Work Text:
Hugo quickly wipes off the annoyance remaining from work before opening the door to his luxurious apartment. His fellow department heads have been pestering him all day with a project that he needs to have done by the end of next week. And he has it done–he’s quite the efficient worker when he needs to be. It’s just the other side of the party that won’t add their final contributions, which is preventing him from turning it in.
But that’s an attitude left for work. There’s someone at his home that does not need to be tainted with his irritation, especially when they’re in such a vulnerable and frail state.
The negative emotion vanishes after a few seconds. Hugo opens the door to a dark apartment. From the looks of it, it seems his partner hasn’t come out of his little nest since early morning. or at all.
He steps inside, making sure to not overstep the carpet directly in front of the door and placing the pair on the rack nearby. He briefly glances at the sink, and there’s only a few dishes in it. Immediately, he becomes worried. This was so little dishes considering the condition he was currently in. There were no pots out, so he assumed his lover has been in bed all day and only ate leftovers that needed to be heated up in the microwave. It must have been a bad day for his partner too; the dishes weren’t cleaned and washed, and he absolutely hated having dirty dishes out and about.
Hugo quickly took off his coat, tossing it carelessly in the dark living room and heading towards their bedroom. He slowly opened the door as to not disturb him. The room was equally as dark, so Hugo turned on the standing lamp in the opposite corner from the huge bed. Looking back at the bed, he could see the outline of the lying lump of his destiny beneath the multiple layers of blankets on and surrounding him. They normally wouldn’t have so much, but with his lover’s crucial state, it was necessary.
Hugo quickly changes into a new pair of clothing. It’s already a miracle his husband hasn’t stirred from his sleep to scold him for wearing “dirty” clothes for too long in their bedroom.
Hugo approached the sleeping figure quietly. There were blankets covering his frame and some reaching up to his nose. There were more covers placed in a certain way around his body. Hugo reached out, hand moving to pat his partner's head. His scalp was slightly sweaty, and his head was burning. A fever, Hugo immediately recognized. “Loki?”
Then, Loki, his lover, made the tiniest movement and hummed silently. Hugo didn’t take his hand away, continuing to softly comb through his hair. “You’re sick. Have you taken medicine yet?” Hugo asks in a low voice, trying not to interrupt the quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
“Mhm,” he says faintly, opening his golden eyes. “This morning.”
Hugo clicks his tongue in disapproval. “Only this morning?” His lover makes a grumbling noise and further buries his face in the blankets.
“You haven’t eaten since this morning too,” Hugo stated, tone filled with concern.
“...I feel awful,” Loki mumbles, closing his eyes again. This sickness must be a side effect.
Hugo gently lowers the sheets from his partner’s face. “I’ll make you something to eat, get up. A little walk would be good for the children,” Hugo says, knowing it would work. Anything for the growing fetuses in his stomach.
Slowly, Loki lifted his upper body, letting the blanket fall to his hips. Some stayed stuck on his swollen belly, and Hugo couldn’t help but chuckle a little. He moved his hand down to Loki’s stomach, to which Loki’s cat ears twitched and his face flushed red.
“Nothing to be embarrassed about, love,” Hugo assured with a smile. “You still look so adorable like this.”
“That’s… not what I’m worried about.”
“Oh? Then what’s on your mind?” Hugo leans over and gives a kiss to the middle of his forehead.
Loki’s trembling hands grab at Hugo’s jaw, bringing him lower as he looked up at his irises. “Please stay home tomorrow.”
Hugo’s eyes widen. “Is there a need?”
Loki frowns. “Should there be one? I want you to stay, because I want to be with you.”
Hugo smiles and gives a quick peck to his lips. “Okay, I’ll be here with you.”
Loki gives a noise of appreciation, massaging Hugo’s cheeks. He closes his eyes, about to fall back into the comfortable bed until Hugo reminds him, “Uh–uh, we still have to feed you.”
With a little more resistance from Loki, Hugo helps the human–cat from the bundle of blankets he’s situated himself in. There’s only a few more months until their children are born, and yet Loki’s belly is plump from the three developing embryos. Normally, having triplets was rare, but with Loki’s… special anatomy–with the cat ears and slender tail, it was normal to have a litter of multiple kittens(?). Hugo isn't sure what a child would be called between a human and a mix of a human and cat.
Hugo has questioned how Loki came to adopt these animalistic features, but he doesn’t mind them. He thinks it makes Loki all the more cuter, especially as he pets the tip of his brown tail. Loki swats his hand away–it’s only reserved for intimate moments.
Hugo leads Loki to the couch, helping him safely sit down. Then, he goes to the kitchen, opening a cabinet where they store all the medicinal supplies. He rummages around the box–Loki and his neat freak tendencies–for the liquid kind. Loki refused to take pills of any sort, not because he couldn’t swallow them, but because he was somehow convinced he could get poisoned by it. Or the children would be negatively affected by it.
He brought a small cup to Loki. He inspected it for a bit before tipping his head back to drink it. His face scrunched up from the bitter taste as he handed it back to Hugo.
“Anything you want to eat?” Hugo asks.
It doesn’t take long for Loki to answer. “Those sausages you cooked last week. I recall you added paprika and thyme and–”
“Mititei, dear?”
“Please,” Loki said with a nod.
Hugo picks his hands up, giving his knuckles a kiss. “Of course. Anything else?”
“Donuts.”
“Donuts?”
“Yes, something sweet sounds nice at this hour.”
“I’ll order some. Just sit here and try not to fall asleep, okay?”
Loki grumbled. “I’m not that tired anymore.”
Hugo chuckles and grabs the remote at the nearby desk. “Anything you want to watch while you wait?”
Loki tackles the device out of his hands. “I can do it myself.”
The red head lovingly giggles. “I know. Just don’t want you to overwhelm yourself.”
“Turning the tv on with the remote won’t be a problem for me,” Loki leans further into his husband’s touch nonetheless, “but I appreciate it.”
Hugo relocated his hand so he’s gripping Loki’s jaw, tilting it upwards. “And?”
“And I love you,” Loki says grumpily.
He grins at Loki’s easy defeat; usually, Loki doesn’t go down without a fight. But he supposes it’s because of how the pregnancy is making him feel. “I love you too,” giving Loki one final kiss before leaving for the kitchen.
Loki becomes impatient from having to wait for almost half an hour. The only thing keeping him from getting up and offering to help was the donuts that came shortly after ordering them. As well as hearing Hugo call his company to take tomorrow off.
When Hugo was done cooking, he brings over the huge plate of meat and a glass of water. Loki had already finished four donuts out of the dozen he bought–maybe he should have asked for more. Loki happily gulped down the sausages like it was the last meal he would ever have. Hugo smiled; spoiling Loki for the rest of his life might as well be his ultimate life goal.
Once they were done eating, Hugo ran a bath for the both of them. Despite being pregnant, Loki still insisted on his daily shower. Hugo knew with his stomach, he would need some help, so he began joining Loki in the bath.
Finally, they were lying in bed. At least Hugo was. Loki was too busy fixing the nest he made to fit both of them. He was even piling the blankets on top of Hugo, who did not appreciate the extra heat in the middle of late spring. He didn’t dare remove them, though, else Loki get upset and have to rearrange the sheets all over again.
Hugo sneakily began touching Loki’s slithery tail. “Go to sleep. It’s so lonely.”
Loki’s tail slips out of Hugo’s fingers. “Hold on,” he simply says, patting the blankets surrounding them.
Hugo wraps his hand around Loki, his hands landing on Loki’s pregnant belly. “You need rest, and so do the babies.”
With the last adjustment, Loki finally and carefully lays down. His hands instinctively reach for Hugo–anywhere. His hand clutches Hugo’s shirt, which Hugo takes it and holds it in his own hands. When the red head thinks Loki has found a comfortable position to sleep, Loki moves impossibly closer, to the point his cheek was almost rubbing against Hugo’s.
“Miss me that much?” Hugo squeezed in one last tease.
“I did,” Loki whispered angrily, “Go to sleep.”
Hugo leaned over and kissed him, long enough for a deep breath. Loki contently reciprocates, tugging Hugo closer. “Goodnight, my love,” Hugo coos.
“Goodnight, dear.”