Burden

Casey looked down, wishing he could see his feet, and sighed before struggling to get out of bed. He tugged his loose-fitting shirt down over his rounded middle and shot Zeke a warning look. "Don't say a word," he muttered before shuffling off to the bathroom.

Wisely, Zeke waited a few minutes before following his grumpy lover. "Wash your back?" he offered, stepping into the shower close behind Casey. He didn't wait for an answer before sliding the bar of soap over the smaller man's back. Casey sighed and relaxed into the familiar sensation. A little of the tension left his shoulders.

"Only another week, Case." Zeke wrapped an arm around his slippery, naked companion and pulled him against his chest so he could wash Casey's front.  Showers were the only time he saw Casey naked anymore; he was too self-conscious to completely undress, even when they were in bed.

"You know, somewhere, some cosmic being is laughing their ass off about this."

"Probably," Zeke agreed with a kiss to Casey's ear.  "But in a couple of weeks it will be some other sucker's turn."

"Wonder what kind of bribe it would take to have Gabe picked for the next round?" Casey turned to face Zeke, smiling at the thought of Gabe being selected for the pregnancy experiment in Health Education class. Every month, six students were chosen to wear the pregnancy vest. Three times a week, padding and weights were added to simulate the progression of pregnancy. The fourth week was spent tending to a newborn baby doll that cried, wet and generally made life miserable. Casey was scheduled to "give birth" in six days.

"It's been a long two weeks." Zeke tried to keep his tone neutral, hoping to draw Casey out. So far, the younger man had refused to talk about the renewal of teasing and abuse he'd been subjected to at school since he'd started wearing the vest. Things had been better since Casey had defeated the alien queen a few months ago, but people had short memories. It hadn't helped that Casey was one of the first to participate in the experiment.

"Better get moving," Casey sighed, reaching out to turn off the water. He let Zeke hold him a minute longer before stepping away and reaching for a towel. He went through the rest of his morning ritual without speaking. Picking up the vest along with the rest of his clothes he returned to the bedroom to dress. He hated for Zeke to see him put the vest on.

Alone in the bedroom, he pulled on a t-shirt and boxers before donning the heavy vest. He was only allowed to remove it for showering. Securing it in place, he reached for one of few baggy shirts that fit over the vest. It slipped through his fingers and landed on the floor.

Zeke arrived in the bedroom just as Casey was struggling to lean down and retrieve the shirt.  He resisted the urge to offer assistance. Casey wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Instead, Zeke turned away and hurried to dress himself so he could make them both breakfast. He couldn't care less about missing classes, but Casey was determined not to let anything keep him from his perfect 4.0.

The light on the answering machine in the kitchen was blinking. Zeke cast a glance towards the stairs to make sure Casey wasn't nearby before pressing play.  He kept the volume low enough that Casey's mother's message wouldn't be heard beyond the kitchen. She rattled on for nearly a minute, reminding Casey that she and his father would be working late all week so they could take off for the weekend to visit relatives. She demanded that he call her and make arrangements to go with them. The message ended without a word of concern for the son she hadn't seen in two weeks.

Zeke shook his head and punched the delete button, just like he had yesterday and expected to do tomorrow. He was beyond thankful that he'd been home when Casey had appeared on his doorstep two weeks ago, wearing that damned vest and toting an overfilled duffle bag and backpack. Apparently, Casey had presented the letter about the pregnancy experiment to his parents to get the required signatures and his father had alternated between ranting about it and mocking Casey throughout the evening meal. Casey had tolerated it until he'd finished his evening chores; then he'd gone to his room, packed his bags, and climbed out his bedroom window. It had taken him over an hour to walk to Zeke's.

The next day Zeke had blown off afternoon classes and bought a pair of cell phones, making Casey promise to use it whenever he needed a ride or anything else.  So far, no other emergencies had arisen; Casey rarely used the phone. All the same, Zeke felt better knowing Casey carried it throughout his day.

Thinking on this, Zeke went to the place beside the microwave where he had left Casey's phone charging the night before. He unplugged it and set it next to Casey's place. He returned to the stove to cook scrambled eggs, making sure they were dry before scooping half onto a plate. He added buttered toast and microwaved sausages before setting it down. He arranged the remaining half of the food on his own plate and dropped into a chair just as Casey lumbered into the room.

"I'm going to be this fat for real if you keep feeding me like this." Casey softened his complaint with a smile and sat, immediately reaching for the glass of orange juice. He was on a restricted diet for the length of the experiment, though he and Zeke pushed the boundaries quite often. He was pretty sure the pickle-flavored potato chips and coffee ice cream he had logged in his experiment diary would get a comment from the teacher.

"I'll help you work it off," Zeke smirked, taking a big bite of sausage link. Casey winced. They'd been sharing a bed for the last two weeks, but Casey was too inhibited by the vest and his own misery to do anything more than share kisses. Zeke was trying to be understanding, but it wasn't making Casey's situation any easier.

"You gonna make it to science class today?" There was a bit of an edge to the question and Casey wouldn't look up from his breakfast.

"Will my being there make it better or worse?" Zeke knew that no one dared make comments about Casey when he was around; but he couldn't be around all day, he had his own classes to attend - when he bothered. He and Casey only shared two classes - science and English - both at the start of the day. They didn't even have the same lunch period.

"Doesn't make much difference." Casey set his fork down and struggled to his feet, clearing away his half-finished breakfast.

Zeke shoveled the last bit of egg into his mouth and hurried to join Casey in the kitchen. Casey was rattling dishes - never a good sign.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're sexy?"

Casey snorted and slammed the dishwasher closed.

Zeke caught Casey in his arms and slid his hands down the curve of the false stomach. "Just imagine how much beer this would hold." He felt Casey's laugh.  He breathed the words into Casey's ear: "Just one more week, Case."

"It won't be over in a week."

"But it will be better," Zeke reassured him with a gentle kiss.

"How?" Casey was skeptical, but there was a bit of hope in his expression.

"Because... it won't be just you carrying the burden then." Zeke hugged Casey harder and whispered, almost as though he didn't intend for Casey to hear. "It never really was, you know."

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