{fic} Accidently (In Love) - Travis/Kayla
Title: Accidentally (In Love)
Rating: T for language
Word Count: 5,651
Characters/Pairings: RP!Travis/RP!Kayla (Yes, OTP in the making right here.)
Warnings/Spoilers: Some swearing and minor sexual references and copious amounts of unrequited fluff.
Summary: Even though everything started out as an accident, neither of them would ever say they regretted it. Featuring appearances from Will and Malcolm. :D
Notes: Based purely off the Facebook Shenanigans Roleplay at demigod_elite . Some of you are asking, but yes Kayla is in the book. For like, one line. But she’s way more active and drama causing on RPG. Trust me. Accompanied by the fanmix here The song lyrics on top of each section have been snagged from the fanmix, I’ve really tried to choose songs that might be fitting to the particular section, so enjoy! Awesomely beta-d by oneoffour111 , I seriously wouldn't be able to do this without her and she did such a wonderful job. Thank you so so so much, bb and your comments were so wonderful, they really meant a lot to me. I couldn't thank you enough ♥ Huge kudos to you :)
...Ω...
{ “I remember you and me
Tangled in hotel sheets (for hours)
Still can feel you kiss me love
Still can see your eyes like diamonds, diamonds” }
What the actual fuck?
That’s the first thought that runs through his mind when this whole debacle starts. It’d been an accident, of course. It always is. Being who he is, Travis is kind of prone to them. But this one in particular won’t be that easy to get away with.
He finds himself waking up in a tussle of sheets with a pounding headache and no shirt on, probably because Kayla is wearing it while she stares at him from the armchair across the room.
Wait - what?
“Travis…?”
He shuts his eyes tightly then opens them again, carefully adjusting them to the sudden light. He groans as his head continues to throb. He can hear Kayla trying to talk to him, but he’s a bit pre-occupied with trying to control the pain that’s pulsing inside his head.
“Travis, listen to me!”
He looks over at her. She’s curled up with her knees tightly held against her chest on the armchair, and she stares at him with intense blue eyes. They look - almost kind of scared.
Travis can’t tell whether she has anything else on under his shirt - which by the way, looks kind of cute on her - but that doesn’t matter now. He’s finally realized what is going on.
It shouldn’t have taken him this long to put two and two together, but waking up hungover - in Vegas, no less - doesn’t exactly put him in the position of the brightest crayon in the box.
“Oh.” He sits up now, any throbbing feeling in his head now slowly fading away. “Did we-? Last night?”
Kayla purses her lips and nods slowly, confirming his question. “Yeah…well, I don’t remember any of it but I’m guessing we got a bit carried away, maybe?” She runs her fingers through her hair and looks away awkwardly.
Travis begins toying with the sheets on the bed absent-mindedly. Okay, so I might have done it with someone I barely have feelings for…while I was drunk. No big deal.
He looks up at her, noticing that she’s staring at him again. “So, we can just forget this ever happened, right?” It might sound like a dick thing to say to someone you just woke up half naked next to, but something tells him Kayla isn’t thinking anything different.
Sadly, it isn’t that simple.
She closes her eyes and buries her head into her knees. “Oh gods, why would we do it?” It comes out muffled, but Travis can still hear the agony in her voice.
He raises an eyebrow and edges closer to the side of the bed. He’s kind of afraid to ask her what she’s talking about, but he figures he ought to know sooner or later. “Do what? I thought we just-”
Kayla doesn’t raise her head. “Look at your left hand.”
He lifts his palm up for examination and at first, he doesn’t notice anything particularly wrong with it. He flips his hand over and confusion spreads across his face. “I don’t-“
Then it catches his eye. It all just suddenly clicks in his mind, and he knows everything in his life is about to change.
Ok, he thinks now. This is a very BIG DEAL.
Travis blinks at the ring, and then his eyes fly across the room towards Kayla’s hand. It’s wrapped around her legs, and even with her being a few feet away, he can spot the matching gold ring sitting on her finger. It gleams under the sunlight flooding in from the window.
He’s at a loss for words, and before Kayla can calm him down, he gets up, pulls on his jeans and rushes out of the room. As he exits the doorway, he can hear her scrambling to stand up.
“Travis, where are you going?”
He steps out into what seems like the lounge of a really expensive suite, and he’d probably be freaking out over its awesomeness…except that it’s trashed from the ceiling all the way down to the lush, velvet carpet.
There are pillows littered across the floor and empty beer and wine bottles in almost every corner. He can spot some poker cards spread chaotically around the room, and over the eerie silence, the sound of the TV echoes across the suite. It seems to be coming from the flat screen TV attached to the wall…which is playing The Hangover, ironically enough.
Travis stares at the screen and then back at the frenzied lounge. The room he’s standing in is nothing compared to the scene in the movie, but it’s enough to make him question what happened the night before, since he can’t remember one Goddamn thing.
He spots Connor fumbling around in the mini bar and rushes over. Connor doesn’t look any better than what he normally does after waking up after a party - his eyes are red and half closed, and he isn’t exactly capable of explaining anything to his brother. Travis grabs him by the shoulders and holds him still, which probably stuns his hazy brain. The empty beer bottle slips out of his hand and shatters on the floor.
“Dude, I think I got married last night.”
Connor stares at him through sleepy eyes.
“Oh, you got married last night?” he finally manages, his breath still stinking of alcohol. “Cool.”
Although the two of them always do crazy shit and are equally insane, Travis has always been the more (slightly) responsible one, being the older brother and all. Connor usually likes to kick back and watch the chaos unfold between the two of them.
Travis had just thought he’d at least have his brother to confide in at a time like this, because even though Connor isn’t the type to take things seriously, he’ll still be there for his brother.
Just not on this particular day.
“Yeah, cause I always wanted to be married at eighteen while I was illegally drunk,” Travis snaps sarcastically.
Connor blinks at him, his words slurring. “Seriously, man?”
“NO!” He lets go of his brother and sighs in frustration, knowing he definitely can’t get out of this one. He swiftly leaves the mini bar and a dysfunctional Connor lying on the floor, only to mindlessly bump into Kayla in the doorway. “Oh, hey.”
He gives her a quick, almost hollow smile and steps around her, trying to avoid contact because really, he isn’t in the mood to deal with the fact that he accidentally got married in Vegas. Except Kayla has taken it upon herself to make sure Travis isn’t going anywhere.
She holds out her arm and stares up at him. “We need to talk, Travis.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but they’re both caught off guard by the door opening down the hall. They know it’ll be bad before he even steps out into the hallway, which gives them every reason to start panicking. “Shit, it’s Will!” Kayla grabs Travis by the arm and yanks him into the room, “He’ll kill us if he finds out!”
The door slams shut behind her and Travis sits back down on the bed with his head in his hands. “How drunk were we? We were stupid enough to get married?” He says it like it’s the worst thing in the world, and Kayla is slightly taken aback, since she was the one he married, but she suddenly remembers that she isn’t too thrilled about being married at just eighteen years old either.
They both stiffen as Will knocks on the door. “K, it’s time to get up.”
Travis looks at her from his spot on the bed. “What do we do?”
She shakes her head and starts playing with the sleeves of his shirt, pacing up and down the room, panicked and worried and scared as hell of the situation. Not every girl gets to wake up in Vegas and be married to someone she barely knows, and it certainly doesn’t make her feel very good at all.
“We have to do something! This won’t just go away if we don’t think about it.”
There’s another knock at the door the frustration is building. “K? Kayla? Is there someone in there with you?”
She doesn’t quite know what to do, but she knows she can’t avoid Will forever. She waves Travis out of sight from the doorway and opens up the door with one deep breath.”Hey, Will.” She tries to put on her best smile, since Apollo kids are known for being morning people, even in the event of unfortunate hangovers.
“Hey, I thought I heard someone else in here with you.”
Kayla tenses slightly at the question but tries her absolute best to shake her brother off. “N-no! You’re probably just hearing things, I think we all had a rough night didn’t we? It’s just me in here.” She flashes him another smile.
“Oh, well I was just checking if you were awake. I was planning on going to see The Blue Man Group -” he pauses, a puzzled look on his face, and takes a step back. “Is that Travis’ shirt?”
Kayla freezes and looks down, wishing the plush, carpeted floor would just swallow her up. “No! Our shirts both um - just look really similar.”
“He’s in there, isn’t he?” Will takes a step forward, trying to somehow nudge Kayla out the way, but she stands her ground.
“No, he’s not, Will! I haven’t seen him all mo- ow!” He manages to push past her and enter the room, only to find his worst fear come true.
“STOLL! Why the fuck are you in my sister’s room and why are you half-naked?!”
“Well it’s not like I have a choice, your sister’s wearing my shirt!” Travis stands on the far side of the room with his arms crossed.
“I- what did you do to my sister?!” Will is positively raging at this point, which is something surprising to both Kayla and Travis. Usually, Will just acted giddy and happily recited his poetry around camp.
Kayla quickly steps in front of her brother and tries to calm him down. “No Will, just wait-”
Travis observes the two of them from where he stands, nodding towards Kayla as he asks, “How did you even know that was my shirt, man?”
Will’s gaze furiously falls back on him and his fists clench, fully ignoring Kayla’s pleads, “Because a) only you would wear something as plain and boring as that and b) that color clashes with Kayla’s eyes and she knows it!”
Travis’ lips twitch in a mock smile. “Well I’m sorry I can’t be more fashion conscious, Solace.”
Will tries to take a step forward, but Kayla insists on pushing him back. “You want to take this outside, Stoll?”
Travis is now crossing the room towards the two of them now. He opens his mouth in retaliation, but is suddenly interrupted by Kayla.
“Both of you just stop!”
She’s definitely not as big or built as either of them, but she knows she’s able to stand between the two of them. “Neither of you have bothered to just calm down and focus on the situation,” she turns to Will, her eyes filling with tears.
“K-“
“No, Will. Listen. Do you see this?” She holds up her hand for him to see and shock travels through his body. “Do you know what this means?! You haven’t even bothered to find out what really happened and you just burst in here wanting to beat up Travis!”
Will tries to reach for his sister’s hand, but she pulls away bitterly, turning around to face Travis. “And you. Believe it or not but this is happening to us right now and you need to grow up and help me figure this out! I know you didn’t want this and neither did I, but it’s happened now and we need to find a solution to it.”
Another tear rolls down her cheek, and she struggles to maintain her tone of voice. “I’m scared as hell right now and the two of you beating each other isn’t solving anything.”
She retreats to the bed and sits down, her eyes falling over the ring on her finger over and over again. Travis and Will stare at her in utter silence, until Will gingerly goes and sits next to her.
“Look K, I’m sorry I got carried away. It’s just- you’re my little sister okay? I get worried about you.” He sighs and glances up at Travis, who feels as guilty as he looks. “We’ll figure something out together.”
Travis lets out a sigh and sits down next to her on the other side, but avoids eye contact. “Kayla, I’m sorry too. I just feel a little overwhelmed right now, I mean, this is pretty intense. I know neither of us wanted this, and it’s still a bit hard for me to process. I get that we hardly know each other and it’d probably be a long shot-” He pauses, thinking about what he should say next carefully.
Kayla turns to him, her eyes gleaming with tears. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this now.” She gets up hastily and leaves the room, leaving the two most unlikely people to get along sitting alone in utter silence and shock.
...Ω...
{ “For the way you're something that I'd never choose
But at the same time, something I don't wanna lose
And never wanna be without ever again” }“Who is it?”
When there’s no immediate response, Travis reluctantly pauses his game and sits in the (rare) emptiness of the Hermes cabin, listening for a reply. It’s late afternoon at Camp Half Blood, and the entire cabin is out enjoying free bounds, most probably spying on campers or playing pranks as usual. Since Travis was rarely in the mood for either activity anymore he had decided to stay behind in Cabin 11 and enjoy his Xbox.
“Hello?”
“Hey Travis, it’s me.”
Although it’s hushed by the closed door, he can instantly recognize her voice. He leaves his seat from in front of the plasma screen and heads over to the front of the cabin to open the door. She gives him a small, brief smile as the door swings open, still not quite sure how she should greet him.
It’s been about a week since the whole debacle in Las Vegas happened. Dealing with the shock was bad enough, but coming up with a solution was even worse. At first, Kayla couldn’t quite believe that Travis had suggested for them to stay together, since he was always so free-willed about everything and she figured he’d probably opt for divorce. (As crazy as it sounded at their age) She’d also half-expected Will to blow up again and blatantly refuse that she stay with Travis - the two of them never had a good history - but he had agreed, explaining that staying married would result in less issues.
She had taken their words into consideration, and she knew divorce was going to cost a lot of money…plus it wasn’t the kind of reputation she wanted to have. She didn’t quite know what married life was meant to be like, but it wasn’t like Travis was on hard on the eyes either, so she decided they might as well give it a try since there was nothing more for her to lose.
“Hey,” he says with slight smirk, something Hermes kids can’t help doing. He slides his hands into his jean pockets. “What’s up?”
“Um, nothing.” She slips a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “I was on my way to the lake, just thought I’d stop and say hi.”
Travis smiles back at her this time. “Did you want me to come with?”
Kayla isn’t quite sure if she wants him to, since the idea of them being together is still fresh in her mind. She doesn’t want the other campers talking about it either, especially since the Aphrodite cabin would have the news spread all over camp within minutes.
“Oh, I- I don’t mind,” she blurts out, still unsure of her decision. Something glowing in the cabin behind Travis catches her eye and she steps onto her tip-toes to try to catch a glimpse of what it is.
“Call of Duty?” she asks, and it catches him off guard.
Travis looks at her with a stunned face, then back at the plasma screen sitting in the cabin behind him. “You play-?” he asks, turning back to her.
Kayla chuckles at his sudden astonishment. “Hell yeah.” He raises an eyebrow as if he thinks she’s joking. “What? You thought just cause I’m a girl I don’t play video games? I’m not just about music and poetry you know.”
He smirks in response and opens the door wider for her to step in, “Well then, bring it on.”
As they say, time flies by while you’re having fun, and as they finish off another round the dinner horn sounds from a distance. With the faint radiance of the sun disappearing from the cabin, Travis and Kayla laze in the glow of the plasma screen surrounded by darkness, still in the emptiness of Cabin 11.
“You cheated in that round!” Kayla accuses him, setting her remote down in front of her.
Travis assumes a mock stunned expression on his face. “How would I be able to cheat? It’s all about how good your aiming is!”
She pouts. “You could have gone easy on me, at least.”
Travis laughs and starts picking up their controls. “I thought you said you could play.” He smirks over his shoulder as he sets them next to the TV.
“I can play,” she fires back. “Just maybe not as good as you.” She stands up and heads over to a nearby couch, sinking low into its soft cushions. “I know I can beat Will though.”
In a moment he finds himself next to her, sitting comfortably and leaning into the cushions on the plush couch. He chuckles. “That’s not hard to achieve.” He pauses then looks playfully over in Kayla’s direction. “Like, at all.”
She laughs along with him, surprisingly. “Shh, don’t tell him that. He’s very sensitive when it comes to gaming.”
He grins at her.“You know, I can tell our marriage will be a good one already.”
Kayla listens for a playful tone in his voice but hears none and blushes involuntarily, turning her head away to make sure he wouldn’t notice. It’s the first time she’s heard Travis talk about their marriage so openly, and it feels good in a way, knowing he’s finally accepted their given situation and willing to deal with it.
“You’re good at it,” he says suddenly, glancing at the gaming console sitting in front of them.
“What?”
He tilts his head in the general direction. “Call of Duty. You’re not bad.”
She looks at him, studying his features for any tell that he’s simply just teasing her. There isn’t a hint of a smile or even a smirk, so she takes his comment as a genuine one. She shifts her legs on the couch and smiles softly at him.
“Thanks.”
They hear footsteps on the porch of the cabin, but neither of them moves off the couch quick enough. Chris Rodriguez is in the cabin as soon as the door clicks shut behind him, and he notices the pair from the corner of his eye. He looks up from his bunk and at the lounge found in the far side of the cabin.
“You guys know it’s dinner now, right?”
“Uhm, yeah,” Kayla replies while standing up from her seat. She’d heard the horn sound earlier, but chose to ignore it. “We’re heading up now.”
Chris leaves the cabin without another word, leaving the two of them alone once again. Travis stands up behind her and starts for the cabin door, noticing only halfway there that Kayla hasn’t moved. “You coming?”
He waits for her among the bunks that belong to his various siblings, and she smiles and walks to join him. “Thanks for this afternoon, I had a lot of fun.”
“Sure.” he simply replies. He’s turning back towards the door, when suddenly, as swift as a passing breeze in autumn, Kayla plants a kiss on his lips. As stunned as he was, he figured she’d pull away in only just a few seconds, but when she didn’t, he took the opportunity to promptly slip her hand into his.
Kayla didn’t seem to mind at all.
“Hey, knock it off you two before someone sees you and reports you to Chiron.” Malcolm is peeking his head in from the window, a half serious, half amused expression on his face. He must have been passing by, making a final inspection of the cabins.
Travis pulls away and gives him a steely glance, “Go buzzkill somewhere else, man. Before I sic Chris’ pet tarantula on you.”
Malcolm responds with a tough glare and departs from the window.
Kayla laughs as Travis leads her out the door and down the cabin steps, the soft glow of the moonlight greeting them. He’s still holding onto her hand as they stroll up towards the dining pavilion, and she thinks there isn’t a better way to start off a relationship than this.
...Ω...
{ “This flood (this flood) is slowly rising up swallowing the ground
Beneath my feet, tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so
I'll swim (I'll swim) as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down” }
The sun sets over the horizon and sets the woods to the far side of Camp Half Blood on fire. Choirs of crickets begin chirping harmonically in time, welcoming the evening. There’s a chill in the late autumn air, but Kayla doesn’t mind all that much, because she’s got Travis by her side as the two of them sit atop Half Blood Hill.
He jumps a little as she leans into him. Even though she’s done it about a hundred times before, it catches him off guard every time all the same. He’s still getting used to the idea of married life at a young age.
The dinner horn sounds behind them, but ignoring the buzz of campers shifting off to the dining pavilion, neither one of them moves. The descending sun reflects off Kayla’s blonde hair, which to Travis, looked ten times more radiant than it usually did.
She feels his heartbeat quicken slightly as she rests her head on his chest, and she smiles silently to herself. Travis gingerly slips an arm around her waist. She looks up at him and unwanted thoughts of the future fill her mind, the fuzzy feeling inside replaced by the fear of the unknown.
She stiffens at the idea and Travis can feel it in his arms. He leans in slowly and whispers into her ear. “What’s up?”
She stares back at him with glowing eyes of the sunset, a hint of sorrow and a pinch of apprehension mixed in with them.
“I’m scared,” she says softly.
He can hear her voice break as she tries to fight back a sob. Travis was never quite the comforting type, and he definitely isn’t a pro at it when it comes to girls, but he knows he has to at least try.
“Hey, hey. About what?”
Kayla shakes her head slowly. He lets out a sigh and gathers her deeper into his arms, letting her head rest in the crook of his neck. A tear trails down her cheek and lands on his collar bone. He feels it and looks down at her, noticing she’s suddenly clutching at her stomach. He knows it now.
She finally lets out a heavy breath and says rather reluctantly, “About this baby. About… everything.” She doesn’t move from her spot but continues on. “How are we going to manage? We’ve got no money, we’re not in college, we live at camp-” she pauses, knowing there’s way too many things going against them to even list.
“I’m just really scared, Trav.”
His gaze is lost in the darkening horizon and Kayla wonders if he’s ever listened to half the things she’s said, but out of the blue she’s caught off guard as he presses a kiss to her forehead.
“Wanna know a secret?” he whispers, his breath lingering on her skin.
“I’m scared too.”
His eyes are locked on her now, forgetting the twinkling stars emerging in the sky.”But we can’t let that stop us, we need to be there, for her.” His eyes drift down to Kayla’s stomach and he somewhat chuckles at the idea of him being a dad, especially at this age. They’ve only known for a few days now and the thought terrifies him.
“It’ll be okay,” he continues. “We’ll just have to trust each other and work at it day by day. It’ll work out, I promise.” He presses another kiss to her cheek this time, and a genuine smile spreads across her face.
“Who would’ve thought, Travis Stoll finally takes things seriously.” Kayla jokes. She reaches out for his hand and holds it in her own.
He rolls his eyes as she laughs.
“Hey, I take things seriously, okay. Connor’s the clown…most of the time.” And he dares to add in his signature smirk for good measure.
It’s Kayla’s turn to roll her eyes this time, and she sighs quietly as the last ray of sunshine disappears over the horizon, the night air sweeping in. “She’ll need a name, y’know.”
Travis absent-mindedly lets his eyes wander towards the deep indigo sky, and there it is. There must be countless constellations sitting in the heavens, and that particular one catches his eye.
He remembers that winter so well, when the Huntresses had made their unexpected visit to camp, and then of course he heard the full story of what happened once Percy returned back from his quest.
“How about Zoe?”
“Zoe…” Kayla murmurs to herself. She chews on her bottom lip, thinking about it. “I like it.”
She tilts her head upwards and looks Travis in the eye, and he smiles back down at her.
“Zoe it is then.”
...Ω...
{ “Sunday morning rain is falling
Steal some covers share some skin
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable
You twist to fit the mold that I am in” }
“Where’ve you been?”
Travis slams the door hastily behind him, attempting to shut out the cold from the warm coziness of the loft.
Of course, after he and Kayla had found out about the baby two months ago they decided to consider all their options. One of them being renting an apartment and settling down even if they were still at a young age. It was a loft situated on the top floor of an old building in Brooklyn, though it was small it was enough for the two of them and plus it was cozier during winter anyway.
He removes his hoodie and drapes it on the nearby couch sitting in the living room, a few snowflakes still sitting on the fabric.
“I was at camp.”
Kayla’s sitting on the couch on the far side of the room with her legs crossed in front of her. She lowers her book and glares at him. “Do you have any idea how late it is?”
He shrugs and walks into the kitchen, grabbing an apple off the fruit basket on the counter. “It’s only like what, eleven?”
“Travis, I’ve been home since I got off work. I don’t enjoy being home by myself the entire night.” She sets the book down on the coffee table, albeit a little too harshly. “Especially when I’m like this.”
He’s got his attention turned to the refrigerator, and he’s taking a bite out of his apple at the same time. “Do you want something to eat then?” he offers.
She’s up and moving towards Travis in the kitchen with her arms crossed. “No, I don’t want food.” She stops by the counter and sets her arms down, supporting herself on the smooth wooden surface.
“There’s some cranberries in here-” He turns around and finally catches the look on her face, and she doesn’t seem happy at all. “No, then?”
“I want you to stop doing this,” she snaps, crossing her arms again. “Stop leaving me alone at home and coming back so late!”
Confusion twists into Travis’ face. “What are you talking about? This is the first time since we moved in that I’ve come home late!”
“What about last week? Don’t think I didn’t hear you when you snuck back in here at midnight.”
Travis turns around and returns the cranberries into the fridge. “I was getting a drink with Malcolm, he really needed one.” He turns back to her with an exasperated sigh. “Why are you acting like we’re a 40 year-old married couple? I don’t have to be home all the time!”
“You do when you’re having a kid!”
“I was just visiting Connor, I haven’t seen him since we left camp.” He stands upright and shoves his hands into his jean pockets. “He’s my brother, Kayla. I have to see him sometime. He’s like my other half!”
She huffs furiously. “I’m your other half now!” she shouts.
Travis gives her a frustrated stare, then circles the counter walking towards her. “What, you’re jealous of Connor now?” He tries to step towards her, tries to do something to calm her down.
Her blonde hair rocks side to side in her ponytail as she shakes her head, and she takes a step away from him when he tries to approach her. “I’m not jealous, I just want you to be here! Start taking responsibility for everything, Travis, because unless you do, none of this will ever work out.”
“I-” He’s stunned into silence. Out of the three months he’s been with Kayla, she’s never acted out towards him like this before. Sure, she’s had her grumpy days, but nothing was ever as bad as her yelling and shouting. “Ok, look-” he starts.
“No.” She takes another step back and away from him. “I’m going to bed, go hang out with your brother some more if that’s what you’d rather be doing.”
Before he can get another word out of his mouth, she’s slamming the bedroom door behind her.
He figures it’d be best if he doesn’t bother her anymore during the night, so he retreats to the couch, and after the few hours that have passed, he finds himself lifting his face off the cushion with an empty beer bottle sitting in his hand. His cell phone reads 02:23am, but he’s sure he only closed his eyes for a few minutes.
He’s about to drift back to sleep, when above the distant noises of New York traffic, he hears the creaking of an opening door. Lifting his eyelid slightly, he sees Kayla kneeling beside him by the couch, the fury in her eyes gone.
“Come to bed, Trav,” she says softly.
He closes his eye and chuckles. “You’re not planning on hitting me are you?”
“No,” she replies as he sits up on the couch, and he can hear the smile in her voice.
“You’re not mad anymore?” He looks up at her from his spot on the couch, the sleep leaving his eyes. She’s got her arms wrapped around herself, struggling to keep the bitter cold of winter away. She tucks a piece of stray hair behind her left ear.
“I’m sorry about earlier, really. I don’t know what was going on with me.”
He notices she’s wearing his shirt, - the same as the one from Vegas - over a pair of shorts. The fire in the furnace has gone out, and he realizes she must be freezing with her bare legs showing. “C’mere.”
He shifts over on the couch and she sits down next to him, curling her legs into herself. Travis grabs his hoodie from the arm of the couch and carefully places it over her shoulders, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
Kayla leans her head back into the cushions and stares up at the beams supporting the ceiling, “Really Trav, I didn’t mean to be so upset.”
“It’s alright,” he replies, nuzzling her arm trying to keep her warm.
She places her hands on her stomach, her eyes still wandering the ceiling. “I think it’s just the hormones, y’know? They’ve been driving me crazy lately.” According to her pregnancy book, she wasn’t meant to start showing until a later stage, especially since this was her first, but every time she places a hand on her stomach she can feel it. She feels a baby in there, even with such a tiny bump.
“Hormones, huh? Does anything else besides unexpected rage and bizarre cravings come with that?” He’s smirking, and she nudges him in the side with her elbow.
They sit in silence for a while, listening to the wind whistling outside their windows. She suddenly grabs Travis’ hands and places them on her stomach, which is surprisingly warm to the touch. “She’s in there,” she says quietly. “Our baby girl.”
The idea still frightens them, and sometimes they even lose sleep over it but Travis can tell Kayla’s considerably more excited about having it, partially because she’s hated every second of being pregnant and the torture it brought.
He smoothes his thumb over the thin fabric. “I know.”
He’s waiting for her to reply, but soon realizes she won’t for a while, and the sound of deep breathing fills the small living room. He looks down and sees the slow rising and sinking of her chest. He pulls his hoodie tighter over her. “And you’ll be a great mom too.”
Rating: T for language
Word Count: 5,651
Characters/Pairings: RP!Travis/RP!Kayla (Yes, OTP in the making right here.)
Warnings/Spoilers: Some swearing and minor sexual references and copious amounts of unrequited fluff.
Summary: Even though everything started out as an accident, neither of them would ever say they regretted it. Featuring appearances from Will and Malcolm. :D
Notes: Based purely off the Facebook Shenanigans Roleplay at demigod_elite . Some of you are asking, but yes Kayla is in the book. For like, one line. But she’s way more active and drama causing on RPG. Trust me. Accompanied by the fanmix here The song lyrics on top of each section have been snagged from the fanmix, I’ve really tried to choose songs that might be fitting to the particular section, so enjoy! Awesomely beta-d by oneoffour111 , I seriously wouldn't be able to do this without her and she did such a wonderful job. Thank you so so so much, bb and your comments were so wonderful, they really meant a lot to me. I couldn't thank you enough ♥ Huge kudos to you :)
...Ω...
{ “I remember you and me
Tangled in hotel sheets (for hours)
Still can feel you kiss me love
Still can see your eyes like diamonds, diamonds” }
What the actual fuck?
That’s the first thought that runs through his mind when this whole debacle starts. It’d been an accident, of course. It always is. Being who he is, Travis is kind of prone to them. But this one in particular won’t be that easy to get away with.
He finds himself waking up in a tussle of sheets with a pounding headache and no shirt on, probably because Kayla is wearing it while she stares at him from the armchair across the room.
Wait - what?
“Travis…?”
He shuts his eyes tightly then opens them again, carefully adjusting them to the sudden light. He groans as his head continues to throb. He can hear Kayla trying to talk to him, but he’s a bit pre-occupied with trying to control the pain that’s pulsing inside his head.
“Travis, listen to me!”
He looks over at her. She’s curled up with her knees tightly held against her chest on the armchair, and she stares at him with intense blue eyes. They look - almost kind of scared.
Travis can’t tell whether she has anything else on under his shirt - which by the way, looks kind of cute on her - but that doesn’t matter now. He’s finally realized what is going on.
It shouldn’t have taken him this long to put two and two together, but waking up hungover - in Vegas, no less - doesn’t exactly put him in the position of the brightest crayon in the box.
“Oh.” He sits up now, any throbbing feeling in his head now slowly fading away. “Did we-? Last night?”
Kayla purses her lips and nods slowly, confirming his question. “Yeah…well, I don’t remember any of it but I’m guessing we got a bit carried away, maybe?” She runs her fingers through her hair and looks away awkwardly.
Travis begins toying with the sheets on the bed absent-mindedly. Okay, so I might have done it with someone I barely have feelings for…while I was drunk. No big deal.
He looks up at her, noticing that she’s staring at him again. “So, we can just forget this ever happened, right?” It might sound like a dick thing to say to someone you just woke up half naked next to, but something tells him Kayla isn’t thinking anything different.
Sadly, it isn’t that simple.
She closes her eyes and buries her head into her knees. “Oh gods, why would we do it?” It comes out muffled, but Travis can still hear the agony in her voice.
He raises an eyebrow and edges closer to the side of the bed. He’s kind of afraid to ask her what she’s talking about, but he figures he ought to know sooner or later. “Do what? I thought we just-”
Kayla doesn’t raise her head. “Look at your left hand.”
He lifts his palm up for examination and at first, he doesn’t notice anything particularly wrong with it. He flips his hand over and confusion spreads across his face. “I don’t-“
Then it catches his eye. It all just suddenly clicks in his mind, and he knows everything in his life is about to change.
Ok, he thinks now. This is a very BIG DEAL.
Travis blinks at the ring, and then his eyes fly across the room towards Kayla’s hand. It’s wrapped around her legs, and even with her being a few feet away, he can spot the matching gold ring sitting on her finger. It gleams under the sunlight flooding in from the window.
He’s at a loss for words, and before Kayla can calm him down, he gets up, pulls on his jeans and rushes out of the room. As he exits the doorway, he can hear her scrambling to stand up.
“Travis, where are you going?”
He steps out into what seems like the lounge of a really expensive suite, and he’d probably be freaking out over its awesomeness…except that it’s trashed from the ceiling all the way down to the lush, velvet carpet.
There are pillows littered across the floor and empty beer and wine bottles in almost every corner. He can spot some poker cards spread chaotically around the room, and over the eerie silence, the sound of the TV echoes across the suite. It seems to be coming from the flat screen TV attached to the wall…which is playing The Hangover, ironically enough.
Travis stares at the screen and then back at the frenzied lounge. The room he’s standing in is nothing compared to the scene in the movie, but it’s enough to make him question what happened the night before, since he can’t remember one Goddamn thing.
He spots Connor fumbling around in the mini bar and rushes over. Connor doesn’t look any better than what he normally does after waking up after a party - his eyes are red and half closed, and he isn’t exactly capable of explaining anything to his brother. Travis grabs him by the shoulders and holds him still, which probably stuns his hazy brain. The empty beer bottle slips out of his hand and shatters on the floor.
“Dude, I think I got married last night.”
Connor stares at him through sleepy eyes.
“Oh, you got married last night?” he finally manages, his breath still stinking of alcohol. “Cool.”
Although the two of them always do crazy shit and are equally insane, Travis has always been the more (slightly) responsible one, being the older brother and all. Connor usually likes to kick back and watch the chaos unfold between the two of them.
Travis had just thought he’d at least have his brother to confide in at a time like this, because even though Connor isn’t the type to take things seriously, he’ll still be there for his brother.
Just not on this particular day.
“Yeah, cause I always wanted to be married at eighteen while I was illegally drunk,” Travis snaps sarcastically.
Connor blinks at him, his words slurring. “Seriously, man?”
“NO!” He lets go of his brother and sighs in frustration, knowing he definitely can’t get out of this one. He swiftly leaves the mini bar and a dysfunctional Connor lying on the floor, only to mindlessly bump into Kayla in the doorway. “Oh, hey.”
He gives her a quick, almost hollow smile and steps around her, trying to avoid contact because really, he isn’t in the mood to deal with the fact that he accidentally got married in Vegas. Except Kayla has taken it upon herself to make sure Travis isn’t going anywhere.
She holds out her arm and stares up at him. “We need to talk, Travis.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but they’re both caught off guard by the door opening down the hall. They know it’ll be bad before he even steps out into the hallway, which gives them every reason to start panicking. “Shit, it’s Will!” Kayla grabs Travis by the arm and yanks him into the room, “He’ll kill us if he finds out!”
The door slams shut behind her and Travis sits back down on the bed with his head in his hands. “How drunk were we? We were stupid enough to get married?” He says it like it’s the worst thing in the world, and Kayla is slightly taken aback, since she was the one he married, but she suddenly remembers that she isn’t too thrilled about being married at just eighteen years old either.
They both stiffen as Will knocks on the door. “K, it’s time to get up.”
Travis looks at her from his spot on the bed. “What do we do?”
She shakes her head and starts playing with the sleeves of his shirt, pacing up and down the room, panicked and worried and scared as hell of the situation. Not every girl gets to wake up in Vegas and be married to someone she barely knows, and it certainly doesn’t make her feel very good at all.
“We have to do something! This won’t just go away if we don’t think about it.”
There’s another knock at the door the frustration is building. “K? Kayla? Is there someone in there with you?”
She doesn’t quite know what to do, but she knows she can’t avoid Will forever. She waves Travis out of sight from the doorway and opens up the door with one deep breath.”Hey, Will.” She tries to put on her best smile, since Apollo kids are known for being morning people, even in the event of unfortunate hangovers.
“Hey, I thought I heard someone else in here with you.”
Kayla tenses slightly at the question but tries her absolute best to shake her brother off. “N-no! You’re probably just hearing things, I think we all had a rough night didn’t we? It’s just me in here.” She flashes him another smile.
“Oh, well I was just checking if you were awake. I was planning on going to see The Blue Man Group -” he pauses, a puzzled look on his face, and takes a step back. “Is that Travis’ shirt?”
Kayla freezes and looks down, wishing the plush, carpeted floor would just swallow her up. “No! Our shirts both um - just look really similar.”
“He’s in there, isn’t he?” Will takes a step forward, trying to somehow nudge Kayla out the way, but she stands her ground.
“No, he’s not, Will! I haven’t seen him all mo- ow!” He manages to push past her and enter the room, only to find his worst fear come true.
“STOLL! Why the fuck are you in my sister’s room and why are you half-naked?!”
“Well it’s not like I have a choice, your sister’s wearing my shirt!” Travis stands on the far side of the room with his arms crossed.
“I- what did you do to my sister?!” Will is positively raging at this point, which is something surprising to both Kayla and Travis. Usually, Will just acted giddy and happily recited his poetry around camp.
Kayla quickly steps in front of her brother and tries to calm him down. “No Will, just wait-”
Travis observes the two of them from where he stands, nodding towards Kayla as he asks, “How did you even know that was my shirt, man?”
Will’s gaze furiously falls back on him and his fists clench, fully ignoring Kayla’s pleads, “Because a) only you would wear something as plain and boring as that and b) that color clashes with Kayla’s eyes and she knows it!”
Travis’ lips twitch in a mock smile. “Well I’m sorry I can’t be more fashion conscious, Solace.”
Will tries to take a step forward, but Kayla insists on pushing him back. “You want to take this outside, Stoll?”
Travis is now crossing the room towards the two of them now. He opens his mouth in retaliation, but is suddenly interrupted by Kayla.
“Both of you just stop!”
She’s definitely not as big or built as either of them, but she knows she’s able to stand between the two of them. “Neither of you have bothered to just calm down and focus on the situation,” she turns to Will, her eyes filling with tears.
“K-“
“No, Will. Listen. Do you see this?” She holds up her hand for him to see and shock travels through his body. “Do you know what this means?! You haven’t even bothered to find out what really happened and you just burst in here wanting to beat up Travis!”
Will tries to reach for his sister’s hand, but she pulls away bitterly, turning around to face Travis. “And you. Believe it or not but this is happening to us right now and you need to grow up and help me figure this out! I know you didn’t want this and neither did I, but it’s happened now and we need to find a solution to it.”
Another tear rolls down her cheek, and she struggles to maintain her tone of voice. “I’m scared as hell right now and the two of you beating each other isn’t solving anything.”
She retreats to the bed and sits down, her eyes falling over the ring on her finger over and over again. Travis and Will stare at her in utter silence, until Will gingerly goes and sits next to her.
“Look K, I’m sorry I got carried away. It’s just- you’re my little sister okay? I get worried about you.” He sighs and glances up at Travis, who feels as guilty as he looks. “We’ll figure something out together.”
Travis lets out a sigh and sits down next to her on the other side, but avoids eye contact. “Kayla, I’m sorry too. I just feel a little overwhelmed right now, I mean, this is pretty intense. I know neither of us wanted this, and it’s still a bit hard for me to process. I get that we hardly know each other and it’d probably be a long shot-” He pauses, thinking about what he should say next carefully.
Kayla turns to him, her eyes gleaming with tears. “I’m sorry, I just can’t do this now.” She gets up hastily and leaves the room, leaving the two most unlikely people to get along sitting alone in utter silence and shock.
...Ω...
{ “For the way you're something that I'd never choose
But at the same time, something I don't wanna lose
And never wanna be without ever again” }“Who is it?”
When there’s no immediate response, Travis reluctantly pauses his game and sits in the (rare) emptiness of the Hermes cabin, listening for a reply. It’s late afternoon at Camp Half Blood, and the entire cabin is out enjoying free bounds, most probably spying on campers or playing pranks as usual. Since Travis was rarely in the mood for either activity anymore he had decided to stay behind in Cabin 11 and enjoy his Xbox.
“Hello?”
“Hey Travis, it’s me.”
Although it’s hushed by the closed door, he can instantly recognize her voice. He leaves his seat from in front of the plasma screen and heads over to the front of the cabin to open the door. She gives him a small, brief smile as the door swings open, still not quite sure how she should greet him.
It’s been about a week since the whole debacle in Las Vegas happened. Dealing with the shock was bad enough, but coming up with a solution was even worse. At first, Kayla couldn’t quite believe that Travis had suggested for them to stay together, since he was always so free-willed about everything and she figured he’d probably opt for divorce. (As crazy as it sounded at their age) She’d also half-expected Will to blow up again and blatantly refuse that she stay with Travis - the two of them never had a good history - but he had agreed, explaining that staying married would result in less issues.
She had taken their words into consideration, and she knew divorce was going to cost a lot of money…plus it wasn’t the kind of reputation she wanted to have. She didn’t quite know what married life was meant to be like, but it wasn’t like Travis was on hard on the eyes either, so she decided they might as well give it a try since there was nothing more for her to lose.
“Hey,” he says with slight smirk, something Hermes kids can’t help doing. He slides his hands into his jean pockets. “What’s up?”
“Um, nothing.” She slips a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “I was on my way to the lake, just thought I’d stop and say hi.”
Travis smiles back at her this time. “Did you want me to come with?”
Kayla isn’t quite sure if she wants him to, since the idea of them being together is still fresh in her mind. She doesn’t want the other campers talking about it either, especially since the Aphrodite cabin would have the news spread all over camp within minutes.
“Oh, I- I don’t mind,” she blurts out, still unsure of her decision. Something glowing in the cabin behind Travis catches her eye and she steps onto her tip-toes to try to catch a glimpse of what it is.
“Call of Duty?” she asks, and it catches him off guard.
Travis looks at her with a stunned face, then back at the plasma screen sitting in the cabin behind him. “You play-?” he asks, turning back to her.
Kayla chuckles at his sudden astonishment. “Hell yeah.” He raises an eyebrow as if he thinks she’s joking. “What? You thought just cause I’m a girl I don’t play video games? I’m not just about music and poetry you know.”
He smirks in response and opens the door wider for her to step in, “Well then, bring it on.”
As they say, time flies by while you’re having fun, and as they finish off another round the dinner horn sounds from a distance. With the faint radiance of the sun disappearing from the cabin, Travis and Kayla laze in the glow of the plasma screen surrounded by darkness, still in the emptiness of Cabin 11.
“You cheated in that round!” Kayla accuses him, setting her remote down in front of her.
Travis assumes a mock stunned expression on his face. “How would I be able to cheat? It’s all about how good your aiming is!”
She pouts. “You could have gone easy on me, at least.”
Travis laughs and starts picking up their controls. “I thought you said you could play.” He smirks over his shoulder as he sets them next to the TV.
“I can play,” she fires back. “Just maybe not as good as you.” She stands up and heads over to a nearby couch, sinking low into its soft cushions. “I know I can beat Will though.”
In a moment he finds himself next to her, sitting comfortably and leaning into the cushions on the plush couch. He chuckles. “That’s not hard to achieve.” He pauses then looks playfully over in Kayla’s direction. “Like, at all.”
She laughs along with him, surprisingly. “Shh, don’t tell him that. He’s very sensitive when it comes to gaming.”
He grins at her.“You know, I can tell our marriage will be a good one already.”
Kayla listens for a playful tone in his voice but hears none and blushes involuntarily, turning her head away to make sure he wouldn’t notice. It’s the first time she’s heard Travis talk about their marriage so openly, and it feels good in a way, knowing he’s finally accepted their given situation and willing to deal with it.
“You’re good at it,” he says suddenly, glancing at the gaming console sitting in front of them.
“What?”
He tilts his head in the general direction. “Call of Duty. You’re not bad.”
She looks at him, studying his features for any tell that he’s simply just teasing her. There isn’t a hint of a smile or even a smirk, so she takes his comment as a genuine one. She shifts her legs on the couch and smiles softly at him.
“Thanks.”
They hear footsteps on the porch of the cabin, but neither of them moves off the couch quick enough. Chris Rodriguez is in the cabin as soon as the door clicks shut behind him, and he notices the pair from the corner of his eye. He looks up from his bunk and at the lounge found in the far side of the cabin.
“You guys know it’s dinner now, right?”
“Uhm, yeah,” Kayla replies while standing up from her seat. She’d heard the horn sound earlier, but chose to ignore it. “We’re heading up now.”
Chris leaves the cabin without another word, leaving the two of them alone once again. Travis stands up behind her and starts for the cabin door, noticing only halfway there that Kayla hasn’t moved. “You coming?”
He waits for her among the bunks that belong to his various siblings, and she smiles and walks to join him. “Thanks for this afternoon, I had a lot of fun.”
“Sure.” he simply replies. He’s turning back towards the door, when suddenly, as swift as a passing breeze in autumn, Kayla plants a kiss on his lips. As stunned as he was, he figured she’d pull away in only just a few seconds, but when she didn’t, he took the opportunity to promptly slip her hand into his.
Kayla didn’t seem to mind at all.
“Hey, knock it off you two before someone sees you and reports you to Chiron.” Malcolm is peeking his head in from the window, a half serious, half amused expression on his face. He must have been passing by, making a final inspection of the cabins.
Travis pulls away and gives him a steely glance, “Go buzzkill somewhere else, man. Before I sic Chris’ pet tarantula on you.”
Malcolm responds with a tough glare and departs from the window.
Kayla laughs as Travis leads her out the door and down the cabin steps, the soft glow of the moonlight greeting them. He’s still holding onto her hand as they stroll up towards the dining pavilion, and she thinks there isn’t a better way to start off a relationship than this.
...Ω...
{ “This flood (this flood) is slowly rising up swallowing the ground
Beneath my feet, tell me how anybody thinks under this condition so
I'll swim (I'll swim) as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down” }
The sun sets over the horizon and sets the woods to the far side of Camp Half Blood on fire. Choirs of crickets begin chirping harmonically in time, welcoming the evening. There’s a chill in the late autumn air, but Kayla doesn’t mind all that much, because she’s got Travis by her side as the two of them sit atop Half Blood Hill.
He jumps a little as she leans into him. Even though she’s done it about a hundred times before, it catches him off guard every time all the same. He’s still getting used to the idea of married life at a young age.
The dinner horn sounds behind them, but ignoring the buzz of campers shifting off to the dining pavilion, neither one of them moves. The descending sun reflects off Kayla’s blonde hair, which to Travis, looked ten times more radiant than it usually did.
She feels his heartbeat quicken slightly as she rests her head on his chest, and she smiles silently to herself. Travis gingerly slips an arm around her waist. She looks up at him and unwanted thoughts of the future fill her mind, the fuzzy feeling inside replaced by the fear of the unknown.
She stiffens at the idea and Travis can feel it in his arms. He leans in slowly and whispers into her ear. “What’s up?”
She stares back at him with glowing eyes of the sunset, a hint of sorrow and a pinch of apprehension mixed in with them.
“I’m scared,” she says softly.
He can hear her voice break as she tries to fight back a sob. Travis was never quite the comforting type, and he definitely isn’t a pro at it when it comes to girls, but he knows he has to at least try.
“Hey, hey. About what?”
Kayla shakes her head slowly. He lets out a sigh and gathers her deeper into his arms, letting her head rest in the crook of his neck. A tear trails down her cheek and lands on his collar bone. He feels it and looks down at her, noticing she’s suddenly clutching at her stomach. He knows it now.
She finally lets out a heavy breath and says rather reluctantly, “About this baby. About… everything.” She doesn’t move from her spot but continues on. “How are we going to manage? We’ve got no money, we’re not in college, we live at camp-” she pauses, knowing there’s way too many things going against them to even list.
“I’m just really scared, Trav.”
His gaze is lost in the darkening horizon and Kayla wonders if he’s ever listened to half the things she’s said, but out of the blue she’s caught off guard as he presses a kiss to her forehead.
“Wanna know a secret?” he whispers, his breath lingering on her skin.
“I’m scared too.”
His eyes are locked on her now, forgetting the twinkling stars emerging in the sky.”But we can’t let that stop us, we need to be there, for her.” His eyes drift down to Kayla’s stomach and he somewhat chuckles at the idea of him being a dad, especially at this age. They’ve only known for a few days now and the thought terrifies him.
“It’ll be okay,” he continues. “We’ll just have to trust each other and work at it day by day. It’ll work out, I promise.” He presses another kiss to her cheek this time, and a genuine smile spreads across her face.
“Who would’ve thought, Travis Stoll finally takes things seriously.” Kayla jokes. She reaches out for his hand and holds it in her own.
He rolls his eyes as she laughs.
“Hey, I take things seriously, okay. Connor’s the clown…most of the time.” And he dares to add in his signature smirk for good measure.
It’s Kayla’s turn to roll her eyes this time, and she sighs quietly as the last ray of sunshine disappears over the horizon, the night air sweeping in. “She’ll need a name, y’know.”
Travis absent-mindedly lets his eyes wander towards the deep indigo sky, and there it is. There must be countless constellations sitting in the heavens, and that particular one catches his eye.
He remembers that winter so well, when the Huntresses had made their unexpected visit to camp, and then of course he heard the full story of what happened once Percy returned back from his quest.
“How about Zoe?”
“Zoe…” Kayla murmurs to herself. She chews on her bottom lip, thinking about it. “I like it.”
She tilts her head upwards and looks Travis in the eye, and he smiles back down at her.
“Zoe it is then.”
...Ω...
{ “Sunday morning rain is falling
Steal some covers share some skin
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable
You twist to fit the mold that I am in” }
“Where’ve you been?”
Travis slams the door hastily behind him, attempting to shut out the cold from the warm coziness of the loft.
Of course, after he and Kayla had found out about the baby two months ago they decided to consider all their options. One of them being renting an apartment and settling down even if they were still at a young age. It was a loft situated on the top floor of an old building in Brooklyn, though it was small it was enough for the two of them and plus it was cozier during winter anyway.
He removes his hoodie and drapes it on the nearby couch sitting in the living room, a few snowflakes still sitting on the fabric.
“I was at camp.”
Kayla’s sitting on the couch on the far side of the room with her legs crossed in front of her. She lowers her book and glares at him. “Do you have any idea how late it is?”
He shrugs and walks into the kitchen, grabbing an apple off the fruit basket on the counter. “It’s only like what, eleven?”
“Travis, I’ve been home since I got off work. I don’t enjoy being home by myself the entire night.” She sets the book down on the coffee table, albeit a little too harshly. “Especially when I’m like this.”
He’s got his attention turned to the refrigerator, and he’s taking a bite out of his apple at the same time. “Do you want something to eat then?” he offers.
She’s up and moving towards Travis in the kitchen with her arms crossed. “No, I don’t want food.” She stops by the counter and sets her arms down, supporting herself on the smooth wooden surface.
“There’s some cranberries in here-” He turns around and finally catches the look on her face, and she doesn’t seem happy at all. “No, then?”
“I want you to stop doing this,” she snaps, crossing her arms again. “Stop leaving me alone at home and coming back so late!”
Confusion twists into Travis’ face. “What are you talking about? This is the first time since we moved in that I’ve come home late!”
“What about last week? Don’t think I didn’t hear you when you snuck back in here at midnight.”
Travis turns around and returns the cranberries into the fridge. “I was getting a drink with Malcolm, he really needed one.” He turns back to her with an exasperated sigh. “Why are you acting like we’re a 40 year-old married couple? I don’t have to be home all the time!”
“You do when you’re having a kid!”
“I was just visiting Connor, I haven’t seen him since we left camp.” He stands upright and shoves his hands into his jean pockets. “He’s my brother, Kayla. I have to see him sometime. He’s like my other half!”
She huffs furiously. “I’m your other half now!” she shouts.
Travis gives her a frustrated stare, then circles the counter walking towards her. “What, you’re jealous of Connor now?” He tries to step towards her, tries to do something to calm her down.
Her blonde hair rocks side to side in her ponytail as she shakes her head, and she takes a step away from him when he tries to approach her. “I’m not jealous, I just want you to be here! Start taking responsibility for everything, Travis, because unless you do, none of this will ever work out.”
“I-” He’s stunned into silence. Out of the three months he’s been with Kayla, she’s never acted out towards him like this before. Sure, she’s had her grumpy days, but nothing was ever as bad as her yelling and shouting. “Ok, look-” he starts.
“No.” She takes another step back and away from him. “I’m going to bed, go hang out with your brother some more if that’s what you’d rather be doing.”
Before he can get another word out of his mouth, she’s slamming the bedroom door behind her.
He figures it’d be best if he doesn’t bother her anymore during the night, so he retreats to the couch, and after the few hours that have passed, he finds himself lifting his face off the cushion with an empty beer bottle sitting in his hand. His cell phone reads 02:23am, but he’s sure he only closed his eyes for a few minutes.
He’s about to drift back to sleep, when above the distant noises of New York traffic, he hears the creaking of an opening door. Lifting his eyelid slightly, he sees Kayla kneeling beside him by the couch, the fury in her eyes gone.
“Come to bed, Trav,” she says softly.
He closes his eye and chuckles. “You’re not planning on hitting me are you?”
“No,” she replies as he sits up on the couch, and he can hear the smile in her voice.
“You’re not mad anymore?” He looks up at her from his spot on the couch, the sleep leaving his eyes. She’s got her arms wrapped around herself, struggling to keep the bitter cold of winter away. She tucks a piece of stray hair behind her left ear.
“I’m sorry about earlier, really. I don’t know what was going on with me.”
He notices she’s wearing his shirt, - the same as the one from Vegas - over a pair of shorts. The fire in the furnace has gone out, and he realizes she must be freezing with her bare legs showing. “C’mere.”
He shifts over on the couch and she sits down next to him, curling her legs into herself. Travis grabs his hoodie from the arm of the couch and carefully places it over her shoulders, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
Kayla leans her head back into the cushions and stares up at the beams supporting the ceiling, “Really Trav, I didn’t mean to be so upset.”
“It’s alright,” he replies, nuzzling her arm trying to keep her warm.
She places her hands on her stomach, her eyes still wandering the ceiling. “I think it’s just the hormones, y’know? They’ve been driving me crazy lately.” According to her pregnancy book, she wasn’t meant to start showing until a later stage, especially since this was her first, but every time she places a hand on her stomach she can feel it. She feels a baby in there, even with such a tiny bump.
“Hormones, huh? Does anything else besides unexpected rage and bizarre cravings come with that?” He’s smirking, and she nudges him in the side with her elbow.
They sit in silence for a while, listening to the wind whistling outside their windows. She suddenly grabs Travis’ hands and places them on her stomach, which is surprisingly warm to the touch. “She’s in there,” she says quietly. “Our baby girl.”
The idea still frightens them, and sometimes they even lose sleep over it but Travis can tell Kayla’s considerably more excited about having it, partially because she’s hated every second of being pregnant and the torture it brought.
He smoothes his thumb over the thin fabric. “I know.”
He’s waiting for her to reply, but soon realizes she won’t for a while, and the sound of deep breathing fills the small living room. He looks down and sees the slow rising and sinking of her chest. He pulls his hoodie tighter over her. “And you’ll be a great mom too.”