Class Partners (closed with shooshoo)

[cashewmanz]

"Yeah...wow! I can! That's adorable when it's inside of somebody else..." he cooed a bit as he felt the tiny jumps inside of Ben's belly. "Does she do that often?"

[shooshoo]

"Yeah," Ben said with a soft smile. He kept his hand over top of Will's, looking down at their hands. His dwarfed Will's but it was nice at the same time. "She rolls and twists a lot too. I wasn't kidding when I said she liked to do gymnastics inside of me."

He moved Will's hand a little when he felt her roll away. "I always wanted to carry my own kids. I'm glad I did this."

[cashewmanz]

"Did you? That's a nice thought..." Will moved his hands a bit more to keep up with the baby's movements. "So you planned this pregnancy?" Will said, before immediately biting his tongue. "Sorry...that's inappropriate of me to ask. You don't have to answer."

[shooshoo]

"Yeah," Ben said. "And it's okay to ask. I started it." He let go of Will's hand, but pushed Will's back towards his belly when he tried to move away. "I'm not getting any younger and I haven't dated anyone in a long time. I decided to do it myself. Sperm donor."

[cashewmanz]

"Oh...I see," Will mumbled, still a little embarrassed. "That's very brave of you." He rubbed at the baby in his belly, and felt bad knowing how it had been unwanted for most of this pregnancy.

[shooshoo]

Ben shifted on the couch so they were sitting side by side. He put an arm around Will, sensing the other man was not so comfortable with his pregnancy as Ben.

"I wouldn't call it brave so much as impatient," Ben chuckled a little. "Most people don't want to do this on their own. I would much rather have someone by my side."

[cashewmanz]

"Well I guess we're alike in that regard..." Will grumbled. "Stupid father didn't want to stick around to help. I just hope I can do it on my own..." he felt a little shaken emotionally. He'd done his best over the past few months not to think about how dire his situation actually was, or about his baby's father at all.

[shooshoo]

Ben squeezed Will's shoulders comfortingly. "Well, you've got me."

[cashewmanz]

"I only just met you, though..." Will felt himself tearing up.

[shooshoo]

"Hey, hey," Ben said, tilting Will's chin towards him. "I like you. We're friends now and friends help out each other."

Ben squeezed Will's shoulders again. "Okay?"

[cashewmanz]

"Okay...thanks..." Will made himself crack a small smile.

"So should we get back to practicing? Or do you want to stop for now?"

[shooshoo]

"Do you mind if we stop?" asked Ben. "I made you a copy of my notes so I can leave them with you. And if you want to get together before class on Tuesday, I don't go into work until 6 on Sunday."

[cashewmanz]

"I don't mind," Will agreed. "I think it's probably better that we take it slow anyway. Don't want to stress out too much," Will laughed nervously. "We could grab lunch on Sunday, if you wanted?"

[shooshoo]

"Come to mine," Ben suggested. He pulled out copies of his notes to give to Will. "I'll even cook."

Ben grinned at him warmly before shifting to the edge of the couch and standing up awkwardly. He groaned a little and rubbed the small of his back before stretching his arms up and yawning.

"Here," he held out a hand to Will. "Let me help you up."

[cashewmanz]

"Thanks, that's very sweet of you..." Will said as he grasped Ben's hands. "One, two, three...up!" Will jumped off the couch his belly bumping into Ben's, which made him giggle. "Can't get used to that, it seems..."

[shooshoo]

Ben laughed as well, his arms automatically going around Will to steady him. They were still pressed together and Ben flushed a bit, stepping back even though he really didn't want to.

"We're both just going to get bigger too," Ben said, rubbing at his belly.

[cashewmanz]

"I can't even imagine that," Will scratched the back of his head once more. He could feel the tension between them, and could sense that Ben felt it as well, though he didn't know how to diffuse it in the slightest. "Do you want to stick around and watch TV or something? Or do you need to be heading out?"

[shooshoo]

"I would love to stay but I should be going," Ben said apologetically. "I really am tired and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep on your couch if I stay."

Ben stepped forward and pressed a brief kiss to Will's cheek. "I'll see you for lunch on Sunday? I'll text my address."

[cashewmanz]

Will turned bright red and immediately looked down to the floor. "Uhh...yeah, lunch. On Sunday. I'll be there, and we'll uhhh...we'll work out a time," he walked Ben to the door and let him out. Just as he was about to close the door Will decided to say, "Thanks."

He immediately ran to the bathroom to look at his face in the mirror. He felt nervous and didn't know how he looked or anything. He found himself wishing Ben had stayed, but there was nothing to be done at this point.

[shooshoo]

Ben checked his phone once more before slipping it back into his pocket. He had texted Will a few times just to check on what he liked to eat and his address, but Will had only answered with one word answers. He had most likely stepped in it when he'd given Will a kiss on the cheek so he was going to have to be a little more careful today.

He checked that everything was ready for lunch - nothing fancy, just soup and salad - and tried not to look at himself in the mirror. The black eye from the fight he had broken up last night had been coming along nicely when he woke up. Sometimes it didn't pay to work for a guy that let anyone from the opposing crime families eat in his restaurant.

The door bell rang and Ben let out a sigh of relief. He was starting to think that Will might not actually show.