Fic: Last Call, Kara/Karl, PG-13/T+, AU, no warnings 2/2

[lanalucy]

They were spending the weekend with Karl’s family, and Kara was helping Antonia clean up after supper. As she handed Kara a plate to dry, she asked, “When are you planning to tell Karl?”

With her mind somewhere else, Kara responded, “Tell him what?” The silence in the room pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up. Antonia had raised her brow, and was just standing there looking at Kara. Oh. Frak. She could feel herself blushing, something she wasn’t used to, something that had only started happening in the last few weeks. It was irritating, to say the least. “How’d you know?”

Antonia tucked a lock of Kara’s hair behind her ear and said, “Kara, honey, I have four kids, and three of them are girls. I also have more than a passing knowledge of the human body.”

Right. She has medical training. “I was planning to tell him on Solstice.”

“You’re what? About two and a half months?”

Kara nodded. She was waiting for Karl’s mom to get mad or throw something or hit her or rat her out to Karl. As much time as she’d always spent with Karl’s family, she’d never gotten used to the way they took everything in stride and didn’t purposely hurt each other.

“You taking care of yourself? Need anything? Have questions?”

Kara bit her lip. “You’re not mad?”

“Why in all the worlds would I be angry about this, Kara?”

Kara shrugged. “We’re not together, together. I still don’t even call him my boyfriend.”

“Does it change how you feel about him?”

Kara snorted.

“Exactly. You have been together, more or less, since you were fifteen years old. You love each other, even if you don’t say the words - any idiot can see it.” Kara smiled faintly as Antonia put down the towel she’d used to dry her hands and engulfed Kara in a hug. “Besides, none of my girls are in any hurry to settle down. This’ll be my first grandchild. It’s kind of exciting!” She kissed the top of Kara’s head and stepped back.

Kara craned her neck to look toward the dining room. She could just see Karl laughing at something one of his sisters had said. Maybe it was the hormones, but seeing him so happy made her melt a little inside. She was completely unaware of the little sigh she exhaled. She watched him for another moment or two, then turned back to Antonia. “I want to tell him myself, so it’s a secret for now, please?”

Antonia ran a finger down Kara’s cheek and chucked her under the chin softly. “Of course. He should hear it from you.”

Kara looked down at her feet, then back up at Antonia. “I know you like for us to come here for Solstice, but I kinda wanted to spend the whole day with him - it’ll be the last one we have with just us. Is that okay?”

“I think that sounds like an excellent idea. We’ll miss you.”

“Why’re you gonna miss Kara?” Both women turned sharply at Karl’s question.

Kara was at a loss for words, but Antonia saved the day. “I was just telling Kara that since the girls all had plans for Solstice, I was going to take a little trip to the beaches on Canceron. You two will have the holiday to yourself.”

Kara looked gratefully at Antonia and stepped into Karl. He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes, listening to his steady heartbeat. He’d always been her rock.

Antonia shooed them out the door after that, saying she had a vid program she wanted to watch. Kara knew she needed to tell the girls the story, just in case. She hugged Antonia extra tight before they left. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“Oh, it’s my pleasure, Kara.” She dropped a kiss on Kara’s forehead and pushed her toward the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Solstice dawned bright and clear. Kara was up early, both out of habit, and to get something in her stomach to stave off the nausea that was increasingly more difficult to hide from Karl. She got the decaf coffee started, and was nibbling on some crackers, watching the suns rise, waiting for the coffee to be ready. Karl wrapped his arms around her from behind, squeezing her tight and kissing the side of her neck.

“Morning,” he rumbled.

Gods. I could listen to him for the rest of my life. “Morning.”

“Happy Solstice, Kara.”

She put the cup she’d been holding down on the windowsill and turned around. “Happy Solstice, Karl. Your gifts are on the sofa.” She stifled the giggle that tried to erupt at the look of disappointment on his face. She thought back to that note - she’d had to forego the ambrosia, since she hadn’t been able to come up with a believable reason for her to abstain from drinking it. She’d managed everything else, though clearly he thought she’d ignored his requests, since she had decided against giving him any of them before today. He turned toward the living room and she took that opportunity to escape to the shower. He wouldn’t be far behind - she hadn’t used that much wrapping paper. She grinned as she stripped and turned the water on.

She hurried through washing, was rinsing her hair when the shower door opened. “Do I need to be jealous of whoever took that picture?”

She smiled without opening her eyes. “I might as well have been a Tauron woodcarving for all that he noticed.”

“He’s an idiot.”

She giggled and opened her eyes. Karl was staring at her - it was always like the first time he’d seen her naked when they were teenagers. He’d grown more sure of himself over the years, but he never took her for granted, and it was just one of many things she loved about him. Maybe it was time to show him what he meant to her. Not today - she had plans for today - but soon. Very soon.

She raised her arms to his shoulders and did a little hop. He caught her, as always, and she kissed him greedily.
~~~~~~~~~~
She spent the rest of the day with her two favorite things in all the worlds - naked Karl and frakking Karl, with an occasional time-out for a nap or food. She managed to use the handcuffs twice. Long into the evening, she curled up against him, sated and sleepy. She kissed his chest. “Karl?”

“Yeah?”

“This is the only Solstice we’ll be able to do this, you know.”

Karl’s heart pumped faster. He’d been half-ready for her to break up with him since long before they were officially together, and he’d been even warier since dinner with his mom a couple of weeks ago. He’d known his mother was lying about something, and her We’ll miss you. had echoed in his mind frequently, making him worry what Kara was hiding from him. “How come? You leaving me?” He tried to make it a joke, but it sounded more than a little needy from his perspective.

“Of course I’m not leaving you, you moron. Why would I do a stupid thing like that?” She’d raised her head and was scowling at him.

“Then why?”

She smiled, in that special way that turned him inside out and made him feel invincible and insignificant at the same time. “By next Solstice, we’ll be lucky if we can both sleep at the same time, much less find a spare six hours to frak to our heart’s content.”

He wrinkled his brow, still completely clueless.

“I’m pregnant, Karl.”