afternoon shade
She tosses another pair of slacks to the ground. "Goddammit!"
The sound of hesitant footsteps on the other side of the dressing screen alerts her to a presence. "Everything alright, love?" Steven asks.
"No, I have a meeting with someone to get an ankh into the museum, and none-" She throws her olive khakis away from her. "-of my pants-" A pair of dark navy jeans follows it. "-fit!"
"Uhm," Steven stammers. "Do you maybe have a skirt or dress?"
"Not suitable for this," She huffs. "I don't know why none of these fit. I'm not gaining weight…am I?" Layla chews on her lips for a second. "I suppose my bra has been getting tighter lately. Though, I haven't changed my diet. I'm more active than I ever was."
A small weird twitter from Steven fills the room, and Layla cocks her head to the side. After a moment of deliberation, she knows which of the boys she's going to interrogate. "Marc?"
There's a moment of silence before he answers with, "Yeah, babe?"
"Any reason why Steven made that sound?"
Marc pauses, and even though she is behind the dressing screen, Layla can see him biting his lip knowing that she will be able to taste his lie a mile away. "He… uh… he has a theory."
"A theory," Layla parrots, urging Marc to go on.
"Yeah, well… he was thinking…"
"I was not the only one, you agreed with me when we talked about it," Steven hisses.
"Oh, so this has been an ongoing conversation," Layla notes.
"Well, we've been paying attention and…" Marc sighs. "Steven could explain it better."
Steven sputters. "Don't throw me under the bus, mate!"
"One of you is going to tell me." Layla steps out from the screen, clad in nothing but a knit velvety turtleneck and her panties. "And I want to hear it now."
There's an exhale and a forceful look away from her, and she can't tell: is it Marc keeping both of their eyes away, hiding her away from Steven, or Steven himself giving her privacy? "Yeah, so…" Steven stammers. "You're the Avatar of Taweret, yeah?"
Layla crosses her arms. "Yeah."
"Alright, so, what is Taweret known to be the goddess of?"
"Mothers and children," Layla answers.
"Specifically…" Steven bounces on his toes, wanting to avoid his next words. "Fertility."
The room is silent for the exception of Gus's water filter. After a moment of her brain grinding the information down to dust, Layla asks, "You think that my body is…becoming fertile?"
"Well, it makes sense, it's a blessing from Taweret, and you're…filling out," Steven blurts out.
"Marc?"
Marc rubs his face. "Look, it's not as if I don't know what you look like naked. And yeah, I've noticed. Steven noticed first, though."
Steven's face reddens. "I- look, I was just noticing your hips were a little wider and I thought- I was wondering if I was going mad."
"Virgen de mierda."
Layla's eyes widen, as does Marc's. "Did- was that-" Marc asks in a slight panic.
"Jake, you there?" Layla asks softly.
Jake blinks, smirking at her after a second. "Tengo que estar de acuerdo, eres más radiante que el sol."
It's Layla's turn to blush, and before she can reply, Marc huffs. "Son of a bitch is ignoring us."
"Not very nice," Steven murmurs, almost pouting.
"Well, Jake might just be my favorite, considering what you two talked about behind my back," She seethes.
"Wait, okay, hang on," Marc says with a nervous laugh. "What if we go get you some pants?"
Layla jerks her head away, choosing to ignore them as she keeps looking through her closet.
"We'll get you some boots too," Marc tacks on.
She pauses her looking. "Yeah?"
"And a new jacket?"
She taps her foot. "You only have five hours."
Marc rushes behind the screen, giving her a quick peck to the lips. "That's more than enough."
"Yeah, we'll be back quick enough," Steven chirps.
They turn and start to walk towards the door, but they pause at the doorway.
"Something up?" Layla asks.
A hearty chuckle rings out. "Espero poder seguir siendo tu favorito."
Jake's words and easy transition leave her with nothing but more questions.