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Astral raised his hands, cupping Simon's cheeks. There was something… different, in his gaze. It would be easy to write off as something left over from the affection for the baby.
"You're giving me something no one else has ever been able to…"
That’s exactly what Simon would dismiss it as. “I’m not giving it to you…you just took everything.” He said, knowing he was being colder than he should. But he was upset, and he couldn’t help it.
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The look was gone like that.
"If I had known it would work, perhaps I would have worked harder to get your permission." The god pulled his hands away, a faint scowl coming to his lips.
"But I didn't, now did I? Nothing else ever had, why would this?"
Simon sighed quietly, looking down at his hands, his moment of courage gone. “I’m sorry for snapping at you…it was uncalled for…”
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Astral closed his eyes a moment to calm down.
"Just… be careful. I really am trying to be kind right now, Simon." Astral leaned over to gently kiss Simon's head, calmed for now.
“Okay, I’m really sorry.” He said softly. What was he thinking, he should’ve known better than to say something like that right to the god’s face.
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He should have known better, period. Astral moved back to his original position, arm around Simon.
"How do you feel about turning in for the night?"
Simon nodded silently. “Y-yeah that sounds good, thank you….” he said meekly. He’d have to be very careful of what he said and thought for the next few days.
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Astral stood, gently picking Simon up in his arms.
"Would you like to sleep in your room or with me?" The god started off towards the bedroom, holding Simon close.
Simon shrugged, knowing it’d be better if he just chose whatever Astral wanted. “Either is fine.”
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Astral held back a sigh. He had genuinely wanted Simon to choose for himself, but it seemed that wouldn't be happening.
"Fine," he mumbled, not looking too pleased.
Simon looked up, knowing too late that he’d said the wrong thing. “I’m sorry.” He said quietly after a moment. He really couldn’t do anything right today.
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Astral let a breath out through his nose, resting his head on Simon's.
"Are you sure you're fine with either?" Astral asked, giving Simon a chance to pick again.
“Can I just stay with you?” He asked. He knew he wouldn’t be getting his friends back tonight, and as dumb as it sounded, he didn’t want to sleep alone.
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"That's fine with me." Astral gently rubbed Simon's back as he carried him to the bedroom, setting him down on the bed.
Simon stayed close to Astral’s side. He’d had what felt like too much excitement that day to want to stray far.
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Astral sat down next to Simon, taking a moment to lift Mia and Leo out of his pocket to set them on the table next to Simon's room. He hummed softly, laying down and gently pulling Simon close.
"Good night."
Simon looked over at his friends for a brief moment, his heart aching at having to see them trapped like that. He rolled over, moving closer towards Astral’s side, the sight of his friends too upsetting. “Goodnight…” he mumbled, hoping he’d actually manage to sleep.
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Astral gently put his hand on Simon's head, running his fingers through the man's hair to help him calm down to go to sleep. He closed his eyes, keeping Simon close to himself.
Simon closed his eyes, falling into a restless sleep. Thankfully by morning he got his friends back, back to their human forms. And a week later, their room was back where it belonged. But Simon was still very careful of what he said and did around Astral. It had been about a month of this, and Simon was slowly getting to be more at ease. On this particular day, Simon was sitting in his room when he felt a sudden pain in his stomach. He cried out, partially in pain and the other part in surprise.
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Mia looked up from the book she was reading when she heard Simon, worry setting in as she sat her book down and came over.
"What's wrong?" It obviously had to be something to do with Astral. What else could it be?
Astral made a small sound of surprise as his hand came to his stomach while he worked, looking up. He knew what that was. He sat his tools down and took off, barely pausing to grab a towel to clean up as he hurried towards Simon's room.
“I don’t- I’m not sure…” he frowned some, looking down at his stomach in confusion. It had grown in the past month. He wore hoodies practically all the time in hopes of forgetting it was happening.
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Astral was soon at the bedroom door, knocking. Leo looked up from his spot on the floor, making his way over to hide behind Simon. He still didn't like the god.
“Can you get that please?” Simon asked Mia. He wasn’t sure if he should be moving or not. He rested a gentle hand on Leo’s head. “It’s okay.” He whispered reassuringly, kissing his head.
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Mia nodded, moving over to the door to open it. Astral was grinning, which couldn't be a good sign.
"The baby kicked," he said confidently, stepping in and over to Simon's side.
Leo leaned into the kiss before retreating some from Astral.
“Oh that’s what that was?” Simon was relieved that there wasn’t any problems. “That kinda hurt..” he mumbled, mostly to himself.
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Astral nodded some, still smiling.
"I was quite surprised when I felt that," he admitted. He sat down on the floor next to Simon's side, letting out a breath.
"This might be… different than a normal pregnancy, especially if the child takes after me and my abilities…"
“Oh…” that worried Simon for sure. Just how bad would this get? “Do you think everything will be okay?” He asked nervously. Astral was almost certain to blame him for any problems that came up.
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"I'm sure it will be," Astral said. He moved to set his hand on top of Simon's, offering a reassuring smile to him.
Normally Simon wouldn’t really like it but right now he needed the reassurance. He nodded, taking a deep breath. Before, of course, feeling another kick. It was about the same as the first, so he just flinched slightly.
