Shit, well Oops!Baby

I'm the one they call the underdog, If you want a shot, just step in the ring

He's not normally a fan of libraries. It reminds him of long nights banging his head against a wall, or pages, trying to retain facts he found pointless for tests he didn't care about, all of it necessary thought to advance to things that did matter. Such as, kicking ass in the field. Show him where a book could teach him properly how to crescent kick and he might have been sold, and while certainly plenty of teachers had tried, even enticing him with books on warfare, strategy, and pictures of maneuvers, they did little to trickle that knowledge into him when digested in this form—the dead tree hallucinogenic scribble form.

Yet he has deigned to come here while waiting for Charlie so that he could do something useful other than pace and listen to the moaning of Dygra worship. She'd find him when she had time, and until then, he'd keep perusing every shelf of parenthood he could get his hands on. He has amassed such a collection already on a table nearby, books stacked in haphazard fashion and spread in a semi circle in front of him. To any wandering eye he looks like a very studious man cross-referencing multiple topics, but truth be told he keeps jumping from one book to another trying to find one a bit less boring than the last, the current fan of tomes in front of him flipped into various order as potentials. His back is pressed into the table for support, one leg lazily waving back and forth among the pull of the water rushing by just at his side, a trick to keep him focused even if he'd had no intention of getting his feet so literally wet today. He's holding up a thin book to his face, the colorful cover proudly asking, SO YOU'RE A PARENT?"

---

Kaisel

Even when my feet get tired, I will keep on moving higher

manchild, why you always come a runnin' to me?

Charlie does not so much enter the Atheneum as arrive in it, like a headline nobody asked for but everyone immediately notices. The heels come first, sharp and confident against stone, followed by the unmistakable silhouette of a body that has changed quickly and dramatically in the span of days. Her dress clings without apology, hugging the full swell of her chest and the pronounced curve of her belly, which she carries with the same effortless pride as everything else about herself. There is no attempt to soften it, no instinct to hide; if anything, she leans into it, one hand resting briefly along the underside of her stomach as she moves, as though she enjoys the weight of it.

She spots him immediately, of course she does, because Kaisel in a library looks like a wolf trying to pass as a housecat. "Hey, Kai!" she calls brightly across the space, entirely unconcerned with the concept of indoor voices, her tone carrying easily over the gentle rush of water. A few heads might turn; she doesn’t even notice.

She makes her way over in a straight, confident line, the sway of her hips a little more pronounced now simply by necessity, the glow about her less metaphorical than it used to be. When she reaches his table, she leans in just enough to peer at the book in his hands, curls spilling forward as her grin spreads. "Ooooh any good tips?" she asks, delighted, tapping the cover lightly.

half your brain just ain't there

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

I'm the one they call the underdog, If you want a shot, just step in the ring

The distinct sound of her arrival is a welcome distraction, and as if waiting for the very thing, his eyes lift easily from the page he'd been dutifully trying to absorb (something about congrats, your whole life is going to change forever, but it's a blessing! Then a few notes about how normal fluids are.). His gaze connects with her like a door that's been shut too hard, bouncing away only to swing right back and land solidly, Flora carried with him even in mannerisms.

He'd looked originally because why not, a little retinal rest, but gods now he couldn't look away even if he tried. Which is an accurate portrayal of seeing Charlie in ordinary circumstances, the vision of her always liable to arrest someone that it's a wonder the police force hasn't taken to headhunting her. All this even before her charm has had a chance to register, which sinks any remaining hope of looking away ever again. If only any of the usual reasons were why Kaisel couldn't keep his eyes off her, it might save him the undoubtable trouble his mouth his about to get him into.

His book has slowly lowered, in about the same speed and fashion as his jaw, so that by the time she's upon him and knocking on the cover, he is openly gaping up at her. "Oh my gods, YOU'RE HUGE!" The words come tumbling out in immediate response as she draws near, the true scale of her unavoidable in such close proximity, dashing any chance he'd tried to reason away with the distance of her approach.

Kaisel

Even when my feet get tired, I will keep on moving higher

manchild, why you always come a runnin' to me?

Charlie does not so much as flinch at his outburst, despite it normally being a slappable offence to call a woman huge; if anything, she lights up like he has just handed her the compliment of a lifetime. "I know!!!" she trills immediately, delighted beyond reason, her grin stretching wide and unashamed. "Isn’t it great?" The enthusiasm spills out of her in bright, effervescent waves as she closes the remaining distance between them without hesitation.

The book in his hands is summarily ignored as she reaches for him, catching both of his wrists with decisive ease and tugging him forward just enough to press his palms firmly against the curve of her belly. There is no room for protest, not with her insistence and the way she positions him, anchoring his hands there like she is presenting him with something miraculous and expecting proper appreciation.

Her hands slip away from his wrists only to drift upward, her attention never leaving his face as she places her palms over her tits and gives a satisfied, unapologetic squeeze. The movement is bold, theatrical rather than intimate, entirely in line with her usual brand of shameless confidence. "And my boobs look amazing," she adds with breezy certainty, catching his gaze as it inevitably drops, before moving to reach for his hands again. "Here, feel."

half your brain just ain't there

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

You are interrupted by a sharp, high-pitched screech, accompanied by a dazzling fork of lightning that leaves its image burning behind your eyes for a long time afterwards.

You swear the afterburn looks almost like a face, the mouth stretched wide in an agonised scream. If you blink too quickly in the wake of it, the face starts to look like someone you might know.

---

You have encountered one of the Scream Rain SE serendipities! You may use this to complete requirement 1. of the seasonal event. Please note: this serendipity CANNOT be used for levelling purposes.

I'm the one they call the underdog, If you want a shot, just step in the ring

The register of what he’s just said lands not long after it’s too late to pull it back. His features immediately scrunch into something half-apology, half-brace for the inevitable outrage. His wince is wasted though, because Charlie’s enthusiasm is never one to be outmatched, least of all by social norms. ”So fast!!!” he responds quickly thereafter, energy pacing hers even if for a different reason. The speed of her size is truly what he meant, because it hasn’t been long since they stood before Dygra, and the show of her belly is an unavoidable truth of the state they’re in. Not that he’d doubted it, but if he hoped to have more time to come to terms with it all, well clearly there’s none to waste.

The book he’s holding flops uselessly to the ground, nothing in there warning him about the speed of it all. She clasps him with an alarming strength, but he’s still stunned enough not to bother resisting, still hung up on the roundness of her. There’s a hush that rolls through his body the moment his palms settle on the curve of their growing child, the noise of alarm and the wide gawk of surprise all collapsing into a private wonder. ”There’s a baby in there.” It’s more breath than voice, too much of him pulled into the sheer awe of what she’s able to produce. It doesn’t take long for him to find himself again, eagerness breaking away. ”You’re making a baby!” He glances up to find her eyes, his own sparking with a new edge of excitement, bright and warm. ”Holy shit, I can’t believe it.” His fingers flex against the seat of her belly, not pressing so much as better fitting to the shape of her, so he can fully feel the hum of life generating beneath the swell.

Still a captive to her grip, his palms don’t balk as she grants them a new curve. ”Yeah they are!” he laughs up at her, admiration still shining through, his grip resettling and tightening again as he fully takes in this roundness as well. He catches himself suddenly, jerking his hands away and stuffing them hard and tight beneath his pits. ”Wh—uh,” he clears his throat faintly, a blush rising immediately. ”I mean, that’s great, just what the kid needs.”

Just then, the world outside screams, and while it might not normally set him on edge, especially after hearing it all season, he almost thinks it sounds like Flora’s wrath. The jarring sound also sends a group of humming bats from the corner roost they’d made among the dark corner where two tall beams connect. Their frantic fluttering and complaining chatter is all enough to make Kaisel jolt in place, then stiffen in the recovery of it. ”Frey’s tits,” he swears under his breath, pulling his foot out of the water as he busies himself clearing a spot amid his studies to sit. ”C’mon, I feel like you shouldn’t be standing if you don’t have to,” he urges, motioning to the lounge nearby. ”Do you feel well? Do you need anything??”

Kaisel

Even when my feet get tired, I will keep on moving higher

manchild, why you always come a runnin' to me?

The shift in Kaisel doesn’t go unnoticed, not the way his voice softens, not the way his hands settle with something almost reverent instead of startled, and Charlie drinks it in like sunlight. When he breathes out that there’s a baby in there, that she’s making it, her entire face lights up, and for a fleeting, ridiculous moment, little flickers of flame spark to life around her curls in the shape of uneven, glowing hearts. "I know!!!!!" she squeals, bright and triumphant.

As Kai's palms fit around her tits, Charlie of course, presses forward with unabashed delight, her grin sharpening into something almost feral as she nudges closer, basking in the attention and the awe of it all. When he jerks his hands away, flushing, she beams at him like he’s just done something incredibly charming, her own hands sliding up to cup her tits in a way that only makes the effect more dramatic. "Not just the baby," she adds, eyes sparkling with mischief as she gives a small, satisfied squeeze, "but everyone."

The chaos outside barely registers for her at all. The scream, the lightning, the bats scattering into frantic motion, it’s all background noise to the much more interesting development of Kaisel absolutely unraveling in front of her. She watches him with wide, curious eyes as he startles and swears, head tilting slightly with amusement. Then, with a sudden burst of movement, she darts toward the lounge he’s indicated, dropping onto it with dramatic ease. She leans back immediately, utterly comfortable, one leg shifting just enough such that the hem of her dress rides devastatingly high on her thighs. One hand settles over the curve of her belly again, fingers splayed possessively, while the rest of her seems to radiate warmth and satisfaction.

"I feel great," she declares, bright and certain, as though that’s the only possible answer. She gives a casual little shrug, curls bouncing lightly. "Sometimes the baby kicks or starts a fire, and that doesn’t feel as good, but it’s no big deal."

half your brain just ain't there

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

I'm the one they call the underdog, If you want a shot, just step in the ring

Fairly certain Charlie would be the type to incorporate her breast milk into her rituals, once she begins producing, Kaisel tries not to linger on the addition of everyone too long. As the humming bats disperse deeper into the space and the lightning quiets again, he is left openly gawking when she darts to her seat. His head nearly snaps he spins it around so fast. ”Is that safe!?” he gasps, but clearly the answer is yes else she’d not have done it. ”That’s wild,” he adds, leaving his rearrangements to a sudden end as she apparently doesn’t need the space made. ”The baby’s not gonna be able to !dart right away, is it??” A new horror of fatherhood he never expected, trying to catch the infant.

Flopping in sideways into the open cushion, allowing him to face her as he sits down, he leans into an arm draped over the back of the couch. ”Well, you’re amazing,” he says with all the simplicity of something that is undoubtedly true. That this has not slowed her stride is only briefly surprising before fully suiting her, and now he wonders how he’d ever been worried otherwise. ”A fire???” his eyes widen, a laugh that’s as much nerves as humor popping free. ”Good thing you’re the mother then.” Implying she’d handle it all like a breeze, both fireproof and fire extinguisher in one.

That phrasing sobers him a minute though, and he reaches out to grab one of her hands in his. Perhaps an attempt to ground himself, or her, depending how this goes, or maybe he intends to feel the change of heat or pulse through it like he could find truth through skin. ”Charlie, I will support you and this child, no matter what,” even if he doesn’t have to, because she’s his friend and he’d be there for her, especially when life gets hard. Gods know babies make it hard. ”But tell me true, are you fucking with me about me being the dad?” Partner she’d said at one point, ours, and maybe he’d filled in holes that’d only been shadows on the ground.

Kaisel

Even when my feet get tired, I will keep on moving higher

manchild, why you always come a runnin' to me?

Charlie’s grin only widens at his alarm, her shoulders lifting in an easy, unapologetic shrug. "Maybe!" she says brightly, entirely unbothered by the concept of safety as anything more than a loose suggestion. Her hand drifts over her belly again, fingers splaying with idle affection as she tilts her head. "I’m just glad they can’t do it now," she adds, laughter bubbling up as she glances back at him. "Can you imagine?"

She soaks in his compliment like sunlight, visibly preening under it, her posture shifting just slightly as if to better display the very things he’s admiring. The glow about her sharpens into something pleased and indulgent, and when he reaches for her hand, she lets him take it easily, her fingers warm and relaxed in his where they immediately intertwine. His question has her blue eyes widening just a fraction, dark brows lifting as the question lands, and for a fleeting second there’s a flicker of something mischievous curling at the corner of her mouth. She knows exactly what he thinks. She knows exactly how long she’s let him think it. And it has been so much fun.

Charlie leans forward slowly, deliberately, her movement less about urgency and more to potentially distract him in the depths of her cleavage as her gaze locks onto his with playful intensity. "Well," she says, voice light and lilting, that almost-smile tugging just a little higher, "I guess that depends on what you mean by being the dad."

half your brain just ain't there

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

I'm the one they call the underdog, If you want a shot, just step in the ring

Unfortunately, he can imagine, and it is awful. Some half-baked fetus just materializing in the air, dripping in blood and amniotic fluid, only to unleash a terrifying squeal and then !dart back into her womb. She laughs with an easy delight at the notion, but he's doing his best not to let the horror consume his expression.

Charlie settles into the fit of his hand with a surprising ease, although it shouldn't be, surprising that is. More liquid than solid, more so than even a cat, Charlie readily takes on the shape of the moment regardless of what life delivers. Proof then that her hand is more to anchor him through whatever waves are about to kick up. Except those don't come either. Instead of any outraged huff or wounded withdrawal, she leans in, breasts taking up far more space than they've any right doing.

Confusion meets the cousin of a smirk she's wearing, the straps of it sliding slowly up the edges of her face. "Whu—how many dads are there?!" He should have better considered that Dygra could have taken a spill from anywhere, including ones placed very intentionally into Charlie's care to clean up. "I thought...when Dygra blessed you, it was then that it happened." Maybe that'd just been the demi-god sprinkles being added to the batter. A funfetti baby.

Kaisel

Even when my feet get tired, I will keep on moving higher

manchild, why you always come a runnin' to me?

Charlie’s grin sharpens into something unmistakably wicked, fangs flashing as delight curls through her expression. Without hesitation, she lifts both hands to cup Kaisel's cheeks, squishing them just slightly as her laughter spills out bright and uncontained. "Why does there need to be a dad at all?" she counters, eyes sparkling with mischief and something just a little too knowing.

Her hands slide down from his face, trailing lightly over his chest as though she’s guiding him through the thought rather than answering it outright. "Oh, it did," she adds easily, nodding once as if confirming a pleasant memory. "Right then and there. Very dramatic, very divine, ten out of ten experience." Her smile softens just a touch as she glances back up at him. "And it was really special that you were there." Then the corner of her mouth quirks again, that same playful edge creeping back in as she gives a small, coquettish shrug. "You offered to be there for me," she reminds him lightly. "For us. Why would I say no to that?"

She lets that hang just long enough to watch it land, just long enough to enjoy the shape of his confusion—because of course she does, given how adorably flustered he was about it all—before her nose wrinkles affectionately and the façade cracks into bright, delighted laughter. "But no," she declares, slipping into an exaggerated, Maury-like cadence, "you are not The Father."

Before he can fully recover, she’s already leaning forward again, catching his hand in hers. "But you are going to be in the baby’s life," she adds, as if that part is obvious and already decided on the basis of their friendship. "So really, what’s the difference?"

Her blue eyes flick briefly to the scattered books around him, her expression scrunching with mild disdain as she gives a dismissive little shake of her head. "Hey, how about instead of doing that," she says, tugging gently on his hand, "we go flying?" Her grin returns, bright and reckless. "I’m pretty sure I can still do that. But let’s find out." And without waiting for permission, she pulls him up from the couch, heels already turning as she drags him toward the exit, laughter trailing behind her like a promise of trouble.

~FIN

half your brain just ain't there

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3