baby, I'll show you the world [muke af]

(Thursday, October 10th, 2019)

(Thursday, October 10th, 2019)

Michael turned off the ignition. He looked over at Luke as he slowly started to unbuckle his seatbelt, "Don't move," he demanded.

"Michael!" Luke whined, "I can get out myself!"

Michael refused to take any chances after Luke slipped down the stairs (twice) and almost fell out of the car (twice) in less than twenty-four hours. He rushed to the other side, opening the passenger door before Luke could get to it himself.

Luke glared at his husband, but still took his hand and accepted his help out. Mike locked the doors and fixed the collar on Luke's jacket. It was Michael's jacket many years ago, but Luke decided to make it his.

Michael made sure he didn't trip over any curbs and held the glass door to their pregnancy doctor open for him. Mike quite liked looking at Luke. Was that weird?

Luke sat down in the hard plastic chairs as Michael checked them in. There were kids playing with blocks, hugely pregnant people glaring at their partner. Luke knew he was going to be one of those "Why did you do this to me" type of people very soon.

Especially if Michael doesn't start letting him have his coffee.

Mike sat back down, placing his hand on Luke's thigh. He squeezed the skin in a comforting way. "Can you believe we actually see them today?"

Luke shrugged, "Nice."

"Luke, we get to find out many mini-us are in there!" Michael whisper-yelled. He poked at the enlarged stomach until his lover swatted his hands away. "I'm so excited," he concluded with a goofy smile on his face.

Luke leant on Michael's shoulder. "I'm scared," he whispered into Mike's ear. His nose hit against Michael's earring, wiggling the dangling piece back and forth as he waited for his words of wisdom.

"Don't be scared, we're so ready for this," the other man responded.

"It's, like, a child. More than one child. That's—That's a lot of child."

Michael tried not to roll his eyes once more at his husband.
Their name was called, and the duo—slowly—made their way to the corridor they knew so well. Michael figured the nurses were very used to wobbling patients, but Mike wasn't. He cracked up every single time Luke would wobble like a penguin into the large doctor chair.

Michael sat down into the plastic chair he seemed to claim as his own. He was so used to coming to these appointments, and he enjoys them. Of course, he's not the one getting stabbed with needles.

Luke crossed his arms over his chest—the best he could with a balloon of a stomach sitting below his chest. He glared at his husband as the nurse began to ask the usual questions.

Mike rocked back and forth in his chair, his feet tapping against the floor.

Dr. Silver comes in moments later, a confused look on her face. "Did you know fetuses can hiccup? I sure didn't."

"Like, hiccup?" Michael asked. He held out his hand, silently greeting her.

She put down her laptop on the counter and began tying up her hair. "I was doing an ultrasound, and the baby actually hiccuped. The mother said she can feel the baby blinking, too. Isn't that fucking weird?" Their doctor covered her mouth, "I mean isn't that freaking weird."

Michael laughed, a smile upon his face. "Are all doctors in this practice like you?"
"No, no," she waved him off, "I almost get fired every single day." Dr. Silver began sanitizing her hands and telling the couple what this appointment was about. "We've heard their heartbeats, we've seen these blobs of shapes, and today, we should be able to spot them out individually and see how many there are in there."

Luke nodded, his blue eyes watching their doctor prepare everything. He looked over at Michael, the blonde boy's body was shaking. He held out his left hand, ushering Mike to his side.

The blue-haired boy stood up, scooting the chair a few feet until he was directly next to Luke. He sat back down, both of his hands holding tight to his husband's hand. His small fingers played with Luke's wedding band, spinning it around his finger.

Luke slipped down his joggers a bit and lifted his shirt to his chest. Mike smiled at his pale skin, he never went outside. After college, none of them really went outside anymore. They didn't have a reason to.

"Are you two excited?" She asked, applying the gel to Luke's bloated stomach.

Mike nodded. "Extremely."

Their doctor cooed, "That makes me so happy. You two make me so happy." She turned on the screen above them, "Ready?" She turned around, flicking off the light switch.

Luke watched Michael's face instead of the screen above them. He watched green eyes light up, his smile grow wider and wider.

"Okay, here's one," her lean fingers pointed to one shape, still only a blob. She moved around, waiting for the picture to illuminate another one. "Ah, there's number two."

"Oh, my God," Michael whispered. His eyes were illuminated, a glassy tint to them.

She moved to the far right, "I knew it! There's three."

"Oh, my God," Michael said louder.

Luke turned his head, looking at the many screenshots on the side of the computer of the oval shapes that were their children.

"Okay, so, you hear that?" Dr. Silver turned up a knob on the computer. It was just a bunch of thumping, sounded like a really bad beat. "That's their heartbeats, and I'm convinced there's one more."

"Oh, my God," Mike repeated. "One more!" Michael squeezed Luke's hand tighter than Luke was already squeezing his. They were both losing blood circulation in their hands.

"Luke, can we try to turn you on your side a bit?"

He nodded, finally letting go of Michael's hand. He turned towards their doctor, reaching his hand above his head to give her more space. She spread the gel all over again, taking it to his side.

The screen lit up with Clifford baby number four. "There it is."

"Oh, my God," Michael cried out. "Luke! Four!" He let Luke get comfortable on his back again before taking his left hand and kissing every single knuckle. He kissed his skin with such passion, the only form of happiness he could show with an almost stranger standing two feet away.

Luke dizzily smiled. "Four," he repeated. He looked up at their doctor, "Four?"

She nodded, used to their loss for words. "Definitely no more, we're good."

The second they were left alone, Michael cupped Luke's face and kissed until they could not breathe anymore.

Michael wondered for so long what happiness felt like. He was glad to say he finally found it.