Baby Blues

A/N: This chapter is really short... so think of it as a filler.The reason for this is because I hate skipping time within chapters, so I was going to delete what I had written, but it was too cute to cut out of the story.

Please R&R.

It was funny how a tiny plastic strip had the power to change their lives.

Albel stared at the red strip before staring at the unconscious bluenette on the floor. It was so pathetic, so – well, so Fayt of him to faint. Spilling monster blood and guts all over the ground was fine and dandy, but as soon as Fayt found out he was going to be a father, it was lights out. He grumbled under his breath before nudging the boy in the ribs to make sure he was still alive. When there was no response, he kicked harder, but Fayt only moaned and curled in on himself.

Pathetic. And to think this was the man he had chosen to father his baby. For his sake, that destruction gene of his had better pass on to their baby, or else fainting was going to be the least of his problems.

He left Fayt on the floor since it was too much effort to bend down, and stood in front of the mirror, not to admire his sleekly muscled physique like he usually did, but to admire his newly pregnant body. Strange… he frowned, examining himself from every possible angle. Nothing looked different. In fact, he looked exactly as he always had. But pregnant people were supposed to look different. Tch, even he knew that. Or maybe… there was something wrong…

And if something was wrong… no Nox babies.

"Fayt!"

He poked the lifeless boy with his foot, and he stirred with a groan.

"Wha-?"

"I do not look pregnant. Tell me why I do not look pregnant!"

Fayt winced, sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. "For crying out loud, Albel."

Albel glared at him, fighting the urge to kick him again. He hated it when Fayt spoke to him with that annoyingly superior tone - just because the teen was a near genius and he was from a backwater planet did not mean Albel was any less intelligent. If anything, he was more intelligent than this feeble heap of boy on the floor. "Just answer the question, fool."

"You drank the potion three weeks ago, Albel… which means you have only been pregnant for three weeks."

The swordsman ignored the implied 'duh' at the end of that sentence simply because it was too troublesome to go fetch his sword, and sat down on the bed instead. The nausea was coming back with a vengeance. "And? What of it, fool?"

Fayt dragged himself to his feet and over to his lover. "Pregnancy only shows after a few months - not three weeks. And besides, the baby will only be here after nine."

"Nine months?" Albel glared at his belly, no doubt giving his foetus its first scolding for daring to make him wait that long. "You forget that this is a Nox baby, my son will be here in six!"

Evidently the Glyphians did not believe in sex education. Honestly, was it too much to ask for between sparring and swordplay? Was it too much for Fayt to expect that even the boys be taught the basics of reproduction? He made a mental note to bring up the delicate subject with Airyglyph the next time he was in the city… to think, the king had men running his army whose knowledge of pregnancy only extended as far as making babies, not the mechanics of how children emerged.

Now, Fayt could have explained the intricacies of pregnancy at this point. In fact, when he looked back on this moment, he realised it would have been better if he had. He loved Albel, he really did, and he had a duty to complete his lover's education. But the thought of giving Albel a biology lesson was only making his head hurt more. "I think it would be better if you bought a book about it. All mothers-" he stopped when Albel glared at him and hastily corrected himself, "-and fathers expecting their first child buy baby books."

Albel squinted at him, looking more murderous than confused. "They do?"

"Yeah."

But did Fayt really want Albel to learn about babies from a 'Ye Old Pregnancy' type book?

The bluenette watched Albel pulling on his boots, debating whether or not to say something. "Albel, maybe we should go together. You know, since this is our baby."

Albel glared. "Just because I am pregnant, Fayt, does not mean that I am suddenly incapable of doing things on my own," he said frostily. "I will be going alone." But at the hurt look on the teens face, he softened, before grudgingly adding, "Besides, I want to be the one to tell Woltar about the baby – you always jump in and say things before I can."

Fayt smiled, but quailed inwardly as he realised this moodiness was only going to get worse as the baby grew. "I never thought that, Bel. I just thought it would be, you know, nice if we did it as a couple."

"Bah, at least it gives me some time away from your incessant whining."

The younger man rolled his eyes, but let it slide. Arguing would get Albel mad, they would start fighting, and then they would end up back in bed. It was a vicious, vicious cycle… usually one they repeated voluntarily. Every day. Sure, they both enjoyed those arguments immensely (sometimes too much), but eventually they had to do something other than just sex.

"Just put a cloak on, okay? It looks like rain and you can't afford to get sick."

Albel scowled, grabbing the crimson cloak hanging over a chair and flinging it around his skinny shoulders. "Yes, mother."

His lover only grinned in reply. Oh, the irony… if he said anything now, they would definitely end up having sex. So Fayt bit his lip and kept his mouth shut, watching the red eyes narrow suspiciously. Albel glared at him for five seconds before he decided that they could definitely settle this tonight. Unfortunately, one could not buy baby books at night. On the other hand, one could do other things at night… all night, in fact… and all morning too, come to think about it.

"You had better save your energy, maggot."

With that threat/promise, Albel the Wicked kicked open the door to their Kirlsa apartment and stomped out with a dramatic swish of his cloak. As he stepped into the busy street, a group of children ran away screaming and a fruit vendor fainted.

Albel only smiled.

People feared him, Fayt was re-learning his place as uke (he had to, because every time he tried to get on top, Albel threatened to break his fingers), and his bloodline was no longer in danger of becoming extinct.

As soon as he got that bloody book, life would be perfect.

TBC