The men's restroom was a typical one: drab off-white tile on the sides and speckled gray on the floor, two sinks, two urinals, a single potted plant atop a cheaply built wooden table crammed on one side. Only one boxed in stall was built inside, occupying a chunk of the opposite side in the cramped room.

 It was in there, complete with sewer water smelling commode, that Spirou and Fantasio would pack against each other after Fantasio, grabbing Spirou's hand like he was a little child, slammed the door to the room against the wall, slammed the stall door open as well, and made sure in his hissy fit to force the lock secure with fingertaps that better resembled fingerslaps. Spirou adjusted his pants, hair and hat after Fantasio whipped his hand away. Frowning Fantasio, meanwhile, leaned on cold wall tile and crossed his arms.  

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The carrot top tugged at his collar. "A-about what?"

He attempted to throw his hands in the air, but his friend's body blocked the way. In response the blond groaned in frustration. A pointer finger dug into Spirou's chest. "Don't play dumb with me! You know what we're in here for! I made a fool of myself just now because you didn't tell me you knocked up Seccotine of all women!"

He scoffed. One of his hands pushed the finger away and thumped against his chest. "You? You're the one feeling like a fool? You just embarrassed me in front of all those people!"

"Oh come on, you'll probably never see any of them again after this stupid party!"

"I probably won't, because of you!"

"Did it occur to you, Spirou, that strangers knew that certain tidbit of information before your best friend did? Like, the one you've been rooming with for years? The one that's been with you far longer and through far more muck and junk than that woman ever has?"

Spirou opened his mouth.

Fantasio's volume increased with each word. "Speaking of her, I didn't know you were dating her, let alone fucking her, until what, ten minutes ago?" Hands grabbed and shook about the redhead's shoulders. " Why is that, Spirou? Huh! Why?! That's a whole lot of crap for me to found out at once! You know that?!"

The younger one covered his reddening face with a hand, breathed heavily. Air whistled through Fantasio's grimace with each breath. A soft sound, like a light sniffle, came about.  The older's mind processed the events, past and current, once again: Spirou's leaving for meetings only he was assigned to attend, catching his friend chatting on the phone and online while blubbering  like a lovesick idiot until he realized Fantasio was in the room, the constant flirting with Seccotine in front of him (whether it was intended to stem in deeply obvious hinting or not on either partner's part), the shock in all's part at the party when a spying Fantasio heard a booming man begin to describe Spirou as "father to be." The situation and his actions grew lucid to him.  Breathing through teeth evolved into breathing through open mouth, hands gripping shoulders transferred downward into a hug on the back. Instead of a hand concealing his face Spirou buried it into a shoulder.

"You were afraid of my reaction," he whispered.

He nodded into Fantasio's shoulder blade. "We both know you can't stand her. Just figured it'd be better if you weren't aware until we felt you were ready to handle it."

"How did you even begin--"

"There was always a flirt or two, I guess. We didn't start seeing each other until like ten months ago, though. Amazing who you can find online, huh?"

"Hmm... Only ten months? Isn't Seccotine--"

Spirou anxiously giggled. "Condom broke."

Fantasio winced. "Yeah, that'd explain it."

Now he attempted to face his friend. Said friend lessened his grip just enough for that to happen. "That was actually the second time it happened. Seccotine used a douche the first time and it worked, so we just took a gamble and tried that again. This time, though..." Once again his cheeks matched his hair and clothes. "...The house won, I suppose."

Both nervously giggled, the younger followed by the older. "Pretty odd that from the looks of it Seccotine's gonna keep it."

"Not really," Spirou said. "She wants a career and kids. The kid part just happened sooner than she expected, but she's all in all anticipating it."

"And you?"

He smiled, nodded.

"But you're in your early twenties. You've all the time in the world. If either of us is having children now, shouldn't it be me?"

Spirou shrugged. "I can still do exciting stuff. I'll just need to schedule it versus living by it randomly. Seccotine's got to do the same; why should she do it by herself? To be honest, I'm... kinda begging for some consistency in my life, even if it's the domestic kind, at this point."

"Were you planning on moving in with her? Or..." he gulped, "vice versa?"

"No. I was just gonna visit often. Y'know, bonding with the kid and her and all that good stuff."

A sigh of relief. "Oh, good..."

Another entered the little boy's room. Both stared in each other in awkward silence while waiting for him to do his business and wash his hands. When the door closed Fantasio resumed.

"Y'know, Spirou... Honestly, I think the thing I'm more hurt about than anything is that you didn't bother telling me about you having your first kid. ...It is your first, right?"

His eyes widened. "I've only had sex with one woman so... yes, it's my first."

"I know I can be a bit of a jackass. Hell I was just one. The thing is, I don't know about you but I pretty much see you as not just a friend but a little brother. I was actually looking forward a bit to being Uncle Fantasio if you ever had little Spirous."

He appeared incredulous. "Really?"

"Oh yes. I mean, granted, you're having a child with Seccotine. Not the best scenario, at least to me, but from what I've seen I'm guessing you're content." He nervously laughed, backing away with hands at his chest, at Spirou's glare. "Hey, you're happy, right? I just want to know if I'm going to be included in the family now."

The redhead initiated hug time now. "What do you mean? Fantasio, you're already part of my family. You've always been. I'm really sorry I hurt you like that. If I had known I would've told you sooner. I was just so... overwhelmed and afraid about everything. Is the baby alright, is Seccotine alright, are we gonna have everything, how are we gonna pay for everything, what would you think if he knew? It's a lot to process."

Fantasio patted his back. "Well, buddy, you definitely have at least one less thing to worry about now. I've gone around the world for you, and I'll definitely do it for the baby when it arrives."

Their friendly embrace tightened. Spirou sniffled again. "Thanks, pal."

The bathroom door opened once again. A scratchy voice, much like one from someone that smoked seven packs a day for fourteen years, exclaimed:

"There you two are! Get your asses outside; Miss Seccotine's been worried sick!"

"Speaking of 'Miss Seccotine,'" Fantasio whispered to his friend as they followed the washed out man and the signs back to the conference room, "what's she having?"

"Hmm..."

"You mean you don't know?"

"I do. I was there with her at that appointment. I'm just unsure whether to tell you before we cut open the cake..."

A freckled hand rested on Fantasio's shoulder. Spirou shoved his face into the blond's ear and whispered more. Fantasio's grin rivaled the Cheshire Cat's.

"What are you going to name her?"

"Shh! It's a secret!" Spirou winked. The buddies walked inside side by side with each other's hand on each other's back, ready to take on another yet adventure together.