"Place your bets — boy or girl?" Andrew challenges to the group around him.

It is February of 1987, and George has asked his loyal friend to organise a special celebration in order to announce the gender of his and Stephanie's baby. Andrew and Nancy found out in January that the baby they are awaiting the arrival for will be a little girl; naturally, they are both extremely excited for this themselves.

"I'm going to say boy," Nancy guesses, with no logical basis to her answer. "Andy?"

"Girl," he chimes in.

"I'm going for ... girl," Melanie adds.

"Boy," Yioda answers.

"Lesley and I think boy," George's father announces.

"What about the mother and father themselves?" Andrew glances to George and Stephanie enthusiastically. "What are you guys going for?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm going for girl," George guesses.

"I'll take a stab in the dark and say boy," Stephanie chuckles.

"Well, only one of us will be correct," George jibes at her playfully. "But which one of us will it be?"

"You're about to find out," Andrew teases. "Are we ready?"

"Do it!" George calls out.

Andrew grabs a black umbrella, which has been propped up against the garden wall for safe-keeping. He carefully holds it up, before starting a countdown. "On three! One! Two!—"

"Three!" all their family and friends chant in unison.

Once the countdown is done, Andrew opens up the umbrella, allowing a large collection of confetti to flutter out; it rains down on him in the colour blue, causing everyone to cheer in excitement.

"It's a boy!" Stephanie squeals, jumping up into George's arms ecstatically, hugging him firmly. "We're having a son, George!"

George tightens his grip around her, feeling the unmatched joy that radiates around the entire group of all their favourite people; he can't remove the uncontrollable grin that has forced its way onto his face at the news. "This is amazing!" As he sets Stephanie down on the floor, it's easy to see just how much his eyes have lit up with the happiness in his heart in this moment.

"Congratulations you guys!" Melanie is the first to rush over to the couple, offering a celebratory embrace. "A little boy, wow!"

"He can't come any sooner than he is," George answers, overcome with ecstasy. "My goodness, I can't wait to meet him."

"Do you have any names chosen yet?" Nancy asks. "We settled on the name for our baby the other day."

"Stephanie has had her heart set on Alex since Christmas," George explains. "She saw it on a list I made, so I guess the full name will be Alexander, provided she doesn't change her mind."

"That's so cute," Nancy smiles. "We went for Rosa for ours. I've always liked that name, but when we found out our baby's going to be a girl, I realised just how much I loved it."

"I almost wrote Rosie down on my list actually," George adds, deeming it relevant to the conversation. "It's a lovely name. I bet you're excited for your wedding next month."

"It's a lot of stress, you know, planning everything," Nancy admits. "But I can't wait for everything to fall into place."

"It'll be a fantastic day for you both," George compliments. "Stephanie and I can't wait to come."

"Levi's coming too, right?" Nancy's tone is one of curiosity; however, when George glances at her, she has the same apprehension as she always does when Levi's name enters conversation.

"Yes. He said he'd be there," George responds as briefly as he can. "Andrew said he'd like to meet him. Very kind of him to invite someone who is, essentially, a stranger."

"Andrew's a wonderful guy," Nancy reminds him. "He just loves putting others first. That's why he'll be a great dad."

"Of course." George gives her a smile, as if to conclude the conversation; for he can sense the very subtle signs of doubt she holds against him. "I'm looking forward to being his best man next month."

"You'll look gorgeous in a suit," Stephanie coos, resting her hand against George's arm lovingly. "I just need to find a bridesmaid dress that'll fit me."

"You'll look stunning no matter what you wear, my lovely," Nancy reassures her, rubbing up her friend's arm. "The main thing is being comfortable. It's no good suffering in an uncomfortable dress for an entire day." She takes a moment to think, before coming up with an idea. "I tell you what — why don't we go dress shopping together soon? Then we can chose together."

"Yes!" Stephanie squeals. "I'd love that!"

"That's settled then," George pipes up. "You'll both look wonderful, I'm sure. I may be biased on who will look more beautiful, though — sorry, Nancy."

His attempt at throwing Nancy off guard seems to prove successful. "It's quite alright," she laughs. "I can understand you viewing your girlfriend as being more attractive than anybody else."

"She is beautiful." George turns his head to look at Stephanie; his arm coils around her waist to pull her in closer to him protectively; he gives her an adoring smile, that appears incredibly genuine. "And I'm very lucky to have the family I do." To emphasise his point, he then captures Stephanie's lips with his own in a kiss.

"Oh man — get a room!" Andrew jeers.

George withdraws from his girlfriend, shaking his head at Andrew in mock disapproval. "I already did; that's why we have a baby on the way, mate. You should know."

"Goodness me," Lesley gasps, at George's throwaway joke. "Children present, Gogos."

"I didn't say anything bad, Mum," he retorts, amused. "I'm only messing around."

"I know. Come here, you." She opens her arms, inviting George and Stephanie in for a hug. "I'm so excited. My first grandson!"

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Stephanie answers. "Now we can buy loads of blue stuff. Oh, and grey. Blue and grey go so nicely together."

"I'll agree to that one," George comments. "Gosh, these next few months are going to be crazy."

• • •

As Levi arrives back home from another day of work, he finds his mother stood in the hallway; she has the telephone to her ear, and her back towards the front door.

"Hi Mum," he greets quietly; just enough to draw attention to the fact he's back, but without interrupting her conversation.

"Hey sweetheart," Penny returns, rotating her body to face her son. "I've got somebody on the phone for you. He wasn't sure if you'd be back from work yet, so I told him you wouldn't be long. He's got something to tell you."

"George?" Levi raises his brows hopefully; he takes a hold of the phone, placing it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, you." Undoubtably, the voice is none other than his lover's. "I've waited all day to call you."

"Mum said you had something to tell me," Levi interrogates. "Is everything alright?"

"It's more than alright," George answers; it's clear that he's overjoyed by the enthusiasm in his voice. "We found out the gender of our baby today."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Levi, I'm having a little boy. I'm having a son. Isn't it amazing?"

Although Levi is happy for his partner, the feeling is also tinged with a hint of sadness too; for he wishes to experience this kind of excitement firsthand, with their own child in the future. "That's so amazing, George. I'm so happy for you."

"Everybody is so excited back here in London. I really wish you'd have been able to come to the gender reveal party," George continues on. "Andrew organised it, and he did an amazing job. He revealed it by opening up this huge black umbrella, and loads of blue confetti came out of it. You should have heard everyone cheering and screaming when they realised it was a boy. I mean, obviously it would have been the same reaction for a girl. I just think it's the adrenaline in the moment that makes the reaction so fun, isn't it?"

"You sure talk a lot when you're in a good mood," Levi jokes, unsure of what else to say.

"I'm just waiting impatiently for him to arrive now, Levi. We've still got, like, four or five months to go yet. It's going to be the longest wait of my life, isn't it?"

"I don't know; I can think of longer ones." Levi disguises his snide remark as a humorous one, adding laughter to the end of his statement. In reality, he is growing increasingly anxious that George may become too attached to his life in London, and change his mind about being with Levi at all. Deep down, he believes that George wouldn't hurt him in that way; but of course, as George has correctly pointed out before, nothing in life is promised. "So, when will we see one another again?"

"It'll be before Andrew and Nancy's wedding, of course," George responds, as if this were an obvious fact. "Have you got your suit sorted for the day yet?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. It'll be a nice day."

"It will," George agrees warmly. "Even if I can't show you off as my boyfriend."

"It's nice that you're coming around to the idea of referring to me as your boyfriend," Levi smiles, despite knowing George can't see his face. "It makes me feel like I've actually achieved something in life."

"You've achieved plenty," George reminds him. "You have an amazing boyfriend who loves you, don't you?"

"How brash of you to say," Levi snickers. "Even if it is true."

"Exactly. And eventually, I'll be your amazing boyfriend who gets to live with you all the time. And then you'll achieve something every single day, by tolerating me full-time."

"I knew there'd be some self-deprecation in there at some point."

"Self-deprecation is my speciality; what can I say?" George teases. "Anyway, I should go now. Steph will be back soon. She went to go and get some snacks. Cravings and all that stuff. I'll call you as soon as I get the chance to, okay?"

"That's no problem. Enjoy the rest of your evening, my darling."

"I love you."

"I love you too, George. Bye for now."

"Bye, Levi."

Levi doesn't even get the chance to hang up the phone, as George does it first; this takes him by surprise, as normally it is always Levi who ends the call. Despite how trivial such a minor detail is, Levi can't help but feel saddened by this little, insignificant event; he slowly replaces the phone on its receiver, heaving a sigh to himself. He barely has a second to move his body around, before Penny re-enters the hallway to question him about the call.

"So, what was his news? Has he told his girlfriend about you yet?"

"No, Mum," Levi murmurs. "I'm starting to think he may change his mind about me, if I'm being totally honest."

"What do you mean?" Her motherly instincts kick in, as she tries her hardest to troubleshoot the issue. "George thinks the world of you. Surely nothing has changed?"

"He's so excited about this baby he's got on the way," Levi explains shortly, deciding to elaborate further. "He called to tell me they found out the gender. He's having a little boy."

"Let me guess — you're worried that he's going to become too emotionally invested in his son, and he'll want to stay with his girlfriend in order to stick around for him?" Penny's comprehension skills are top notch; it's easy to tell where Levi inherited this feat from.

"That's the point I'm trying to make, yes." Levi knows that he shouldn't hold any reservations about his blossoming relationship with George; however, it proves more difficult than he wants to admit. "I just worry that I've made myself vulnerable to him — the first man I've ever really loved — and that he'll just give up because he's frightened of what could happen if he confesses to her about everything. He doesn't want to risk being unable to see his baby."

"You have to think about this from his perspective, honey." Penny delicately places her hand upon her son's face, cupping his jawline lovingly. "Do you remember just how much you loved your father; and how much he loved you too?"

"Of course I do." Levi frowns at the memory. "I'd give anything to have that love back."

"Now imagine that love being ripped away before you'd even had the chance to meet him," Penny instructs. "Because that's how George's son would feel, if he didn't ever get to see his daddy. And George would be distraught, too."

"I suppose I never thought of it that way," Levi divulges. "I just don't want him to give up on me. I just hope that Stephanie is lenient when she finds out the truth. If he can still see his baby after he moves here, everything will be perfect."

"I don't believe he'd ever give up on you, darling." She gives his forehead a comforting kiss. "I've seen the way he looks at you. I've heard the way he speaks about you. He's besotted with you, and he'll do the right thing. Not just for himself, but for you too. He's a good man, Levi. I never expected you to find somebody who deserved you as much as you deserved them ... but he's perfect for you. Don't let this apprehension dull the sparkle you've both got."

"I'll give it my all, Mum," Levi vows. "I'll only give up if I feel like he's wasting my time. If I feel like he won't ever tell the truth. But I'll be patient, because I know that's the right thing to do. And I'll be patient unless it feels as though he's using my patience for his own gain."

"Good." Penny smiles at her boy, proud of him for his maturity on the situation. "Of course, don't let him mess you around. But I truly believe he won't do that to you. He's scared, baby. Just try to be understanding."

Levi nods, to indicate that he is willing to do his best in order to maintain the relationship he has. "Alright."

"That's what I like to hear." She squeezes his cheek playfully, before heading towards the staircase to go to her room. "I'll leave you alone now, to think things over. But I'm proud of you, and I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mum. Thank you." With a closed-mouth smile, he watches as she climbs the stairs, quickly disappearing out of sight.

Unsure of what to spend his evening doing, Levi dips into the living room, taking a seat on the sofa; he lets his mind freely roam, as he thinks about every little detail regarding his future with George.

• • •

Will everything work out for George and Levi? Hope you enjoyed. xx