Consequences - Matthew Tkachuk

Part 4

Part 4

17 weeks

There are a few things that you've learned about Matthew Tkachuk since spending so much time with him.

He's a terrible cook except when it comes to breakfast and he makes the best scrambled eggs you have ever eaten. He's an early riser because there's always a good morning text when you wake up and you try to play it off but it really does make you happy to wake up to them. It takes him at least half an hour to choose a movie so ninety percent of the time the two of you watch something, you end up picking it. He always eats all the popcorn without realizing and then apologizes and makes more for you, but he eats all that too.

He's also a worrywart because whenever he's on the road, he texts you multiple times a day to check in on you. His mom told you that he often messages her and asks how you are because you refuse to tell him the details about your morning dates with the toilet no matter how many times he asks (though they are not as often these days).

You've also learned that his ideas for a name are light years away from yours.

"Joey?"

You scrunch up your face at Matt's suggestion and shake your head.

"Makes me think of this kid I knew when I was young. He was a dickhead." You say. "What about Grayson?"

Matt shakes his head. "No. What about Cooper?"

"Like Bradley Cooper?" I ask dryly and he frowns.

"Well I didn't think of that until now." He says and then his eyes drop to your stomach which has become more noticeable, forcing you to start telling people. The two of you wanted to keep it as quiet as possible for as long as you could because you weren't sure who could trust not to tell. But the two of you mutually agreed to tell family and friends when you were 15 weeks.

Matt is wanting to announce to fans now but you're nervous about it, terrified of how some might react. It's possible you can tell people the two of you had been quietly dating instead of telling them that the two of you drunkenly hooked up and you got knocked up. If they find out the truth however, you could face a lot of backlash.

So you're terrified as fuck.

"Can I?" Matt asks, bringing you back to reality. You look at him and he gesturing to your bump. He never touches you without asking first and you're grateful for it but there's that small part in the back of your mind that wishes this was real, and the two were a couple who planned the pregnancy and he would touch your bump whenever he wanted to without fear of you reacting badly.

"Yeah, of course." You say quietly, watching as he lays a hand on your stomach and his reaction is always the same - he looks at it in awe (you never notice when he looks at you like that much to his disappointment).

"How're you feeling?" He asks for the fifth time since he came to your apartment. It makes you roll your eyes and laugh.

"I feel the exact same as when you asked me an hour ago." You tell him, still watching as he rubs his thumb in small circles on your stomach. It tickles a little but you don't want to tell him to stop. Besides, it's unfairly cute when he starts whispering things to the baby.

When he read that at week 17, the baby can start to hear things, he wouldn't shut up. You swore that he spoke to your stomach more than he did to you but you were oddly okay with it because you're still getting used to seeing this side of Matthew.

The gentle, caring part that must have been buried down deep. So you're enjoying every minute of it.

You still like getting under his skin sometimes so a thought pops in to your head and it makes you smirk.