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It had been a few weeks since Kazuha had last seen his lover, Heizou. The last time he had seen the other was before the Crux Fleet had set off once again from Inazuma.
When on the Alcor, he typically enjoyed sitting in the crow's nest or some other high-up spot on the ship. But, for whatever reason, he didn't feel up to doing that today.
He just couldn't pinpoint why.
He wasn't sure what was going on, he just felt that something was wrong when he woke up that morning.
But just what was wrong?
Despite feeling off, he tried to go about his normal duties on the ship.
He had been able to do everything just fine and it almost seemed like that feeling of wrongness was going away.
Almost.
After completing his duties for the time being, he suddenly felt as if he was going to throw up.
He went over to the closest side of the ship to him. Despite trying to act natural about the action, it was ruined as he immediately vomited over the side of the ship.
It didn't last very long, but he was still left with tears in his eyes. Tears in which he quickly wiped away.
What was going on?
He never got seasick so he knew it wasn't that, and he certainly didn't feel feverish so it couldn't be that either.
It was frustrating.
He was thankful that no one else seemed to notice what was going on, a small sigh of relief escaping him.
Even after throwing up, he still felt off. Kazuha sighed a little bit, deciding to find somewhere to sit down and rest for the time being, silently hoping it would help.
He made his way to a part of the ship where the least crew members were wandering around at the moment.
He sat down near one of the ship sides, closing his eyes. He still felt some lingering nausea but was just hoping it went away.
Surely there was some reason for this. There had to be.
He put a hand to his forehead, he didn't feel any warmer than normal. It was a good sign at the very least. It also meant that he was most likely right about not feeling feverish.
He closed his eyes and was able to relax for at least a little bit until he heard footsteps approaching him. it took only a few moments for him to recognize who the footsteps belonged to, even with his eyes closed.
The footsteps belonged to none other than Captain Beidou.
The woman spotted the young man, a slight look of confusion appearing on her face but it soon shifted into one of concern.
“Kazuha?” She asked “You alright?”
He opened his eyes and looked at her, he could feel another wave of nausea starting to hit him. But he still nodded a bit “I think so” he said, he tried his best to appear normal but he didn’t want to talk too loud in fear of throwing up again.
Beidou raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of his answer.
She knelt down next to him as she spoke “You’re not looking too good, kid” She must have taken notice of how pale he was.
“I don’t…” He paused, “I don’t feel well.” he eventually admitted.
Mere moments after speaking, he quickly got up to once again throw up over the side of the ship. Beidou saw this and immediately jumped up, gently placing a hand on his back as he spilled his stomach’s contents.
She let out a small sigh but tried her best to reassure and comfort him. The vomiting stopped after about a minute. He sat back down in the spot where Beidou had initially found him.
She knelt back down next to him. There were tears rolling down his cheeks but he barely even seemed to notice them.
She’d never seen him get seasick, maybe once when he first was on the ship but even then she didn’t think it was this bad.
This wasn’t sea sickness. Especially since they had left Inazuma a few weeks prior and Kazuha had been perfectly fine up until now.
She was honestly a bit stumped.
But if Kazuha was sick, then it would be best if she got him below deck so he could rest.
“Can you walk on your own?” She asked, starting to stand up.
The male nodded a little bit, though he seemed a bit unsure. He stood up, but Beidou was quick to notice that he seemed a bit unsteady on his feet.
She grabbed onto him a bit, steadying him before beginning to lead him below deck.
He looked at Beidou as best he could, listening as she explained to him that she was taking him below deck so he could properly rest.
He followed her to the lower deck without much complaint. Though he would admit that the idea of resting in bed sounded quite appealing to him.
Beidou led him to what had, over time, become “his room” and somewhat assisted him with getting into bed, even though he had been able to handle it by himself for the most part.
She let him get comfortable in the bed, though now that she was in an enclosed room with him, she noticed something.
His scent was different than it was normally.
She tried not show an outward reaction, especially since she recognized that what that kind of scent meant. But she wasn’t sure if she should even say anything.
She had only just noticed it now that they were “inside” and not on the upper deck where the breeze can easily hide scents.
She waited for him to get comfortable before carefully sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Alright” she said, speaking softly “What's going on with you, kid?” she asked.
Kazuha, who had closed his eyes, opened them to look at Beidou again. Though he had a tired look to him, he also looked a bit confused.
Beidou must have noticed this as she spoke again “How long have you been feeling unwell?” she asked.”
The younger man paused, trying to think back “Since this morning, I think” he said “I just woke up feeling.. off”
Beidou wore an unreadable expression “Other than the rather obvious nausea, what other symptoms have you been having?” She asked. Kazuha, even despite being rather tired, was able to pick up on a hint of concern in her voice.
She seemed to be trying to figure out what he meant by “feeling off”
“Well, there was some dizziness earlier” he said “But.. it was only briefly” he said quietly
This only served to confirm her suspicions. But she just wasn't sure how to bring it up.
She got up from the bed and although Kazuha looked confused again, she was quick to give a explanation. “I’ll be back, I’m gonna get a bucket for you just in case”
He seemed a little reassured and just watched as she left the room.
“Try and rest” she said just before walking out and closing the door.
She made her way to where she knew they kept buckets on the ship.
She decided that while she retrieved said bucket for Kazuha just in case he had to throw up again, that she would figure out how to bring up what was going on with him.
Maybe mentioning it in a casual way would work best? She was sure that he didn't even seen to realize why he was feeling sick, but just in case he did, she didn't want to make him upset.
After all, she saw him as her own son in a way, and wanted to keep his emotions in mind.
She soon made her way back to Kazuha's room with a bucket in hand.
Walking into the room, she set the bucket down near his bed. She sat back down on the edge of the best, trying not to jostle him too much.
“Feeling any better?” she asked, her voice was almost.. gentle.
Kazuha shook his head a little bit, his eyes still closed. His voice sounded weak, though it was likely due to him having thrown up, or it could be due to the fact that he was exhausted.
Beidou nodded, humming a bit “yeah, morning sickness is no fun, huh?” she said, her tone still gentle but having a hint of casualness to it.
Kazuha's eyes snapped open, looking at Beidou in surprise. His eyes were wide. All he managed to get out was a small “..what?”
Beidou just nodded a little bit. It seemed that Kazuha did not, in fact know what was going on with him
Kazuha felt his heart skip a beat “h.. how?” He asked, looking at her.
How did she know before he did?
As if reading his mind, she spoke “Your symptoms matched up” she said “Not only that, but your scent is different. What actually confirmed it was your scent though” she explained.
Kazuha sat up a bit, still looking at Beidou. He hadn't even considered that his scent could be different.
“My.. scent?” he asked
The older woman nodded “An omega’s scent tends to change when they're.. y’know” she said “ I recognized it because the same change in scent happened to Ningguang when she was pregnant with Guiying” she said.
Of course she was able to pick up on it after experiencing it with her own lover.
Suddenly, a sob escaped from Kazuha. He barely knew why he was crying but it was clear that the news had hit him harder than he first thought.
Beidou reacted immediately, carefully moving closer to him and pulling him into a gentle embrace, comforting the younger male.
She just let him bawl his eyes out, still holding him. The swordsman seemed so small and vulnerable in that moment, a stark difference from the usual calm and composed demeanor that he normally had.
She just continued to comfort him. A discussion about “what comes next” could wait.