Evolution - The Oasis Project Book 3

Seven - Linkin

Thierry and I shared a chair, my feet propped up on another chair as I leaned into him. He had his arms wrapped around me, chatting to Yulian about something I didn't care to listen in on as I watched Ira and Stuart in the kitchen. She was laughing, leaning in to peck his cheek before going back to stirring the stew. The intoxicating smell filled the air, only to be replaced by something sweet as Stuart opened the oven door.

The cake was nearly done. Stuart took it out and set it on the counter, letting it cool before trying to do anything else with it. Thierry pinched my arm gently to pull me out from my trance. "Hmm?" I hummed, tuning back into their conversation. It was just hard to focus knowing Ira was avoiding me.

"I asked when you're... plan on having kids?" Yulian spoke up again and I understood why Thierry pulled me back into the conversation. He and I exchanged a look and I smiled sadly at him. "What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, Yulian, it's fine," I told him gently, my voice softer. "While we wanted kids-"

"Want," Thierry was quick to correct.

I couldn't be surprised that he'd interject and changed the word for me. "Want kids, we agreed it isn't in the cards for us."

Yulian frowned as Thierry ran a hand along my arm. "Why not?"

There was so many reasons, reasons which Thierry and I had argued about over and over again. "Well, I think you should consider who you're talking to. An ex-criminal and drug user and a mutant. Both of us never had proper families, what kind of parents would we be?"

Yulian looked at us sadly. "Great ones..." he said just above a whisper.

I don't think Thierry realized, his hand which once ran up and down my arm, slowly began to rub along my abdomen, only making my guilt grow. I glanced to the surface of the table and hesitantly nodded. "That's sweet of you, but then there is the issue of me."

"What's wrong with you?" Yulian objected.

It wasn't until now I realized how much better Yulian's English was. He seemed to understand more and in a conversation like this, he seemed more confident to speak. "I can't feel," I stated bluntly. "What if I get pregnant and something goes wrong? Will I know?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and continued, "I won't be like most mothers-to-be, I won't know if I have back pain, swollen feet, I'll probably never feel the baby kick. There is a good chance I won't know if I go into labour and while the child is born, will I be able to hold them?" I shook my head. I wouldn't be a good mother; I wouldn't be a mother at all. I wouldn't ever consider bringing a child into this world without knowing that I could care for them without the risk of hurting them.

Yulian was shaking his head. "You touch us without hurting?" he pointed out.

He was right, and I glanced back to Thierry who was now staring off into space. It was easy to tell he wanted kids and was torn up by the fact we couldn't; not that he'd ever say that. "You're right. I am better with Thierry because he has something called neuropathy. It's a disease that affects your nerves and makes his touch duller, it takes me longer to hurt him. Plus, I can force myself not to hurt someone, but it is tiring to constantly focus on it. It'd be like consciously deciding to take every breath. What if a kid crawled into bed with me because of a thunderstorm? If I fell asleep and I touched them... I'd hurt them." I couldn't take Thierry's touch anymore and reached down to take his hand in mine, squeezing it tightly.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too," Thierry spoke up, looking at Yulian before finally shrugging. "But I love Tina and sometimes you sacrifice things for those who you love, right?" He was always great at trying to find a bright side and put on a brave face. "Plus, we have you and the rest of the gang. You're the best family we could ask for."

The conversation turned a bit lighter than that. The guys exchanged some kind remarks about them being happy that we were all together, despite everything going on. "Yulian, I do have a favour to ask though." Yulian's brow raised and nodded, waiting for Thierry's question before agreeing to anything. "Tina and I were talking about our wedding, and, we don't know when we'll actually be able to get married, but when we do, I want you to be my best man."

Yulian's smile only widened as he stood up from the table and started to cheer, then paused as Stuart and Ira started to stare. "Wait, what about Stewie?"

Thierry laughed, glancing over to the couple in the kitchen. "We were hoping Stuart would do us the honour of officiating the ceremony."

"Me?" Stuart was obviously caught off guard but still worked as he started to scoop the stew into bowls for everyone. "Well, I'd be honoured."

Yulian was back to cheering and we all laughed. "Think of the party!" He grinned evilly. "Oh, we're going to have so much-"

"No strippers," I finally said, unsure where Yulian was taking that sentence, but I didn't want to know.

"Come on," both Thierry and Yulian whined at the same time.

Ira and Stuart came over to the table, each carrying food over for the both of us. "Don't you think you had enough strippers in Spain?" I asked pointedly with a small smirk.

"But this is different," Yulian defended his decision for Thierry.

I rolled my eyes, "...You're going to get these boys into trouble, aren't you, Yulian?" I glanced to Stuart, assuming he'd be invited as well.

"All sorts of trouble," Yulian proudly agreed.