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1x groaned at the notification they got on their phone. For the past week, they had been bombarded with messages from their creator, their father, Shedletsky. About once a year, Shedletsky always made an effort to meet up with 1x, just to check in with them. They would usually argue at least once during their reunion but never enough to stop the yearly check-in by their father. But things were different now. While it was easy to hide that they had eloped with John and Jane a few years ago, it is much harder to hide a six, almost seven, month pregnant stomach. Sweaters and large shirts were no longer cutting it when it came to the bump that was now painfully obvious protruding from their stomach. The last thing they wanted they wanted their creator to know was that they were pregnant. They didn’t mind others knowing, in fact a good portion of John and Jane’s co-workers knew that they had a little one on the way, but they didn’t tell anyone that it was 1x having the baby. They told their partners to just say they had gotten a surrogate to quell any questions. To be honest, 1x didn’t want anyone to know that they were with the Doe’s regardless. It wasn’t shame, but safety. 1x feared those who still wished for their power from their rage and vengeful fueled days, whether it was so they could try to take it or offer worship, 1x could care less. They didn’t want to ruin the peace they had managed to secure with John and Jane. The only people who actually knew that 1x was married were Mafioso, Azure who had acted as the officiant at their wedding, and Jane’s parents who did everything in their power to separate the three and blaming 1x for “ruining a perfectly good marriage” once they found out (even though they weren’t the one who had proposed in the first place). That had been a fun couple of weeks, so they weren’t exactly enthralled at the idea of their creator finding out, knowing his protective tendencies.
It’s not like the messages really stopped as much as 1x tried to redirect Shedletsky’s focus on them. They made sincere attempts to brush the admin off and to try to reschedule to a later date, sometime after the baby would be born, but all attempts to reschedule were met with instance to meet up soon. 1x was starting to entertain the idea of getting Brighteyes or Builderman to step in to get Shedletsky to stop bothering them. They could probably stall for them, but they were also a bit nosey, more so Brighteyes than Builderman. They grabbed their phone and sent a text to their mother and Builderman. It was short and concise, just stall Shedletsky and they’ll make up for it later. They got a thumbs up from their mother, and confirmation that he would from Builderman. 1x let out a sigh of relief before getting another ping from their phone. They quickly checked their messages and saw a direct message. From Builderman.
“Tell me what’s going on. I can meet you wherever. Meet me at 8.”
. . .
Builderman stood outside the Doe’s house. He wasn’t sure why 1x wanted to meet up here but he wasn’t going to argue. He was horribly worried about them to be honest. A few years ago 1x stopped being as close as she once was. That hadn’t been overly concerning at first, 1x had never been overly clingy, only showing closeness and affection for those she cared for in confined and private spaces. What worried him was the now ghosting on top of all the other worrying signs that were flaring bright and obvious in his eyes. He noticed how 1x subtly changed her address but didn’t tell anyone, how there was a delicate necklace tucked beneath her clothing with a small ring on its chain that never got switched out, the sudden quits from their job without explanation, all signs that something was up and something was wrong.
He sighed as he walked up to the front porch of the house. There was a certain nervousness that coiled in your gut, the kind that appears when you go to confront someone. Builderman hated how it got tighter and tighter as he walked up the steps and stood in front of the door. He stared at the front door for a while, a hard scowl across his face as if the door had somehow personally hurt his feelings in the process of existing. He hesitated for a moment when he went to knock on the door. What if 1x had given him the wrong address to avoid things? It wouldn’t be the first time she had done something similar. Builderman took a deep breath and knocked, hard and loud. He waited a few minutes, almost thinking that no one was home before he heard the door unlock and the door open. He saw John Doe, a gentle smile on his face.
“Hey Mr. Builderman,” John said, “care to come in?”
“I’m good thank you. I thought 1x was here,” Builderman gently refused.
“Oh no they’re here, just inside. 1x is helping out in the kitchen if you would like to join us,” John confirmed, opening the front door wider in what felt like another invitation inside the house.
Builderman was about to respond with another decline when he heard 1x.
“John is he here yet,” 1x shouted from beyond where Builderman could see.
“Yeah X! Refusing to come inside like a reverse vampire,” John shouted back with a small laugh.
“Tell him either come inside or wait on the front porch and freeze for all I care!”
“Will do,” John yelled before turning back around. “I think it’s best if you come in, their mood had gotten testier recently.”
Builderman took the hint and stepped inside. The house was cozy and warm, and everything from immediate view screamed this was a place of comfort for it’s inhabitants. He noticed all the pictures lining the short hallway that led to the living room. A few contained small portraits, although more contained pictures of John, his wife Jane, and most surprisingly 1x. He looked at the pictures, taking in all the captured memories on the wall. Trips, precious moments, jokes and laughs frozen in picture frames filled the space of the hallway. What particularly caught Builderman’s eye was the picture of what appeared to be John and Jane’s wedding day, the two dressed in white, but with 1x next to Jane in an expertly tailored and ornate white tailcoat suit. He looked at the photo, almost lost in the contents of the picture. If it was what he suspected, he felt severely out of the loop. What else could 1x be hiding?
“Are you okay sir,” John asked hesitantly.
Builderman jumped, broken from the spiral of thoughts he accidentally suctioned himself into.
“Yeah, ahem, I am fine. Just looking at the pictures,” the admin said, feeling a bit flustered at being caught staring at the frames. John smiled and walked over to him.
“Which one were you looking at?”
Builderman pointed at the wedding photo, “That one.”
John looked to where he pointed and let out a soft chuckle.
“That one is my favorite on this wall. It took forever to get a pose that 1x would like. Despite the fact we had only three guests there, they were incredibly picky and detailed about what they wanted for the wedding. We had so much fun. One of the best days of my life for sure,” John reminisced, looking at the small portrait of the three. Builderman couldn’t help but stare and imagine what it must have been like. It had been an eternity since he had personally seen 1x genuinely happy, long before she corrupted, becoming a boogeyman for young Robloxians and a universal symbol of pure hatred. He wished he was there, maybe he could have given her away on that day, or just been a bystander, just something to able to witness 1x actually happy.
“What are you two doing?”
Builderman whipped around to see 1x standing in exit to the end of the hall. Builderman couldn’t help notice the difference in 1x’s appearance. Her long white hair was not held up in it’s usual ponytail, it cascaded down and around her shoulders. Instead of the usual varying black clothes she wore, she was in a beige sweater that seemed too big for her body and loose looking pants. She held a large, thick blanket in front of her body, looking like she was using more of a shield rather than just holding it.
“Hey X. I’m just showing Builderman some of the pictures here,” John said.
“Okay. I’m going to talk with Builder outside for a bit. I put the batter in the oven so you or Jane pull it out when it’s ready,” she said before walking over to him. “Care to join me?”
Builderman nodded, “Sure. I would like an explanation for things.”
He watched John and 1x share glances with each other before she led him outside into the cool fall night. 1x lead him out over to two rocking chairs that sat to the left of the entrance to the house, overlooking the front yard of the property.
“Choose whatever chair you want,” 1x said, gripping the blanket in front of her body like a lifeline. Builderman could feel the nerves coming off of 1x, for what reason he didn’t know why, but desperately wanted to.
“Still blunt as ever,” he mused, trying to lift the mood a bit as he sat down in the chair next to the door. It barely got a smile out of 1x as they walked over and sat in the matching chair. Builderman couldn’t help but notice how the blanket she was holding bulged out as she sat down.
“Put on a little weight there X,” he tried to joke.
“You could say something like that,” 1x replied, not looking him in the eye. Builderman sighed, this was going nowhere if she wouldn’t tell him what was going on.
“Care to fill me in on what’s going on here? Especially since you refuse to see Shedletsky or Brighteyes, and much more so everyone else who cares about you.”
Builderman watched 1x very carefully, taking in her full body language. He watched as she shifted, not only seeing to try and avoid him, but what looked like a subtle attempt to shield herself.
“Look I’m not upset about you being married if that’s what you’re worried about. I just wanted to talk about why you’re not visiting. If it’s because of your husband and wife I understand, just wish you hadn’t left us out of the loop for so long,” he tried to level.
“It’s not about John or Jane,” she plainly replied.
“Then what is it 1x? I’ll be honest I’m worried about you,” he said, putting in as much effort he could to make sure he sounded as genuinely concerned and worried about 1x as he felt. He watched her carefully and heard her sigh.
“Swear it that you tell nobody about this, none of the other admins, no passerby’s, no person who wouldn’t even know who you or I are, nobody. Especially not Shedletsky or Brighteyes,” she said, still not making eye contact with him.
“Why,” he asked.
“Swear it and I’ll tell you.”
Builderman sat for a second. Then he agreed.
“I swear it.”
She finally turned and looked him dead in the eyes.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
“Swear-”
“1x I promise you by all the stars I crafted in the sky anything said or learned tonight will stay confidential between us.”
1x looked at him for a moment, taking in his words. She sunk back into the rocking chair and stared out into the front yard. Builderman watched as 1x seemed to relax a bit. He watched as she slowly lowered the blanket around her middle to reveal a bulging, round stomach. Builderman couldn’t help but stare at it.
“I’m a bit…compromised,” she said, breaking the silence.
“I can see that,” he replied.
An awkward silence fell between the two.
"So you're pregnant?"
"Yes."
“How far along are ya,” Builderman asked.
“Almost seven months.”
“Having any troubles with it all?”
“No.”
“Do you know the gender yet?”
“No.”
“Are you excited?”
“Yes.”
Builderman sighed. This was getting nowhere, 1x digging in her heels with replies. He knew she was probably scared out of her mind about all of this he couldn’t help but to feel inclined to be curious about her situation. It wasn’t every day a practically god like being was pregnant.
“I can see why you didn’t want Shed or Brighteyes to find out about this. I have a feeling they would be a lot louder about the news than you would probably care for,” he joked. Builderman watched as a small smirk appeared on 1x’s face.
“It’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell them. They’re both so loud, and overprotective. I wanted to enjoy this without them hounding or bothering me. Quiet where I also didn’t have to worry about someone taking advantage of my state.”
“I can understand that more than you know. I had to put up with Shedletsky for thousands of years more than you have, so I can understand where you’re coming from. I can also understand the safety concerns.”
“You do?”
“Kid when you hatched, your father didn’t let us know for almost three weeks. He managed to hide you surprisingly well, but to be fair you were a quiet child so it probably wasn’t hard to hide you. The only way any of us found out was because you started crying because your father forgot to make it back in time to feed you and Clockwork overheard you.
“After that we practically went on lock down for the next hundred or so years until you were old enough to be around mortals. Nobody knew you existed outside of us admins until your father finally gave us the greenlight to finally show you off. You’re surprisingly not the first one to hide a kid. Hopefully you’ll be the last so I can stop getting heart attacks.”
The story made 1x laugh and to that Builderman was grateful. The tension between the two had definitely lifted after the small tale of 1x’s childhood.
“Thank you for not making a huge fuss over this,” 1x said, gesturing to her stomach.
“Of course. I don’t want to add stress if I can help it,” Builderman replied.
A more comfortable silence fell between the two as the incoming chill of winter surrounded them both on the porch.
“Are you going to tell Shedletsky and Brighteyes about the kid,” he asked.
He watched 1x as she opened her mouth and shut it, doing it again before finally speaking.
“I don’t know. On one hand I do, I really do, but on another I don’t. I want to tell them that they’re grandparents and for everything to be okay, but I also know the moment they know, so will everyone else, and I don’t want to put my child in that much of a compromised position. I just don’t want people to try to take advantage of me or them while in such a delicate state. My child shouldn’t suffer because of their grandparents, or me.”
Builderman hummed. He couldn’t help but agree with the points 1x was making. She was thinking five steps ahead for the unborn baby and he admired that.
“Are you ever going to tell them?”
“I don’t know. For now, no. In the future when he or she is born, maybe. But for now, no,” she answered.
“That’s fair. Just, don’t wait until it’s too late to say something,” he said.
“I’ll try.”
Builderman couldn’t help but smile at that. The two continued to talk and 1x caught him up on all the parts of her life she had missed since dating and marring the Does. Builderman was happy he could see her actually happy. It wasn’t long after stories were shared when the front door opened and Jane Doe walked out.
“Hey you two, the brownies are ready,” she said.
“Thank you dear,” 1x replied, “We’ll be inside in just a minute.”
“You better come inside soon. I don’t like you or the baby out here in the cold, you could get sick and that’s bad for the both of you,” Jane said before going back inside.
Builderman turned to 1x.
“You haven’t told that you can’t really get sick, have you,” he asked. He watched as 1x looked away, as if the street in front of them had become incredibly interesting all of a sudden. Builderman can’t help but laugh at the silent response, 1x laughing along with him. “Well you better go inside before either of them drag you in.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling Jane won’t let me sit out here at night anymore if I don’t go in. She really hates it when in places she deems unsafe for me or the child,” 1x said.
“Then let’s go inside before you not only make your wife but husband upset too,” Builderman said, getting up from the rocking chair and offering a hand to 1x. She grabbed his hand and let him hoist her up, pregnancy weight making it hard to get out of chairs on her own nowadays. Before going inside, 1x spoke up.
“Again, thank you for being calm about this,” she said.
“No problem,” Builderman replied, opening the door and letting 1x lead the way.