eternity bores me

“Of course, it’ll have my genetics. But be reminded of who your father is, so your mother being concerned about the baby being ugly was very, very valid.” Ethan couldn’t help but say, in a bit of a mocking tone. However, Daphne’s next words made his smile fade slightly. “She definitely wouldn’t.” He agreed. “At least not in front of people” 

“She’d be quiet for hours and out nowhere, start saying things like, ‘I don’t want this baby anymore’ or, well, sometimes it wasn’t that serious, she’d go like ‘What if my baby is ugly?’, or, even more often, she’d go off about your dad.“ Ethan said, the memories going through his head making him smile at Daphne, seemingly very amused. 

Moving closer to her, Luke carefully placed his hands over her stomach. “Well, it isn’t moving now.” He said, slightly frustrated. “Isn’t it weird for you? Like, you and I, you’re basically my sister, and now you’re having my brothers.”

Placing his book down, Ethan moved from his chair to the couch, placing her feet over his lap and starting a gentle message. “It’s fine” He said, trying to hold back a smile. “You remind me a little bit of your mom. When she was pregnant with Elle.”

“Your baby“ Luke said, shaking his head. “God, I’m still not used to that. Doesn’t it sound weird to you too?“

Ethan glanced up from his book at her, and raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious or are you just venting?” He asked, serious. 

Luke raised an eyebrow at her, sighing a bit. “Well, there’s always adoption. I mean, you don’t have to keep it just cause you kept it.” 

“What do you want to eat?“ He asked, studying her expression. “I’ll get you anything you want.“ Ethan continued, grabbing one of her hands into his. Sighing deeply, he opened and closed his mouth a few times, as he attempted to find the right words to both comfort her and give her a glimpse of what was going onto his mind at that moment. “Daphne, it is important to me that you know I’m going to be with you in every step of the way. I wasn’t there for Lucas’ mother and that has always…“ He shook his head. “So I will be there for you. Alright?“ He placed a soft kiss on her hand. “Now… Back to your dinner. I don’t want you to be hungry.“

God… To father twin boys at that age… Ethan wasn’t still sure he’d be able to handle it. But honestly, he was much more trying to focus on Daphne than on the whole fatherhood thing. “I mean, if we’re having a child– If we having children, you’re moving in with me.” He said, firmly, his tone making clear he was not open for dialogue on that matter. “Don’t worry about your lease, I’m sure my lawyer will take care of that, and put it in Lucas’ name or whatever. I’m assuming he and Lilah will want to keep the apartment” Ethan concluded, taking another deep breath. Standing up, he moved to the sofa she was at, and sat by her side. “How are you?” He asked honestly, wholeheartedly, looking into her eyes.

“Boys?“ He asked, scared at the plural. As she pulled out the ultrasound pictures, he picked them up, and stayed quiet for a few seconds. Before he spoke again, he emptied the glass of whiskey. “Boys.“ Widening his eyes at her, he placed the pictures down on the table again, next to the empty glass, and covered his face with his hands. Taking a deep breath once, twice, he finally looked over at her. “Well, when are you moving in?“

As she walked past him, Ethan closed the door and started counting in his head. Alright, so maybe… He could remember the last time they’d seen each other, long before he traveled - he remember stopping to buy her a test, but after she’d been quiet about it, and well, ignoring him, he’d just assumed the result had been negative. Walking straight to his liquor cabinet, he poured himself a great dose of whiskey before sitting down in his usual chair. “Obviously” He repeated after her, pointing towards the sofa right in front of him. 

After arriving back from his business trip, Ethan had been dealing with a whole lot of acumulated work from the office. Still, he’d found the time to text Daphne and ask her to come over, as they had barely been in touch the whole time he’d been away. When he finally heard the knocking, he made his way to the door, already unbuttoning his shirt. But by the time he pulled it open, his jaw dropped at the image of her. “…What?”

Laughing at her words, Ethan started the car, glancing over at her and noticing she was typing something onto her phone. As he drove, silently for a while, he struggled with the best way to ask if she’d done the test. When they finally stopped at a red light, he placed his hand on her thigh. “So?’

“So is yours“ He said finally, before watching as the left. For the hours that passed, Ethan read the news on his phone, played tetris and took a nap, until she texted him she was done with work. He drove around the block so it wouldn’t seem like he’d been waiting for her the whole time and smiled slightly when she got into the car. “It’s no big deal, honestly. I was down at the office dealing with some things.“