Tia curled up against the dumpster, trying to keep warm
despite the pouring rain. His hand unconsciously reached down to caress his
swollen belly as he sighed, huddling even closer and trying to wrap himself
with whatever rag he could find nearby.
Quietly, Tia sobbed as he thought about how he got himself
into this mess. Young and pregnant, he had no business being out here in the
streets, but there he was, dirty, penniless, homeless and plagued with
backaches and sore feet, with nowhere else to go.
And him being mute didn’t help things along either.
All he knew was that if his father hadn’t met Fuzz, this
wouldn’t have happened. His father was a single dad after his Neo-Mom dumped
him for another man, and it was because his father himself was a philandering
guy who loved to party and hang with lovers left and right, men and women, Neo
and Earthian alike. All his years growing up, Tia had seen his father having on
and off lovers, none of them really lasting more than 3 months, but they
provided him and his father the basic necessities and additional comforts of
life, and Tia was fine with that.
Then one day Fuzz came into the picture. Tia, 16 at the
time, thought it was going to be another one of his father’s temp lovers again,
but it seemed that it was serious. Fuzz, who was at least 5 years older than
Tia, had hooked up with his father at an old college reunion party, and they
seemed to have gotten engaged on the spot a few weeks later, almost Las Vegas
style. They have yet to decide when to tie the knot, but it was obvious he was
there to stay.
Fuzz treated Tia and his father right, playing his role of
the man of the house as best as he could, and loved Tia like he was his own.
But unfortunately, through time, Tia couldn’t help seeing Fuzz as more than
just a soon-to-be-stepfather. In fact the thought of holding him tight, never letting
him go, or the urge to kiss him deeply and taste his mouth inside out came to
mind whenever Fuzz was a little too close to comfort. Thankfully because Tia
was mute, he couldn’t blurt out his feelings to Fuzz even if he wanted to, so
that little secret was kept inside him for the next few months.
When Tia ran into Fuzz and his father getting it on in the
guestroom one day (and hastily dismissed and shooed away for it), it was the
last straw. Tia’s heart broke as he knew his love could never be requited and
he burst into silent tears in his room, crying his heart and soul out over a
love that could never be.
Surprisingly, things turned out differently than he
expected. Fuzz came to him an hour later after Tia cried himself to sleep and
gave him a knowing smile, stroking his hair and asked just one question that
proved their undoing:
“You want me, don’t you?”
From there, all the floodgates were open and all caution was
thrown out the window as Tia let Fuzz claim him again and again. They will have
secret rendezvous places to go to where they satisfied each other’s lust. In
addition to picking him up from school, Fuzz would drive them to one of their
secret places in the woods and they would go at it in the car like rabbits. At
home, they would occasionally sneak a kiss or a quickie or two when Tia’s
father wasn’t around or not looking, or Fuzz would pay midnight visits to Tia’s
room to get on, but other than that, Tia’s father was none the wiser.
When Tia started having morning sickness and his period was
late, he knew it was a matter of time before he started showing and his father
would find out the affair. He tried hiding it for the first few months, keeping
it away even from Fuzz himself, but when the food craving and the baby bump
settled in, the cat was out of the bag. Tia refused to tell his father who
knocked him up, and Fuzz wasn’t there to back him up (he was out on a business
conference), and out of range and disappointment, his father called him a slut
and kicked him out of the house, throwing everything he owned out the window
and forbidding him to come home ever again. Tia had no choice but to pick up
whatever he could carry and took to the streets.
Tia gasped as he felt something inside him pop and started
leaking through his pants. Shaking his head in fear, he knew what just happened
but didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Granted he had been feeling upset in
the stomach and on his back for a while, but he assumed that he was just having
another one of those gastric cramps from lack of eating. He didn’t realize they
were contractions until one hit him really hard without the cushioning of the
amniotic fluid, now that his water was broken.
Whimpering, he curled up on all fours, trying to bear
through wave after wave of contractions as they got closer and closer and
shorter and shorter. His breath became ragged as he tried to resist the urge to
push, clawing and gripping hard at the dirt for something to anchor himself. He
couldn’t give birth here, it was not right. He couldn’t have this baby here, now,
in the middle of a dirty alley with nothing but filth and garbage at his feet
and the heavy rain on his back. He couldn’t, he just couldn’t!
His eyes widened and his mouth let out a silent cry as he
started feeling the baby descending down, squeezing its way through and trying
to push through his opening that he tried so hard to curl shut. Being caught
off guard, his body forced him to push down to expel the child, despite Tia
shaking his head in defiance. Before he could stop himself, Tia had pushed enough
to feel the baby crowning a little before it slipped back in.
Try as he might, Tia could no longer hold back the urge as
another one came and made him push. His legs unconsciously uncurled and spread
apart as he pushed again, the baby’s head crowning again before slipping back
in, but not as much as before. Tia sobbed in agony as his trembling hands
reached down to try and take off his pants when suddenly a warm hand touched
his cold face.
“Tia? Tia, is that you?”
Tia looked up, trying to focus his blurred eyes from the
tears and the rain to see who the owner of the voice was. The hand came again
to wipe the rain and tears off his eyes and face and he soon saw that it was
Fuzz, looking down at him with concern and worry.
“Tia? Tia, it’s me, Fuzz,” Fuzz’s familiar voice rang in his
wanton ears as he pushed the young boy’s wet matted hair off his face. “It’s
me, Tia. Are you OK? Is the baby OK?”
As if on cue, another contraction came and Tia gave in to
the pushing, gripping onto Fuzz’s wrist as he pushed down hard, his mute voice
make a sort of gagging sound as he felt the head descended even more. Fuzz
looked at Tia’s partially downed pants and got the picture.
“You can’t give birth here,” Fuzz said as he draped his
trench coat over Tia and carried him bridal style. “Try to hold it in, OK? I’m
taking you to the hospital. It’s just around the corner. Don’t push, OK?”
Tia gave him an “I’ll try” look before allowing himself to
be manhandled by Fuzz. As another contraction hit, he tried to hold back the
urge to push, though his body managed to somehow sneak a small one or two as he
was carried by Fuzz all the way to the nearest hospital. By the time they were
there, the head was almost fully out.
“Looks like your baby can’t wait, boy,” the midwife in duty
said as Fuzz lay Tia on the maternity bed. “Are you his family, young man?”
“I’m his fiancé,” Fuzz announced, taking Tia’s hand and gave
a reassuring squeeze as he smiled down at the slightly surprised young boy.
“Well then, there’s no time to waste now,: the midwife
shrugged and got ready. “The head is almost fully out. Keep pushing, boy.
You’ve got a bit of tear, but there’s no undoing it till then. Go with your
body and don’t fight it.”
Tia no longer planned to anymore as he gave in to the next
urge to push. Fuzz helped sit him up to the proper birthing position ad Tia
pushed down as hard as he could. He didn’t care if he was gagging and grunting
like someone choking on a chicken bone; he just wanted this ordeal to be over.
“The shoulder’s coming nicely, keep pushing, boy!”
Tia gripped hard onto Fuzz’s shirt with his free hand,
pushing down whenever his body told him to, gagged whimpers and whines escaping
his lips as he tried his best to bring his baby out into the world.
“You’re doing great, Tia,” Fuzz cheered him on as he kissed
his tears away. “I’m right here with you, Tia. I’m right here.”
“You’re almost there, boy! Give me one last big push!”
Taking a deep breath, Tia pushed down with all his might,
freeing the baby’s shoulders out of him and letting it slide out into the
midwife’s arms.
“There you go, little poppit! You’ve got a beautiful
Earthian boy! Ten fingers, ten toes, and oh, what good lungs you have, poppit!”
Tia smiled through his tears of joy and relief as the
midwife put the squalling baby into his arms to initiate skin-on-skin contact.
Despite his squatting days in the street with almost barely enough food for
himself, the baby looked healthy as a horse and surprisingly plenty of baby
fat. Fuzz beamed proudly as he kissed Tia’s forehead over and over again.
“Oh, you did so well, Tia,” Fuzz said between kisses. “You
did so well. I missed you so, so much. Thank God I’ve finally found you.”
Tia leaned up and kissed him back on the lips, crying a
little at how happy and relieved he was to see him.
“Sorry to interrupt you guys, but it looks like your fiancé
and baby is due for a wash,” the midwife said as she gently took the baby from
Tia’s arms. “You’ll have them both back in no time, I promise.”
“I’ll be there when you’re ready, Tia,” Fuzz promised as he
allowed Tia to be wheeled away to have the afterbirth removed, bathed in long
awaited warm water and soap, and dressed in fresh hospital clothes. By the time
they were done with him, he was lying down in a nicely warmed ward with clean,
comfortable sheets, a cozy blanket over him and soft pillows under him.
Tia somehow slept through the entire process, so tired out
from the ordeal, and when he woke up, he saw Fuzz cradling their son, cooing
and whispering loving words to him. Tia let out a small sound to catch his
attention.
“Oh, hey, Tia,” Fuzz said as he brought their son to him.
“Here’s our baby. Isn’t he beautiful?”
Tia reached out to take their baby into his arms. He had a
bit of a peach fuzz on his little head like his, but he looked just like Fuzz
through and through.
He looks just like
you, Tia signed, glad to have finally being able to use sign languages
after such a long time.
“He’s got your hair though,” Fuzz said. “And your eyes.”
Where’s Papa?
Fuzz shook his head. “I dumped him. When I came home from
the conference that day and heard what your father did, I threw away our
engagement ring and left him, and I’ve been looking for you ever since. Why
didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? Why did you hide it from me?”
I didn’t want to get
you into trouble, Tia replied after some hesitation. You were engaged to Papa, and he seemed like he loved you so much. I
didn’t mean to…
“I could’ve protected you. I could’ve taken responsibility,
or at least cover for you. We could’ve run away together. Do you know how hard
and long I’ve searched for you?”
I’m sorry… Tia
sobbed as he looked down, cuddling their baby close.
“It’s over now,” Fuzz sighed and hugged him. “I’ve finally
found you, and I’ll never let you go. I love you, Tia. Please don’t do this
again.”
Tia nodded as he kissed Fuzz, trying to convey how sorry he
was. Fuzz returned the kiss and ran his fingers through the younger boy’s hair,
whispering sweet nothings in between kisses until the need for air separated
them.
“You decided on a name yet?”
Tia shook his head and pointed at Fuzz, wanting him to name
him.
“Hmm…I think we should name him Vivian. It’s a universal
name. I think it suits him.”
Tia smiled and nodded in agreement.
“I meant what I said when I told the midwife I’m your
fiancé,” Fuzz said as he took Tia’s hand. “Will you marry me?”
Tia’s wider smile and tears of joy was all the answer he
needed.
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