Almost a year after the wedding, Abby stands in the bathroom of their shared apartment, the door clicked shut behind her. The mirror shows her wide eyes and the test trembling in her hand.
Abby
Positive.
The word lands hard, simple and real, while Arthur’s soft humming drifts through the wall from the other room.
Abby presses the test to the sink edge and breathes through the rush in her chest. Outside, the sketch pencil keeps moving, steady and unaware.
Abby
He needs to know.
From beyond the bathroom door, Arthur’s humming pauses. His footsteps slow, then stop just outside, as if he senses the silence changing.
Arthur
Abby? You okay in there?
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell Arthur about the pregnancy
✓ Quest Accepted
Share what the test means for their future
“Take a deep breath and open the bathroom door to show Arthur the positive test.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +1)
Abby lets out the breath she has been holding and opens the bathroom door. The little plastic test stays in her hand, lifted between them like a truth she can no longer hide.
Arthur
Abby?
Arthur turns from the hallway light and stops short, his concern shifting fast into alert surprise as his eyes catch the test.
Abby
He sees it.
Arthur
Is that...?
Abby gives him the test instead of an explanation, and he takes it carefully, like it might change the air between them.
Arthur
Positive?
His shoulders sink on the word, not from fear alone, but from the weight of something real settling into the space they share.
Arthur
Okay... okay. Come here.
Quest Complete
Tell Arthur about the pregnancy
“I ask Arthur to hold me close”
SUCCESS (Legendary Empathy, rolled -1)
Abby
Come here, Arthur. Hold me close.
Arthur does not hesitate. He folds one arm around Abby and the other around the test, then lowers it to the sink as if clearing the last fragile thing between them.
Arthur
Yeah. Yes. I have you.
Abby steps into his chest, and the bathroom feels smaller, warmer, real. The hallway light rims their shoulders while the open door leaves the rest of the apartment waiting.
Arthur
This is happening. We are here. Together.
His hand settles at her back, steady and careful, and his breathing evens out against her hair.
Arthur
We can talk about everything. Right now, just stay here with me.
“I ask Arthur how he wants to do this together”
SUCCESS (Legendary Empathy, rolled -3)
Abby
How do you want to do this together, Arthur?
His arms tighten once, not from fear, but from feeling the question land. Arthur tips his forehead to hers, the sink between them, the test still off to the side like a fact they cannot outwait.
Arthur
Slowly. We talk to whoever we need to, and we keep checking in with each other. No deciding alone.
Arthur
I want this to be ours, not something she carries by herself.
Abby’s hands shift at his back as she settles into the answer, and the tightness in the bathroom eases by degrees. The hallway light catches the edge of the unfinished portrait propped beyond the doorway, a quiet reminder of the life already taking shape around them.
Arthur
We can make a plan for the appointment, the work, the apartment. Whatever comes next, we face it as a team.
He exhales, but the breath shivers at the end, costing him a little composure. The test remains on the sink, undeniable, while his hand stays anchored at her back, asking without words for one more minute of this closeness.
Quest Complete
Share what the test means for their future
Fault Removed: Heart on Sleeve