Cravings
Wynn wakes up from a dead sleep to banging in the kitchen. She instinctively reaches a hand out toward Evie, but finds her half of the covers thrown back, the bed still warm.
Wynn groans, rubbing her eyes, then climbs out of bed and pads into the kitchen, squinting in the light. “What’re you doin’, Ev?” She asks. Her voice is scratchy from sleep.
Evie jumps a little, turning around. “Wynn? What are you doing up?”
“What are you doing up?” Wynn counters. “It’s two in the morning, love.”
“Baby’s hungry,” she says, patting her belly.
Wynn snorts. “Yeah? What for this time?”
“Dunno,” Evie says absently, still digging through cabinets.
Wynn sighs, coming up behind her to wrap her arms around Evie’s bump. “Can the baby wait until a reasonable hour to eat?”
“Nope,” Evie answers, shaking her head. “It’s gotta be now.”
Wynn tempers a groan. “Alright. What’s baby wanting? Salty? Sweet? Savory?”
“Mmm,” Evie considers. “Salty and savory, I think.”
“Okay,” Wynn nods. “What about…. crisps?”
“Mm,” Evie says, scrunching up her face. “No. Too crunchy.”
“Cheese?”
“Nah.”
“...toast?”
“Nope.”
“Well, that’s about all we have, love.”
“I know,” Evie whines. “Ugh!”
“Are you sure the baby can’t wait?”
Evie scrunches her face up again indignantly. “No. We’re hungry now.”
“Oh, it’s ‘we’ now, huh?” Wynn teases.
“Anything that happens to me happens to the baby, and vice versa. We share a body at the moment.”
“Not quite, but I get your point,” Wynn nods. “Fine. Do we need to make a run for chips?”
Evie’s face lights up and Wynn laughs. “Alright. Go get in the car,” she sas, rolling her eyes fondly. “I’ll drive.”
Evie pops up on her toes, delivering a smacking kiss to Wynn’s cheek, then half-jogs out to the car, hopping in the passenger seat as Wynn locks up and follows after her. She starts the engine, rolling down the windows to enjoy the cool night air as Evie smiles at her.
“MacDonald’s is the only thing open. That’s fine, right?” Wynn asks, glancing at Evie, who’s head bobs quickly.
“Yep!”
Wynn laughs softly and reaches a hand out to rest on Evie’s bump, stroking her thumb over it, then takes her hand back to navigate onto the road. It’s only a ten minute drive, and it’s a nice night, so they mostly just enjoy the silence, Evie reaching over to intertwine her fingers with Wynn’s as she drives.
She goes through the drive-thru with practiced ease, picking up Evie’s usual request of chips and sauce, and then gets a small milkshake as well. She’s been trying to convince Evie to try chips dipped in a shake for ages, but she’s refused. But something tells her Evie might be up for trying it now, what with all her odd pregnancy cravings.
They end up parking at the community pitches, where the carpark is completely abandoned besides their car. Wynn shuts the engine off and turns off the lights, and they sit in the relative dark, illuminated by the street lamp they’re stopped under.
“Alright, love,” Wynn says seriously. “I know you think this is weird, but I think the baby might really like chips dipped in a milkshake.”
Evie squints skeptically, but nods and takes a chip from the carton and dips it, popping it in her mouth. She chews slowly, scrunching up her face in thought.
“Well?” Wynn prompts.
Evie nods. “I like it,” she says. “But I think I’d like it more if it weren’t so cold. I like my chips hot!”
“I could put some of the shake in a sauce container,” Wynn offers. “Let it melt a bit?”
“Oooo,” Evie nods. “Yes! Do that!”
Evie’s right - she likes the shake as a dipping sauce when it’s not so cold, and she laughs when Wynn scoops some into a tiny container and starts holding it tightly between her hands to warm it up when they run out. When they finish their snack, Wynn shifts in her seat, facing Evie more directly and reaches over, tucking some hair behind her ear and rests a hand on her belly.
“How's the baby feeling now? Better?”
Evie nods, smiling softly. “Much better,” she says.
Wynn smiles back and looks down, watching her hand move over Evie’s shirt. “Is she moving a lot in there?”
“Mmm,” Evie hums, looking down for a moment. “Not so much right now. I think she’s sleeping.”
“When do you think I’ll be able to feel?” Wynn asks, looking almost longingly. “It should be soon, right?”
“I think so,” Evie nods. “I hope so, at least.” A shadow passes over her as headlights illuminate the inside of the car and then pass by.
“Me too,” Wynn whispers, watching the shadow run across Evie’s stomach.
Evie smiles at her and reaches out to bring both of Wynn’s hands to her belly, pressing her palms against her skin. “You feel that? How one side’s squashier than the other?”
Wynn frowns, pressing again. “I think so?”
“That’s her, where it’s not so squashy,” Evie says. “She likes laying on that side. That’s where I feel her, mostly, is over there.”
Wynn grins and presses her hand along what she imagines is their baby’s back. “I can’t wait to meet her, Ev,” she whispers. “I want to know if she looks like you.”
“I want her to look like you,” Evie counters.
Wynn snorts. “You wanted a baby with a bunch of tattoos and piercings?”
Evie rolls her eyes playfully. “No,” she sighs. “But I would love it if she looked like you. Maybe I'll finally find out what your hair actually looks like naturally.”
Wynn chuckles. “Honestly, I hardly remember what my hair looks like.”
“How come you never let it go back to normal?”
Wynn shrugs, letting Evie run her hand through it. She grimaces slightly, shifting. “I, uh- Brom and I are a good mix of both of our parents, but… if I don’t bleach my hair and I let it grow, I look like my mum.”
Evie’s brow furrows, just a touch, and then she nods. “Hmm. So maybe I should want her to look like me, then?” She asks, glancing down.
Wynn shrugs. “I don’t mind, really. I just happen to think you’re a whole lot cuter than me, and I want a baby version of you to look at all day, not a baby version of me.”
“Well, I think a baby version of you would be extraordinarily adorable,” Evie says seriously, cupping Wynn’s cheek in one hand.
“Extraordinarily adorable?” Wynn echoes, grinning.
“Mhm,” Evie nods.
Wynn smiles at her, closing her eyes for a moment as she imagines what she thinks their baby might look like, who she’ll favor in personality-
Her eyes flick back open as she hears Evie shift, and she finds her halfway over the console, in the middle of climbing into the backseat.
“Ev? What are you doing?”
Evie grunts, wedging herself through the gap, then plops onto the seat and grins at Wynn widely. “I never really had a rebellious teen phase,” she says. “Never fooled around in the back of a car in an abandoned carpark, and I find I’d like to do that.”
Wynn sends her an incredulous look. “You want to have sex in the car? Right now?”
“Not sex necessarily,” Evie says patiently. “But I’d like to snog you a bit, at least.”
Wynn laughs and Evie watches her patiently. “Well? Are you coming?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Wynn teases. “You said no sex-”
“Oh my god,” Evie groans. “Just get back here before I change my mind.”
Wynn grins and climbs awkwardly over the console and through the gap in the seats to land in the back, falling heavily onto her bum with her legs spread wide to keep from jamming her knees into the back of the front seats. Another car goes by, casting a shadow of Wynn’s head over the front seats through the back window.
“I’m too tall for this,” she says, turning to look at Evie where she’s bent in half to Wynn’s left.
Evie rolls her eyes and pulls a lever, letting the backrest of the bench row of seats fall to a steeper angle, letting Wynn slouch a bit. She slides lower, then turns to Evie and grabs her hips firmly, lifting her and settling her on her thighs. She tugs on her until Evie’s little belly presses against Wynn’s stomach. It’s small enough that she can still bring Evie close enough to press their chests together, too, so Evie’s half-laying on her, but Wynn can’t deny that she loves feeling the little swell of Evie’s abdomen between them. She runs her hands over the side of Evie’s bump, over her waist, and then down her back to settle somewhere around her hips.
Evie’s elbow hooks around Wynn’s neck and her other presses against Wynn’s heart, feeling it hammer away under her ribs as she leans in to kiss her. It’s a bit chilly in the car with the windows still open, but it’s better, now that they’re pressed together the way they are.
Now that Evie isn’t feeling quite as sick as she had been in the first trimester, she finds that kissing Wynn can quickly get out of hand. A single brush of her tongue against Evie’s is usually enough to make her whine and tug on Wynn’s hands in an effort to get her to touch her, which is what she does now.
Wynn chuckles as Evie rocks her hips forward and opens her mouth, pulling one of Wynn’s hands to cup her breast.
“Touch me,” she breathes. “Please.”
Wynn grins against her mouth, keeping her touches soft as she drags her hands over Evie’s body. She helps Evie rock against her as she kisses her until Evie can’t catch her breath and pulls away, tilting her head back.
Wynn takes that as an opportunity to taste and tease Evie’s pulse, cradling her head in one hand as she presses her mouth to her throat, using her other hand to keep Evie moving against her. As she leans in, Evie’s face is lit up in headlights again, giving Wynn a perfect view of the pleasure written across her face.
“Fuck, Wynn,” Evie gasps, panting.
Wynn grins again, sucking a little more harshly as Evie lets out a little whine. She feels the way Evie starts to tense in her lap and slips her hand up the back of her shirt, touching gently.
A car door slams nearby and Wynn freezes, straining to listen over the sounds of Evie panting in her ear.
“Lieverd-” Evie whines, trying to tug at her hands to get her moving again.
Wynn hears the scuff of a shoe on pavement outside the car and goes completely stiff, tucking Evie in so tight against her with an arm across her back and a hand curled protectively over the back of her head that she can’t move away, even if she wanted to. She’s a bit trapped, smushed against Wynn’s chest, face hidden in her shoulder even as she tries to push back.
“Wynn-” she whispers.
“Shh,” Wynn hisses, tightening her grip. The footsteps are coming closer, and Wynn thinks desperately of what to do. She can’t get to the driver’s seat easily like this. She can’t even get Evie off her lap without getting tangled in her, so the best thing she can think to do is hold Evie against her and pray she doesn’t have to fight her way out of whatever confrontation they’ve found themselves in. Her heart pounds uncomfortably in her chest and she feels her muscles tense as she tries to think of what to do if a fight does break out. Whoever it is is approaching the driver’s side from the back of the car. She shifts slightly, turning her back toward that window in preparation to shove Evie off her lap into the far side of the backseat before she dives for the door and tries to get out before-
“Police,” comes a slightly stern voice. A torch shines directly in Wynn’s eyes and she holds Evie tighter, squinting against the blinding light. “What’s going on here?” He asks gruffly.
Wynn stays tense, keeping Evie against her. “Midnight snack,” she says curtly, fighting to keep her voice from shaking.
He takes in the positioning of Evie on Wynn’s lap, still hiding her face and drops the torch to aim it at the ground, sending Wynn a very unimpressed look.
“Miss?” He says, staring at the back of Evie’s head. “Everything alright here?”
Wynn stiffens again as Evie tries to push away to look at the officer, but she releases her grip reluctantly when Evie scratches her nails across the back of her head gently.
“Yes,” she says sweetly. “We’re good.”
He frowns, looking between Evie and Wynn. Evie looks particularly young at the moment, in her oversized pajamas she likes to steal from Wynn and her hair loose with her face clear of makeup. He glances between the two of them, scowling at Wynn and the way she’s clearly holding Evie in place, stopping her from moving away, her fingers going white against the back of Evie’s neck.
“Miss,” he says. “Could you step out of the vehicle, please?”
Wynn tenses further, which he notices, making him even more suspicious.
“Why?” Wynn stays tersely, clinging to her more tightly.
“I’m going to have to ask you to let her go so we can speak privately-”
“Why?” Wynn growls. The idea of letting Evie out of her lap right now, especially to go speak to the police, alone - it’s enough to have her seriously considering refusing to let her, consequences be damned.
“Let her go,” he barks, shifting his weight.
Wynn tenses again at his new stance, angling his right side away from her, reaching a hand to his belt.
“Sir,” Evie says kindly. “Would you mind explaining why you’d like to speak with me alone? Anything you want to ask me, you can ask me in front of her,” she says easily.
“Just some private safety questions,” he says gruffly. “All very routine in this sort of scenario.”
Evie and Wynn both frown, not entirely sure what he’s referring to, but Evie nods anyway.
“Alright. But I’d like to stay by the car, if you don’t mind,” she says, shifting in Wynn’s lap to slide towards the door. “No disrespect to you, officer, I just… I feel a bit safer being near my wife at this hour,” she says kindly. “I’m sure you can understand.”
“Your wife,” he says, voice colored with mild surprise.
“Mhm,” Evie nods.
“How old are you?” He asks.
“Twenty six,” she says easily. “I’m older than I look.”
“And your wife is-”
“Twenty nine,” she answers for Wynn.
“Have you got a problem with law enforcement?” He asks gruffly, aiming this question at Wynn, who’s half glaring at him through the window.
“Oh, it’s not you,” Evie says breezily. “At least not that you’re police. She’s just a bit overprotective, right now,” she explains, dropping her left hand to her belly, running a hand over her bump. It serves two purposes - it highlights her ring, backing up her claim that they’re married, and gives a plausible reason for Wynn’s defensiveness, even if that’s not the real reason she’s panicking. At least not all of it.
“Oh,” he says, relaxing. “Congratulations,” he says awkwardly.
“Thank you,” Evie grins. “First baby,” she explains. “She’s a bit more nervous than me,” she says with a teasing smile. “Which means she believes me when I say the baby simply has to have chips at two in the morning,” she whispers conspiratorially.
The officer laughs, shifting back into a more relaxed stance, which has Wynn’s tension melting as well. He leans on the car, peering through the window to look at Wynn. “It’s the oldest trick in the book,” he says wisely. “And I’ve fallen for it three times now, so you’re in good company.”
Wynn manages a tight smile and a nod.
“Sorry,” Evie says, shuffling towards the door again. “Did you still want to speak to me-”
“Oh, no,” he says, waving a hand at her. “Don’t worry about it. Just wanted to check if everything was alright. And uh- we’ve had an issue with teens in this park, recently, so I thought-” he cuts off awkwardly.
“We’re alright,” Evie confirms. She goes a bit pink, looking at him shyly. “Sorry. That uhm… I’ll blame that behavior on the pregnancy as well,” she grins. “My idea, I’m afraid.”
The officer clears his throat, chuckling a bit. “Might be best to keep those activities to your home,” he says. “Just to avoid any more run-ins like this.”
“Right,” Evie nods, blushing. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Off you go, then,” he says patiently. “And at least try to make her wait til you get home, would you?” He jokes, glancing at Wynn.
Wynn sends him that same tight smile. “Yeah, I’ll try. No promises, though,” she says, her voice a bit flat.
The officer nods, then bids them goodnight again and turns on his heel, walking away from the car. Evie turns to Wynn, looking at her as she listens to his footsteps disappear, then glances around the car worriedly.
“Lieverd?” Evie asks gently, reaching a hand out for her.
Wynn’s eyes slide to her slowly and she reaches out a hand, which shakes as she moves it to rest on Evie’s stomach. Wynn takes a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as she starts to tremble.
Evie looks at her pityingly, putting her hand over top of Wynn’s. “Alright, lief?” She asks gently.
Wynn doesn’t look up, just keeps staring at Evie’s stomach. She bites her lip, taking a tremulous breath before she shakes her head.
“Okay,” Evie whispers. “Keys, please, darling. I’ll drive us home,” she says, taking the keys from Wynn and slipping into the driver’s seat. Wynn climbs back over the console as Evie starts the car and does the windows up, locking the doors securely around them.
Wynn manages to hold it together until they get home. When they park, she makes Evie stay in the car with the doors locked while she scopes out the short path from the library’s carpark to Evie’s door. Then she goes back and scoops Evie out of the driver’s seat, cradling her against her chest while Evie wraps her legs around Wynn’s waist and her arms around her shoulders as she moves at a good clip towards the house, unlocking the door and moving quickly inside, locking it behind them.
She flicks on all the lights, grabbing a knife off the block in the kitchen and searching each room as Evie trails along behind her. Once she’s checked everywhere, she checks the lock on the front door again and puts a chair under the doorknob, then pulls Evie back into their bedroom and closes the door. She searches the room once more before she locks the door and moves Evie’s bedside table against it, then searches again before she finally puts the knife down on her bedside table and sits on the edge of the bed. She buries her face in her hands and takes a deep breath, but her shoulders shake as she does.
As Evie approaches her, Wynn suddenly drops to the floor, peering under the bed and the other furniture. She looks completely panicked, up until Evie moves in front of her and puts her hand on Wynn’s shoulder.
“We’re safe, Wynn,” she says gently. “It’s alright.”
Wynn lets Evie pull her to her feet and nudge her back into the bed. Evie tries to pull her to lay flat, but Wynn resists, sitting upright against the headboard. Evie sighs, crawling in the other side and flicking off her lamp, the room only lit by Wynn’s, now. Evie curls herself into Wynn’s side, pillowing her head on her shoulder a little awkwardly with how stiffly Wynn is sitting.
“Liefje?” She says softly. “How can I help you right now?” She asks.
Wynn’s jaw is tight, and she shakes her head silently, staring at the door like someone might come bursting through it any second.
“Lieverd,” Evie says, reaching for her cheek to turn Wynn’s face. “Look at me, please,” she coaxes. She can feel the way Wynn’s whole body is on the edge of shaking, tense and too-tight as she turns her head. “It’s alright. We’re safe. We’re home. Nothing happened. No one’s coming after us, love. We’re safe. No one’s here. It’s just us.”
Wynn works her jaw, lacing her fingers together tightly in her lap, hands trembling with the effort of controlling her panic. Evie reaches out slowly and touches her hands, managing to squeeze her fingers into the little gaps. She eventually gets her fingers threaded with Wynn’s, then shifts, very slowly shuffling to straddle Wynn’s lap, like she had been in the car. She just wants to be in front of her, to try to force her wife to look at her, but as soon as she’s in Wynn’s line of sight, she’s being tugged against her chest, held there securely by both of Wynn’s arms.
It’s actually a bit too tight, the way she’s squeezing Evie, both arms wrapped around her back, one hand reaching up to cradle her head, the other wrapping around her waist. Wynn tucks her chin over Evie’s shoulder and starts to rock, just a little. At first, Evie isn’t sure who it’s meant to benefit, up until she feels Wynn’s breath catch against her. Then she manages to move her hands up the back of Wynn’s shirt, scratching her nails softly against the muscles of her back soothingly.
“It’s alright, lieverd,” she murmurs. “We’re okay. It’s okay.”
Wynn’s arms tighten around Evie, shaking as the rest of her does with her tension and with her silent sobs. Evie just keeps whispering to her, trailing her fingers over her back. Eventually, she falls asleep like that, held protectively against Wynn’s chest.
In the morning, she wakes up on her side, with Wynn curled against her back, acting as a shield between Evie and the door with a hand spread over her belly protectively.
As soon as Evie shifts, Wynn’s awake, jolting halfway up and turning toward the door.
“S’ok,” Evie murmurs. “Just me.”
Wynn nods silently, turning to lay back on her side. Evie curls up in front of her, turning around so they’re face-to-face. She reaches out to cup Wynn’s cheek, scooting to press their foreheads together.
“Can you tell me what happened last night, Wynn?” She asks softly. “Can you tell me why you’re so scared?”
Wynn tenses and squeezes her eyes shut, but doesn’t refuse and doesn’t move away.
Evie waits, watching Wynn’s face as she steels herself.
“Dunno,” she mumbles. “Felt like- felt like before.”
“Before?” Evie echoes, frowning.
“Used to sleep in the car,” she says vaguely. “Don’t like people sneaking up on me.”
“Was it just that?” Evie asks. “I thought it might be the police-”
“Didn’t like that either,” she growls. “But mostly… dunno,” she says quietly. “Didn’t know how to protect you. Felt trapped.”
“Mm,” Evie hums, running her fingers through Wynn’s hair. “What did we need protecting from?”
Wynn’s shoulders move, just a quick shrug. “Whoever was there,” she says vaguely.
Evie frowns, thinking. She hadn’t realized anything was amiss until Wynn shushed her, and then the officer had announced himself. “You heard him?” Evie guesses.
Wynn nods. “Car door,” she says. “And scuffed his boot.”
“Ah,” Evie says. “So you knew someone was there, but didn’t know who.”
Wynn nods.
“Why did you feel trapped?”
“Couldn’t move,” she mumbles.
“Why not?” Evie wonders.
“Not enough space with you in my lap,” she says in a low whisper. She sounds a bit tortured, if Evie’s honest.
“Ah. Because we were sort of wedged back there?” She asks.
Wynn nods silently.
Evie considers for a moment, trying to think how she would feel if she thought someone was sneaking up on them with Wynn in her lap, wedged in the back of a car, windows open-
“So he scared you,” she says, “and then he wanted me to go talk to him alone-”
Wynn pulls Evie closer involuntarily, tightening an arm across her back.
“What did you think he would do? If he talked to me-”
“Police can be bad people too,” Wynn answers vaguely.
“Are you speaking from personal experience?” Evie asks gently.
Wynn goes still, then shrugs.
“I see,” Evie sighs. She waits for Wynn to say something else, but when she doesn’t, she presses a little kiss to her nose. It’s another hour or so before Wynn moves or speaks again, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling.
“I need to take you to your parents,” she says flatly.
Evie glances at her where she’s reading her book. “Why’s that?” She wonders.
“I need to go somewhere,” she answers vaguely. “Can’t take you but can’t leave you alone either.”
“Where do you need to go?” Evie asks, trying and failing to hide her worry and hesitation.
“Gym,” she answers curtly.
Evie frowns. Wynn doesn’t normally act this cagey about the gym. “That’s all?” She asks warily.
Wynn sighs. “Need to go punch something,” she grits out. “Don’t want you to watch that.”
“Why not?” Evie wonders.
Wynn shrugs tightly, clenching her teeth.
“Are you worried it’ll scare me?” She asks. “Watching you fight?”
Wynn shrugs again.
“Or do you just not want me to see you like that?” She guesses.
Wynn stays still, not answering.
Evie sighs. “Can you take someone with you? Brom or Hendrich, maybe?”
Wynn hesitates. “I can ask Brom.”