"What is it that you want to tell me?" Charles asked. He recognized that look. It was the same nervous expression Benjamin had when he revealed his secondary gender.
"If I tell you... promise me you won't do anything crazy. Promise me you won't do anything at all."
"It depends on what it is," Charles said honestly. "I can't just give you my word blindly. I don't know how I'll respond. But I promise I won't take action without discussing it with you first."
Benjamin nodded. He took a shaky breath, staring at the floor. After a long silence he spoke.
"I'm... pregnant… I found out just before the trip."
Charles's eyes widened with shock before a bright smile appeared on his face. He took a step forward to embrace Benjamin, but Benjamin stepped back.
"I'm not keeping it…"
The smile vanished from Charles's face. He froze, then slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. Minutes passed in silence.
"Benjamin," Charles finally said. "I can't tell you what to do or what not to do. I can only tell you that... I would welcome our child." Charles looked up meeting Benjamin's eyes. "I think I could be a good father. And you would be too."
Charles paused for a moment. "But no matter what you choose to do, I will be here for you. I am so sorry you've been going through all of this alone."
The gentleness in his voice broke Benjamin's composure. Perhaps, these were the words he had wanted to hear all along. Hot streaks of tears streamed down his cheeks.
Seeing Benjamin's tears, Charles stood and pulled him into an embrace. He held him tight, tilting Benjamin's face up to kiss away the tears, then pressing his lips to Benjamin's mouth. The kiss deepened, desperate and needing. Charles's hands moved to Benjamin's neck, before sliding down to his waist to pull him closer.
"Ben... I want you so much," Charles whispered against his ear.
They moved to the bed, Benjamin sinking into the mattress with Charles hovering over him. Their lips locked and tongues entangled as they sought comfort in the familiarity of each other's skin.
Benjamin broke the kiss, breathless. "Scent-blockers," he said. "We need to be careful."
He scrambled up, retrieving the unlabeled bottles. They helped each other apply the scent-blockers with trembling hands, stripping away the last of their clothes until they were left in nothing but their undergarments.
******
Warning: The rest of the chapter is smut.
******
Their bodies moved in a frantic rhythm, their skin slick with sweat, the air in the roomy heavy with their panting.
"Ben, you feel so good," Charles said under his breath, as he thrust into Benjamin and felt the tight grip around his penis. He looked down to see Benjamin throw his head back, moaning with his eyes rolling back and shutting tight, as his body arched up with pleasure.
"Mmm…Ah! Ah! Ah!"
"There, there! Right there," he said desperately, feeling Charles hit the spot that sent bursting waves of pleasure down his body.
"Benjamin... you're squeezing me so tightly. I can't—I can't hold back," Charles panted as he was reaching his climax and feeling as if he were going to burst.
His body shuddered as he came, but suddenly, there was another sensation, an unfamiliar pressure. It was a sudden, rapid swelling at the base of his penis he had never felt before.
"Ah…Ahh! Ahhh!" Benjamin moaned loudly, feeling the warmth of Charles's semen inside him, followed by an unfamiliar thickness.
He arched his back and pushed his body against Charles, seeking out the sensation of Charles penis growing thicker inside him. "Ah! More... keep moving, Charles. Don't stop..."
"I… I can't move Ben," Charles said, his voice slightly panicked.
Oh... yeah... yeah..." Benjamin's breaths came in shallow gasps. He knew what was happening, and pulled Charles closer. "Just... just stay like this. Don't pull away."
"Is this... is this knotting?" Charles asked, his voice trembling with the pleasurable pulsing sensation in his penis.
"I guess so," Benjamin whispered, still trying to catch his breath.
Charles carefully adjusted their bodies so that they were laying on their sides, spooning, with him embracing Benjamin from the back. Whenever he moved, Benjamin's body shuddered with pleasure. Benjamin let out desperate and yearning moans that made Charles want to thrust into him. But knowing it would be painful for Benjamin, Charles remained as still as he could.
He buried his face in Benjamin's neck, nipping softly at the pale skin, leaving marks of pink and red. "I love you. I love you so much…" He said with each kiss.
And each time, Benjamin let out another soft moan, and ground himself back against Charles, feeling the friction, and the tightness, and the thickness of the knot that filled him so completely.
"Ah," Benjamin cried as he climaxed.
Soon after his climax, Benjamin's eyes slowly blinked shut and his breathing evened out. Charles kissed Benjamin's cheek, tightened his embrace around him, and fell asleep, still joined to him.
Outside the door, Calix and Felix took turns patrolling the hallway. They heard the muffled sounds and creaking of the bed, and they knew exactly what was happening inside. They were both panicked.
What if someone comes? What if she comes? They exchanged frantic, silent signals as they ran through excuses in their heads.
And then, without so much as a sound, from around the corner, staring straight at them with an unreadable expression, Shirin appeared.