Marcus very rarely took the bus, but the day had already been a comedy of errors that led him to this point. First, an unexpected flat tire had stranded him in the middle of the city, with the family’s only other car being Eddie’s, who was busy with grad school exams all day. Marcus’s phone had died and he had no means of charging it, which meant no way to get an Uber back home or call anyone. He had no cash, which meant nothing since he hadn’t seen a taxi in hours. His best course was to try and get to Eddie’s school at the edge of town and pray that he was still there. The most direct route: the public bus.

Marcus’s stop was thankfully deserted of all but himself, but the bus that arrived was moderately full of riders. The rabbit took a deep breath before laboriously climbing the steps one at a time. Taking a spot toward the front, he held onto one of the vertical poles and swayed on his feet as the vehicle started to move. His center of gravity briefly betrayed him, but he regained it again and protectively wrapped his hand around his protruding belly, only slightly hidden beneath his hoodie. Being trans on public transit was nerve-wracking enough, but being noticeably pregnant terrifying on top of it.

The driver was not gentle. He slammed the breaks at every intersection and floored the gas pedal at every green light. Marcus wrapped his entire arm around the pole, his other arm clutching to his chest the folder containing the newest ultrasound images of his twins, the reason he’d come to the city in the first place. The day had been agony, even before now. His feet throbbed in pain, his hips were screaming for relief, and the weight of his belly pulling on his back felt heavier each step. So badly did he want a place to sit down that he began eyeing an option that never would have occurred to him had he not been so desperate.

Just behind the driver was a single, unoccupied seat. It was unoccupied because a sign above it noted that it was reserved for the disabled and the pregnant, and no one on the bus was disabled, nor pregnant. Except for Marcus. He glanced around, heart pounding with anxiety he thought he’d left behind years ago. Even a good ways into his pregnancy, Marcus had avoided much notice. Most people who didn’t know assumed he was just chubby, and that was even if they payed attention at all. But it was starting to become obvious. Taking that seat would all but confirm, to every stranger in view, that he was a pregnant transgender man. How couldn’t he be nervous?

But the strain was too much. It was a long ride until his stop and he was struggling to get to the end of the block. The day had already been awful from the start, why prolong his suffering? Besides, the stress he felt couldn’t be good for the babies. That seat was there for a reason. Taking a deep breath, Marcus waited until the bus slowed to a stop, spun around, and flopped into the pregnancy seat with a deep sigh.

Instant relief came to him once the weight was off his feet. With a groan, he flopped his head back, ears dangling behind the seat. He no longer cared what anyone thought. If they wanted to stare at the man with the big, swollen pregnant belly, they could go right ahead. Marcus even instinctively reached under his hoodie and began stroking his fingers through his soft belly fur, a habit he had picked up after he’d first felt the twins start moving. Once he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hand out and planted it at his side. Best not to make it TOO obvious.

As the bus traveled down the city street, a steady stream of passengers entered and exited the bus, each one passing by Marcus and paying him little mind. Those that did glance his way barely seemed to acknowledge him and simply minded their own business. Once he realized that he wasn’t standing out much, it became a little thrilling in an unexpected way. He sat there in the seat marked for either pregnant or disabled people and there was just enough plausible deniability that everyone assumed he was the latter. When the twins kicked and squirmed beneath his hand, they began to feel like his own little secrets.

I have babies inside me, he thought at random passersby, knowing they couldn’t tell. I have two babies inside of me. I’m sitting on this bench because I’m a very pregnant man.

There were still several stops left on his trip across town. Marcus’s mind finally began to ease as he realized no one was going to call him out for sitting somewhere he didn’t belong. He settled in for a long trip and, with no phone to distract himself, simply daydreamed. At a stop near a hospital, something unexpected happened. Lumbering up the stairs came a mouse woman, carrying a pregnant belly of her own a good deal larger than Marcus’s. He assumed that it was due to her carrying more than him rather than being farther along, but scolded himself about believing a mouse stereotype. The woman paid her fare, struggled onboard the same way he had, and sighed with the same relief as she flopped into the other maternity seat on the other side of the bus, directly facing Marcus.

She began massaging the sides of her belly, whispering something either to herself or her children, then glanced up. She noticed Marcus gazing at her and gave him a shy smile. Swallowing, the rabbit realized it would’ve been more awkward to keep silent at this moment.
“Congratulations,” he said, nodding to her belly. Unlike for himself, he could make the correct assumption that the woman was not sitting there because of a disability. “When are you due?”
“Pretty soon,” she said, unashamedly caressing her stomach. “I think February…sometime at the end, I can’t remember right now.”
“How many?” Marcus paused, then shook his head. “Wait, damn, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t assume –“
“No no, you’re right. Some of the jokes about mice are accurate.” With a smile, she rested both hands atop her belly. “Three.”
Marcus’s eyes widened and he exhaled. It wasn’t in surprise, as the mouse might’ve assumed, but in sympathy. He was having a hard enough time with just twins.
“They run in my husband’s family,” she said. “I wasn’t thrilled, at first, but…it’s kind of nice I get to carry on that legacy for him.”
Marcus paused, using the hand hidden in his hoodie pocket to stroke his middle. “That’s…a really sweet way to think about it.”
“I think so, too. Though I probably won’t be thanking him so much in the delivery room.” She laughed, genuinely. Marcus’s jokes about the inevitable labor and birth were tinged with an air of dread and foreboding, but the mouse girl seemed truly unafraid.

“So…are you…ready?” He surprised himself with the question.
“Eh…yes?” The girl furrowed her brow and twitched her tail. “But also…no? But mostly yes. With some no. It’s complicated.”
“I’ll bet. My…uh…I know someone who’s about to have twins. They say the same thing.”
“I don’t think there is a ready. Just a ready enough.”
“Are you ready enough?”
“Sure!” The girl giggled. “I’m Catey.”
“Marcus.”
“I really want to shake your hand but…” Catey gestured to her gravid body with a shrug that said ‘what can ya do?’
“Air shake, then.” Marcus extended his arm in front of himself, silently grateful Catey gave him a good excuse not to get up. The mouse smiled and extended her opposite arm out, both of them miming a handshake to each other.

The two chatted for a while, occupying one another as the rest of the passengers cycled in and out. Apparently, they both had a long way to go. They talked about children, parenthood, their relationships with their own parents. All the while, Marcus was careful not to mention his own pregnancy or draw attention to his belly, even during the few minutes one of the twins tried to violently turn over in the womb.
“I think Eddie will be a – would be a good dad right away,” Marcus said. “Nick…I think Nick would have to grow into it. He’d need some time to get adjusted, but he’d get there.” As Catey nodded, his eyes glanced over her head to the street sign outside. “Oh my God, this is my stop.”
“Oh, then mine is coming up!”

The bus slowed to a stop, its doors opening a few seconds before it had stopped moving. Marcus got up to say goodbye to Catey, but was jostled by a college student hurrying past him. The folder slipped out of his grip and fell to the ground, the glossy ultrasound photo slipping free. The mouse glanced at it, her eyebrows high. A woman as pregnant as her would recognize what it was instantly.
“Oh, oops. Those are my…uh…” His brain was too preoccupied to even come up with a lie as he struggled to bend over for the folder, another point against trying to convince Catey he wasn’t pregnant. She said nothing as he gathered up the folders, sweeping the photo inside hopefully before she put two and two together. When Marcus stood, he was painfully aware of how far his belly protruded from his torso, tenting out the hoodie with an obvious shape.

But, before he could say anything, Catey gave him a warm smile and rested her thin hand against his baby bump.
“Congratulations,” she whispered, then gave him a wink.

Staring at her, Marcus blinked in surprise until he realized the bus doors were about to close on him. He waved a wordless goodbye to the girl, then hurried out as fast as his overburdened body could move.

When he was on the sidewalk, he watched the bus carry Catey away, realizing he would likely never see her again. Then, with his head held just a little higher, Marcus proudly cradled his obviously pregnant middle and waddled down the walk toward Eddie’s class building, feeling especially good inside his own skin.
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Art by  TigerRoundsUp!