A Little Crow to Grow (Sylus)

Sylus and I have been together for 8 months now, almost feeling like it's been years just from how much has happened to us. The car chase, the auction, and all the missions that involved the Onychinus were just a few weeks of each other. It was almost too much to really handle, but we survived. Sylus made sure to make up for the possibilities of almost dying on his base with so many dates, treats, and even a shopping spree. And some other fun.. 

I wanted to do something nice for Sylus, making him a dinner that Grandma used to make for me after I worked hard during school. I was just about abusing the power Sylus gave me for his staff to listen to me when I asked for something; I almost felt bad to even ask. Thankfully, the chef stayed behind to help me find the tools and ingredients I needed. If he didn't, I probably would've destroyed the whole kitchen in the process. 

"Your grandmother puts chips in meatloaf?" The chef asked, looking almost disgusted at the sight of me pulling out Pringles from the bag of snacks I bought this morning. 

"You'll be surprised, it tastes delicious." I chuckled, opening the can and welcoming the smell of the chips going through my nose. Before I could react, I instantly felt sick. My stomach almost felt like it was about to upchuck my lunch, something I finally was able to eat after everything else didn't sound good. 

"Are you alright, Mrs. McCarthy?" The chef asked, rubbing my back softly to help soothe my sudden nausea. 

"Y-Yeah, just suddenly felt sick is all." I cleared my throat, pushing the Pringles away so I wouldn't have to smell them anymore. 

"Have you gotten sick from anything today? What did you eat today?" He questioned. The look on his face was full of concern, making me smile slightly at the nice gesture of the chef I had just met. 

"Let's see," I thought about it for only a moment. "The only thing I could eat was some butter toast and a side of cottage cheese. Even that still made me want to choke, but I still ate it." I left the part out where I threw up my breakfast this morning, and was only able to eat 2 blueberries before the texture got to me. 

"Mrs. McCarthy? Can I ask you something?" He sounded hesitant. I looked at him, curious about what he wanted to know. "When was the last time you had your menstruation?" I felt the blood drain from my face and move straight to my chest, making my heart want to pound out of my chest. I quickly grabbed my phone, looking through the calendar to calculate everything. 

"T-Two months ago.." I murmured to myself. My breath started to feel heavy, almost like I was being choked. "C-Can you finish making the dinner for me? P-Please!" I rushed out of the kitchen, running down the halls of the base to rush right outside and already getting into my car. The keys were rattling from my shaking hands, but I was able to start the engine. Tires squeaked, and I passed the gates of security with no issue, driving the road to the gas station that was 3 miles away from the Onychinus base. 

Rushing inside, the smell of old hot dogs, wet floors, and the A/C welcomed my face. The smells were too much for me to handle, making me throw up slightly in the trash can I saw in just a second. 

"Whoa, are you okay?" The cashier rushed over, questioning as she watched me wipe my mouth. 

"D-Do you guys have pregnancy tests?" I muttered as I tried to catch my breath. The clerk nodded, rushing to the aisle with me behind her. She grabbed a light pink box and handed it to me. I quickly gave her $20, not caring about the change, and rushed out of the gas station, into my car, and drove back to the Onychinus base. 

My mind was racing, but my body knew what to do while in a bit of a crisis. I muttered to myself in a repeat, "Bedroom, bathroom, test, wait," to keep myself busy before I fully go into panic mode. Deep down, having a child was something I wanted, but I never thought it would happen right away. When I tell Sylus, will he be angry? Surprised? Is he going to kick me out? I shook my head slightly, trying to ignore all the negative thoughts that were rushing in already. 

As I reached the base, I ran through the door to run straight to the bedroom that Sylus allowed me to crash in whenever I stayed over the night, locked the door, and rushed straight into the bathroom. I read the instructions on the box, followed every step, and waited for the exact 2 minutes by sitting on the floor, staring the the tile. My heart was pounding like it wanted to pop out of my chest. I wasn't sure what to think about anymore, other than wishing time would go faster. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

"Melody?" Sylus's deep voice startled me from my trance. "Are you in there?" 

"Y-... yeah.." I stuttered, my lip still shivering, but I rubbed my face to get rid of any panic in my expression. Sylus opened the bathroom door, scanning the room a bit before he finally found me on the floor, leaning against the wall. I hid the test behind my leg, smiling like nothing was wrong, and hoping he didn't see the test. 

"Are you alright, kitten?" Sylus closed the door, leaning against the counter and looking down at me with his arms crossed. "The security told me you were rushing in and out of the base like someone was chasing you. If someone is, I'll beat them before they pray to their gods." He chuckled to himself. 

"N-No, no one was chasing me." I tried to laugh off my anxiety, gripping my pants fabric with my nails. His eyebrows wrinkled. "W-What? You're looking at me like I'm crazy-" 

"You look different, is all," Sylus fixed his posture, rubbing his chin slightly as he was thinking. 

"H-How?" I questioned, my finger tapping on my leg quickly. Sylus crouched down in front of me, staring at me like he was trying to catch something small on my face. He gently gripped my chin, moving my head slightly in each angle to observe more of my head. 

"Your features look like they're glowing. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again, almost sounding like he was demanding to know. I took a deep breath, looking at my watch, and noticed it's been more than 2 minutes. 

"Okay, I'll spit it out.." I paused, holding his hand that was gripping my chin to hold it as soft as I could, and hoping he would see that I'm generally terrified. Sylus sat on the floor next to me, rubbing my fingers with his thumb, keeping his attention towards me. 

"I-I think I'm pregnant..." I paused once again so he could slowly process everything like I am. His eyes slightly widened, his breath held like he was shocked by the news. "I-I just took the test, but I haven't looked at it yet.." Tears started forming in my eyes, and my nose got stuffy in an instant. "A-And honestly, Sylus, I'm scared.. I never thought of having kids so soon, and I don't know how you feel about them-" Sylus quickly shut me up by kissing me. His kiss was soft and warm, almost like a hug during winter. My shoulders relaxed slightly, still tense, but only from the sudden smooch. When our kiss dispersed, Sylus nuzzled his nose against mine with a soft touch, making my cheeks blush from the softness of his skin. 

"Take one step at a time, kitten." His voice was soft, sympathetic, and caring. "We'll plan what we need once we see the result, alright?" Sylus's thumb rubbed my cheek softly, his smile curled slightly, and his soft breath made the room feel warm. I nodded slightly, hesitating, but grabbed the test from under my leg with the answer still hidden with my finger. "And no matter the answer, I'll still be with you, kitten." His hands cupped mine, soothing my nerves with his gentle touch. Sylus and I kissed one last time, revealing the test to show its bright two pink lines. 

Time felt like it stopped for us in the bathroom, staring at the results like it was going to pop out at us. My lip shivered, stuttering to even say one word. But as I looked at Sylus, his eyes were filling with a small amount of tears, and a smile was grinning from ear to ear. 

"Looks like we have some planning to do, kitten."