Odd Love

Chapter 5; Morning Sickness

     Tom stretched awake, grossly yawning and smacking his alarm clock to shut it up. He looked over, startled to see the blankets already messed up as if someone had been sleeping next to him. He sat up suddenly, remembering Matt's embrace from the night. Three weeks had passed since Matt had been given the task of incubating the eggs and he had slowly transitioned into sleeping with Tom at night.

     Of course, Tord was going to complain about the sounds he heard at night, but fuck him, who cares. Tom briskly walking out the door and into the living room, expecting to see Tord or Edd staring at him when he walked in, but was surprised to see Matt huddled to himself on the couch.

     "Good morning." He said causally, walking over to see what was in the fridge.

     No reply.  He tilted his head in concern when Matt didn't answer him, closing the fridge and walking over to him. "Heeelllo?" Tom asked, plopping himself next to him. Matt was unresponsive, holding his long legs close to his chest. A bright flush practically covering his body, eyes glassy and lazily opened wide when he looked at Tom.

     "..Matt?" Tom started, wrapping his arm around the ginger's shoulders. Matt shuddered at the touch, a hushed moan escaping his mouth as he gripped his knees tighter. Tom narrowed his eyes slightly, holding his arm to rest on the back of the couch instead.

     "Hey.... what's wrong?" The shifter asked, concern flooding his face. Matt groaned softly, one hand moving to grip his abdomen. The eggs had grown quite a bit larger inside of him, and were causing quite a bit of pressure against his other innards. Tom lowered his gaze to the boy's hand, realizing the issue. However, he wasn't very sure on how to help, considering this was the first time he's had someone do this.

     "Oh..." Tom said, slightly moving himself away from Matt, not really knowing if he wanted his space or not. Matt lidded eyes drifted to him, his head shaking vigorously. He slowly reached a hand out to grab Toms arm, before Tom himself grabbed Matt's hand and laid it down. Matt let out a small whine, pleading eyes looking at Tom.

     "Don't be like that Matt... Imma make you something to eat alright? I'll lay with you after." He said, hesitantly pushing himself off the couch and walking towards the stove. Matt let out a groan as he stared at the blank TV, his body feeling uncomfortable and warm.

     Tom reached into the cabinet and pulled out a can of chicken noodle soup. Sure, Matt wasn't actually sick with some sort of cold or flu, but chicken noodle soup always helped. Well, it helped Tom at least, so he hoped it would help Matt too. While that was heating on the stove, he put on a kettle to make Matt some chamomile.

     Matt curled in tighter on himself, letting out another groan. Tom heard this and let out a soft whine, hating to see him in such discontent. He quickly finished the soup, proceeding to steep the tea with honey, sugar, and a touch of ginger to ease the stomach.

    He placed the cup of tea and bowl of soup on the table, walking over to Matt to get him up. "Upsy daisy Matty" Tom joked, grabbing at Matt's hand and trying to bring him up on his feet. Eventually, he got the taller boy to his feet, legs looking like they were gonna buckle underneath him. Tom guided him to he table, lightly wrapping a hand around his waist, careful not to press too hard on him.

     Tom sat him down, pushing the bowl of soup closer to him. Matt leaned forward, sticking his face into the steam for a few seconds before his slow and shaky hands grabbed a spoon, only to accidentally drop it a few seconds later. Tom frowned, quickly picking up the spoon for him. Filling it up with some soup himself and holding it up to Matt's mouth.

     "Open."

     Matt opened his mouth, closing it around the spoon to eat the warm soup. Tom felt the purrs rumble in his chest again as he continued to feed Matt. Encouraging words slipped from him as he helped Matt take sips of the tea as well. It was a long process of spoonfuls and sips, but Matt finished most of the soup and all of the tea. Matt had to admit he was feeling a bit better, but still didn't want to move or do anything really except curl up and whine.

     As Tom was about to help Matt stand back up, Tord walked into the room.

     "Ugh. Morning." Tord muttered, his back slouching as he walked to coffee maker. Tom got up, leaving Matt at the table as he went to put the dirty dishes into the sink. Tord rolled his eyes when Tom came near him, moving out of the way. "Are shirts just too difficult for you?" He sneered, voice annoyed and sarcastic. "Yep. Totally." Tom grinned, glaring hard at him.

     Tord grabbed his cup of coffee and pushed through Tom, walking over to the table. Tord sat next to Matt, who just stared at the table in silence. He glanced up and down at the ginger, staring at the slight bulge on his stomach that was normally hidden away. "Holy shit, Matt! Are you eating fucking rocks or something, Jesus Christ you're gaining!" He cackled, shouting way louder than he needed to.

     Matt gripped his own elbows, looking at the ground with watery eyes and a frown. Tom whipped around, nearly dropping the dishes in his hand. There was the quiet sound of tears hitting the table surface as Matt turned away from Tord, and almost instantaneously a thundering growl emitted from Tom.

     Tord stopped smiling, noticing the shift in Matt's expression and taking in the deadly seriousness of Tom's noises for once. Tom moved next to Tord from the sink, eyes glowing purple as he shifted in between forms. He grabbed Tord by the neck, pulling him into the air with his large monster claws.

     "Take it back, bitch." Tom snarled, his lips curling back in a snarl to show off his fangs to the Norwegian. Tord grabbed Tom's arm, frowning and narrowing his eyes. He said nothing, eyes trained on Tom. Growling, the monster slammed Tord into the wall.

     "I said take it back."

Tord yelped as he collided with wall, putting his arms out in front of him in defense. "S-so...rry." Tord said, barely audible through his gasping breaths. Tom dropped him, letting him fall hard on the floor. Tord sat there for a moment, wide eyes staring at the floor, before regaining his composure and lifting himself up.

     "Learn how to take a fucking joke.." He murmured, walking out of the kitchen without a glance backwards. There was a long silence before Tom walked over to Matt, whose face was promptly covered by his two hands. "..Matt.." Tom started, some sort of thick guilt filling his stomach. When he didn't move, Tom reached over and forcibly removed his hands, looking into Matt's eyes. He wiped away stray tears that still fell from Matt's sore eyes, apologizing for Tord's words.

     Matt shook his head and gripped Tom's arms, "...T-Tom... Please try no-not to be so sensi-sitive..." He paused, moving his head to look up at Tom. "He's st-still our friend..." The ginger stood on weak legs off of the seat, letting go of Tom and slowly making his way towards his own room.

     Tom watched him leave, feeling a knot form in his stomach laced with heavy guilt.