Chapter Text
"Um, Shelly... I don't think we need this much..."
Finn and Shrimpo were practically buried in a mountain of bags, all filled to the brim with baby blankets, plushies and onesies. It had been about 6 weeks since the ultrasound, and Shelly's been working with Ribecca on new clothes for the upcoming infants since she learned about them.
"Just giving you some options! I even made one based of a mosasaurus! They lived about 66 to 82 million years ago, during the cretaceous period!" Shelly held up a grey-blue onesie with little fins and a tail.
"..I will say that is adorable, but still! This is enough onesies to last to the toddler stages, and they probably won't even fit then!" Finn exclaimed, looking to Shrimpo to support. But he simply rolled and closed his eyes, crossing his arms. All he wanted was to get this over with, so he could go take a nap. You couldn't blame him either, considering it was any day now until his due date. Turns out being smaller than a human made the gestation period sizeablely shorter, being only about 6 months based of Ginger's prediction. And considering how long he hid his pregnancy, it wasn't that surprising how close his due date was, either.
"That's why I made blankets too! They won't grow out of some of these, because some are big enough for you guys too!!" She held up a large checkered maroon blanket. "Ribecca came up with the design on this one!! Oh! That reminds me!" She turned and ran through a bag, pulling out a few large sweaters and shirts. Then she turned back around, facing Shrimpo, who opened his eyes, feeling someone looking at him.
"I heard you've been having a hard time fitting into some of your clothes..." Shrimpo gave her a skeptical look at that, which made her quickly explain. "N-Not that it's a bad thing! All natural, of course! I just thought that you might enjoy a few more clothes you can fit into comfortably!" She handed him the small pile she was holding. On the top was a near replica of his favorite skull hoodie, one he had currently been unable to wear, due to it being too tight. He unfolded it and held it up in front of his face. Shelly nervously waited for a reply.
"...whatever." He put it back down into his lap and looked to the side. His response was indifferent and he still had his usual scowl, but you could tell his joy from the subtle wag of his tail.
"Glad you don't hate it!" Shelly chuckled, letting out a little sigh of relief. "I do have new shirt for you as well, Finn!"
"Oh? You made one for me too? I'm not really in need of new clothes, though..." Finn thought all of this was very very generous of her, he hoped it hadn't been too much trouble.
Shelly grabbed another bag and pulled out an orange and white striped long sleeved shirt, handing it to him swiftly. It was quite soft, a very pleasant texture. "It's made out of a softer material than what we usually have, gentler on sensitive skin. I thought it'd be good to have something you can wear when you hold the new babies..."
Finn's eyes shone at that. "Oh, Shelly... Thank you, that's so thoughtful of you!" He felt his eyes water as he hugged the fossil.
She let out a small sound of surprise, before smiling and hugging him back. "Glad I could help!"
After a bit more showcasing, she set down the final bag. "Now, that should be the last one! Sorry I took up so much of your time, guys! I know you must have other things to do, like that meet up with Teagan later!"
"Oh, don't worry! We always enjoy your company, Shelly! And tanks so much for all the gifts, we'll have to repay you one of these days!" As the fisherman spoke, Shrimpo began haphazardly grabbing blankets out from the bags and shaping them in a large circular shape on the floor, throwing a few piilows alongside and within it.
"Oh please, there's no need! I have all the reward I need from your happiness! I won't keep you guys any longer, see you later!" Shelly waved goodbye to them as she exited.
"Catch you later!!" Finn waved back enthusiastically.
As the fossil disappeared from sight, Finn turned to the shrimp, about to speak before he saw the shrimp had already curled up in a makeshift nest of all the blankets Shelly and Ribecca had made, and fell asleep. He sighed lovingly, and crept over to his side, carefully sliding down next to him, before wrapping his arms around his one-in-a-krillion.
He heard a faint purr emitting from the shrimp as he did. The fishbowl felt his heart swell.
I sea-ppose Teagan's teaparty will have to wait a bit longer.
"I thought Finn and Shrimpo would be here by now!!" Toodles exclaimed, impatience in her tone after waiting for so long.
"Yeah, we have so much to ask them!!" Gourdy agreed, also fed up with the wait.
Teagan chuckled, before pouring another cup full of tea for the two, which they both eagerly drank. "Now, now. It's only a bit longer. Finn messaged me earlier, informing on how Shrimpo hadn't been able to get his nap in due to Shelly's visit, so they did a quick powernap, and now should be on their way."
"Why does Shrimpo need to sleep so much? I thought only babies and old guys needed so much sleep!" Toodles asked, swinging her legs back and forth under her chair, watching as Gourdy did the same.
"Well, carrying a baby takes quite a bit of energy, even more so since he's having twins. It's just good to nap every day in order to stabilize that energy."
"Wow, Ms. Teagan, you know a lot about this kind of thing, don't you?" Gourdy smiled, spilling a bit of his tea on accident, before quickly wiping it up with his paw.
Teagan chuckled again. "Oh, I'm only reciting what I've been told by others. You give me far too much credit, dear."
"Well, you're still smart if you can remember it all!" Toodles chimed in.
"Hm, I suppose so." Teagan smiled.
The three talked for a bit longer until a knock on the door caught their attention. "Come in!" Teagan called.
"Hiya!" Finn peaked his head from the door frame, before opening the door fully, walking in with Shrimpo beside him.
"HI. GLAD YOU HAD TO WAIT, I HOPE IT WAS SUPER BORING." Shrimpo sneered, earning a laugh from Teagan.
"I'm glad to see you're just as witty as ever, Shrimpo. You seem to be well, you're practically glowing." The teacup stood and grabbed two more cups from the cupboard.
Shrimpo did look different. Other than the full stomach, of course, he was fluffier, less spiky than usual. His fur was downy and soft to the touch, it had grown longer, enough to be noticed by toons close to him. Teagan assumed the new fur was his body adjusting for the babies-to-be. A warm, soft coat, gentle on the newborns' skin.
Gourdy ran up to him, and walked in a circle around the shrimp, observing his new appearance. "You look a lot less scary now!"
"GEE, THANKS."
"Oh, come on, Shrimps, it's a compliment! You look less rough around the edges, that's all!" Finn grinned, his fins waving slightly.
"Yeah!! Less spiky!" Toodles nodded.
Shrimpo growled as she stepped closer. "YOU TOUCH ME, I'LL EXPLODE."
"WHAT???" The two cried.
"He's joking! A joke! Right, Shrimpo?" Finn huffed as the shrimp rolled his eyes.
"WHATEVER."
Despite the slight scare, Toodles took another step forward. She was ever curious and observational, after all. "Oh, your belly is big!! Bigger than last time!" Toodles stood by Gourdy to observe with him. "Is it because the new toons are almost here?"
"Correct! You have quite the eye, Toodles! Just like your dad!" Finn replied, patting her on the head with a grin.
Toodles beamed and spun to face her friend. "You hear that, Gourdy? I'm going be the greatest detective EVER when I'm a grown up, you'll see!!" She did a twirl and put her hands on her hips proudly.
"Hehe, yeah!! I don't doubt it one bit!"
Teagan chuckled and sat back down at the table, beckoning the four to sit. "We have much to talk about, come, let's get comfortable."
"FINALLY. MY FEET ARE KILLING ME!" Shrimpo stomped over and threw himself into a chair with a huff.
"I'd assume so, you're carrying twins after all." Teagan handed the shrimp a cup of tea, which he downed and immediately handed them the cup for another.
"YEAH, YEAH, I'VE HEARD IT OVER AND OVER. TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW."
Finn sat by him with a smile. "I'm sure there's a sea creature fact I haven't told you yet!"
"I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT. AFTER YEARS OF LISTENING TO YOU TALK, I CAN PRACTICALLY PREDICT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR FACE HOLE."
"Oh? Is this a challenge I hear?" Teagan sipped their tea, intrigued.
"Haha, sea-ms like it! I accept your challenge, Shrimps! I'd tell every fact I know, we'll see if you can finish my sentence before I can recite the whole thing, test how good the both of our memories are!"
Finn wasn't competitive by nature, but whenever it involved his facts or fishing, he was ready to give it his all.
"FINE. THIS BETTER NOT BE BORING. I'M ALREADY YAWNING JUST THINKING ABOUT HOW EASY THIS'LL BE."
"Oh, yeah? We'll sea about that!"
The two went back and forth for a while, watched in amazement by the teacup and the two children, and in the end, Shrimpo was victorious, even after Finn moved from sea creatures, to facts about the ocean.
"Wow, whale I guess I need some new facts... You know your stuff, Shrimps!" Finn grinned, quite proud of his ability to have schooled Shrimpo into memorizing so much. Even if it was unintentional.
"THAT'S WHAT TWO DECADES OF YOU YAPPING MY EAR OFF DOES TO A TOON. NOW I'M AS MUCH OF A NERD YOU ARE, AGAINST MY WILL." Shrimpo scoffed, downing another cup of tea.
"Wow, your memory's are amazing! How do you remember so much?" Toodles exclaimed, eyes shining.
"Whale, I guess I was made with a good memory in mind, considering my purpose... Not sure why Shrimpo can remember so much, though." Finn giggled, elbowing Shrimpo's arm playfully. The crustacean crossed his arms proudly.
"I'M JUST BETTER LIKE THAT!! GET GOOD." His cocky response made the fishbowl chuckle.
Another knock on the door halted the conversation. "Oh, that must be Rodger. Come in!"
The door clicked open, and the familiar magnifying glass came into view. "Pardon me, I've come to get Toodles and Gourdy. They have a duty to attend to today."
"Oh, yeah!! Come on, Gourdy! We have to go babysit Blot Jr.! We need all the practice we can get, so we can help Finn and Shrimpo take care of their babies when they get here!" Toodles hopped up from her seat and ran over to Rodger, Gourdy close behind her, nodding his head eagerly.
"Take care!" Teagan waved after them with a smile.
"Yeah, have fin, you two!"
"Hehe, we will!" Gourdy and Toodles waved back enthusiastically. With a nod, Rodger and the two left the room.
"How nice..." Teagan sighed, taking another sip from her cup.
"Hm?"
"WHAT IS." Shrimpo asked before Finn could.
"Well, how much everyone is doing for you two, of course." That made the couple blink. "How much they care for you both and what they're willing to do to make sure everything goes well for you both during this intense time. You think so too, right?" She gave Shrimpo another cup, who grabbed it as if on autopilot. His mind seemed elsewhere.
"Oh, yeah! It's been amazing, how much everyone has done... We really appreciate it! Right, Shrimps?"
Shrimpo wasn't paying attention... He seemed more focused on something else, Finn could tell he was fighting something internally. "Uh, Shrimpo? What's wrong..?"
"I... I don't...know." His face scrunched up.
"Shrimpo, come on, I know that look. What's wrong, are you okay?"
Shrimpo looked down, making the two follow his eyes. Finn gasped and stood up. It's happening!
"I... think my water broke."