pippa_flynn | Akeem

Straight away after Christmas Pippa had taken Fin's recommendation and gone to see Hex. He told her it was much too early to tell if she was preggers but he ran an STI panel, just to see. He told her it was a bit early to tell that, either.

Ever since, she had been peeing on sticks every few days, just waiting for her period to come. But it didn't. And it didn't. And now she was officially late. By two weeks. But every stick said negative. And so she had made arrangements with Hex once more, not wanting to go to her regular doctor because of her 'condition' as well as Akeem's. No, the NHS wasn't equipped to deal with Fae or werewolves.

And so she set a time to meet with Hex and then went to Akeem's shop to see if he'd come with her. No call, no text, she simply dropped in.

"Akeem?" she called into the book shop. "Are you in here somewhere?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

pippa_flynn

She stayed there, soaking up his strength. She didn't want to think about this anymore. It consumed her thoughts, day in and day out. She was getting to where she could barely function.

And then there was a knock and the door opened. Hex peeked in.

"Results are in," he said.

From:

leloupnoir

Akeem dropped his hand from her head to her waist, so that she could stay in his arms to hear the results if she preferred that, but he would also let her go if she moved away.

From:

pippa_flynn

She stayed in his hold but turned to look at Hex.

"You're negative across the board," he said. "And it was a blood test so...it's one hundred percent, Pip."

"Not pregnant?" she said softly. "Then why am I late?"

Hex shrugged. "Probably stress and worry. I bet if you had a xanax or two you'd start up."

It was rather crude but it got his point across.

Pippa paused, then closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Hex," she said.

From:

leloupnoir

"Thank you," Akeem added with a nod, and a small smile for the nurse. He felt rather weak with relief, he had to admit.

From:

pippa_flynn

Hex gave a nod and then backed out and shut the door, figuring they might need a minute.

And she did, at least. Pippa pulled back and looked at him. Of all the things she could think to say, only one thing seemed important.

"I'm so sorry to put you through all of this," she said.

From:

leloupnoir

"Pippa, I rather think we share the blame in this," Akeem pointed out, stroking her jawline with a thumb, a tender gesture. "And you've had it far worse than I. If anyone ought to apologise, it should be me."

From:

pippa_flynn

"So we'll share the blame," she decided. Then the took the deepest possible breath and let it out. "Dodged a bullet, didn't we?"

From:

leloupnoir

"Quite," Akeem told her with a small smile, and pushed her hair back behind her ear. "Let's not be this careless ever again, shall we?"

From:

pippa_flynn

"Never again," she agreed. She laughed softly, a nervous little sound, then reached for his hand. "Let's get out of here. I don't care where we go, just not here."

From:

leloupnoir

"Anywhere you'd like," Akeem told her. As usual, all of him was in agreement: he wanted nothing but to make her happy. "Shall we find your friend to thank him again, first?"

From:

pippa_flynn

"I'll send him a gift basket," she replied. Then she had her phone in her hand to order up another Uber to take them away from here.

"It'll be about five minutes. Let's go outside. I want to smoke."

From:

leloupnoir

Akeem held her coat out for her and helped her into it, not gentlemanly so much as caring. On their way back out, he looked around in case he spotted Hex, but the young man was nowhere to be seen. They found themselves outside, and he pulled out a cigarette of his own, glad to be able to ignore the hospital smells a little more easily now. "Have I ever mentioned I loathe hospitals?" he asked around the cigarette as he located his lighter in his coat pocket.

From:

pippa_flynn

"No, that hasn't come up in conversation," she said, laughing more easily out here as the realization washed over her. Not pregnant. Not. Negative. It made her smile as she fished out a smoke.

From:

leloupnoir

"The smells are atrocious," he explained, leaning over to light her cigarette before his own.

From:

pippa_flynn

"I'd agree with that," she said as she took a pull and her cigarette burst to life with a crackle and a wisp of smoke. "Though I reckon it's worse for you than me."

From:

leloupnoir

"Quite," Akeem agreed. "Unless your magic enhances your senses?"

From:

pippa_flynn

"A bit," she confirmed with a nod. "But it doesn't bother me. Fin was ill for so much of his younger years I got used to the smell of hospitals."

From:

leloupnoir

"I wasn't aware of that," Akeem admitted after a beat. A lot about Fin might be public knowledge, but he'd never gone looking for it.

From:

pippa_flynn

"Mmm, yes. His heart," she said, then took a deep drag. The smoke rolled out of her mouth as she continued to speak. "He's had a rough go. His heart. His eyes. I came to terms a long time ago with the fact he'll never be well. I had hoped, with Grandfather's passing, that being fae might help, but it hasn't. Losing his sight again..."

She sighed.

"I worry over him so much."

From:

leloupnoir

"You're his sister," Akeem stated gently. He did not know what having a sibling might be like first hand, but he had gathered that worrying over them was not unheard of behaviour.

From:

pippa_flynn

"I am. And I'm all he has. He and mum...well, that's another mess entirely. She's shut him out. And he wants nothing to do with her. So for the longest time it's just been he and I."

From:

leloupnoir

"I can only imagine what that's like," Akeem admitted, reaching out to stroke his free hand down her shoulder and arm.

From:

pippa_flynn

"I know we bicker a lot, and I know he resents me when I'm bossy, but I can't help it I only want to make sure he's cared for," she said, slowly leaning in against Akeem.

From:

leloupnoir

Akeem shifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "From my not at all personal experience, aren't those things parts of most sibling relationships?"