A group of friends streams their gaming on Wednesday nights. But not all the action is on the dining room table.

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Chapter 5 - Proud Mama

"No way in hell!"

"But mija, you look so cute! Oh, wait," Carmen said, reaching back into the same bag that had held the torture device I already wore and pulling out another, smaller bundle of cloth. "Go put this on too."

I took the object she handed to me, then groaned. "Aunt Cici!"

"Now now," she said, stepping forward and wrapping me in a hug. "Trust me, okay?"

"But..." I looked at the bra in my hand. "Ugh."

I didn't say another word as I returned to the restroom, stripped my tee off again, and put the bra on over everything else, already feeling the heat of the multiple layers building. The bra was lightly padded, and combined with the re-arranging done by the pregnancy suit made for a very noticeable amount of boobage, especially on my slight frame. I frowned, but slipped my tee shirt back on and stepped out the door.

"Ah, much better. You make a beautiful mama."

"I'm gonna have the worst swamp ass imagineable with all this stuff on," I complained, doing my best to sound as non-"mama" as possible. "And I can already feel this thing pressing on my bladder. I'm gonna be up every twenty minutes having to pee."

Carmen chuckled. "Welcome to motherhood, mija. It's all part of the package."

"Maria!" I called out across the table to my long-time friend. "Tell your crazy aunt I can't wear this to the con!"

"Why?" Maria asked, grinning back.

"What?!"

Sydney came up and hugged me, raising my temp even more. "Come on, Leigh. Even in your street clothes you look cute! I'm sure Carmen's got some fantastic costumes to go with this, right?"

"Oh, yes! Fantasy maternity wear is a bit of an unexplored field, you know," Carmen said, her eyes shining with excitement. "I've got all these ideas, far too many to fit in for the convention."

"Brian?" I asked, once again looking for support. Instead, I found my roommate giving me an odd look.

"Hmm?"

I sighed. "Brian, tell them how stupid this is."

It seemed to take a moment for his eyes to focus, shifting from my faux pregnancy to my face. "Uh, I actually think it's a good idea."

I'm sure if I'd had any scrap of psychic or magical power in real life the look I gave him would have set him ablaze, but instead it just seemed to make him chuckle.

"Now, Leigh," Carmen said, stepping forward and taking my arm. "Come here and let me get some measurements, would you? I think I know what the results will be already, but always double check, yes?"

"Rgh. Fine. Then I can take all this off, right?"

"Ehhhhh..."

"Cici...."

Cici gave me an apologetic look even as she started taking my measurements. "It needs some, ah, stress testing. I would at least like you to wear it for the game tonight."

"For the game!"

"Well, yes. It's--"

Cici's explanation was cut off by the sound of the studio's front door slamming open. If that weren't enough of a clue, the loud "What the fuck!" as he saw me standing there, be-boobed and be-babied, signalled Jonah's arrival.

"Oh, good, you made it," Maria said brightly. "Carmen's just finishing some measurements, and--"

"The fuck is he wearing?"

"Young man, language!"

Jonah ignored Carmen as he walked up and poked me in the belly.

"Hey!" I recoiled, instinctively wrapping my arms over my new bump protectively.

Jonah laughed cruelly as he looked around the group. "What, acting like a slut in game wasn't enough, you needed to take it to the next level?"

"Jonah!"

Jonah turned to me again, a much darker look in his eyes.

Was he going to?

"Hey."

I watched as two hands landed on his shoulders, Brian appearing on one side and Aaron on the other.

"Hey, man, back off. It's for the cosplay stuff," Aaron said, giving me a concerned look. "You okay Leigh?"

I continued to guard my belly as I backed up, Carmen and Sydney rushing to my sides. Deidre and Maria were in my peripheral vision, talking to some of the film crew who had arrived and watching us warily.

"Leigh?" Aaron asked again, and I saw his fingers tighten on Jonah's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I finally said, my voice cracking a bit. "We're fine. Right?" I asked, looking pointedly into Jonah's eyes, still smoldering with anger... but at what?

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, sure. Fine." He seemed to shrink in on himself a bit, and Aaron and Brian backed up, giving him some space. "I'm gonna go catch a last smoke," he said, turning his back on me and walking back toward the door.

I watched him until he was out the door, only for my vision to then be filled by a tall masculine form. I looked up, into Brian's concerned eyes. "Brian?"

I wasn't expecting the hug, but felt some of the tension drain out of me as he pulled me in.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I... no, just poked me."

"Good."

Brian held me for a moment longer, perhaps a moment too long, then let go and backed away, shuffling awkwardly. "I'm--"

"I need to get the last few measurements," Carmen said, cutting him off.

"Ah, yeah. Right." Brian gave me one last Look then headed back to his seat, joining the rest of our group who all looked just as nervous.

Carmen pulled me aside and gave me a follow-up hug of her own. "Oh, mija, I'm so sorry. I'll get my measurements and you can change back, and--"

"No."

Carmen paused. "No?"

I shook my head, feeling an entirely different heat rise in me than earlier. "You want a stress test? You got one. As long as it takes."

"I... okay," Carmen said, smiling and sqeezing my shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

I smiled back.

The whole situation was out of control, and no, I didn't want to wear any of this stuff.

But I'd be damned if I'd let Jonah intimidate me.

I rubbed my belly where he'd poked me, and thought, and plotted. I was well padded, sure, but he'd poked me hard enough I had a sore spot underneath everything. Who does that?

He wanted to be pissed at me for Lunea being pregnant? That was fine. I'd give him something to be pissed over.

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NOTES:

Whether you hop over to check out chapter 6 or not, feel free to leave comments and likes! I always appreciate them, and have been trying to be better about responding too.