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The Trade	By : sandyl666 Category: +1 through F > Coraline Views: 11933 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: Coraline book-verse is owned by Neil Gaiman and part of movie-verse is owned by Henry Selick, I own nothing. I make nothing whatsoever by writing and posting this on.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or plot of Coraline. They belong to Neil Gaiman/Henry Selick. But really - I don't want it. So maybe that's a good thing.
Chapter 16: Real

Kate squirmed in the armchair nervously. It had been nearly ten minutes since Wybie had gone... What if he never came back? She bit into her thumbnail, trying to divert her attention. At least they didn't have to worry about the Joneses coming back and discovering that their daughter's two best friends had trespassed into their house. Charlie Jones had fallen sick from all the stress, and Mel Jones hadn't been seen away from his side.
She prayed that Wybie would come back safely, preferably with Coraline, equally as safe.
She jolted to a stand when Wybie burst through the little door he had come through, and it shut by itself mysteriously, clicking three times.
"No!" Wybie reached for the door, tugging it, only to find it locked. He quickly recovered his own key and attempted to shove it into the hole, only to find it no longer fit. "Shit," The profanity escaped his mouth before he was even aware of it.
"Wybie... Coraline?" Kate asked, standing by his side, swaying worriedly.
He shook his head. "She wouldn't... she wouldn't come,"
"Wouldn't?" Kate echoed.
"She's scared for us... And she's already pregnant,"
Kate's eyes widened at that and she held a hand over her mouth. "Oh, no..."
"Yeah," Wybie agreed, glaring at the little door that was the source of all their misery.
Four months passed without incident.
Coraline was no closer to getting her answer. Bel continued to ignore her whenever she brought it up, and after that last heated conversation, he had continued to treat her the same as he always did. With a lot of pet names, and even more food.
She had finally stopped having morning sickness about a month and a half ago, and was free to continue pigging out, now with the excuse of eating for two. Her midriff had begun to bulge out and she had to constantly remember to be careful not to bump into anything with her extra girth. Still, it wasn't all bad. It was nice to feel the bump. It was hard, yet soft at the same time. She found herself often unconsciously running her hands over it, before quickly removing them.
While she had yet to get an answer to her burning question, she somehow sensed that the dynamics of their relationship had changed. Or at least it did on her end. The first three weeks in the Other World she had been caught in a conflict of pleasure and guilt, and had been relieved when they stopped having sex after that last night of celebration. However, recently she had found that she couldn't look at him without thinking of how good it had felt to have him inside her, and she liquefied between the legs in anticipation of having him there again. But he hadn't so much as touched her after that night in the garden.
Maybe he really didn't care for me after all... She realised with a sigh.
"Coraline?" Bel prompted, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes?"
"Keep kneading and stop thinking so much,"
She continued to pound at the dough, realising that while she was zoning out her hands had stilled. When he had offered to help her learn to cook he hadn't been kidding and while she had yet to cook a meal by herself, she had assisted him during the preparation of each meal.
She pushed the dough around roughly, releasing all her pent-up frustration on the relatively innocent mix of flour and water.
Bel watched her out of the corner of his eye silently, glad that he wasn't at the receiving end of the kneading. When she started to punch it violently, he decided it was time to intervene. He placed a hand on her wrist.
"That's enough, sweetheart. We're making dinner rolls, not punching bags,"
She was panting and glaring at the much battered dough, but at least she stopped trying to murder the non-living item. He removed a piece of cloth from his pocket and mopped her brow. She half-smiled at him gratefully, then started tearing off pieces to roll up and place on a tray.
All that effort... And I'm still the only one eating. She lamented, chewing on a piece of bread. Despite the abuse it went through, it still tasted pretty good. She would've asked Bel's opinion if not for the fact that he found all non-living food disgusting. And as uncomfortable as it was to be seating at the table with someone who didn't dine with her, it was worse when he brought the food he ate in front of her. She shuddered just thinking about that one unfortunate incident. Her morning sickness had just receded and he had to bite that insect in half.
And the pukefest began all over again...
"Something wrong?" Bel asked, lifting an eyebrow at her.
"...You should be glad I'm not arachnophobic," she said.
"What?"
"Nothing,"
He sighed. The further on she progressed with her pregnancy, the less lucid she seemed to become. And she always brought up the worst and most random subjects.
"So, you have an answer for me yet?" she asked. He sighed again, and resisted the urge to massage the bridge of his nose. She licked her fork as Bel treated her like air, as he always did when she brought up the issue. "Okay then, how about this? Do you... hate me?" she asked, wondering if maybe it was an easier topic. If he hated her still, it would still be disastrous for their child. Unfortunately, Bel remained silent, but the twitching of his fingers told her he was starting to get truly tired of her interrogations. "You know, the sooner you give me an answer, the sooner I'll stop pestering you about the matter," she pointed out.
"I don't understand why you want to know so badly," Bel said, pushing his chair back and moving behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and massaging gently.
"Because-" She shuddered again as his hands, large and thin as they were, rubbed out the tension from her. Seconds passed as he relaxed her, before she realised what was going on and quickly pulled his hands off her. "Stop that! Look, it's important for us to get it out in the open, alright? What your answer is could challenge the very balance of our relationship!"
"And what relationship are you referring to, dearest?"
"That-!" She cut off abruptly when she realised... She didn't know. "I... I have no idea! That's exactly why I need an answer from you! I have no idea what this-" she pointed between them. "-is, what we are!"
"Coraline..." he slipped his hands back onto her shoulders.
"No, don't you 'Coraline' me!" she snapped, shoving his hands away and standing up from the chair. "I can't believe this! How hard can it be for you to answer one question? It's really not that hard! Haven't I already told you that all I want is a straight answer? That it didn't matter what the answer was? Then, hurry up and-" her yelled rambling abruptly ended as she gasped, falling back into her chair.
Bel's eyes widened and he reached out to grasp her arms before she made contact with the chair. "Coraline?" he shouted, as he lowered her more gently onto her chair. There was a stunned look on her face and as soon as her bottom touched the chair, her hands flew to her stomach. Suddenly Bel's breath caught in his throat. Could it be..?
Coraline gasped again, then looked up at Bel with that same stunned look. "Bel," she gripped the hands still holding onto her upper arms and promptly placed it on her stomach. He held his breath unknowingly, waiting. Then, just when he was starting to suspect that his child had gone still again, it kicked his palm. He jumped, as if jolted by electricity. "It's kicking," Coraline whispered in awe, pointing out the obvious. Bel could only nod. The two remained like that, their previous discussion forgotten as their child fluttered, and kicked, and pressed its little fingers against its mother's belly, so that the imprint could be seen.
Coraline was stunned. Somehow, the idea that she was pregnant had never really hit her, because she never really accepted it. But now, with the violent kicks, she had never been more aware of the life growing inside her. And strangely enough, she wasn't filled with hate at the idea of carrying his spawn. No, she felt this warm, sweet sensation in her tummy, aside the jostling from her child. She was happy, she realised, happy to have a child. The realisation hit her like a ton of bricks. So distracted was she that she was only vaguely aware of Bel's hands still pressed against her swollen midriff until he spoke.
"I don't hate you," he muttered, barely incomprehensible.
"Hmm?" she asked, having not been listening to him, or even aware of her surroundings.
"I don't hate you. I never have," Bel repeated, slightly louder. "As for whether I care for you..."
She waited for his answer with bated breath.
"I do," Coraline's breath was released from her in a relieved sigh. "But, whether it's in the way you think..."
He paused for nearly four minutes, and Coraline waited patiently, understanding that honesty must be difficult for Bel, especially regarding such a matter.
"I don't know,"
Slowly, she grasped one of the thin hands spread across her pregnant stomach. He looked up at her face slowly, and was surprised to find her smiling. "That's enough for now. Thank you,"
Bel didn't understand the gratitude. Why thank him? What was she thanking him for?
He played with a tendril of her hair, curling it around his finger, then uncurling it absent-mindedly. His other hand remained on her belly, enjoying the sensation of their baby kicking away energetically as its mother slept. He was still trying to make sense of the girl beside him, and stared at the ceiling as if it could give him all the answers to his problems.
He had been lenient lately, allowing her to shout and scream at him, and bring up uncomfortable discussions without any fear of threats from him. Was it wise, he wondered, to allow her to see him as an equal? Not that it mattered... She had never seen him as above her. She had always met him head-on. But still, to allow her to dominate him like that...
Did he love her? How would he know? Was there a manual out there about love? All those soppy love stories... And yet none could give him a better clue of what to expect from his own experiences.
He sighed and turned his head to burrow into her shoulder. Coraline moaned and shifted.
Perhaps it isn't love that I feel for her... Or perhaps it is. All I know at this moment is that I have never felt more... content.
His child kicked him as soon as he finished that thought as if in agreement and he smiled.
- 15
- 16
- 17
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The Trade