Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Laird was so tired he thought he might just sit down and cry. Somehow or another, the weather had been brutal this year, and car accidents were almost a daily occurrence.
It was coming up on Valentine’s Day, and he knew that he needed to do something for Devon, whose baby bump was really a thing, and who put up with him taking a lot longer to get home because they had so much cleaning to do on the bus when they got back to the shed.
Not that Devon ever complained, but he wasn’t about to go through that process again. They’d done it around Thanksgiving and Christmas when Devon had been so sad. No, Laird was making way more of an effort these days.
And of course, Devon was working his ass off, too.
Somehow or another, people had a lot of babies right around Valentine’s Day.
So he and Raven were slammed at the birth center.
Laird was trying to take everyone’s advice and make sure he and Devon slowed down a little bit and enjoyed this pregnancy. But, wow, it was really tough.
“Hey, Nick, you gonna come over for dinner tonight?” He always asked because Nick had a small apartment, and it was cold, and it sucked to be lonely. Really he just wanted to grab takeout on the way home and sit on his ass with Devon and the cats and not do anything.
Nick slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and shook his head. “Not tonight, I don’t think. Thanks, though.”
“Yeah, you okay?” He hoped his relief didn’t show on his face.
“Yeah, I’m fine, man. Just tired as hell. I think I’m gonna order a pizza and sit on my ass and fart.”
“I would pretend to be shocked and everything, but I’ll be honest, that’s sort of my intention, except for the farting will probably be done by the cats.”
Nick arched one eyebrow. “Cats fart?”
“Not like dogs, but yeah, cats fart.”
They walked out to the parking lot together. “You gonna get a dog, you think?” Nick asked.
Laird nodded. “Probably when I’m home, and the baby’s a little bit older. I think kids need dogs. Of course, Devon says he thinks kids need cats, and I’m not a hundred percent sure that those three monsters wouldn’t just kill a puppy.”
“Fierce are they? They never come downstairs to see me.”
“Once you get to know them, they’re all really sweet; they adore Devon. But yeah, yeah, I would definitely say fierce is on the list.”
“I can’t imagine.” Nick clapped him on the back with one hand. “Do they like, watch you when you get busy with Devon?”
“Nick, we don’t talk about that. Sort of like Fight Club, right?”
“Right.” They paused out by their vehicles, Nick grinning at him. “See you tomorrow, man.”
“You know it.” He waved, then headed out, trying to decide what to grab for food. Devon had been struggling with too much spice, which seemed to go in phases, so he thought breakfast for supper would be good.
He called ahead to the truck stop, getting some gas before he went in to pick up.
Bringing home brekkie for supper
he texted while he waited.
Oooh sounds great. Nick coming?
Not tonight. Long day
Oh, I’ll have blanket fort ready
He grinned, loving how Devon actually would, too.
Be there soon
When he got home, the cats actually ran to meet him, and he snorted. “You don’t fool me, you heathens. I got your favorite things, huh? Hash browns.”
Those kitties loved them some salty potatoes, from hash browns to fries to tots, and they could smell them a mile away.
“Hey, love.” Devon met him as he took off his coat, grabbing the bag from him. “Bad day, huh?”
“Just long and full of traffic collisions and one bad case of frostbite from some fool who wanted to go ice climbing and who missed the mark and had to be rescued.”
“Ew. So painful and gross.”
“I know. Makes a guy wonder why anyone would want to climb Everest, huh?”
He and Devon both loved hiking, and they did some trail running and a little local rock climbing, but those were warm-weather things for both of them, pretty much.
He and Devon had that in common. They liked their warm creature comforts.
“I made some decaf, or I could make tea.”
“Decaf is fine with me.”
Devon kissed his cheek. “Good deal. I’ll bring it in, go have a sit.”
Devon hadn’t been in the least sarcastic, the entire living room was set up with a huge blanket fort, pillows and blankets underneath, battery-operated lights strung across the front. The remote was there, along with a basket of knitting for Dev to work on.
It was beautiful and just what he needed on a soul-deep level. He couldn’t wait until their little one was old enough to want to be in a blanket fort with them.
“This looks amazing.”
Devon beamed and settled in with him, breakfast and coffees at the ready. “It’s a silly affectation, but I do love it. Just to be able to come in and relax a little bit.”
“Exactly. That’s exactly my point. It’s nice to just have someone to be silly and cozy with.” People assumed that he wasn’t at all, and maybe he wasn’t, but he could be with Devon.
“It is.” Devon kissed his cheek. “I think people underestimate how much they need it. We’re not meant to be alone.”
That was quite an admission for Devon, who had lived by himself for a long while as well. They were still figuring out sometimes where all their different parts met, but it was a wonderful and strange lesson in living, and Laird wouldn’t give it up for anything.
They leaned on each other and ate while they turned on a movie. Devon had a real affection for Hallmark movies, but he liked the mysteries rather than the more schmoopy romances. He said the writing was better.
Laird thought they were surprisingly cute. These movies, especially the ones about this island paradise where they ran murder mysteries. It didn’t hurt that the guy who played the cop was kind of hot in a silver fox sort of way.
“Mmmm. This is such a good idea—breakfast for dinner. How did you know that’s exactly what my tummy needed?”
“Well, you haven’t wanted a whole lot of red sauce or Senor Dragons the last couple of weeks. Not that I’m complaining. You know I love me some omelets and pancakes and stuff.” And Laird knew he was completely gone when it came to Devon. He would do anything to see his husband smile.
“The baby wants what the baby wants.” Devon chuckled, “You don’t know how many times I’ve said that in my life, and I suppose craving eggs and pancakes is not the worst thing on earth. At least they’re readily available and actually food.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, I had one omega who ate charcoal baguettes. Dirt. Chalk. Onions. It’s just wild. But I seem to be in an egg and maple syrup swing.”
“Yes, well, I’m glad I could provide.” In fact, it was very much a biological imperative. Laird winked at him. Devon hadn’t seemed to settle on anything he really craved specifically until recently, and it made his life easier to know what to order.
“Have you ever had someone eat something that would be really bad for them?” Laird asked.
“The worst thing has been something like antacids. But I heard some wild stories in school about omegas who really, genuinely hurt themselves. But that’s why we have so many appointments right? Lots of check-ins to make sure nobody’s being reckless.”
“Sure. Everyone tells me that will be the most frustrating thing about being a therapist. The people who might not comply with all their instructions, or who just can’t. But every medical field job has its weirdness.” Laird grinned.
“True. Like, I never get to see the babies again. Boom. Birth and done. Sometimes I get a pic of when they first get home… But that’s usually it. Now, I have a lot of friends whose kids I’ve seen grow up some, but—”
“But sometimes you want to know how it came out.” Laird nodded. “The folks in dispatch and 911 ask us sometimes. They want to know if someone made it, and we share what we can without violating any laws.” It was a tough balance.
“Oh, I can imagine.” Devon chuckled at the movie. “This is my favorite part!”
He started chuckling. “You do like the reveal, don’t you?”
Devon rolled his eyes, so dramatic. “Are you kidding? That’s my whole job. I am the king of the baby reveal.”
Their laughter was so loud it threatened to bring down the blanket fort.