She wakes up because of a combination of things. The baby is kicking, telling her she's hungry, and would like breakfast, thank you very much. The light is coming in through the window, sliding right over her head, making her wince when she opens her eyes. And last, Gunther has his arm wrapped around her stomach, hand splayed against it, like he's trying to hold the baby.
CeCe doesn't move until the pressure of the baby gets to be too much on her bladder, and she's forced to slide out from under his arm and close the bedroom door carefully behind her as Gunther keeps sleeping, rolling into the spot she had just vacated, and walk down the hall to relieve herself. She stares in the mirror for a long while, dried tear marks still on her cheeks.
It only takes a minute for her to decide to take a shower, even though she's been paranoid ever since the doctor said hot water can hurt the baby and so only takes lukewarm baths and showers at the best of times. But she feels—she relishes in how the water beats against her face and shoulders, running down her back and chest and stomach. It's cleansing, in what feels like more ways than one. She wishes she could go for a run, her feet itching to tackle the sidewalk.
She settles for breakfast when she gets out of the shower, and Gunther has already gone downstairs.
"CeCe," her mom says, when she finally comes into the kitchen. "Scrambled, right? Your plate is on the table."
She's actually kind of been craving sunny side up, recently, but she normally likes scrambled, so she just sits down and grabs her fork. Her cravings are not the boss. They are not to be listened—
"You like this kind better, don't you?" Gunther asks, and grabs CeCe's plate, switching it with his own, sunny side up and toast with jelly on it already. He grabs the bacon though, and takes a bite. (The doctor said no bacon, period. She didn't know it mattered so much until after it was taken away. She doesn't even like bacon all that much.)
"Thanks," CeCe says, only pouting a little at the bacon. She puts an arm out to grab the syrup, and sees Flynn make a face at her that translates to "eeeeeeeeeeeeeew, syrup on eggs, my sister has gone crazy!" but whatever, it's not her fault, it tastes amazing, okay. She pours it on, and resists making a face at Flynn back.
Or at Gunther, who's staring at her.
And it's really, really awful and awkward and embarrassing to eat in front of the guy you're in love with when he's just staring at you. Like, CeCe is pretty sure her face is completely red, or something, and she's eating all slowly, because, well, why is Gunther staring at her eat eggs anyway? Nobody looks good while they're eating, except, like, maybe him, who always kind of seems like he's having fun eating, and, but that's not her, and she'd appreciate it if he would just. Turn around. Or something.
"CeCe?" Gunther says, eventually, and she regretfully looks up at him, "Hm?"
Gunther kisses her.
Oh gosh, Gunther is kissing her. In front of her mom. What, what? What?
He pulls back, and says, "Sorry, you had, uh, syrup, on your, uh—"
"Oh," she says. "I—um, thank you?"
Flynn snorts, and when their mom pushes him, he says, "What? We're all thinking the same thing. Fucking finally."
"Flynn!" Her mom yells, and CeCe puts her head down on the table. Gosh.
"Hey," Gunther says, nudging her up. "Was that okay? I'm kind of—still confused, here."
She shakes her head, "It's okay. It's definitely okay."
—–—–—
"And you're sure you're going to be fine?" her mom asks one last time, as Flynn waves and goes out to their car.
"Yes, mom, I'll be okay. You're only 25 minutes away. And Gunther is here, so, it'll be fine."
She makes a hm sound and then kisses her on the forehead. "I'll call you when we get home, and if you're doing anything but sitting and watching TV, I'm coming right back here, you understand?"
"Yes, mom, go, we're going to be fine!"
They close the door and CeCe collapses on the couch. Gunther chuckles and says, "Family is exhausting, baybee."
She smiles at him, and his grin falls. "Alright, baybee—CeCe. This is, this is serious, right?" he's serious, the way his eyes are pointed and his mouth a fine line. He's looking right at her. "This isn't going in a freaking box, CeCe."
She closes her eyes and struggles for a minute to get up—big belly, always in the way—before leaning over to kiss him and say, "Yes," against his mouth. She backs up, "If—if that's okay?"
He just looks at her until she flushes again, and then he runs a hand down her shoulder, down her arm and to her stomach. "Can I—"
CeCe makes an uncomfortable sound, and says, "It's not pretty."
He slowly pushes her shirt up anyway, revealing the tightly expanded skin, tan and stretching compared to Gunther's paler hand now pressing against it. "CeCe, you're beautiful," he says, suddenly, and looks up at her face. She bites her lip. Gunther says, honest and open, "CeCe—let's do this. You and me—and her."
CeCe can't really help it when she pushes Gunther down and kisses him.
He kisses back, hot and surging, making her sigh and give in when he starts mouthing at her jaw line and down her throat slowly, pecking kisses the entire way. She squeals when he pushes up with his leg, brushing purposefully in-between her thighs and—
"We are not having sex," CeCe says, already feeling the way Gunther's hand is slipping at the waistband of her jeans.
"Then why did you push me down on the couch?" he asks, still smiling a little, splaying his hand against her back instead.
His fingers make her shiver with the touch, and she takes a deep breath. "I really want to. But no."
"Your emotions are so confusing," he groans out, and adjusts underneath her right as she bursts out into laughter and rolls over a little, barely fitting on the couch, neither of them falling off. She keeps laughing for a long time, and Gunther is just smiling bemusedly at her when she finally stops and looks back up.
She bites her lip and pushes up with her elbows on the couch, and then presses down to say, "You, um, have no idea," and then kisses him again, smiling into it when Gunther does, and they both break off into laughter again after a moment, because kissing and smiling at the same time is—it's kind of amazing.