A soft gasp overtook him as something was placed beside him. He spoke, it warranted as much, even if his throat was raw.

"A crystal fruit? Where? How?"

"That friend of yours, the diplomat, was gifted this. Who, in turn, gifted it to us. Whomever those people are, they know much about us."

Keith hummed. He had nearly mistaken the Terran fruit called pomegranate for a crystal fruit when he had first seen one. But, when he had ripped one open in haste, the seeds of their fruit was a deep red. Crystal fruit had gotten their name for the translucent seeds beneath the brownish-red skin on the outside. The taste was negligeble, but the fruit caused the consumer feelings of comfort. Due to this it was often baked into pies and other pastries alongside a more tasteful fruit.

"My mom used to make pies with these." He turned the fruit inside his palms.

"My sister did, didn't she?" Ulaz wore a soft and longing expression.

"Mmm, yeah, she- wait! Ulaz, you're..." The sharpness of his turn made his head swim.

The other regarded him gently, with his pointer finger swiping the fullness of his bottom lip. Later, the gesture said.

The first talking to came from Kolivan. He began the conversation with concern, asking after Keith's well-being, and the nature of the encounter that led to his condition. But it was quick to become a lecture. It wasn't one of anger, it was worse, it was of disappointment.

"Little Kit," and Keith was prompted enough to know to keep silent, "I am concerned for your recklesness. This planet is new, the species here are new. Ulaz may have seen some things in the Champion, but what do we really know about him? What if he turned out to be untrustworthy? What if you had found out as you lay benea-"

"Stop, ok. I get it. But it turned out fine. Look, I'm in one piece, alright? I made a mistake."

"A mistake? No, a mistake is forgetting to clear your plate of dinner. What you did was put your life on the line-"

"Kolivan, it was sex. We had sex. That's it."

"One of your stature-"

"Seriously, enough," he shouted and shot up from his chair, the legs screaming against the wood, "I am not some delicate flower that needs protection. I didn't need it back then, and I don't need it now. I can handle myself. Look, I messed up. I have to deal with the consequences. But it's done with. There's no reversing what happened. Stop treating me like I'm incapable!"

"...Keith..."

Keith tried to unset his jaw. Getting worked up was going to make him sick again, and he just wanted to keep down the small bites of dinner he'd manage to eat.

"Listen to me, Keith. You are my son. You may not be my blood, but you are my kin. We are all your kin. I worry because I cannot lose you. I have lost too many already. I carry every death, every one of my fallen men, with me. You may be capable, and you have more than proven yourself as such, but being able to win a fight doesn't justify seeking one out, nor jumping in to finish one."

Keith realized that there was far more to the talk than a scolding for mating. But he was exhausted and there was no energy left in him to wait for Kolivan to reach his point. Not then at least. So Keith stepped into Kolivan's space and let his forehead drop onto the man's chest. The arms that came around him were so large, he had a brief understanding of how Kolivan could still see him as just a kit. The rumbling of purrs vibrated against Keith's body, and buried himself into it. Maybe, Keith thought, he was just worried about losing his son. Not physically, but emotionally. Kolivan must feel like he was going to run off with Shiro, and start their family without a look backwards. Somewhere along the way, tears came out, for the third time that day. He wept and wept into the broad chest of what was essentially his father. Keith wasn't ready to start a family. He was terrified.

Ulaz approached him after, as if they had all coordinated their timings on talking with Keith. But he took one look at Keith and told him he would brew up a tea to ease his nausea and nerves. They could speak another day about their relation. He didn't have the energy to fight it, either.

He blinked in and out of consciousness a few times. He came to for a solid minute, to the lights of evening having all faded, and the blankets he was tucked under smelling of Kolivan. His clothes were exchanged for bed clothes, which were soft against his skin. Snuggling against a warm body, Kolivan, he thought in haze, he let himself go back to sleep for the final time that day.

Sometimes, it was ok to leave things for tomorrow.