Darkest Desires

Breather

She should have known the second she tried to sneak out of the front door that Steven would notice. In retrospect, she guessed she must have wanted to be caught since the warp pad was out the back doors. He was sitting on the couch the long ways, scrolling through his phone tensely.

"Where you headed?" Her brown eyes met his pink ones long enough that the silence grew as pregnant as she.

He was having a day. It was not a bad day, but it certainly wasn't a good one either. Diamond eyes meant strong emotions, and she could safely guess with his clear effort in making his voice sound light (which wasn't working) that it wasn't that he was horny or ultra excited.

"I was going to go..." She steadied her voice, hating that the anxiety of what he would think about where she was going would translate as her as being afraid of him. "I'm going to Roses Fountain."

He was on his feet and by her side immediately, pulling her into a kiss before running his gaze and hands over her body. "What's wrong? I can't feel anything broken. Are you sick? How's our baby?" His brows were furrowed in concern. "And why Mo–," His face twitched so quickly she almost didn't catch it. "Why Roses Fountain?" The hatred was dry ice freezing today, so cool it burned.

Yes, that must have been it. As if the slip up wasn't confirmation enough, his gems light spread over his skin and he let out a perturbed breath. "Son of a bitch."

'Are you okay' could set him off sometimes, especially regarding his mother. Sometimes he needed to brood, which is kind of along the alley she was looking for by going there. "It's just peaceful there is all. Quiet. Serene."

He sunk to his knees, kissing her stomach rapidly and gently. Steven's mind was elsewhere for a moment before he started nodding slowly. "Yeah."

"I need to brood," She chuckled. "Is baby making things better?"

"You both make everything better. And you? Brooding? My, how the tables have turned." The flat sarcasm at the end there was concerning, but definitely not world ending.

She ran her fingers through his hair. "Hey."

He sighed heavily and took his attention off of her slowly growing abdomen. "Hi."

"You're gonna be a fantastic dad. You're..." Would finishing her sentence make it worse? Or better? She would have to take a gamble and hope for the best. She cupped his cheeks and smiled grimly. "You're not her. You're you. And everything I know about you says you're going to be the best dad this world has ever seen."

He opened his mouth to say something cynical she was sure, the slight quirk of an annoyed eyebrow said it all. But he caught himself and closed his eyes. After a long few moments, his head settled into her touch. "Some days like this you tell me you're not a mind reader, and then you go and pull shit like that." He turned his lips into her palm and kissed. "Go brood. I need time, and you need your exercise for the day. You got your warp whistle right?"

She nodded.

"Good. Please come home to me safe." His arms wrapped around her and squeezed before he let go and stood. "If you can't find me, head for the lake."

She didn't need to bring anything but her mind and body with her, but she felt like maybe she took even less than that. She was static as she finally made it to the trickling source of healing for so many.

The water was oddly warm, though she supposed tears were warm, and if that's what this was then why wouldn't it be? A shiver coursed through her as she sat down entirely in it, trying to lose herself in her thoughts. Or at least find a place to start.

Roses Fountain worked differently (and mostly not at all) for humans. They couldn't be healed by it in any way. But it worked like water, it gave the sensation of being wet, her hair was stringy at the ends now. Being submerged in it muddled the outside world and its sounds similar to how water did. The only way she could tell it wasn't water was by witness of its healing lacrimal essence, and the fact that if she laid back all the way...