After phoning Lili again to make sure that she could get away from her controlling brother, Alfred had dragged Ismael down to one of the coffee shops he used to go to for them to meet. "Now remember, don't act like a pedo or some creepy fuck if you want this to actually happen." He coached the Cuban, sitting down with a coffee for both of them.
"God Al, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I don't know how to talk to girls." He had all of his dread locks back in a pony tail, instead of the few that usually hung out like usual. He also had on better clothes than normal, but nothing too fancy. One thing that bugged him was that he met at least one stereotype of being gay. He knew fashion.
Alfred had barely raised the mug to his lips before the bell dinged, signalling someone was entering the shop. Looking over, he grinned widely before setting it down to stand up. "Hey Lili? How have you been the last couple of days?" He asked, going over to give her a friendly hug.
Smiling, she hugged back. "I've been fine. I'm showing a little more, see?" She said, tucking her dress under her slightly swollen belly. "He's growing fast. I can tell he will take after his daddy."
Raising an eyebrow, Alfred asked. "I thought you said you didn't want to know if it was a boy or a girl?" He agreed, since it wouldn't make them biased for the baby, but it would be amazing to have a boy!
Laughing, she shook her head. "I haven't asked. It's just that... I can tell." She sat down at the seat that was obviously meant for her, and held her hand out to the other man. "Hi, I'm Lili. You must be Ismael?" She was about to say she had heard a lot about him, but decided against that since it was mostly from Alfred when they were dating. They hadn't been very good things.
Taking the hand, Ismael smiled. "Wow, I can't believe Alfred was so lucky to get someone as beautiful as you. And yet he let you go." It was true, he could tell she was pretty. It was more of an admission of something so obvious than attraction. She had boobs, so already that turned him off, not to mention all the makeup and the general girly look to her. But she was still pretty.
As Lili blushed and looked to her lap in embarrassment, Alfred just slapped Ismael's shoulder. "Hey! What was that for?" It was more of a mutual agreement that they weren't working out, since Alfred enjoyed going out much more than she did, or at least he did before Matthew passed away.
"I'm just saying it like I see it. And I also see wonderful maternity clothes. Is it from Baby & Me, by chance?" So what if he was playing up the whole gay best friend thing. If it got her to like him, then he was fine with it, no matter how much Alfred would bug him about it later.
Her mouth going into a little 'o', she exclaimed. "How did you know?" Was he really that fashion-conscious? Looking over to Alfred, she smiled. Already she liked him, even if the dread locks were a little bit strange. If Matthew liked him and Al was learning to, then he was obvious a good guy.
Grinning, Ismael handed her a cup of steamed milk, since they didn't want her drinking coffee. "Some of these things you just need to know. So, how does it feel, being pregnant?" He enjoyed this, even if he was acting a little bit. He could tell she was a nice girl.
Not noticing how Alfred was looking at him strangely, she said with a smile. "It feels strange, but I think it will be a lot different when I look like I have a watermelon in my stomach." With a small laugh, she added. "The morning sickness isn't very fun, but Vash has been really kind to me when I get sick."
"You aren't having any other complications though, right?" Alfred asked, not wanting to be outdone by Ismael, since he was the father after all.
Shaking her head, she took a sip of the warm drink. "No, and I've been taking care of myself. Vash wouldn't let me do anything bad for the baby, anyway." Even if he had been furious when she had told him, he was turning out to be a really big help.
Nodding once, he took a sip of his coffee and sighed pleasantly. "So yeah... This is Ismael and as you can tell, we don't want each other hurt anymore." As much... "He's the one that wanted to do this so I'm not forcing anything on him, right?" Al asked the Cuban.
"Of course not. I love kids, and for obvious reasons can't have one of my own." Then he grinned, elbowing Alfred lightly in the stomach. "And this guy will need as much help as he can get, right?"
Watching as Alfred nudged Ismael back with a small pout instead of full on beating him up, Lili smiled again. If Alfred wasn't going to admit that they actually had a truce, then she would just have to keep their secret. "It would make me feel more comfortable... Plus I don't mind if our son is raised by two men. Elizabeth will be so impressed!"
With a shudder, Alfred clarified. "We aren't together though! I'm still all for girls, but I haven't really been doing anything after everything with Matt, and I promise I won't with our child around."
Jumping in, Ismael nodded. "And I won't with men either. So your kid will not be like scarred or anything." Honestly, he wasn't sure if he could ever be with a man again, emotionally. That sounded cliche, but he had no desire to get to know someone else the way he had with Matthew.
"He better not be..." Alfred grumbled, crossing his arms for a moment, before turning back to Lili. "So does that sound good? Is there anything else that you want to make sure does or doesn't happen?"
Mouth set, she looked to Ismael. "When Alfred and I were together, he said you smoked. What are you going to do about that?" If he still did, she would need a full game plan on how he was planning to quit, either that or a signed document swearing that he would have to be a mile away from the house if he smoked.
Giving one nod, Ismael turned serious. "I have already started. I'm on the patch, and have looked into support groups. I haven't had a cigarette for five days." Even if he had been really tempted, but this was more important.
"Don't worry, I'll beat him up if he even looks at a cigarette sideways." Alfred promised her, suddenly wanting to feel the small bump that would eventually become their child. Just as long as he didn't hate them for not being together still, he would make sure the kid loved them both.
"I'm glad. Well, you convinced me, Ismael I leave my baby in your hands." Then she smiled, looking down to the table in embarrassment. "Would... you like to go shopping with me?"
Laughing, Ismael finished up his coffee. "I would love to." He stood up and helped her from her chair. "Al, I really don't care what you do. See ya."
Glaring as Ismael walked out with his ex, Alfred grumbled to himself. "Fucking suckup. I bet he doesn't even like shopping." Finishing his coffee, he decided to go over to Ismael's house with a pair of gloves and wait to ambush him with a snowball war.
.oOo.
Carrying a heavy bag, Ismael finally walked into Alfred's apartment. "God, why do you have to live so far away from the elevator? This sucks!"
"No complaining. You're the one that wanted to move here and not just find a different place so deal with it." Alfred grunted as he tried to get his key in the door while holding a box. "Plus it's exercise."
Rolling his eyes, the Cuban mumbled something about muscle head before pushing his way into the apartment. "At least I could get rid of most of my stuff. It wouldn't all fit in here." It had been almost two months since he had met Lili, and since then she had grown rounder. It was a joy to see, really.
Getting in, he set the box down on the floor in the living room and stretched. "Now for the rest of your shit." He stated, going back out to grab Ismael's things. It was going to be really weird for them to be living together, but they had pretty much been around each other since Matt's death anyways.
"Yeah, you go get it and I'll find a place for this." He heard the blond go out the door and started making his way to Matthew's old room. There were only two bedrooms, so he figured this would be where he was staying. Which is why he dropped everything in surprise when he opened the door and saw... light blue walls, with toy train stickers on them.
Holding as much as he could while still being able to see where he was going, Alfred put the things down and looked around in confusion. Seeing the open door to Matthew's old room, he saw Ismael touching the crib that he had placed there just a week ago. "So I guess you saw before I could formally show you, huh?" He asked with a small smile.
Turning around, Ismael smiled. "It's perfect. Not what I was expecting but... it just feels right." Obviously it wasn't finished, because all there was so far was the crib, but they still had a few months to get everything... this room would be put to a good use.
"I'm glad you think so... I figured it wouldn't be too terrible if we had to paint again if it's a girl, since the stickers come off." Plus blue was such a calming colour anyways opposed to pink. Standing there for a second, he shook his head to dispel the mushy aura. "We need a place for your crap."
Jolting out of his reminiscing, Ismael nodded. "Yeah, where will I sleep?" Maybe he had gotten a bed for him? Just a small one would be fine, like maybe in the office.
Looking to the ground, Alfred muttered. "Well, we only have one bed..." Leaving it at that, he went back out to the living room and turned the TV on to relax.
"Ok." So at least for a little while, they would be sleeping together. Well, as long as neither of them mentioned the fact that they had actually had sex three times, it shouldn't be too awkward. He started taking his things into Alfred's room.
Watching Ismael out of the corner of his eye, Alfred thought it was weird that he was putting his stuff in there but didn't say anything. "Did everything go over with terminating your rent contract?" He yelled out over the hockey game that was on the TV. It was nearing the end of the season, but it still hurt to watch
"Obviously, since I'm moving in here." He came back out, and heard the sounds of the hockey game. "Who's playing?" Even if they lived in America, Matthew had gotten him to watch Canadian hockey, saying it was the best. He had to admit, it was.
"Look at the screen idiot." He mumbled as the Cuban sat down beside him. "So pillows are in the spare room and you probably should watch out for the spring that likes to poke through in the middle cushion."
Sitting down, it took Ismael a minute to understand what he was implying. "What? You're going to make me sleep on the couch?" Sure, for one night, but he was moving in here! How could he be expected to sleep on the couch!
Raising an eyebrow, Alfred looked at him. "What did you think I would do? Let you sleep with me? Hell no!" He exclaimed. "I wouldn't feel safe knowing a butt pirate that had already managed to fuck me was right there!"
Hiding his face in his hand, Ismael groaned. "Could we please not mention that? I was trying to forget it." Damn, it was too bad his old bed would be way too big in this small apartment.
"You seriously think that I'd want to remember that?" Alfred asked, turning his attention to the screen. "I guess I didn't really think about it too hard but there's no where else to sleep. We can find a bed for you later I suppose."
"Whatever. I don't want to talk right now." He leaned back, letting his head fall back on the couch. Ismael just wanted to not think about what was going to happen to his life, living with this guy for who knew how long.
