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Astral smiled softly as the baby kicked again, giving Simon's hand a small squeeze.
"Is it alright if I..?" Astral motioned towards the baby bump. He wanted to put his hand on it to feel the child kick.
Astral smiled softly as the baby kicked again, giving Simon's hand a small squeeze.
"Is it alright if I..?" Astral motioned towards the baby bump. He wanted to put his hand on it to feel the child kick.
Simon hesitated a moment before nodding. “Yeah go ahead.” At least Astral was nice enough to ask. Simon knew he probably wouldn’t always be that lucky so might as well get used to it now.
Astral nodded, moving his hand to gently rest on top of Simon's baby bump. He hummed softly, his other hand still holding Simon's. Being around the baby like this always seemed to put the god in a good mood.
Simon took a deep breath, not sure when or if the baby would kick again. Even though he wasn’t in control of that, he knew Astral would be disappointed if he didn’t get to feel it. Thankfully though, Simon didn’t have to worry much longer as the baby kicked yet again, this time with a bit more force. Simon flinched, squeezing Astral’s hand.
Astral rubbed small circles against Simon's baby bump, humming softly to try to help the baby calm. He looked like he might cry, smiling the whole time. He squeezed Simon's hand gently in assurance, looking up at him for a moment.
Thankfully the baby did seem to calm down and Simon did as well, trying to relax. It was a weird feeling, but he’d just have to get used to it. He didn’t let go of Astral’s hand, and smiled weakly when the god looked up at him.
"You're doing great," Astral said softly. "Thank you." He moved his hand from the bump after a moment, resting it on top of the one holding Simon's hand.
Simon nodded. “You’re welcome..I didn’t actually mind that too much but thank you for asking first.”
Astral smiled, nodding some.
"I get that it can be uncomfortable sometimes." The god rested his head to the side, content.
Simon was surprised that Astral could understand. “Yeah…so um yeah thanks for asking I really prefer that over you not asking….”
Astral nodded a bit more at that.
"I… I'm not going to lie, I'm not always going to feel like asking. Still, I'll try."
Simon nodded “okay…thanks for trying then…” he said softly. He’d managed to calm down now. It seemed like the baby didn’t plan on moving anymore right now.
Astral gave Simon's hand one last squeeze before pulling away.
"I'll come back if anything else happens," he said, offering a small smile as he turned to leave.
“Okay…I’ll see you later.” He said, flashing the god a quick smile as he left. That had been…a lot. But so far it seemed manageable.
Mia moved to Simon's side once Astral was gone, holding his hand.
"How are you doing?"
Simon shrugged. “I’m fine. How about you? Are you alright?” He asked her, squeezing her hand gently.
"Yes, I'm fine," Mia said softly. She moved to hug Simon, eyes closed for a moment.
Leo came out from his hiding as well, sitting at Simon's feet.
Simon hugged her tightly, letting go with one arm to go pet Leo. “Everything’s okay now.” He reassured them. “Sorry that that was so sudden.”
Leo leaned into Simon's hand, eyes closing. He was just so tired of being scared…
Mia held onto Simon for a moment, letting out a breath.
"I'm glad for that, at least…"
Simon patted her back gently, letting out a long sigh. "Do you wanna feel it the next time it happens?" He asked. If it had to be someone, he wanted it to be Mia.
"If that's what you'd like." Mia wasn't… fond, of this child. She didn't like this, period. Feeling the child kick and potentially hurt Simon didn't make her feel any better.
“I was just offering, you really don’t have to if you don’t want to.” He said, though he did seem to get a bit upset by her answer. “Just trying to make the best out of this weird situation, you know?” He thought that maybe, just maybe, if he could convince himself he was in any way fine with this, then it wouldn’t hurt him as much as it did right now. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel so used.
Mia let out a small breath.
"I want to, Simon," she said, changing her answer. She didn't want Simon to have to go through this, but she would support him the way he asked her to.
Simon nodded, smiling softly. “Okay then! I’ll let you know the next time.” He said, seeming to cheer up some again.
"Sounds perfect." Mia sat down at Simon's side, smiling softly as she squeezed his hand. Leo made his way forward, trying to rest his head on Simon's lap.
Simon leaned back slightly, making room for Leo on his lap. It was a bit harder than it used to be, but thankfully there was still room for Leo for the moment.
Leo closed his eyes, settling down. Mia smiled faintly. They could all make it. Things would be okay. Maybe… maybe since Astral was finally getting a child, he would be nicer.
Simon certainly hoped that’d be the case but….there were definitely no guarantees. Even if Astral had a nice day every once in awhile, the change was never permanent.
No, it was not.
Mia was silent still, glancing at Simon and Leo every so often. He didn't deserve this. Neither of them did. She couldn't come to accept that she didn't either, though, not truly. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.
Though he didn’t show it, Simon was nervous. About all of this really. He had no idea how he was supposed to manage all of this. He could feel the baby squirm around again but he was too focused on his own anxiety to really pay any attention to it. That is until he wasn’t really given much choice, as the baby kicked again. But this one was much stronger than the last. Stronger than it should be. Simon practically screamed in pain, feeling like something cracked.
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