“There’s a bit of a lull right now.” Felix crams the rest of the bars onto the shelf. “How about you? Done with work?”
“Yeah, mostly. Still some minor things to clean up.” Kade tucks his hands into his pockets, following Felix into the loading area. Cardboard boxes are stacked high on pallets, and a wall fan turns in a corner. “I’ll look at it again tonight.”
“Oh? No plans for later?” Felix asks, a tiny smile on his lips. “You’ve been busy the past few days.”
They’ve both been busy the past few days, Kade picking Felix up after work, sending him home, and then staying for dinner. Felix’s bed hasn’t been made in a while.
“No plans,” Kade says, his gaze clinging to Felix as he moves around the storage area. “Tell me if there’s something you can’t lift.”
Felix smiles. “I will. Thank you.”
Kade shrugs. Felix is pregnant, and he wants to help. He still hasn’t touched Felix’s belly yet, but thoughts of the baby don’t grind on his nerves as painfully as before. “About the baby.”
Felix tenses, looking over his shoulder. “What about it?”
“Does its dad know?”
Felix looks away, lip caught between his teeth. “No.”
Kade sighs, rubbing his temples. How many people has Felix been keeping secrets from? “Why not?”
“Because.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Felix thumps some boxes around, and noises echo around the storage space. “Because it’ll be difficult. He won’t want it.”
Kade bristles. How could anyone sleep with Felix and not want that child? Because he sure as hell does. “Then he’s a bastard.”
Felix shrugs, looking down.
“What are your plans for it?” Kade asks. “After it’s born?”
“I haven’t thought about it.” Felix heaves the next box up, stepping toward the door. “It’s... not due yet.”
Kade buries his face in his hand. How is he in love with this idiot? He follows Felix back into the display space, to an aisle with household products. “You can’t plan for it after it’s born. Do you have clothes for it? I don’t even know what a baby needs.”
Felix sighs. “Neither do I.”
Kade wants to shake his omega, but it wouldn’t help anything. Parents are supposed to prepare for their children. “Wanna go get clothes for it this Saturday? Diapers? A cot?” Felix’s expression falls, and Kade’s two-hundred percent sure he’s thinking about money again. “I’ll pay for it.”
“No!” Felix cuts the box open, pulling out bags of cleaning sponges. “I’ll pay.”
Secretly, Kade thinks he’ll be glad paying off all of Felix’s expenses. He’s grown up thinking of them as a unit; everything they buy would be shared, and he’d pay for as much of those expenses as he could. “If you want. But you’re free this Saturday?”
“I guess.” Felix worries his lip again, and Kade wants to kiss him. Felix had said nothing about that one kiss, months ago, when Kade had stolen it on the night they did the lemonade stand. Maybe he hadn’t liked it at all.
The plastic around the sponges crinkles. Kade crouches down next to his omega, helping him stack the sponges together. “You free tonight?”
Felix’s gaze darts up at him, surprised. Kade’s pulse trips. Is it strange that Kade wants to see him again? He wants Felix to need him, and Felix needs him most when Kade takes him to bed. “Yeah,” Felix says.
Kade checks his phone again. Felix smells like lavender and honey and a faint trace of musk, and Kade wants to push him down on the floor, kiss him and fuck him right here in the store. “I’ll wait for you outside,” he says. “Stop distracting you.”
Felix quirks a grin, and Kade smiles. “Sure. See you later.”
Three days later, Felix sends Kade a text. Don’t bother picking me up later. Tim’s not making it into work.
Kade sighs, shoving his phone into his pocket. Felix has been complaining about the kid on the late shift for months. Tim sometimes flakes off work, and it’s usually Susan who fills in for him. Looks like it’s your turn today.
He slides off his bike, glancing at the open garage door. It can’t be healthy for Felix to work two consecutive shifts, especially if he’s pregnant. And he wouldn’t have anything decent for dinner, either.
So Kade replies with a text. Dropping by anyway. I’ll get you dinner. What do you want?
Felix’s next reply takes five minutes, as though he’s trying to let himself accept Kade’s help. An egg and mayo sandwich? That sounds really good right now.
Okay.
Kade slides back onto the bike, glancing down. In the half-shadows of the garage, there’s a smudge on the polished bike tank that he hasn’t seen before—a splotch of something dried. Felix had panted over the bike last week, dripping, and it had been damn hot, just watching him splayed out, ready for Kade.
Kade swallows, scraping the stain off. They probably won’t have time for sex today, if Felix is working until midnight. The thought brings him back to food and egg sandwiches, and he turns the key in the ignition, pushing out of the garage.
An hour later, he walks into the convenience store, carrying a plastic bag and a grimace.
“Your other—” Felix looks up, eyes growing wide, his hand hesitating on his belly.
“Go ahead,” Kade says, setting the bag on the counter. Your other what? “Say what you have to.”
Felix stares at him, gulping. He hesitates, then looks back down, as though self-conscious. “This is Kade. He brought us some food. When people do favors for us, we’ll have to say thank you. Kade’s favorite food is tuna sandwiches.”
Why would you tell your child what my favorite food is? It feels odd. But Felix is including him in his life, Felix knows what his favorite food is, and that counts for a lot.
“Thanks for bringing food,” Felix says, smiling up at him.
“Sorry,” Kade says, his heart thumping. “Store was crowded as fuck.”
“I’m sorry for
