Family Emergency

Chapter 9

Two weeks later, Peter found out just how much agony the unnatural pregnancy could cause him. It happened during a night when his now over-active bladder was once again forcing him to go empty it, just as he was about to fall asleep after writhing in the bed for a long time.

Finding a comfortable position nowadays was nigh impossible. Severe back aches efficiently prevented that, as well as many other simple everyday activities that most people took for granted. Peter was convinced that at this rate, he would be bed-bound during his final month of carrying this child.

Using the walls for support, he limped into the bathroom and seated himself on the toilet seat with a heavy thump. Just as Nathan had predicted, he could no longer urinate in an upright position.

He sat there for quite a long time, wondering if eventually he was going to need to urinate again, but soon enough he could feel the tingling sensation of his feet falling asleep.

Rolling his eyes he reached up for a towel rack to aide in lifting himself from the toilet seat. The bolts holding the rack to the wall creaked in protest and Peter knew he could not try lifting himself again this way before he tore a hole in the wall. Of course he also knew that he would forget until the next time when he would indeed be sitting there stuck on the seat, staring at a large hole where a towel rack used to be.

Hobbling back to the bed, he saw how peacefully and comfortably his stupid brother slept and almost wanted to hit him in the face for his contentment. Instead, he merely ambled over to his side of the bed, accidentally bumping into the nightstand and knocking over an empty glass onto the carpet.

Great, Peter thought. He hardly wanted to slip on that when he awoke in the morning, and thus he tried to bend over to retrieve it. Of course, he had to spread his legs as he did so, bending his knees and trying to reach past his large belly.

As soon as his head was on level with his now protruding navel, he reached the conclusion that it was a very bad idea. His back was practically screaming out protests, and white-hot, searing pain shot out from his lumbar area and out into all four of his limbs. Peter gave up trying to reach the glass and instead focused on straightening himself, which in itself would be a challenge now.

Sweat broke out on his forehead and his entire face became flushed from exertion as he tried using his arms to push himself back up, using his thighs for leverage. It did not end well. The sudden shift of weight made him lose his balance, and without a chance of regaining it, he fell flat onto his back, releasing a strangled “Ooff” sound accompanied by a rather loud breaking of wind.

Nathan stirred, the bedsprings creaking as he slowly sat up, still halfway in dreamland.

“Peter…? What are you doing…?”

Peter could not speak until he regained the air which had been knocked from his lungs on impact with the floor, but once he could, he proved through his voice that he was not pleased at all with Nathan’s lack of assistance.

“Looking for my fucking contact lenses, that’s what I’m doing,” he snarled. “Would you PLEASE help me up?”

Peter’s view from his back was incredibly limited, but at least he could see the room becoming illuminated as Nathan turned on a small lamp. Then bare feet came into view, joined by his brother’s voice.

“Oh, Jesus. Peter, are you okay?”

Strong hands tenderly went under Peter’s shoulders as he was lifted up.

“I lost my balance and fell down,” the nurse grumbled.

Nathan helped his brother sit down once more on the bed. “Lost your balance, huh? Were you dizzy?”

“No, most of my weight is in the front, genius.”

“Now, now…” Nathan gently admonished. “There’s no need to throw your bile at me. I was asleep. If you needed help, you could have just woken me up.”

“Well, excuse me for believing I’d be able to take a piss without any aid from my big brother,” Peter shot back, voice dripping with ill-concealed sarcasm.

“I’m serious. You could have hurt yourself,” the lawyer said.

“I… I don’t think I can take another month of this…” Peter murmured, his voice suddenly thick. “I want it to fuckin’ end already! M-maybe I should j-just c-cut it open w-with a knife, or s-something…”

Nathan pulled Peter into a hug and though his brother’s threats to hurt himself were alarming, he decided not to scold him this time.

“Is there anything I can do to make it easier for you?” he asked.

“I don’t know… My back hurts, no matter what I do. And my feet and ankles feel like beach balls! I could probably drain gallons of fluid from them if I tried!”

“Hmmm…” Nathan murmured, contemplating. “Maybe I could help you with the latter…”

“How?” Peter asked, too tired to apply his knowledge of anatomy to his thought process.

Nathan simply guided him back to his usual sleeping spot on the mattress and crawled in front of him on his knees. Kneeling right in front of his brother, he carefully took the swollen ankles in his hands and lifted them until Peter’s feet were well above the level of his head.

“Well…” Peter began, feeling the pressure in his lower extremities die down, “that actually does feel good.”

Nathan only smiled and rubbed at the ankles with his thumbs as he held them up.

“How did you think of this?” the nurse asked curiously.


“Heidi let me do it,” his brother replied. “One the rare occasions when I wasn’t annoying her while she was pregnant, she said that this was one of the few things I could do without getting it wrong.” He slightly lowered the legs. “Any better?

Peter only sighed, eyes closed and mouth in a small smile.

Sadly the treatment could only last for a limited amount of time, and Peter feared the effects of the swelling returning as soon as Nathan ceased holding his feet up.

“My back’s really killing me…” he complained, once again unable to find a position he was comfortable in.

“Would it help if I rub it?” Nathan asked.

“Thanks, but I don’t think so,” Peter replied miserably. “Nothing I’ve tried seems to help anymore…”

Nathan truly felt sorry for his little brother and desperately wished there was something he could do to alleviate his discomfort or at least make him feel better.

“I know there’s no way for me to know what you’re going through…”

“You got that right,” the younger man interrupted sullenly.

“Perhaps I can imagine it.”

“Go ahead,” Peter replied, trying to go to sleep. A hand caressing his head helped and despite the constant movements now going on in his stomach, added by the pain in his back, feet, ankles, and even his chest, he found himself succumbing to sleep in a matter of minutes.

*

The following morning, Nathan was alone in his office, searching the internet on his laptop. There had to be something to help Peter not feel so miserable and discouraged. Just when he thought his searching would be in vain, he discovered a list of links to various mother and infant-based online stores. Figuring they would be worth a try, he explored each and every one of them until something very interesting caught his eye.

***

About a week later, Nathan Petrelli stopped by his brother’s apartment and let himself in. In his hand was a large plastic case, and thankfully, Peter was not nearby to see it. In fact, as Nathan listened closely, he could hear the water of a shower running.

Perfect.

The thought of Peter taking a shower by himself in his current condition was slightly alarming, and Nathan had a brief mental image of his pregnant brother slipping in the shower stall and crushing his head against the bathroom tiles. He forced it from his mind and instead focused on the task at hand.

He had unpacked the thing in his car earlier to see what it looked like, although he had not yet tried it on. Now that he was actually going to, the whole idea seemed more than just slightly daunting. Oh, the things he did for his baby brother…

*

Peter sighed in relief when he stepped out of the shower, once again happy to be clean. He’d taken his previous shower three days ago, and hopefully he’d last another three before he had to take one again.

As he laboriously dried his swollen, aching body, he suddenly heard a sound from somewhere in the apartment. Startled, Peter gripped his towel harder and felt his heart race from fear.

“H-hello…?” he managed to squeak out, terrified to look out.

God, I hope it’s just Nathan, he thought, edging closer to the door. He thought to grab for a pair of scissors in the medicine cabinet in case it was not, but thankfully he saw a very familiar tie, suit jacket, and pair of shoes on the floor as he peeked out. Exhaling in relief, he continued the short walk to his bedroom.

“Oh, thank god, Nathan,” he said before looking up, “You’re here alre…” What he saw made his jaw drop.

Nathan Petrelli, upstanding lawyer and presidential candidate, reclined on the bed with a sly grin on his face. But the grin was the last thing Peter had noticed, compared to his middle. Still wearing his slacks and office shirt, the older brother had to pull out the tails of his shirt to make room for his now curving, globelike stomach and large womanly breasts.

Putting his hands out dramatically, Nathan announced, “Surprise!”

Peter had to blink several times to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. For a brief moment it was like watching himself in the mirror.

“Nathan? What the hell…?”

“It’s called an ‘empathy belly’,” his big brother announced proudly. “I got it off the ‘net just yesterday. What do you think?”

“An… empathy belly?” Peter repeated dumbly, still not able to cease staring.

Nathan’s grin slowly faded as his face took on a more serious expression. “Well… You know that you’ve always been saying that I have no idea what you’re going through. You’re right. I can’t possibly imagine it without experiencing it myself, so… I thought I’d buy this thing and wear it for a while, so that…”

Peter stalked closer to the bed, seemingly mesmerized and still unable to take his eyes off the thing on his brother. Tentatively reaching out a hand, he put his fingers under the halves of the shirt and touched the smooth polyester fabric of the fake belly, almost as if expecting something inside to kick.

“That…” Peter almost stammered, “That is…”

“Isn’t it great?” Nathan asked, once again grinning broadly as ever, and he moved to stand up. “Watch this. It says in the booklet that it changes your posture—WHOA!”

Before Peter could even react, he witnessed his big brother, a man who silently commanded respect everywhere he went, make an ass of himself. Nathan stumbled forward from the weight of the garment alone, his hands hitting the wall in front of him. Otherwise he would have landed flat on his face. He wheeled around, only to lose his balance again, and he cradled the false belly under his arm before he even dared to attempt standing up straight again. His breath was already heavy and he looked slightly afraid.

“… oh my god,” he finally said.

Peter could not resist anymore, from the shock of the very idea of Nathan wearing such a thing to the way he nearly tumbled over like a bottom heavy scarecrow. He fell to the bed, laughing harder than he ever had in over half a year.

"Oh come on, Pete..." Nathan murmured after watching his brother writhe in bouts of laughter for at least a full minute. "It wasn't *that* funny, for sure." He feared something embarrassing might happen, like Peter accidentally losing control of his bladder or even bowel movements. Luckily the younger Petrelli was not wearing any clothes whose seams could burst.

Once Peter finally stopped his nearly hysterical laughing, he was gasping for breath, face red from lack of oxygen. A purplish, protruding vein had appeared on his temple, and Nathan wondered if he risked getting an aneurysm or something.

"If it's really killing you, I could take it off again," he said loudly in an attempt to catch Peter's attention.

Peter wiped his eyes and tried to look up at his brother's face, but his gaze kept drifting downward. He began to giggle again.

"I can't even look at it."

"Well then, for God's sakes..." Nathan mumbled, trying to unfasten the article.

"No, no, no!" Peter interrupted his progress, gesturing him to come and join his seat on the edge of the mattress. "I like it. Come here."

Shutting his eyes to hide the roll they did, Nathan hobbled back over to the bed. However, sitting back down proved to be rather difficult, and also embarrassing.

"Do you need help?" Peter inquired, still grinning widely.

"I'm fine," Nathan answered in annoyance. He was beginning to understand what made his little brother so irritable.

Peter's teasing grin then faded into one of the sweetest smiles Nathan had ever seen on his face, at least in the past few months when negative emotions had dominated his visage.

"I'm honoured that you'd do something like that for me," he said solemnly. "I really am. It's very sweet of you, Nathan. I'm sorry I laughed like an idiot earlier."

He affectionately nuzzled his older brother's cheek, and Nathan couldn't help but feel pride swell within him. He'd made Peter happy, if only for a short while.

"Can I touch it?" the nurse asked, almost shy all of a sudden.

Nodding, Nathan spread the halves of his shirt to give Peter best possible access and view.
Trailing his hand up along the globe, a very concentrated look on his face, Peter then proceeded to feel the heavy, drooping breasts that came with the outfit. "I'm glad I at least don't have these..." he muttered.

"Good for you," Nathan replied, and though he was pleased at his brother's joy, the discomfort was clear in his voice and visage.

"How heavy is it?" Peter asked.

"About thirty-five pounds," the elder brother answered. "There are free floating weights in water."

"Nice," Peter continued to explore through touch, his hand going lower and applying pressure against what felt like a weighted ball.

"Oooh," Nathan softly exclaimed, exhaling and flinching ever so slightly.

Peter's eyes widened for only a second. "What happened?"

"It's built to press against the bladder too. The weight you just moved hit against it."

The young man could not help but chuckle. "I know how that one feels. So it kicks, huh?"

"Surely not as hard as yours, but yeah, it's designed to simulate the movements of an actual foetus."

"You said you got it online?" Peter asked, now back to exploring the fake stomach. He was unable to take his eyes off it.

"Yeah. They've even got a website for this product. Let me tell you, it didn't come cheap."

"I bet not... Thank you, Nathan." When their eyes met, Nathan could see genuine gratitude and adoration shining through his little brother's gaze. It reminded him of how Peter used to look at him when he was still a kid and hero-worshipped his older brother. Moments like these made Nathan wonder if he actually ever stopped.

"I'm your brother, don't mention it." He ruffled Peter's hair and kissed him on the cheek, an action which made the younger man snicker. Struggling to get up, Nathan was assisted by a pair of hands guiding his hips. The manual certainly did not joke around about symptoms the appliance simulated.

"I'm gonna get a sandwich, you want one?" he offered.

"Sure," Peter replied, scooting back onto the bed. "You know what I like, just pile it all on."

"Okay, lemme just take this"—

"No, don't," Peter said suddenly, causing his brother to halt in trying to remove the fake stomach. "Keep it on."

Nathan turned his head, eyes wide in disbelief. "WHAT?"

"You'll see how it feels for me when you're not here to help."

"Peter..." Nathan's tone was almost pleading. "I can't even function properly in this. You've seen how I can't even stand up without losing my balance."

A displeased frown marred Peter's previously angelic expression. "Didn't you buy it so that you could get some insight into *my* life?" he pressed.

"Yes, but"—

"And you believe that wearing it for five minutes will give you that?!"

"Peter..."

"Wear it for a day. That should be enough. Unless you're too much of a wuss to even try."

Nathan *really* did not want to end the visit with another argument, especially as it had started out so well with Peter finally smiling about something. On the other hand, the thought of wearing the monstrosity for an empathy belly for twenty-four hours straight was appalling. His back would not be thanking him if he said yes.

He looked up from his contemplation to give some sort of new argument, but he had to look away again due to the look on his brother's face. Peter was pouting. It was no simple expression of unhappiness; it was a deliberate bottom lip sticking out and wobbling with the perfection derived from years of practice.

"You little brat, FINE!"

Nathan waddled out to the kitchen. Peter fell back onto the mattress, trying desperately to choke down the giggles he had from the very image which left the bedroom in an awkward huff.

"I'm gonna poison your food!" Nathan called out childishly as he struggled to bend over and reach for a jar of mayonnaise. Who the hell puts their mayonnaise so low on the refrigerator door anyway?!

Grumbling, Nathan realized he heard Heidi once say the exact same thing while she was pregnant with Monty.

While Nathan was away in the kitchen, Peter figured he might as well dress himself now that his brother was not present to watch him struggle into a pair of maternity panties. It was tempting trying to convince Nathan into wearing them, as well, but Peter doubted that his brother would ever agree to *that*. He chose a pair of grey sweatpants and a T-shirt to wear on top, not bothering with socks, as he could not down reach to pull them on, anyway. Slippers had long ago become vital.

"Nathan...?" he called out in a sing song voice. "What's taking so long? I'm hungry!"

There was no response from the kitchen, but Peter thought he heard a cabinet door be slammed shut violently.

Minutes later, Nathan brought out two plates of sandwiches. Peter smiled at the sight of his own, much larger than that of his brother's.

"Aren't you going to finish that?" Peter asked, when he saw only three bites taken from the lawyer's meal. Nathan grimaced and looked at himself, particularly the false belly strapped to his real one.

"Somehow I'm not in the mood to indulge."

"Awww, how sweet," Peter said with amusement. "You're self-conscious about your appearance!"

Nathan wanted to object, but he felt his face burn with embarrassment. Seeing how discomfited his big brother looked, Peter decided to switch gears.

"Why don't you take some clothes off, relax in bed with me?"

"Uh boy..." Nathan responded, glancing at his feet, still wearing socks. "You're gonna love this."

Bending forward was now an impossibility, so he simply had to try to remove the socks using his feet. Forehead creased, he worked long and hard to get his big toe in under the fabric so he could pull it down, and Peter's blatantly malicious giggles did nothing to help.

"Need some help?" the younger man asked in an over-sweet voice, grinning broadly.

"Don't tell me you'd actually go near my "smelly, sweaty feet" and help me remove my own socks?" Nathan asked, voice reeking with sarcasm. He'd asked Peter for a foot massage once in the past, and his little brother had expressed disgust, exclaiming that he'd never touch Nathan's feet with a ten-foot pole.

Peter shrugged. "What can I say, I feel sorry for you..."

"Alright, it's your funeral."

Peter grinned, eyebrow raised. "Be glad you're not wearing shoes." He then crawled over to the pair of feet and began to remove each sock.

"Actually I did try putting the whole ensemble on," Nathan said, "but I started out with the shoes and they were impossible, so I said screw it."

"That's why I've stopped wearing them," Peter responded, nose crinkling at coming in close proximity to his brother's feet. "Good lord, does Heidi ever have to rub your feet?"

"No, that's why I asked you once."

"And the answer is still no," Peter retorted. "I said I'd help get your socks off, not rub your feet. They still smell just as bad, Nathan. What's the deal with your feet, anyway? Do you purposely avoid washing them, or something?"

The lawyer rolled his eyes. "Yours don't exactly smell like roses, either," he said sourly. "I can't help the way my feet sweat. It's part of being a man, I guess."

"You should buy a special form of deodorant made specifically for feet," Peter suggested. "I'm sure it's available somewhere. Maybe not cheap, but money's never been a problem for you."

"Could you give it a rest?" Nathan snapped, frankly annoyed. "If my feet smell so horrible, no one's forcing you to sniff them."

"Wow, the belly does nothing for your mood," Peter smirked, poking the fake bulge. "You need help with your pants too?"

"I don't think I can remove them without unstrapping the belly," Nathan replied.

Biting his bottom lip, Peter gave another shy smile, the second in one night. The hand which had been resting on the polyester bump drifted down and stopped at his older brother's hip.

"You want me to do it for you?"

Brow cocked, Nathan replied, "I didn't figure you'd let me take this thing off, so go ahead."

Peter's large eyes sparkled when he smiled, and it helped ease away some of Nathan's annoyance, added to the fact that the younger man's hands were now sliding under the empathy belly and carefully working at buttons and a zipper. He could have sworn for a moment that the thumb which drifted against his groin was intentional.

"Peter?" Nathan asked. "What are you doing?"

"...nothing," the nurse replied coyly, but his hands told a wholly different story. Pulling down his brother's tailored slacks with one hand, he cupped Nathan's member through his boxers with the other, giving it a provocative squeeze. How odd though it might seem, watching his brother wear the empathy belly turned him on. He wasn't sure himself what it was that made him hot; his big brother's attempts to make him happy or the fact that he was given the chance to take care of Nathan for a change.

"Peter... you've got to be kidding me...!" Nathan could only watch flabbergasted as Peter proceeded to lower his own sweatpants and underwear, revealing a hard-on which had not been there a few minutes ago.

"I thought you'd be happy to see me in such a good mood," Peter said, allowing a hand to drift along a now partially naked thigh. His fingers stroked against the thigh's interior and Nathan reacted similarly to how he had when the weighted ball hit against his bladder.

"Yeah, but... is this," the lawyer gestured toward his false belly, "really turning you on?"

Peter smile faded only slightly, and Nathan felt the need to put his guard up. The young man rubbed Nathan's knee hopefully.

"You liked having sex with me looking like this."

"Yeah, but that's... not the same," Nathan objected. "I liked having sex with you *despite* your belly, not because of it. Besides, I don't think I can even engage in a sexual activity wearing this monstrosity. It's quite confining, as you can see."

"I never said we have to fuck," Peter said. "Could you just... suck me off, maybe? You haven't done that in a long time."

The older Petrelli groaned. "Can I take off this thing while I do it?" he tried.

Brow furrowed, Peter shot Nathan a glare which was an obvious answer in itself. "If you did, what would be the point?"

A staring contest once again surfaced until Nathan found himself shuffling off the bed and sinking to the floor. Though he was glad for the carpet underneath him, his heaviness and lack of mobility still made things difficult.

Grin fully returned, Peter pushed himself toward the edge of the mattress with a joy that was clear in the way his hips bounced. Nathan had no idea someone of that shape and size could do such, but then again, his baby brother had months of adjustment.

The older man stroked the legs dangling before him, fingertips feather light over the calves. "You ready?"

A pink tongue peeked out between Peter's teeth for a mere second. "See for yourself."

Cock hard and angled up toward his belly, the young nurse waited for Nathan to get started. He combed his fingers through his brother's hair in encouragement, wishing it were longer so he could have grabbed actual fistfuls of it. Sadly, Nathan always chose to keep his hair short, close to cropped, due to the fact that if allowed to grow out, it curled in ways that were not entirely agreeable.

Nathan had to take several deep breaths before trusting himself to wrap his lips around the head of Peter's cock. His brother's bulging belly made it awkward and Nathan had to grab the base of the member, angling it toward himself rather than up. Immediately there was a sharp intake of breath from Peter, whose hips bucked involuntarily. The older man took in another inch, using his tongue on the underside's sensitive ridge as his free hand toyed with Peter's low-hanging balls. Shaking gasps sounded from the younger Petrelli brother and he tilted his head back, grip snug on Nathan's hair.

"Ohhhh... yeah, Nathan, that'sssooo-mmmm..."

Arm propping his upper half against the mattress, Peter knew he could not keep that position for much longer, not only from how heavy he currently was, but also due to how amazing Nathan's lips and tongue felt against his penis. The hand which also fondled his scrotum was putting him dangerously close to his peak. For a moment he imagined how that would look, his round body spurting with ejaculate. It would be like a pierced water balloon.

Thankfully the tongue which touched the junction between cock and balls removed those thoughts from his head immediately and he placed his hand on the base of his brother's skull, as though trying to pull him in even deeper.

He was well-aware that Nathan hated being controlled while giving oral sex, so instead of setting the rhythm, the hand remained there simply to guide and encourage. It annoyed Peter to a great extent that his belly almost completely hid the sight of Nathan going down on him, but there was nothing one could do about that. Unlike his brother's empathy belly, he was stuck with his. Literally.

Nathan felt his jaw muscles starting to tense up together with those in his back and legs. Increasing his efforts, he was determined to make Peter come within the following thirty seconds. Unless he could stop soon, he would be incapable of both walking and talking tomorrow morning, and the thought was not appealing. In fact, it almost made him want to bite down on Peter's cock.

The sounds of Peter's satisfaction were increasing in number and volume, so Nathan tried hard to stay focused. Now as he continued to suck and lap at the weeping organ, he picked up the pace with his fingers against the testicles, as well as the skin around them. With every sharp exhale, Peter cried out harder until he felt himself let go. Gasping more than he did even when he laughed so heartily at Nathan's plight, his arm finally gave way and he collapsed on his back. The t-shirt he had kept on was now totally damp with perspiration.

Nathan swallowed Peter's entire load but he made a mental note to wash his mouth out later. The taste of semen had never appealed to him the slightest.

As he slowly rose to his feet, his knees protested with sharp stabs of pain, and a popping noise sounded from his back. The lawyer could only hope that he'd get through this without suffering a lumbago or a slipped disc.

"Did you enjoy that, you brat?" Nathan muttered as he lowered his aching body onto the bed next to Peter, who was still lying down breathing heavily, albeit on his side. His spent penis, almost bright red, created a sharp contrast against the pale thigh it was resting against.

"Huh?" Nathan pressed. "You liked it?"

Peter gurgled out a little coo of satisfaction and Nathan could not help but smile, despite his discomfort. Reaching out, he put a gentle arm on one of his brother's skinny shoulders.

"Come here."

"Okay," Peter said in a near whisper and he managed to lift himself and crawl on all fours to the bed post. He put his arms behind his brother's shoulder and at first Nathan was puzzled. Soon, however, he realized he was being guided toward the stack of cushions so that he could rest comfortably... just like any other mother to be.

Nathan failed to hold back laughter, despite the discomfort it caused him in his current state. "You're giving me your spot? You really needn't do that, little buddy... I'll be fine. I'm just a fake, you're the real thing."

Instead of replying, Peter guided his brother's left arm around his own shoulders and curled up at the older man's side, their swollen bellies, now nearly the same size, touching. He was aware of the fact that he was still soaking wet with perspiration and probably in the need of another shower, but right now Peter did not care. His hand was absently drawn back to the light brown polyester bulge covering Nathan's middle and then up higher to fondle the fake but still soft maternity breasts.

"Peter..." Nathan's said, his face suddenly thoughtful. "You've had your fun. What do I get to do with you?"

Initially Peter was confused, but the look on his face changed to an opponent facing a challenge to a fight.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I mean exactly what I'm saying," the older brother answered, arm around his brother, pulling the smaller body in closer. Peter, however, wanted to shy away.

"What body part?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Well, it depends on what body part it is. The boobs are off limits..."

"Damn," Nathan muttered.

Eyebrow lifted, Peter continued. "Feet perhaps, if you'd like to do more of that lifting thing."

Nathan shrugged in a way that meant he could care less about his brother's lower extremities.

"Well, what was it you wanted?"

"The tits."

Peter sighed.

"You always let me play with your tits before," the older man claimed.

"Nathan, they hurt," Peter said with a deep frown. "Often times even the feeling of fabric against them hurt. The mere thought of you tweaking them..." He shivered despite practically radiating heat. No, it was just impossible. If he let Nathan have his way, he'd be sore for days afterwards.

"If I remember correctly, you never used to mind a little pain..." Nathan replied with a smirk and tugged playfully on some of the fine hair in Peter's neck. A couple of them came off, and the younger man twitched.

"Things are different now..." he muttered.

"Then what about this thing?" Nathan unexpectedly reached in under Peter's T-shirt and firmly tweaked his brother's now protruding navel between his thumb and forefinger.

The wince following made Nathan pull back, and he wondered if he had gone too far. He hated to end the positive atmosphere in this day so soon.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered, glancing at the troubled expression inches from his own face.

Peter avoided his brother's eyes, looking as though someone uninvited had entered the room.

"I know you don't like me paying attention to your stomach," Nathan began, "but... maybe... you know, the navel isn't the same as the baby."

"I know."

"And besides... you liked my new body parts."

"So what do you wanna do with it?" Peter asked, still on the defensive. "Nibble and suck on it like it's some kind of miniature penis?"

Nathan realized that Peter had not intended to be funny, but his brother's response made him laugh anyway. "Do you think you'd enjoy that?"

"I doubt it..." the young nurse muttered.

In fact, his new outie belly button freaked him out and he'd rather not touch it or even look at it more than he absolutely had to. It being the centre of Nathan's attention was not an appealing thought.

"Don't you have any interest in my butt anymore?" he asked somewhat shyly.

"Sure, but it's always been there," the lawyer said, brushing a hand against Peter's hip to punctuate the statement. "And it hasn't really changed too much. It's still that sexy little ass."

The hand traveled from hip to ribs, dangerously close to the puffy nipples but careful to never touch them.

"But suddenly you have new things, new stuff to take interest in and play with. You like all the new parts on me, right?"

Peter glanced aside for a brief moment, deep in thought. "I don't like this... but you've done a lot for me today. And I really appreciated it. So you still can't touch my chest, but for tonight the navel is allowed. Just as long as I don't have to watch."

Nathan sat up as far as he could get and left Peter propped up against the pillows. The least he could do was make sure Peter was comfortable during the play, although his brother seemed to regard it as an ordeal instead of fun. Very well. At least he was still in a somewhat good mood.

"Can we take this off, at least?" Nathan asked, tugging on the hem of the nearly soaked T-shirt. The garment didn't smell particularly good anymore, either.

Huffing, wheezing and panting indiscriminately, Peter struggled to rid himself of the T-shirt. He heard a seam break as he pulled it over his head, and then threw the damp pile of fabric into a corner. He felt slightly uncomfortable with his chest bared, but he had to trust that Nathan would keep his word not to touch it.

Flashing his trademark shark grin, Nathan slowly knelt between his brother's V-shaped legs and lowered his face to the straining skin covering Peter's tummy. The younger man felt a warm, wet presence against his navel, assuming that it could be nothing but a tongue.

Leaning his head back against the cushions, Peter kept his eyes closed. That second belly growing over the first one was distracting enough without someone finding enjoyment in it, but he had said yes and he did want to repay Nathan for making him laugh for once.

Oppositely, Nathan loved the outward navel. It was like a third nipple. He had liked Heidi's as well when she carried the kids, but hers was not nearly as impressive. If only Peter could keep the little nub after he had given birth. Nathan considered saying such aloud, but the subject of the birth itself was already tense enough. He looked up and saw that Peter indeed was not observing the display, eyes shut and head facing the ceiling. As an experiment, Nathan rubbed his nose against the navel, feeling it barely move with his help, and as expected, Peter's expression twitched for a second.

Suddenly he had a splendid idea. Reaching out for the sandwich he'd made and abandoned earlier, he smeared some mustard onto his fingertip and re-directed his attention to Peter's belly. His brother hadn't moved from the relaxed position, and Nathan assumed he was oblivious of the lawyer's insidious plans with the mustard. Tongue-tip sweeping over his teeth, Nathan began to draw...

"What the hell?!" Peter's whole body jerked on reflex when he felt something cold and wet - definitely *not* saliva or any other bodily fluid - being smeared onto his belly. Eyes wide open in shock, the nurse could see his brother using him as a human canvas. A canvas that now had a smiley face painted onto it, with the outward navel as the crudely drawn figure's nose. Peter's nose wrinkled. He'd never liked the smell of mustard.

"Wipe that off," Peter said in a condescending tone.

Nathan grinned. "But aren't you going to judge my artwork?"

"I'm clearly judging it as bad enough to be destroyed."

"Aww, I'm hurt!"

"So am I."

"I'm sorry, Pete, I'll get rid of it," Nathan said, half restraining a snicker. But instead of using a tissue or a napkin, Nathan bent down again and lapped the offending food away, ending the cleaning with one last suckle of the belly button. Moments like these made wearing that weighted fake stomach somewhat manageable.

"Are you done?" Peter finally asked, eyes closed again.

"Yes, I am." Crawling back over to his brother's side, Nathan nuzzled Peter's neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Peter replied, returning to the stroking of the false breasts. Nathan's face went slightly pink but he said nothing. He had already tempted fate enough for his own amusement.

"Too bad I can't suckle on these..." Peter murmured, pinching the places where the nipples should have been on the fake mounds.

"Oh, cut it out..." Nathan half-heartedly swatted at his brother's hand, trying to find a somewhat comfortable position on the bed, without too much pressure placed on his bladder or lungs. It was difficult. No matter what he did, the massive globe weighed him down in the most tender places.

Peter grinned. "Now do you see what I have to go through?"

Rolling his eyes, the lawyer nodded. He was starting to regret purchasing the empathy belly altogether.

"Tell me something, Peter..." Nathan began. "How come you're so turned on by me in this thing?"

Peter looked down at the bed covers, shrugging. "Just because."

"Not a very clear answer, buddy," Nathan replied, his tone gentle. He was confused why anyone would find the false stomach and breasts enticing, but he did not want Peter getting embarrassed at having to confess.

"Well, you liked how Heidi looked, didn't you?"

"It was different..." Nathan began, only to be interrupted.

"Because I'm not a woman?"

"No, no, that's not it," the older brother quickly responded, "it was because she was going to be the mother of my kids. We had planned for Simon and Monty, and seeing her like that excited me."

Peter sighed, "I see. I guess I can understand that one."

"Does the idea of me having a baby arouse you?"

"I dunno... maybe not."

"Then what is it?"

"Maybe..." Peter's face was turning red, and so Nathan lifted his chin with a hand. "Maybe... it's you wanting to make me happy by doing this for me... and the role being switched around.

Nathan failed to suppress a surprised chuckle. "You mean me being the pregnant one?"

"No, I meant you being the one who needs to be taken care of," Peter explained, still flushed. "You've been taking care of me all my life, and it's really gone overboard with this whole..." He gestured at his stomach, which unlike Nathan's was sadly not removable.

"I was touched, Nathan. And I really liked the idea of *you* needing *me* for once."

"Awww, Peter..." Nathan leaned his head against that of his little brother. "You know I need you. I wouldn't be able to exist without you."

"It... i-it's not the s-same..." Peter managed before his voice broke and he found himself crying. Again. Crying for some stupid reason that even he couldn't understand. It all suddenly seemed ludicrous. How would he ever be able to take care of anyone when he couldn't even take care of himself?

Nathan's hands were instantly there, wiping his tears away with callused thumbs and guiding him to rest against the bigger man's shoulder.

"Shhh. It is," the elder of the two insisted. "It really is, kiddo. Don't cry... god, I didn't mean to make you sad again. We were doing so well..."

"No, it's okay," Peter mumbled past tears which were already slowing. "You are making me happy. You've done so much."

"More than glad to. Here," and Nathan lifted one of his baby brother's hands and let it stay on the polyester bulge. "Give it a good whack."

"I'll kill you that way," Peter replied, glancing at where his hand now rested.

"Go on, before I change my mind."

Peter, feeling foolish, but eager to lighten his mood again, pushed down hard on the bump. Nathan almost immediately lunged forward and fell on his side, arms over the fake belly. He groaned in discomfort, but was laughing. So was Peter.

TBC...