"I must have lost you in your thoughts again..."
"Oh, right!" Dad Joss stopped staring at Elric's protruding abdomen. "I'm still hung up on how you had to go and get yourself a tatoo, not to mention you kinda look different than the last time I saw you. I almost thought you were a different person."
"I've always wanted to get one."
"Why now?"
Elric squimered on the couch to a comfortable position and took the cup of tea that dad Robin handed to him. "You know what a tattoo is?"
"Tiny cuts made into the skin then applying ink into those cuts that even after the wounds heal, a lasting mark is left behind."
"You just had to go doctor on me huh?"
"Can't blame me here, it's in our blood." Dad Robin replied and sat down.
Elric smiled. He'd always felt at home around Stan's parents. 'I've really missed this place...and these two.' "Anyway, I meant to say getting one hurts, especially one as big as this." Lifting his shirt up, he exposed a thick line of stretchmarks from his lower belly coming up to the center of his stomach that both of Stan's dads still felt perplexed at the sight of them. Elric ignored their surprised look and shifted to his left side, revealing an art of a mahogany tree and below it were the four letters he'd earlier showed Niel sometime back. "I figured it's going to hurt like hell during child birth, might as well get some endurance lessons before hand."
After staring at the tatoo for a while, dad Joss broke the silence. "You must have loved pain to do this."
"You can't compare this to childbirth honey." Dad Robin glanced at his pair then back at Elric. "Ignore him dear, but he is right. Looks like you probably got this a week ago from how I see it. Aren't you scared considering you conceived much earlier? I also had Stannie at seven months and the repacutions were quite dire but you are carring two lives, three if we add yours."
"I'm going crazy everyday thinking how I'm going to tear open" Rubbing his belly, Elric formed s smile. " I just want to push them out and be done with it, but then, they are still backing."
Stan's parents looked at each other and nodded. There appeared to have been a nonverbal communication between them and when they shifted their gaze back to Elric, they seemed deeply concerned. "I can't say I fully understand how you feel. A lot of people would selfishly judge your statement without thinking that you're the one who has to go through that experience by yourself however, your fears are very much valid. As the carrier, I feel your pain and your need to protect the life of your child, or children for that matter. Maternal instincts when pregnant are very powerful. However, as your second parent and a doctor, I'd never have encoraged you to go this far. Perhaps that was why you kept this from us thinking we'd discourage you from keeping the pregnancy."
Elric took a sip of his tea and flinched. It tasted bitter and chose to place the cup back on the table beside him. "I can't share my fears with my mom, she'll worry too much not to mention, she has a lot on her plate at the moment. If I do tell Nelnel exactly what's on my mind, he'd freak out. It's hard keeping calm and instead of getting another tattoo out of stress, I figured I'd come here first and vent. I'm always hungry, my sense of smell and taste are heightened that every little thing keeps putting me off. I'm sweaty always, irritable, I have persistent headaches not to mention my swollen feet. I'm tired almost always and my vision becomes blurry every morning after a long nap. Nelnel tries his best but I seem to want more and more it's never enough." Elric covered his face with his hands. "Damn it, I feel like I'm loosing my mind everyday, I was never helpless and irritable as this."
"..."
"I'm I insensitive for saying that I wanted this pregnancy but now I regret everything? I could have just waited a little longer but I had to go and rush things between me and Nelnel. Look, we're married now yet we've hardly enjoyed a dating period to our fill." Elric showed Stan's parents his wedding ring.
"Yea, we heard about that from Yeon. He said your husband..." dad Joss giggled. "-told him."
"Ha-ha!" Elric mimicked. "Laugh all you want."
"It was good of you to have contacted Robin about your fears. He went through the same thing. However, wouldn't speaking to Yeon's dad be the best alternative? He is fated just like you while Robin and I are paired."
"Yeon's dad had normal pregnancies, just complications from crowning. I was assured by uncle Jiwon that it's normal and can be sorted out during delivery..." Elric hesitated. "-but dad Robin also conceived at seven months and other complicated things arose. I remember you two sharing a lot with us once Stan and I became sexually active. We didn't understand at that time but relate to the things you shared about yourselves now. It was one of the most uncomfortable discussion I've ever had to sit through."
"Oh yea. It was awkward for me too. You may not know but Robin had a good point that day as much as I hated being present for it. Those complications led to our divorce."
"D-Divorce?"
"Yea. It was the foundation to a lot of arguments between him and I."
"Ow..." Elric seemed surprised.
"I don't want you to start thinking that you and Nelnel will experience something similar to us but the truth with your case is inevitable. I'm sure Jiwon briefed you of both good and bad."
"Yes."
"Would you care to share?"
"I'm growing bigger by day obviously, no one is blind to that."
Dad Joss burst out laughing. "Sound like something he'd definately say. I almost couldn't recognize you."
"Honey! You're going to make Elric self conscious! His mom already labelles him fluffly everyday!"
"Well brace yourself, you're only going to get bigger as the pregnancy progresses on. I hope you're not doing some dieting or staying hungry."
"No. I eat all the time. Oh! By the way, did you buy me dark chocolate as requested?"
Dad Robin stood up, went to the kitchen and came back with a bar of chocolate. "Here you go dear."
Both dad Robin and dad Joss smiled at the sight of Elric's face lighting up and he quickly opened the packet, took the bite and savoured the taste of it. "Oh, this is so good!"
"You look like a cute teddy."
Elric laughed. "My mom tells me that all the time. I don't find it offensive as long as the word cute is used."
After watching Elric for a while, dad Robin spoke. "Don't keep secrets from us. We never knew you got married let alone become pregnant. Stan was always the one who kept secrets yet the roles seem to have been reversed. He tells us everything these days."
"Where are they?"
"Probably went for a walk."
"Stan must be happy now that Yeon is no longer cooped up in the lab. I'm sure he was complaining a lot." Elric laughed once more, picturing a nagging Stan in an argument with Yeon. "Oh have I missed teasing him."
"They'll be back soon."
"I don't want them to see me like this."
"Why?"
"Well, I look different now."
Dad Joss pointed out. "Elric is going through that phase of acceptance."
"That stage is the worst. All the self loathing and dang! After childbirth, for a few months, you're going to feel like shit. Postpartum stress is a nightmare."
"Way to make him feel better honey."
"Don't worry, unlike Stan, I'm more of a realist. Lucky I have you guys and Nelnel to help me cope with the aftermath."
"Aren't you afraid though? Yeon is the one who told us of your twincies. Your hormones must be going haywire."
"Kind of, I think. At least I fulfiled my wish of getting a tatoo before getting married." Just then, Elric flinched in pain, dropping the bar of chocolate on the carpet.
"Elric, are you feeling alright?"
"Don't worry." Elric tried to assure them and reached for the chocolate but couldn't, seeming that his belly was on the way. "The pain is not as bad as my backaches and the constant pain in my lower abdomen, always making me want to pee..."
"Pain!" Both Stan's parents looked at each other. "But aren't you...almost five months?"
"What did Jiwon really say?" Dad Robin seemed to have panicked even more than his pair, who only observed Elric intently.
"That I will be induced labour at six or seven months since there won't be any space left."
"Good that he avoided medical jargon otherwise you wouldn't understand the sensitivity and complexity of your case."
"Is it that bad?"
"Well, getting pregnant at seven months of womb maturition is one thing. Even I couldn't carry Stannie longer than seven months since he was quite a big featus. Your case however is more alarming. I don't think you'll even reach seven months and if you do exceed to say eight months, you'll definitely loose your womb. Your spine too might be affected. You might incur severe abdominal pain later on, difficulty in breathing or experience reduced fetal movement."
"Anemia, gestational diabetes, infections, recurring migraines, preterm labour, premature contractions, breech position of the featuses, preeclampsia...."
"Preeclampsia is damage of another organ dear." Dad Robin clarified. "It can be your kidneys or liver."
"That's exactly what uncle Jiwon said."
"And what are your thoughts?"
"Well, as long as Nelnel is with me, and proper scent nourishment is done regularly, the pregnancy can be stretched as far as eight months but not more than that. The consequence is I'll loose my womb...if not damage anything else."
"I guess being fated in such a circumstance does come in handy but still, I'm worried for you. Being fated doesnt disqualify you from being exposed to danger. Scent nourishment alone is not enough."
"What is the other option?" Dad Joss asked Elric.
"What option?"
"Surely he must have presented you a couple of alternatives."
"He did but I payed attention to carring the pregnancy for as long as I could."
"You really want to do this don't you? Inducing pregnancy at six months will save your womb and you can have more children in future."
"I've already made up my mind."
Seeing that Elric wasn't going to change his mind concerning the matter, both Stan's parents didn't try to further disuade him. Dad Robin stood up and picked up the fallen bar of chocolate then asked. "So, what do you want for dinner?"
"Gooseberry."
"Gooseberry? Isn't it very sour?"
"Yea, I feel like the chocolate I just had was way too sweet all of a sudden."
"Oh boy." Dad Robin chuckled. "You must be driving Nelnel nuts."
"You have no idea."