Chapter Text
One morning, when Mr. Kasak woke up after a night full of restless dreams, much to his surprise, he found that he was, despite all probability and expectation, undoubtedly in an advanced stage of pregnancy. His stomach, which was still flat the very night before, was now bulged out under the blanket, making it so that when he lifted his head, he could not even see his feet over the belly.
"Well, I'll be if this isn't a joyous event!" Kasak thought to himself as he tried to take in the news. With difficulty, due to the extra weight he was not yet used to, he propped himself up on the bed and took in his surroundings. The paintings of the holy curryshroom decorated every piece of space on the walls. Shroom stickers stuck to the desk and wardrobe, a light in the shape of a mushroom hung from the ceiling, softly illuminating the room.
Perhaps his prayers had finally been heard? For the past year, Kasak had spent every waking moment sending his wishes to the shroom. "I want to have kittens. A whole litter of them. I know it is in your power to make my wish come true, for you are all powerful." And again, and again in a loop.
His daughter had told him that his wishes were pointless, and his desire would never be fulfilled. But as the optimist that he was, he could never shake off his faith. And it would seem that this unwavering optimism of his had finally paid off.
"Kittens! Plenty of them!" His mind went for a twirl and a wide smile settled on his face. "I can't wait to share the good news with everyone!" He decided as he cautiously put his legs over the side of the bed and set them to the ground.
He clutched the head of his bed to gain stability much needed for getting up in this body which he was not yet used to, and he clutched his belly with his second hand, still not fully able to believe the miracle which had transpired. A dumb smile wouldn't leave his face as he made his way through his room of shroom worship ready to share his joy with the world.
The first challenge that somewhat dampened his enthusiasm was the test of clothing. Until now, he had barely felt the strain of the fabric since the flowery nightgown he wore was loose enough to give way for his stomach. However, now that he opened the doors to his wardrobe, he could easily see that none of his form-fitting T-shirts would stretch over the belly.
“Oh, well, I’ll just borrow one of Agwen’s dresses, I’m sure she won’t mind.” Kasak thought to himself as he made his way to her room and rummaged through the wardrobe. He found a cute satin dress that widened towards the bottom, and took the effort to pull it over his muscly upper body. The fabric strained under the effort and lengthy rips appeared along the sleeves, but the dress served its purpose nonetheless. The waistline ended just above Kasak’s bulging belly and so the frilly skirt comfortably lay on it.
Satisfied with himself, Kasak left the house, excited to tell every passer-by of the news.
However, his excitement was rushedly sucked out of him due to the sight he was subjected to on the street. Several pedestrians walked the street, there was nothing out-of-the-ordinary about that. It was even welcome. But what took Kasak’s breath away was the fact that all of them were proudly clutching their heavily bulged out tummies. Smiling stupidly, huddled in circles.
Across the street, he could see Gandharva, who looked no older than ten years old, whispering something to the bare belly that looked twice his size. Turning the corner, there were Brilith and Agni, side by side, walking clumsily like ducks due to the ginormous belly that connected them both. He could faintly overhear their conversations as he awkwardly walked by: “What do you think we’ll be having? A platypus or a chimpanzee?” – “Doesn’t matter, I’d love it even if it was a cockroach.” – “Aw, you are so romantic sometimes.”
Kasak trembled and shook his head in disbelief. A chimpanzee? Why on earth do those two think they would have such a child? To him, it was obvious that they’d give birth to a nest of tarantulas. Well, he certainly wouldn’t be the one to break the news to them.
As he walked, his joy diminished more and more. Instead of receiving looks of admiration and envy, the passers-by didn’t even seem to register his presence due to their own excitement. They all walked the streets, proud as peacocks, oblivious to him entirely.
Kasak looked down at the pavement with sadness, but all he could see was his huge belly, which reminded him of why he had gone out this morning in the first place. Why be down? Even if everyone is expecting young ones, Kasak was sure that none of them would be as amazing as his litter of kittens! He could still compete.
Newly resolved, Kasak approached a group of people who were all standing in admiration before a woman with an incredibly huge belly, the biggest he had ever seen. Her tight dress seemed to be popping over the belly, but it must have been from an extremely high-quality fabric to withstand the pull.
He took one of the pregnant men standing before her by the arm and spoke out to him. “Hey, Ran, look, I’m going to have kittens!”
Ran turned to look at him, starting by closely assessing the belly, and then turning his sight to Kasak’s face. “Eh, nothing too special about that. But you go, pal.”
“What? Are you saying my kittens are not special? What are you expecting that you feel so proud?” Anger was slowly creeping into Kasak’s face.
“Me? Just a colt, nothing too out there either. But you see her?” Ran pointed towards Rana, around whom the group of admirers had tightened by then. “She’s expecting a blue whale.”
Overwhelming envy clutched at Kasak’s heart. A whale? Such fortune was bestowed only upon a blessed few. How insignificant his wish for a kitten litter seemed compared to such a blessing. He blushed at the thought and muttered a quick wish of good fortune as he turned to leave, secretly hoping that she'd be having an orca instead.
Kasak was rushing back the way he came, too dismayed by the piling humiliation to even properly observe his surroundings.
“Hey man, what’s got you so down?” a hand lay heavy on Kasak’s shoulder just as he was about to turn a corner. He looked up at the person who had stopped him with suspicion, then lowered his eyes towards the man’s pregnant belly, and back up again.
“Oh, and I suppose you’re having an elephant? I’ve heard enough of that for one day.” Kasak pulled Lutz’s hand off his shoulder and made an attempt to continue walking.
“I am, actually. How did you know?” Lutz seemed surprised for a second. “But that’s not the point here. Talk to me, man.”
Kasak nervously stepped on the spot, considering his options, until he finally chose to confide. “When I woke up this morning, I thought I was the luckiest man in the world but now it seems like everyone’s luckier than me.” He bashfully looked down at his own belly.
“Hmm, that? Not true at all.” Lutz’s optimistic voice made Kasak glance back upwards. “You see that guy over there?” Lutz pointed to Maruna, leaning against the wall of a building, his bulging belly out in the open along with his otherworldly abs.
“Yeah? So what. Even the chicken gets babies.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Lutz chuckled. “He’s expecting ducklings.”
Kasak was struck speechless. What a useless child to have. It made him feel better for a moment. He stroked the frill dress over his stomach and smiled to himself. “Yes. I suppose ducklings are no win.”
“And that’s not all. Have you heard what Agwen is having?” Lutz asked mysteriously.
Come to think of it, Kasak didn’t know. The thought that she would also be subject to this predicament had not even crossed his mind until then. “Hm, no? Tell me.”
“Haha, that’s for her to say. But I assume you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” With that, Lutz gave him a wave and went off in the direction of Rana’s admirers.
Agwen. The thought of her warmed Kasak’s heart. Surely, she, at the least, would be happy about the kittens.
Pleasant thoughts filled the head of the soon-to-be parent as he covered the rest of the distance back to his home. He wondered if Agwen would be back home already. She always left early in the morning for the zoo she worked at, but she could be returning soon.
He made the remaining wobbly steps to the door, proceeding with as much ease as his body would allow, and slowly proceeded to open it.
"Dad? Is that you?" a female voice reached his ears.
He paused for a moment, worried how his daughter would take the news. After all, his kittens were nothing special compared to some of the babies the others were having.
"Have you seen my dress, by chance? The satin one? I wanted to wear it."
"N-no, I'm certain I haven't." Kasak stated as he entered, closed the door behind him, and abruptly began to pull the frilly dress over his head. The loud sound of ripping fabric resounded through the house as the remaining seams of the dress gave way.
Agwen turned up in the hallway, a horrified expression on her face, as she looked over her shirtless father, his bulging belly standing out from his muscular form, the ripped dress in one of his hands.
"Father..." her lips were clenched tight, her anger obvious. She crossed her hands over her likewise protruding belly.
Kasak interrupted her before she could finish, forcing himself not to look down in shame, but rather to conjure a joyous smile. "Before you say anything, I'll be having kittens! What do you say? Isn't that just amazing?"
He fully expected her expression to mirror his, but the gloom on her face told him otherwise. She turned on her heels, about to return to her room.
"Wait, wait! At least tell me what you're expecting!" Kasak attempted to catch up to her, tossing the dress onto the floor as he went.
Before she shut the door of her room behind herself, she paid him a glance. Short, curt. "A laundry machine."
Kasak woke up, sweating intensely, muffling a scream. He quickly lifted his hands to his belly, trying to ascertain that all of it was just a particularly cruel fabrication of his imagination and his firm abs were in no way damaged by pregnancy. As he thought, his stomach was as flat as ever. He returned to a somewhat restless sleep.
The laundry machine silently hummed in the hallway.
