Chapter Text
Okay. Mae could admit that this probably wasn’t the greatest idea?
Going off sailing with her best friend when neither of them had any sort of sailing experience. Sure, they had bought the boat no problem but having a boat and all was only great when you actually knew how to use it.
Luckily they were found by some sailor working on the docks. The sailor just couldn't stand to see the way Scott horribly tried to set up the sailing flag. Having pushed her way in, stole the rope from the mage’s hands and lectured him on the proper way to set up the sail as Scott awkwardly smiled as Mae scooted her way behind her friend.
And upon realizing they had no sailing experience exasperately the sailor agreed to give them a quick crash course before sending them on their own way. A crash course in which they learned Scott Springwell was actually quite susceptible to seasickness. The sailor told them that Scott’s body would eventually adjust and to just give it time.
Except it didn’t.
“Scott! You need to go to the doctor in the next town! None of this ‘I’m fine’ business!” Mae scolded as she gently held back Scott’s blonde hair as he heaved the broken down acidic remains of last night’s dinner into the gentle waves of the ocean.
Nearly a month and half into their sailing journey Scott's seasickness has barely shown any improvement. Mae loved her friend dearly but she really wanted to stop playing nurse when Scott’s nausea reared its head. Especially in the early morning like now, the sun was barely peaking through the skyline.
Scott just grunted in response pressing his forehead against the railing of the ship. Mae sighed as she pulled one of the hairbands she kept on her wrist and tied up Scott’s hair. She then grabbed her water canteen and offered it to the half elf who took it with a small thanks, pouring some of the water into his mouth before spitting it back out.
“Seriously! Something is wrong at this point.” Mae pushed more.
Scott opened his mouth to reply but instead of any words coming out he instead hurled more bile into the ocean. Mae rubbed Scott’s back gently as he emptied his stomach more. Once the mage’s heaving has calmed down he just whined quietly as he slumped down against the ship’s walls, tears staining his eyes.
“Use some healing magic?” Mae offered as she grabbed one of the wash clothes and began to gently clean Scott’s face.
Scott just grunted as he let Mae clean him up. “Too much..”
Mae frowned, fixing Scott with a confused stare. “Too much?”
“Magic.” Scott said as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. “I’ve been using too much to lessen my symptoms lately.”
Mae thought for a moment “Oh! So… like any other medicine? Too much can be bad?”
Scott nodded, “People can also build up tolerances.” The tears that were threatening to fall finally did. Scott sniffled as he wiped his tears on his sleeves. “I-Im sorry- I don’t-“
Mae just hugged Scott tight, rubbing circles into his back gently as the mage sobbed in response and let himself go limp in her hold. “You haven’t been feeling well the past month! You’re okay.”
The two just sat there quietly for a few moments, soaking up the warmth of the sun rising in the distance, the gentle rocking of the boat and the sound of the sea.
“How about I make some tea? Would that help?”
“Yeah… thanks Mae.”
The tea has indeed helped settle Scott’s stomach but they were beginning to run low on supplies. Luckily the two had managed to get to the next town quickly without any issues on sea. And so they began their planning for the next few days.
“….anddd then we meet back at SS Nom!” Mae exclaimed, holding the note she made to Scott. It helped when they had a list to know who would do what.
Scott took the note gently, staring at it with a twinge of amusement. “So I’m stuck in the doctor’s office all day while you’re actually out doing stuff?”
“Your health is important!” Mae frowned as she grabbed the note from Scott’s hands. It’s not like he would need it today.
Scott grinned, ears twitching “Just don’t forget the lamp oil-“
“THAT WAS ONE TIME!” Mae screeched in response. She forgot the oil for the lanterns one time making it so that the two were plunged into darkness during the night while at sea for about a week until they got to the next stop.
Scott has never let her live it down. Despite the fact with his stupid elf eyes he could see much better in the dark than she could.
“You are so mean to me for no reason” Mae pouted, walking away dramatically.
Scott just laughed “Love you, Mae Mazes!”
There really wasn’t a lot to do luckily. Mae only really needed to stock up on supplies. Such as food, spare sails, paper and yes the lamp oil as Scott so kindly reminded her.
A lot of the food they typically bought were non perishables, stuff that wouldn’t rot as easily or would be easy to cook on a moving ship in the sea. Scott however had gotten a particular craving for steak lately. Honestly it was any kind of red meat but steak seemed to be his favorite. Mae had joked that he was trying to become a knight, especially since he seemed to be glaring at the potatoes he used to eat all the time lately. It was a bit odd but she let him have it.
Upon finishing her shopping trip she had to begin the task of actually bringing everything back and then putting it away. She had gotten used to the system Scott had made and everything was sorted rather nicely.
Mae sighed and stretched out her arms. It’s been a few hours now and Scott should be returning soon from his doctor visit.
Mae hoped it really wasn’t something serious. She didn’t know if she could handle losing someone yet again. Not so soon.
She shook her head. She shouldn’t be thinking like that. Scott would be fine. His only issue was that his sea sickness wasn’t going away! And all the other behaviors he was exhibiting was because he was grieving.
It would be fine. It would be fine.
Mae kinda wanted to strangle past her from like an hour ago.
Mae had spotted Scott walking onto deck as she was coming up from storage; however she could instantly tell something was off.
Scott was shaking badly. He clutched his stomach and Mae noticed that there were now bracelets that he was wearing. Where in the hell had he gotten jewelry from she had no clue. He didn’t even seem aware having not greeted her.
“Scott?”
The mage whipped his head around, staring at Mae with wide wet green eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. She had never seen him like this before and Mae knew how Scott could get when he was upset. It vaguely reminded her of how he could get when he would wake up from a nightmare or something would remind him about Nom.
The more she thought about it the more she felt like he was acting like when Nom was about to die. She wasn’t there for his final moments, only Scott, Katie and 4c where. She was also deep in her own grief about the situation as well. Dealing with the whiplash of the joy of defeating the Creaking King to the crumbling reality of the impending doom of her friend, despite everything that happened.
She had come to learn when he was trying to keep himself together. The shaking in his body as he tried to stay composed. Typically clutching onto his staff or some other object he could get his hands on. The way the flowers in his hair or any plants nearby would wilt alongside the drooping of his ears. The way that everything about him would just dim like a flame being snuffed out.
There was something more under it. Fear. Something was scaring Scott but she didn’t know what.
“Scott? Are you okay? Is it about Nom-“
That was the wrong thing to say because Scott broke. Tears and sobs now spilling freely from his body as his legs buckled and Mae found herself holding Scott upright so he didn’t fall to the floor. The mage just continued to wail as he held onto Mae tight, face buried into her shoulder.
“Mae…Mae! What am- huk- what am I s-supposed to do..?” Scott babbled out.
Mae was suddenly aware that while, yes, they were on their boat it was still open to the entire docks. A few passerby and workers were looking over at the scene with concern. She needed to get Scott into a more private area. Strangers suddenly coming into a problem that even she didn’t know what was going on would do no good.
She gave the people a wave hoping it signaled that she had everything handled and began to walk Scott over to their room. Praying no one decided to come over and do a welfare check. The SS Nom itself wasn’t the biggest boat ever. It only had one room that the two shared. Two twin beds on either side with a night stand each, a window, a wardrobe the two shared and a desk near the door that was meant for work but Scott had taken over with a few of his plants he brought along. It was small but it was cozy.
Mae sat with Scott down onto his bed and she gently began to rub circles into his hands. The half elf was still sobbing, keeping his head buried onto Mae’s shoulder. Mae began to quietly hum a small tune, something she had begun to pick up from Scott himself.
Mae decided just to let Scott cry it out, her presence already was calming him down significantly it seemed, he just needed a few more minutes. In the meantime her eyes wandered back to the bracelets that Scott was now wearing.
They were beautifully and intricately carved into a floral pattern and it was even painted with whites and blues. A few small yellow gems glued into the centers of the flowers. It was very Scott indeed and matched him well. Curiously she let her thumb brush over one of them, feeling the ridges in the design.
Feeling the cold of the metal Mae frowned a bit in confusion. Now, she didn’t know a whole lot about all the different metals there were but she was fairly sure these bracelets were made of iron.
Iron was known to stop and absorb magic. They were the last thing a mage like Scott would be wearing.
So why was Scott?
Scott’s breathing started to stabilize as his sobs turned into soft hiccups. Mae began to gently glide her fingers through his hair, carefully not to disturb his flowers. “Are you feeling better?”
Scott just let out a little hum of acknowledgment as he nuzzled further into Mae’s shoulder.
Mae smiled softly as she gave him a small hug “Is it about the doctor? What did they say” she tried to stop her mind going a mile a minute to the worst places.
She felt Scott stiffen in response and Mae was about to apologize but Scott only detangled himself from her arms and sat up. His green eyes didn’t meet hers as he stared at the dandelion on his nightstand.
Fiddling with one the bracelets on his wrists Scott just took in a deep breath before sharply looking back at Mae. “I’m pregnant.”
Mae sputtered like someone had just dunked her face into a bucket of water “What!?”
Scott just let out a mirthless chuckle “Yeah… the sea sickness? It’s morning sickness, it turns out.”
The rouge just stared at the mage, the pregnant mage, wide-eyed as she processed the information. “How did that happen?”
Mae immediately regretted the words as they left her mouth. “Well you see when two people-“
Mae shoved her hand across Scott’s mouth “NO NO NO DON'T ANSWER THAT!”
The half elf just giggled in response as Mae let go, face bright red. Though she was glad that her blunder seemed to have cheered up Scott, even just a little. The new revelation also began to slot Scott’s behavior the past month into place, a puzzle she’s frustratedly been trying to solve.
The ‘sea sickness’ that just wouldn’t go away. The sudden cravings for red meat when he didn’t care before and aversions to food he ate all the time, how it felt like he was much easier to set off emotionally and the quiet complaints of pains throughout his body.
Mae had just thought it was symptoms that came from the grieving and recovery from the recent battle they were going through. And maybe it still was that too but they were also clear signs of an early pregnancy too.
Mae bit her lip and there was now a swarm of questions running through her head. Questions that probably weren’t right to ask right now despite the curiosity tearing her apart. Scott’s gaze had gone back to the dandelion at some point and Mae thought she safely could guess one of those questions herself.
Quiet moments where Scott and Nom would just glance at each other with soft eyes. Moments where the two would sneak away together. Even a quick kiss shared between the two she saw as she walked up to the pair, sending them scattering like spooked horses when they noticed her.
“Nom’s the other father isn’t he?”
Scott nodded, tears once again forming in his eyes before he buried his face into his hands. “Gods, what am I going to do?”
She didn’t have an answer to that. She didn’t think she would be any better off if she was in his situation. Still deep in grief over a now dead lover, only to realize you were pregnant with their child and to be miles and miles away in an unfamiliar area.
Mae knew one thing though, two actually. That Scott was her best friend and she was right here and gods be damned if she wasn’t going to try everything she could to make things even a sliver better for him.
Making up her mind Mae gently grabbed Scott by the shoulders and gently pushed him down onto his pillow. The mage let out a confused squeak opening his mouth only to get hit in the face with the blanket Mae threw over him.
Freeing his face from the blanket Scott gave her a look of confusion. “Mae-“
“Nuh uh!” Mae said, bopping Scott’s nose as it wrinkled in response. “You just rest for now.”
“But-“
“No buts! We’ll figure it out later okay?” Mae cut him off as she got up herself. “I’ll get dinner ready, do you still want that steak? I bought some.”
“Y-yeah. That would be nice. Thank you, Mae.” Scott’s voice cracked.
Mae smiled as she closed the door softly, seeing Scott getting comfortable under the covers. She didn’t know what would come of this. But she knew that she could support Scott through it.