Mates of a Human

Part Four. Chapter Five. Alex

"Wait. I don't understand," I complained down the phone at my mum. "What do you mean that you never said I had to have penetrative sex for all of this to start?"

I had been experiencing unexplainable discomfort all week. My nipples had been a little extra sensitive for a couple of days at the beginning. Then I kept feeling bloated to near swollen, despite being regular.. back there. And now I was in some pain around my hips and lower stomach. Mum had helpfully suggested a hot water bottle, which was now pressed up against my stomach.

At first, I thought the stomach cramping was just down to some stress. I was both nervous and excited about becoming properly mated to Michael and Eric, but I had also been experiencing some problems at work. Ever since Michael had spoken to the management in an attempt to quell the rumours about us from circling the hospital, things had becoming increasingly difficult for me. At first, I was no longer offered any overtime, but to be honest, that was no longer a problem as I had two stunning men to occupy my free time.. and they were happy to oblige. Dates in the park or at the movies, swimming in the gym pool, gardening, tasting new meals Eric was trying to create from recipes, certain bedtime explorations... the last month had been a whirlwind of activity.

I was so happy and floating on a cloud of bliss, I didn't notice the increasingly hostile glances of a clique of nurses towards me. At first. There wasn't much time for me to dwell on them anyway as I was told that I would no longer be focusing my efforts in geriatrics. That, to be honest, was expected. The hospital couldn't exactly have future spouses working on the same ward, even if Michael and I were, strictly speaking, working for different departments. My cleaning map would now prioritise the accident and emergency ward, the main reception and the public restaurant, all which were at the front of the hospital, while geriatrics was in a separate building located at the rear.

I say prioritise, as I am usually expected to help other cleaners elsewhere should I complete my duties within my time allowance and vice versa, but frankly, I never seemed to have anyone working at the same time as me in this area and the toilets were definitely not clean to my standard. I spent a whole week trying to scrub limescale from certain 'out of sight' places that had clearly been neglected. That and it is really difficult to navigate around A&E as it's not exactly the sort of place that can keep to a schedule. One of the nurses there, however, did praise me for the improved cleanliness that she at least noticed. The restaurant staff were not so kind, calling me for every tiny spill, every speck of grease, although it wasn't my job to clean tables and the kitchen, that was the job of the outsourced contractor's employees. I was just meant to clean the floor twice a day and manage the toilets nearby.

One auxiliary nurse, who happened to work in geriatrics, but decided to eat in the restaurant that day tripped over my wet floor sign with a tray of laden food, which just happened to spill all over me. My supervisor did not lay into me about it, despite the woman claiming it was my fault for leaving the sign there while I mopped a spill from a child without full bladder control (that sort of mess did come under my job description). She realised that there were likely 'extenuating circumstances.' I didn't tell Michael, his job was stressful enough without me sharing my problems and Eric was acting all giddy about something, but he wouldn't say what it was.

And then the cramps had started.

"Penetration, well actually, it would be stimulation of the prostate gland coupled with orgasm that begins the process, from my understanding." My mum was saying in her usual matter of fact tone.

"That's not all that clear, mum," I replied, hissing through a particularly painful cramp. I stroked the hot water bottle resting on my stomach. She had also recommended taking two ibuprofen, which I had swallowed dry, but they had not kicked in yet. I was sitting on the sofa in Michael and Eric's house, both men were still at work, but as usual I stayed the night. I loved being here with them and I could no longer imagine being without them.

"It's not really that common in men," she reminded me, "the ability to carry offspring, that and homosexuality has only become acceptable slowly over the past few decades, so more commonplace. Even though men likely had those feelings before then, few might actually act on it and how many of those were carriers? You're a living, walking research specimen, dear."

"Thanks mum, I feel loved," I sighed and tried to get more comfortable. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well, this is my own theory," she replied. "I suspect that you will suffer most in the first month or so as your body awakens all of those dormant traits within you. Have you produced slick yet?"

I squeaked unmanly at the word and blushed bright red. She was asking if I self-lubricated my back passage. See, this is what a man must deal with when he has parents in the medical profession! "I don't think I have," I replied. Memories of both men touching and licking that place came to mind as well as all of the sensations. I buried my head between my knees.

"The place that produces it," she was telling me, "it doesn't have a biological name, at least nothing that has been registered in the official medical journals, but it is connected to the rectum near to where that diverges with the passage to your womb. It's more to the back, near the spine, so when it begins to produce slick, you may also experience some discomfort there. Once your womb, ovaries and that place begin functioning properly, I doubt you'll experience much more than an average woman might."

"Okay, got it," I sighed, throwing myself back onto the sofa. The worst of the pain had passed now the medication had finally kicked in.

"You can take two paracetamol in two hours and two more ibuprofen two hours after that," she informed me. "That should keep the edge off of the pain, but let me know if that is no longer effective and I will prescribe you something stronger."

"Thanks mum," I ended the phone call and adjusted the hot water bottle as I got comfortable with a slight yawn. I probably needed to speak with Eric and Michael about my ability to reproduce, I'm not sure I remembered to mention it what with all that happened after I came back from my parents home that time. I would have forgotten it myself, if it hadn't been for the pains kicking in this week. Ah, the human ability to ignore and forget things that are inconvenient....

*****

I woke to feel my face being stroked by two warm fingers and opened my eyes to a smile that sent my stomach fluttering and a stirring further down.  "Hi," I said with a returning grin.

"Hey," Michael replied softly, as he leaned over me. "What are you doing?" His question was gentle, a curious inquiry nothing more.

I glanced around with a slight frown, the now cold hot water bottle had fallen off of me and lay beneath the coffee table.  "I must have dozed off," I replied.  "What time is it?"

"A little after six," he replied.  "Eric will be home soon too."  I nodded before yawning and stretching.  Seeing as Eric would be home soon, my news could wait a little longer. I could tell them both together.

"Oh, a letter came for you," I mentioned to him as I rose from the sofa.  I headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.  I felt a slight pull in my abdomen, but figured I didn't require any extra medication yet.  "It was weird, the guy came to the door with it." I happened to be looking out the window at the time, after scanning medical texts on the internet regarding Male carriers, but most of the rubbish available was myths or fiction and it made it very difficult to figure out what information could be trusted, hence why I caved and called my mum.

"Did you answer the door to him?" Michael's voice sounded a little off, but I couldn't put my finger on it, so let it go.

"No," I reassured him.  "I thought it was a bit weird, I know how territorial shifters can get, so I sort of knew you wouldn't be expecting visitors without notice.  But seeing as he didn't knock, I wanted to figure out what he had been up to after he left.  All I found was a letter beneath a rock on the front step.  I put it on the table," I added, pointing to said letter before entering the kitchen area and grabbing a glass from the cupboard.  "Is it important?"

I filled the glass from the tap and heard the scrunch of paper only to find the letter, envelope and all screwed up in his hand without even being opened.  "No, my love," he smiled at me.  "Not at all."

Author's note; don't worry, the announcement you have been waiting for is coming soon x