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Gamzee awoke in a lavish, soft bed, silk sheets tangled around his naked body. He huffed in annoyance, rolling over and pressing closer to the still sleeping seadweller next to him as he tried to get back to sleep but he was already awake. After trying for a few minutes he sat up, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. The mutant stretched out and then flinched and gasped in pain, stomach taut and stiff from genetic material left inside him from yesterday. He grumbled as he glared at Equius’ sleeping face, pissed the heir had let him go to sleep without emptying into a bucket first.
Now he’d have to deal with getting this stuff out while it was all thick and gross. Ew. And even worse the dumb seadweller was too cute sleeping for him to wake up just to bitch to. Unng. Gamzee snorted and ducked down, kissing Equius’ lips before sitting up
“You’re lucky you’re so motherfuckn’ pretty, asshole”
He grumbled before rolling over, getting up with a groan and shuffling to the bathroom to deal with last night’s mess.
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It hadn’t come out. It been a whole week and there was still an uncomfortable lump in his stomach. Gamzee didn’t understand, something had to be wrong with him. He wasn’t sure what to do about it, he’d been avoiding Equius since that night but he knew the seadweller could tell something was wrong. But he didn’t want to face his mate until he knew what was wrong, he could be dying for all he knew. After considering his options for a while he decided Tavros was probably the best to go to out of all the trolls he knew. Jadebloods worked with grubs and buckets, surely he’d know about pailing issues like this…
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“I’m sorry, I’m what?”
Gamzee asked, staring at Tavros in confusion.
“Well uh, what with your mutation the only reason that you um would be experiencing this issue is that you’re pregnant.”
The jadeblood said with a soft smile as he sipped his tea.
“You know, like mammals do. Except you’ll lay um eggs and then they’ll hatch into grubs”
Gamzee stared at him, as if waiting for him to follow up with a gotcha ya! or a just kidding! But Tavros was serious, just looking at him with a smile. The candyblood took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his hands over his face. Tavros just kept drinking his tea, letting it sink in. It was a long time before he spoke but eventually Gamzee muttered
“…How long? How long will it take before I, you know…”
“Well uh let’s see if it’s been a week then I’d say you’ve got another 6-8 weeks before you lay”
Tavros responded, giving him a sympathetic look. Gamzee didn’t say anything back, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. Tavros leaned forward, putting his tea down on the table.
“Listen uh I know this must be hard on you… How about you call up your quadmates? I’m sure they can help you with this. I just uh feel a bit under qualified for this um… I’m not so good at comfort, you know…”
Tavros said as he looked at Gamzee with a nervous smile. The candyblood sighed, not really wanting to tell his two quadrants about it but also knew he had to.
“Yeah… Guess I can’t hide this shit forever, might as well get it motherfucking over with…”
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“I’m gonna kick your fucking ass Peixes!”
Eridan shouted, Gamzee holding him back by his scarf as his moirail attempted to attack the shocked seadweller.
“Wait wait, I’m confused, how is this even possible?”
“Howw ‘bout I kick some understanding into you!?”
Gamzee rolled his eyes at the rustblood's continued attempts to fight Equius, a troll three times his size.
“Hush, it ain’t like I even knew this could happen. You can’t blame Equ for this”
“Just wwatch me”
Gamzee frowned at Eridan, pushing the rustblood down on his couch.
“Sit your ass down, I didn’t tell ya this to start picking fights.”
He huffed, rubbing his face in annoyance as Eridan crossed his arms grumpily. Equius was trying to take this in, fins flared in the way they got only when stressed.
“W…. w-what, what are we going to do?”
The seadweller stuttered, looking at Gamzee with worry.
“You’re gonna take care of Gamzee and those grubs unless you wwant to get the shit beat out of ya!”
“Hush Eri. Well I could find motherfucking lusus’ for them but I’d… I’d like to raise them. If you want to”
Gamzee muttered, looking away as he rubbed the back of his neck, blushing.
“Yes! I-I mean yes of course, I… I’d love to take care of them, with you…”
Equius said immediately and then stuttered as he blushed, ducking his head as his fins flickered in embarrassment.
“I think it would be really nice…”
Gamzee looked up, still surprised even though he and Equius were mates. He was always expecting the highblood to turn on him one day, past experiences will always linger he supposed… He blushed deeply, blinking up at the seadweller
“Really…? You ain’t pulling my motherfucking leg?”
“He better not be, or I’m gonna fuck him up”
Eridan growled from his spot on the couch, Gamzee shooting him a pissed look before turning back to Equius.
“I would motherfucking love to do that with you Equius”
He muttered shyly, looking up as his cheeks flushed red. Equius blushed as well and smiled, fins flaring happily.
“T-Then it’s decided! We’ll take care of the grubs together”
Equius said with an honest excited smile
“Yeah I’m gonna be making sure you’re taking good care of him and those crazy little grub things you filled him wwith”
Eridan said with a huff, eyeing Equius suspiciously.
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The next few week started off alright but turned rough pretty quick. Between morning sickness and rumbling speres growing to accommodate milk and stretch marks and his aching back and the strange food cravings Gamzee grew miserable pretty fast. Eridan and Equius moved in to help him, both sticking to his side like glue and doing everything possible to help him from massaging his back to fetching whatever odd food he was craving that hour. As he grew closer to laying the mutant started to impulsively gather random objects, making a nest in the darkest warmest corner of his hive, down in his laundry room. He couldn’t explain why he was doing it when Eridan had already made him a lovely nest in his block, his instincts were just driving him to make his own. Even worst was the instinct to drive all other trolls off, even though he badly needed and wanted his quadmates here to help him through this. But even back when all trolls could lay eggs and raise their own young it was a solitary affair. Back when trolls were feral a pregnant troll was a weak troll, to be attacked and taken advantage of. And babies that weren’t your own were for eating. So of course his instincts were to chase off others and be extremely protect of his unborn young. It wasn’t so bad at first, just being kinda moody. That turned into jumping and hissing at his quadmates whenever they took him by surprise, but it was always followed by an apology and guilt, feeling bad for acting so harsh to the trolls he trusted most. But he just couldn’t control himself, starting to spend more and more time curled up in the nest he’d made just to avoid snapping at his quadrants. That and it was getting hard to move, eventually not able to get back up the stairs. It was only a few short days after he moved down there permanently that Equius came down in the morning to find him huddled up in his nest, naked and panting hard as he struggled to lay the eggs he’s been carrying for so long. Of course the seadweller immediately rushed over to his mate’s side, wanting to help
“Gamzee! Why didn’t you call us-”
He started but as he got close the candyblood jumped and snarled at him, glaring at the seadweller like he was a stranger. He was too scared and in too much pain, having given over to his instincts that were screaming at him to keep all other trolls away, especially one so high on the hemospectrum. Equius faltered, having never seen such a fierce look on the smaller’s face. Not even when they first met and didn’t exactly get along. He didn’t know what to do, his matesprit was clearly in a lot of pain and he wanted to help, but the other looked like he would seriously hurt him if he tried to get close…
“Hey pickle dick, wwhat the hell are you doing? Move!”
Eridan huffed and pushed past him, not scared by his moirail’s snarls and hisses. Equius jumped and snapped out of it, reaching out to stop Eridan
“Wait-”
He started, trying to warn the rustblood Gamzee wasn’t in the right state to be that close to but too late. Gamzee had his lips drawn back in a snarl, growling loudly as Eridan approached him. When the rustblood reached out to touch him he snapped, digging his fangs deep into his moirail’s arm. Equius grimaced in sympathy as dark red blood dripped down Eridan’s arm and was about to move forward to pull him back but the lowblood didn’t seem to mind the bite. Eridan just reached out and gently touched his face, the mutant flinching at his touch but didn’t growl this time, only let out a soft whimper.
“Shoosh, it’s alright noww. Wwe’ll take care of you”
He muttered to him gently. Gamzee shuddered, recognizing his voice and warm scent, slowly snapping out of it.
“H…. h-hurts… I-it motherfucking hurts…!”
He sobbed after a second, tears running down his face as he clung to Eridan, body shaking. The rustblood rubbed his swollen stomach, feeling how his body was shaking with the effort of pushing the eggs out.
“Shhh shhh, I knoww.”
Eridan cooed to him before turning and snapping at Equius
“Stop standing there wwith your thumbs up your ass and go get some water for him sea-sucker!”
Equius jumped, opening his mouth to snap something back but stopped, knowing this wasn’t the time to be picking fights and turned to run and get some water as quick as possible. He came back with a bowl full of warm water, though he spilled half of it on himself in his hurry, and a washcloth. Eridan had managed to get Gamzee to sit up a bit, having him lean back on the wall, the rustblood down between his legs and pressing on his stomach gently. Equius knelt by Gamzee, fumbling to wet the cloth before gently dabbing his forehead with trembling hand. The candyblood grabbed him, clinging to his matesprit like a lifeline as he took shuddering breaths.
“It’s t-too hard… nnng I-I can’t do this”
He whimpered with tears in the corners of his eyes
“Yes you can. Just focus on breathing, and push wwhen you feel the contractions”
Eridan said simply, rubbing his stomach. Gamzee swallowed and blinked tears out of his eyes as he tried to focus on following his moirail’s advice, squeezing Equius’ hand so hard it had the seadweller winching in pain. It seemed to the candyblood like hours of agony before even the tip of the egg was peaking out of his desperately working nook. Equius and Eridan kept him motivated with encouraging words, gently pushing and rubbing his stomach and holding his hand. He flopped back, panting hard and covered in sweat, the egg now about halfway out.
“I-I fucking hate you, we’re never having sex again”
Gamzee panted in exasperation but Equius just hushed him, gently rubbing his back and brushing his hair out of his face
“shhh just keep pushing, you’re almost there”
The seadweller muttered softly and Eridan nodded in agreement as he tried to pull the egg out of him gently. Gamzee groaned in pain, tossing his head back against Equius’ shoulder as his nook fluttered, pushing as hard as he could. He was almost there, right at the widest part of this huge egg, back arched and hands scrambling at his messy nest as he struggled to get it out. So close, almost, almost….! Gamzee collapsed back with a cry as the finally egg finally slid out of him right into Eridan’s waiting hands. The candyblood panted hard and shook as he lay limply against Equius. Eridan cleaned the egg, surprised there was only one but it was so big it was no wonder it had taken up so much space in Gamzee’s belly.
“Holy shit this thing is huge, howw’d you manage to lay this?”
The rustblood muttered as he looked at the huge dark colored egg. Gamzee didn’t answer, sniffling as he wiped tears off his face
“I-is it ok? Can I see it?”
He asked shakily and Eridan smiled, nodding as he wrapped the egg in a soft blanket, gently settling it in his morial’s arms.
“Yeah, yeah its fucking perfect Gam”
He said as he gently rubbed Gamzee’s shoulder. Equius peaked down over his mate’s shoulder at the impressively sized egg as the candyblood cuddled it. He’d been excited about raising grubs with Gamzee but somehow it hadn’t really sunk in that they were real, there was going to be tiny bouncing squeaking babies running around the hive. Seeing the egg with his own eyes really brought it to reality. He sniffled a bit as he nuzzled Gamzee’s shoulder and the mutant smiled tiredly, reaching up to gently pap his cheek
“Don’t cry, you big lug…”
He muttered with an amused tone before yawning wide, snuggling back against Equius as he curled the egg closer to his chest. The seadweller smiled as he wiped a tear out of his eye before kissing Gamzee’s forehead.
“I won’t, so long as you get some rest”
He said with a smile and Gamzee nodded, cuddling up with his mate and new egg in his messy nest, closing his eyes.
“Ok… I ain’t gonna argue with that shit”
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After he’d laid Eridan managed to get Gamzee and the egg he refused to let go of for even a minute up into the nicer nest he’d made for him in his block. He was in no shape to be moving around after laying such a big egg, but if anything Eridan and Equius were more attentive now he’d laid. Gamzee was extremely protective of his single egg clutch, staying curled around it in his nest, making soft chirping and coos to it. He even sang it songs and told it wiggler stories. Equius would curl up with him in the nest, listening happily as the candyblood would chatter on about names he’d like to give them and such. But as time went on his musings and fussing over the egg became less charming and more heartbreaking… Tavros had told them that eggs would hatch within 3 weeks. It had been a month. A whole six weeks with no sign of the large egg hatching. But Gamzee refused to give up, continuing to take care of it and talk to it sweetly. Eridan couldn’t take how sad it was, backing off to let Gamzee come around and grieve in his own time, only coming into his room to make sure he was eating and taking care of himself. Equius couldn’t let his mate suffer like this though, knowing the faster he expect that the egg wouldn’t hatch the sooner he could start to grieve and accept it. The seadweller waited till Eridan had headed off to sleep, knowing he’d only get an earful from the rustblood if he tried to talk to Gamzee about it with him around. So with Eridan in bed he headed upstairs and walked into Gamzee’s block , starting to talk immediately before he lost his nerve.
“Gamzee we need to talk about… what’s wrong?”
He stopped mid intervention as he saw the tears on Gamzee’s face, the candyblood sniffling as he curled around the egg. He looked up at him with tears in his eyes as he clung to the egg, gently rubbing it’s dark colored shell.
“It… it ain’t gonna hatch, is it?”
He asked heartbrokenly. Equius’ fins dropped sadly, not expecting the candyblood to also know. He walked over and sat down, pulling Gamzee into his lap.
“I don’t know… Let’s give it a week, alright? A-and even if it doesn’t we can always try again.”
The seadweller muttered as Gamzee shuddered with sobs, pressing his face into the bigger’s chest, tears wetting his shirt.
“I-I just… was so motherfucking excited… I got attached to the idea of the tiny little thing growing in here”
The mutant sobbed, clutching the egg tightly to his chest. Equius nodded sadly, kissing his forehead and wrapping his arms around Gamzee, gently rocking him.
“I know. I did too. I was so happy… but if it doesn’t hatch, it doesn’t hatch. It will be ok. We can still have that, we can try again”
He muttered softly into his ear, nuzzling his cheek. Gamzee nodded slowly, tears still running down his cheeks but Equius was right, and it made him feel better. The seadweller was clearly in this for the long run, which is all he could ever really want or need.
“Yeah… yeah you’re right. Even if… even if this one doesn’t hatch I’ll still have you and Eridan… And now we know I can do this we can try again”
He muttered as his tears slowed to the occasional sniffle. Equius gave him a soft smile as the candyblood nuzzled into his shoulder, eyes dry now. He ran his hands through his mate’s hair, giving him a loving kiss as he did
“Yes, see? You’ll be ok. We’ll try again, and again, until you have all the grubs you want”
Gamzee giggled at the statement but thought it cute, kissing Equius back a little longer as he smiled
“You’re such a motherfucking dork”
He muttered with a smile and Equius just smiled back, used to his light hearted insults, if one could even call them that. The seadweller just kissed him, even longer and deeper then Gamzee had him, and when he pulled back the candyblood grabbed him by his horns and yanked him right back into it. It had been much too long since they really were able to enjoy a good make out, and Gamzee really need his physically love right now, pressing closer and letting out a soft inviting moan as he felt Equius’ tongue flick over his lips questioningly. The seadweller took that as a good sign and gently slipped his tongue into Gamzee’s mouth, savoring the feeling and taste of his mate. The candyblood was more then happy to kiss him back, humming against his lips, finally letting go of the egg to wrap his arms around Equius’ shoulders. The seadweller pulled back for breath after a minute but immediately went for Gamzee’s neck, nipping and sucking the sensitive skin as his hands ran down his sides. The mutant let out a soft sigh, tilting his head back to give Equius more access. He needed his mate more then ever right now, and it had been too long since they’d had sometime alone what with the egg and Eridan hovering around him all the time. Gamzee closed his eyes in pleasure, letting himself relax and think of nothing but the feeling of Equius’ mouth and hands on his skin. But he quickly opened them again as he heard a muffled sound, ears twitching as he tried to figure out what it was.
“Wait, do you hear that?”
He asked as he looked around. Equius stopped and frowned
“Yes I do… what is that?”
He said as he looked around as well. The sound came again and they both looked down just in time to see the egg twitch and shudder a bit. Gamzee’s eyes lit up and he quickly ducked down, kneeling next to the egg with an excited look on his face
“It’s hatching, Equius it’s hatching!”
The candyblood said excitedly as he got close to the egg, able to tell now the sounds they’d been hearing were the muffled squeaking of the grub inside. Equius fins pricked excitedly and he knelt as well, watching the shuddering egg intently.
“What… I-I mean, should we do something? To help it?”
The seadweller asked as they watched. Gamzee let out a soft cooing to the egg, making churrs and chirps in his throat that was returned with more muffled squeaking.
“Do like that, making some nice motherfucking sounds to let em know it’s safe”
He said, not taking his eyes off the egg. Equius nodded and started trying to make similar sounds, a little more rusty and gruff then the chirps Gamzee was letting out. They kept it up until finally a tiny claw broke through the shell, squirming as the little thing tried to get free of what had been it’s home for so long, letting out distressed cries. Gamzee chuckled and let out a soft comforting chirp back. Eventually the grub managed to right itself, tiny stubs of horns pushing through the shell. It stumbled out of the egg, tripping and falling down into the nest. The grub shook off bits of shell clinging to its horns and damp fuzz of hair, blinking big fuchsia eyes up at them before letting out a confused chirp. Gamzee let out a purr back, smiling at the little thing as he scooped it up and held it carefully in his arms. The grub had Equius bright fuchsia, though it wasn’t a seadweller, no fins or gills at all. It was probably unheard of for a troll that high up to be a landdweller but neither of the proud parents could care, just so happy to have a grub at all, fussing over and cooing down at it. They only turned their attention away from it when another squeak came from the eggshell, wide bright candy red eyes blinking at them as another grub emerged from inside the egg.
“Two? In one egg?”
Equius said in surprise as he reached over and scooped the other grub from the remains of the egg.
“Well that explains why it was so motherfucking big”
Gamzee muttered as he peaked down at the other grub, this one in his unnatural bright red. Except this little baby did have fins and gills, tiny things flicking as it squeaked up at them. Gamzee smiled proudly as he leaned on Equius, a happiness he’d never felt before bubbling up in his chest. He had a family, and quadmates he couldn’t love more if he tried.
“She’s got your horns”
Gamzee muttered with grin, Equius looking down at the little red grub who stared intently back
“Yes but she’s also got your eyes”
He muttered, fins flicking as he blushed a bit.
“And he’s got hair, and horns”
He muttered as he looked over at the tiny grub nestled in Gamzee’s arms, who was whimpering as he clung to the candyblood’s shirt.
“It doesn’t really matter though, they’re both motherfucking beautiful”
Gamzee muttered in awe before yawning and rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Equius chuckled as the candyblooded grub in his arms snuggled closer, letting out a tiny yawn as well and her brother already seemed to be drifting off in Gamzee’s arms.
“I think they’re tried too, hatching must take a lot of energy for such tiny things”
Equius mused as he nuzzled Gamzee. The candyblood nodded sleepily
“Uh-huh… they must be really.. m..motherfucking sleepy”
He muttered, yawning wide again as he lay back in the nest, cuddling his tiny son close to his chest as he closed his eyes. Equius smiled softly as he lay back too, snuggling up to Gamzee with their newborn grubs safely nestled between them, the two curling around them to keep them safe.
“Good night love”
Equius muttered as he kissed Gamzee softly, the candyblood humming happily as he started to drift off. He then kissed each grub gently on top of their fuzzy little heads, whispering to them
“Good night you two, in the morning you’ll have a whole big world to explore…”
He said to the two little ones before closing his eyes and cuddling up with his family.