Sharing the Vagabond 》Desna x OC x Eska

Chapter Eleven: Movement

It was a very peaceful evening, consisting of Desna lounging on his seldom-utilized bed engrossed in a book, while Kaida napped with her head in his lap. Being that her back ached and she was uncomfortable the vast majority of the time once her belly began to swell as the pregnancy progressed, she could no longer join him in his beloved bathtub at night. Each night was spent with Eska, Kaida cuddling her wife as though the woman was a human body pillow. As such, Desna appointed himself in charge of her naps, which is what led to their current position.

Devouring yet another book on pregnancy and childbirth, Desna came across a passage that explained that his unborn child was roughly the size of a coconut, and should already be moving around within the womb, although the movements may not be felt on the exterior just yet. The thought struck him dumb for a moment.

A coconut.... Desna thought to himself in awe, before gazing down at his wife's bump. His hand had been resting upon it already, as he often did absentmindedly, so he began rubbing gentle circles across her belly. Granted, there were technically two coconut-sized babies in there, so she was larger than most women at twenty-two weeks along – but he thought she was absolutely beautiful. Desna was still rubbing her bump when he felt something move beneath his hand.

He all but dropped the book on Kaida's head in surprise, fumbling the novel before getting ahold of it. Desna sat it down beside him and turned his full attention to his wife's belly. His hand had frozen in surprise, and he didn't feel anything anymore, so he began moving his hand in circles again. A minute or two later, he felt the same sensation once again – only this time, he knew what he was expecting, so it was more noticeable.

Something small had pushed back against his hand – something that felt curiously similar to a very tiny foot.

Desna's jaw dropped slightly, and he waited for another response from the baby, which he received within seconds in the form of two quick little jabs against his hand. It then seemed as though one twin had awoken the other, as he could then feel tiny taps against his palm on either side of her belly.

His awed stupor was interrupted by his wife's groan of annoyance, and she nuzzled into his thigh further before mumbling, "Des, stop poking me."

"It is not me, darling."

The meaning behind his words didn't sink in until the same moment Desna felt more movement against his hand, and he saw Kaida's eyes go wide as she pushed herself up into a seated position. Eager to continue feeling the baby, Desna quickly moved to sit closer to her and returned his palm to her lower belly. Kaida followed suit, resting her hand beside his, and the tiny movements increased tenfold then, as though the babies knew their mother was now awake to observe them. As a grin broke out across her face, Kaida hollered, "Eska! Eska, get in here, and hurry!"

Absolute pandemonium erupted somewhere outside the room. Various sounds of clutter – metal objects falling, chairs scraping across the floor, large objects clamoring to the floor – and a few shrieks of surprise met Kaida's ears, and within seconds, Desna's bedroom door swung open so forcefully that it fell right off the hinges.

"A simple knock would have sufficed, sister," Desna mused, but Eska blatantly ignored him as she ran over to Kaida.

"What is it, my fearsome platypus bear? Are you alright? Is something wrong with the babies?"

Kaida merely grinned and took Eska's hand, laying her palm flat on the upper portion of her protruding belly.

"I don't understand. Do you need me to heal you? Are you in pain? Does –"

Eska's questioning was silenced by a particularly strong kick to her hand, and her eyes went wide as she looked at her wife.

"Was... was that my child?"

"Yes, sweetheart. That's our baby," Kaida assured her with a smile, watching as her wife's eyes grew misty as her hand continued to be poked and prodded.

The remainder of the evening was spent with Kaida lying between her two spouses on the large couch in Desna's room. Bearing in mind that Desna's child would be the one born first, Kaida's legs were in his lap, so that he could have his hand on her lower belly, and her head laid in Eska's lap, so that Eska could have her hand on the top of her bump. Eventually, Desna's baby calmed down and seemingly fell asleep, although Eska's baby remained active for quite some time, gently punching and kicking against her mothers' hands. Eska proudly noted that it seemed to be an indication that her child was the more resolute and brazen one, to which Kaida and Desna both replied that no one would be surprised if that was the case.

Although neither Desna nor Eska were willing to admit it, they were immensely excited about feeling their baby move for the first time, and the experience made them all the more eager to eventually meet their children.

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I was unable to find the artist of the fanart I used as the header for this chapter and there is no watermark, so I was unable to credit their work. If anyone knows who the artist is, please let me know so that I may give them credit. ♥