{Whispers of Peace...The Bloom}
Kai had been sick for days.
Not the kind of sick that came with coughing or chills no, this was different. It curled in his belly, tugged at his energy, made his senses flare in odd ways. The scent of Adrian's soap made him dizzy. The thought of eggs had him running for the sink.
At first, he thought it was stress. Then maybe a bug. Then...
Then he missed something.
A date.
A cycle.
He sat in the tiny bathroom of their cottage, knees hugged to his chest on the cool tile floor, staring down at the test in his hand like it was a lit fuse. His fingers trembled.
Positive.
Two little lines.
Two.
Kai didn't cry.
Not at first.
He just sat there, completely still, while the weight of it settled into his bones.
Adrian was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, humming some stupid love song off key, and Kai's heart swelled and cracked at the same time.
He padded out quietly, clutching the test behind his back.
Adrian looked up, instantly alert. "Everything okay, baby?"
Kai couldn't speak. His mouth worked, his eyes were wide.
So he just stepped forward and pressed the test into Adrian's palm.
Adrian looked down.
Stared.
Then blinked.
Silence.
Dead, absolute silence.Then....
"Oh my fucking god." Adrian's voice came out rough, almost choked. "Kai."
"I didn't....I wasn't sure" Kai began, voice breaking.
Adrian pulled him in so tight Kai could barely breathe.
"We're having a baby." His voice cracked.
"You're not mad?"
"Mad? Mi amor, I'm shit I'm terrified and happy and I feel like my heart's about to explode."
Kai laughed, even as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Me too."
Adrian pressed a kiss to Kai's forehead, then his lips, then knelt down and kissed the spot just beneath his navel. "You're carrying our baby," he whispered, reverent.
Something shifted inside Kai something safe. Like all the years of running and bleeding had finally ended in this tiny, quiet miracle.
They spent the rest of the day on the couch, Kai curled up between Adrian's legs, wrapped in blankets and dreams. Adrian's hand never left Kai's belly. His voice was a lullaby as he made promises into the skin.
"I'll protect you both. No one touches my family."
"I know," Kai whispered. "I trust you."
They didn't talk about the past. They didn't think of blood or war or enemies. Not tonight.
Tonight, there was only this:
A future made of soft smiles.
A tiny heartbeat beginning to grow.
And love that had already survived hell.