A/N: Firstly, thank you for the reviews. I am so sorry for taking ages to update - again. Been really busy and I attend to concentrate on my fics for another fandom as more people are reading them. This is sorta a fluffy-ish update - as fluffy as it's gonna get for now. More drama is on it's way in the next chapter. Hope you like this instalment!
P.S - How cute is it that Heather Peace and her wife, Ellie, are expecting a baby?! It's so exciting!
~Mini Peacelet~
Born To Fly - Part 21
"So, have we actually decided what colour we are going to paint the nursery?" Christine inquired inquisitively as they entered the DIY store and immediately began hunting down the paint isles.
That morning the conclusion to go out and purchase some paint for the baby's room had been a spur of the moment decision. The brunette still have five and a half months to go before their child's due date. But Nikki being the super organised woman that she was desired to be punctual and have everything prepared well in advance - Eve had been born premature and they had left everything until last minute resorting in the nursery being incomplete at her daughter's arrival.
"No, not yet." The stern teacher wandered in front of her wife as she had already calculated where the paints were and began leading them to that location, "But I think it should be a bright and relatively neutral colour." She jerked her shoulders slightly and halted in the isle and scanned the immense diversity of paints in every colour imaginable.
"What about this colour?" The headmistress's Scottish accent was thick as she pointed out a pale, sugar pink can.
Raising her eyebrow into a sharp arc of objection, "No. Our baby is not having a pink nursery. And anyway, we don't even know for definite that we are having a little girl." She stated matter-of-factly.
With a forlorn pout, the blonde promptly responded, "Well, if we can't have pink because we don't know for definite that it is a girl, then we can't have blue either as we can't guarantee it'll be a boy. But I am telling you that it will be a girl, I just have a feeling!"
"I didn't want blue anyway. It's too much of a cold colour." She retorted and poked her tongue out proudly with a smirk as her partner huffed.
Together, they studied all the colours, trying to decipher which one would be suitable for their imminent baby's room. "Yellow?"
Shaking her head, Nikki dismissed that colour as well, "As much as it is bright and supposedly cheery - like sunshine - it is a colour that I detest hugely. It's vile and there is nothing more to say."
They leisurely fought their way through many more colours until there were only two colours left. Green and purple. And they had to choose one of those. "Well I don't mind either of them. They are both fresh and bright and airy." The brunette concluded as her hand hovered above her stomach subconsciously.
Puckering her eyebrow, a smirk graced the head teacher's lips, "Purple? If the baby is a little boy than I doubt that he is going to be appreciative of a purple room. Does this mean you are secretly confessing to the fact that you believe that we are probably going to have a baby girl?" She prodded eagerly.
Dipping her head momentarily, chestnut locks falling over her face to conceal her cheeks which were glowingly blushing, she composed herself and grasped the tin of pale green paint, "Nope. I am not admitting anything. So therefore, we are having this colour."
"You are so stubborn, Boston."
~\~\~\~
The married couple returned home with the can of paint in the chosen colour and changed into some old clothes before starting to apply the thick paint onto the walls. The ambience in the nursery was muted, Nikki was gratefully using the chore as a distraction to her engulfing thoughts in her head as her concentration flashed to the detail that now the entire school was aware of her pregnancy. And she had to face them all on Monday. In less than forty-eight hours. Frighteningly soon.
Christine had confidentially been perceiving her wife for a matter of minutes now. The former army captain was locked into a solid pattern of repetition. But as she studied more intently, the petrified ache in her azure orbs glistened visibly, fear was plastered across her expression and evidently lost in deep thought. "Nik?"
"Nikki?"
Still no response. Which was alarmingly concerning. She padded across the dust sheets that had been tossed onto the carpet to protect it against any possible spillages and tapped her paint brush against the tip of her lover's nose.
The English teacher jerked with a start and scowled, "What was that for?" She wiped at the paint on her nose end bur failed to remove it, instead simply smudging it. In return she flicked a sprinkling of paint over the older female's face, leaving speckled dots on her skin and blonde locks. Smirking, she was pleased with her retaliation.
"Hey!" The blonde pouted before composing a sincere expression, "Are you okay? Nik, I'm being serious. I tried calling your name to get your attention but you didn't answer. It was like you were in your own little bubble."
With a petite nod, Nikki pursed her lips and clasped her fingers together into clenched fists and imposed a weak smile, "I'm fine, Christine. Don't worry about me."
"I don't believe you." Her words were tenderly soft, orbs laced with worry and compassion, "I do worry about you. And if something is bothering you, then I would like to think that there is enough trust between us for you to tell me. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved. And as cliche as it sounds, it's true!" She was smiling with empathy but the sadness in her eyes remained prominent.
Stifling a spirited laugh fleetingly, she paused and basked the silence uneasily for a while. How did Christine know her so well? She loathed how perceptible her vulnerability currently was. She never - ever - displayed any single sign of weakness. Her defensive, opaque barrier had disintegrated into dust. "Why do you know me so well?" She uttered as she raked her fingers through her tousled hair.
Jerking her shoulders in the approximation of a shrug, the blonde descended to the floor and gently patted the space to her left, "I can see the jitteriness in your eyes, your muscles are tense and then you are just trying to submerge yourself in an activity to stop you thinking. Our situations are not the same - not that I know what yours actually is but I'm certain that you are not an alcoholic - but I know what it is like to just throw yourself into some form of work. Talk to me, Nik."
Reluctantly, Nikki allowed herself to plummet limply to the floor and it felt some what comforting when her wife enveloped her arm around her waste. She didn't know where to start. She didn't actually know what she wanted to confide and what needed to remain a secret. The threat had to be kept confidential, that was evident. Christine didn't push for answers which she was thankful of and they just sat in silence until she was ready to talk.
Inhaling a deep, lengthy breath, the PRU teacher's lips parted and she began to speak after a tiny falter, "Uh..all the kids are gonna know that I'm pregnant on Monday." She murmured, barely audible, "That was the whole reason and driving force behind Gabriella's party. She somehow found out and proceeded to tell everyone. Kacey told me." Exhaling an exasperated sigh at why she was so flustered over something so trivial, she dug her nails into the palms of her hands, creating little crescent shapes.
Tightening her embrace on her best friend, she attempted to offer some sense of soothing, "As blunt as this is going to sound, they were gonna find out sooner or later." Her Scottish accent was thick yet kind.
"I know, but as silly as I may be at the moment, I'm not ready for them all to know and the comments and remarks I'm going to receive. It scares me, okay?"
"I understand that it's daunting, I do, darling." Christine said softly, "But within a couple of days everyone will have forgotten and moved onto the next gossip. You know what kids are like these days." She tried to offer some enlightening support but wasn't completely sure it was working.
"I hope you're right." The brunette sighed as she accept the tabby feline to come sit on her knee for a cuddle.