1WARNING: contains mpreg and slashy goodness. If you don't like it, go away.

Hey guys! I couldn't stay away from writing for even a few days. I've been wanting to write an mpreg story for a while now. I wanted to put it in Experiment but I didn't want to spring it on anyone who doesn't like that kind of thing, so I with held.

Here it is, hope you guys enjoy!

Xoxoxo

Howard Wolowitz had a problem. The kind of problem he would do anything to be rid of, pay anything to make it go away. But the source of the problem wasn't going anywhere, and it slumbered on peacefully beside him, with it's arm around his waist. Howard's head was pounding and the taste of dead animal lingered in his mouth. Swiping his tongue over his teeth, he was disgusting to find they felt furry.

He had no idea what to do, and in the end, he shoved the arm off him and flung himself from the bed. His leg got caught in the sheets and he tumbled, landing, completely naked, on his arse on the cold wooden floor. He covered himself best he could, glancing up at the bed and saw Raj had sat up, looking at him sleepily. The sleepiness soon vanished, and Raj's eyes widened, no doubt in horror at what had happened.

'Oh, god,' the Indian croaked hoarsely, covering his eyes as Howard stood, snatching his underwear from the ground and hurriedly grabbing some clothes from Raj's dresser. They weren't his usual tight jeans and turtle neck and probably wouldn't fit very well, but at that moment, Howard didn't give a damn. He almost ran into the bathroom adjacent to the bedroom and slammed the door behind him. Raj, meanwhile, was recovering from the shock of waking up in bed beside his best friend and was searching his closet for clean clothes. By the time he had stumbled into cargo pants and pulled on a t-shirt, Howard emerged from the bathroom, dressed in sweat pants that were thankfully tight around the waist but swamped the rest of his legs, and a white shirt. They stared at each other, the awkward silence growing, until Howard's phone buzzed loudly from a pile of clothes on the floor.

Howard crouched down and picked up an item of clothing, wrinkling his nose in disgust. It was the jeans he'd been wearing last night, and they were covered in spilled alcohol and mud. He vaguely remembered he and Raj had wrestled drunkenly in a park on their way home for fun, and knew that was where the mud came from. He slid his phone out of the pocket and found it unmarred. He flipped it open and held it to his ear. 'Hello?'

'WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?' his mother screeched on the other end, causing the pain in Howard's head to go up a notch. Raj watched silently from across the room. Howard's mother was yelling so loudly he could hear every word perfectly.

'I'm sorry, Ma,' Howard sighed, running a hand through his hair. He grimaced when he found dried mud caked through it. 'I went out with Raj for the Saturday night special and we got a little drunk. I wasn't okay to drive so I crashed at his place.'

'AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO CALL YOUR POOR MOTHER WHO WAS SICK WITH WORRY?' came the shouted reply, and Howard ended up holding the phone at arms length as the woman continued to rant. She told him he better be thankful Raj was such a good friend to take care of him, and that he better get home right now or there would be consequences. She ended it with a shrieked, 'YOU HEAR THAT? RIGHT NOW!'

'Yes, Ma,' Howard replied quietly and the woman hung up. He looked up at Raj, biting his lip at the awkwardness that hung between them. 'I have to go.'

'I heard,' the tiniest smile appeared. 'You can leave your clothes here, I'll get them washed for you.'

'Thanks, buddy,' Howard grabbed his keys for his Vespa and shoved them in his pocket along with his phone, standing up. His hang over was killing him, but he did his best to act normally. Raj followed him out into the living room and picked up Howard's helmet resting on the table. He handed it over, and they both flinched when their fingers brushed. 'I'll see you at work tomorrow.'

'Sure,' Raj managed, not looking him in the eye. Howard sighed and left. He found his Vespa where he'd parked it the night before and climbed on. It was a hellish ride home. Them wind roaring in his ears did nothing to help his headache and he couldn't go too fast without feeling like he was going to throw up.

His mother lectured him for around ten minutes when he finally got home. It could have been longer but she took pity on him and told him to go grab a shower. After he'd stripped Raj's clothes off him (noticing with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that they smelled of him), he climbed into the shower and almost groaned at the pleasure of feeling the hot water pounding on his back. It took a long time to get his hair clean, and he kept finding mud in the weirdest places. Eventually he climbed out and dried himself, dressing in his pyjamas. He collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

Xoxoxo

The next day, Howard became aware of something he'd missed before. His arse hurt like hell. Each throb of pain confirmed what he already knew- he'd had sex with his best friend. His male best friend. And he hadn't even been on top.

With a groan of resignation, he got dressed in his usual brightly coloured jeans and turtleneck, stubbornly ignoring both the ache in his lower regions and Raj's clothes he'd discarded carelessly before he had taken his shower. His mother wasn't up yet, so he made himself a couple of sandwiches and tore into them ravenously as he got prepared for work. He didn't want to face Raj. Hell, at that moment he didn't want to face anyone. But he was behind with his work and he needed to finish it. No way could he have a sick day. He was thankful, however, that the pain wasn't too bad. He'd heard that people walked funny after sex with another male but his gait was as normal as ever.

He carefully avoided Raj right up until lunch. He was sitting in the cafeteria by himself, pushing his food around on his plate with his fork when Raj sat down opposite him. They looked at each other for a few moments, before the Indian greeted him with a soft, 'hey.'

'Hey,' Howard returned, looking back down at his food. He hated himself for what they had done. Raj was the most loyal and caring friend he'd ever had and they'd screwed it up royally. There was no way they could go back to the way things were with this hanging over their heads.

Sheldon and Leonard joined them a few moments later, and suddenly the awkward silence was gone, instead filled with Sheldon's excited chatter as he told them all about his new breakthrough in something or another. Normally Howard would listen but he just couldn't be bothered. He was still sore and tired, and to top it all off, seeing Raj avoid talking to him drained him emotionally as well. The Indian glanced over at him every now and again, but didn't say anything.

'You okay, Howard?' Leonard asked after a while, pointing at him with his fork. 'You seem a little out of it today.'

'I'm just tired,' he shrugged and stared down at his food, hoping they'd accept his excuse and move on. He didn't want to talk, he just wanted to go home and curl up in bed.

'Well, alright...' Leonard turned to Raj. 'How was the Saturday night special you two were talking about? You guys have fun?'

'Uh,' Raj's eyes flittered over to Howard for a few seconds. 'Sure, it was fun.'

Howard felt sick. He pushed his food away and stood up, causing the other guys to look at him in confusion. 'Sorry, I have a lot of work to finish. I'll see you guys later,' he muttered before hurrying away.

After a few hours Howard was up to date with everything but he hesitated as he went to leave his office. Usually on a Monday he would chill out at Raj's place after work and play a little xbox, but there was no way he wanted to be alone with him. Raj hadn't mentioned anything about him coming over, so Howard wasn't sure if he'd be expecting him to show up or not. Eventually he decided to just go home, and if Raj said anything, he'd say he hadn't been feeling well.

Xoxoxo

Two weeks later, Howard awoke to the knowledge he was about to throw up. Clapping his hand over his mouth, he scrambled out of bed and hurried down the hallway, making it to the toilet just in time before he emptied the contents of his stomach into it. It took him a few minutes before he felt safe enough to flush the toilet and sit on the ground beside it without fearing he might puke again. He leant his head against the wall and just sat there, feeling horrible. His mother appeared in the doorway and upon seeing him, knelt beside him, pressing her palm to his forehead.

'Howard! Are you not feeling alright?' she tisked softly. 'You don't have a temperature. Did you eat something dodgy for lunch?'

It was only on these rare occasions, when Howard was sick or injured, that his mother lowered her voice. Even when they were in the same room she was louder than necessary. He leant into her touch, shivering at the cool air in the bathroom. His arse was sore from sitting on the cold tiled floor, and he was still sweaty from the exertion of emptying his stomach. 'I dunno, maybe,' he mumbled softly. From the clock his mother insisted they keep in the bathroom, he knew it was around three in the morning, and he cursed silently. For the past week he'd been feeling exhausted and run down, and now he was missing out on his precious sleep. 'Maybe I have the flu.'

His mother wiped his face with a damp cloth and disappeared for a few moments. She came back holding a plastic container, which she handed to him. 'Take this in case you throw up again. Now go back to bed, its late and you need sleep. I'll call your school in the morning and tell them you can't go,' she left him no room to argue as she gently pushed him towards his bedroom before ambling to her own and shutting the door.

Howard climbed back into bed and set the plastic container on the bedside table. He curled into a little ball and fought off the feelings of nausea. Trying to distract himself, he grabbed his phone and flipped it open, intending to play some kind of game, but he ended up going through his pictures instead. Some of them were of women who he'd found particularly attractive, but most of them were of himself and Raj. He felt even worse than before at seeing the man's face. They'd been avoiding each other ever since that night and they barely ever spoke. Leonard and Sheldon had no idea what was going on, and were baffled as to why their invitations to hang out as a foursome were constantly denied. Leonard had asked Howard what was going on many times, but he'd always changed the subject. He assumed Raj did the same thing.

Worst of all, he found he missed his best friend. He missed the times they spent together. Playing xbox into the wee hours of the morning and getting completely wasted at bars. Howard should have known it would happen. It was obvious Raj was attracted to men, what with the things he said that sounded pretty gay. And Howard, although he had previously thought himself to be completely straight, couldn't help but love Raj. Maybe not in a romantic way, but the attraction was there, simmering under the surface. It wasn't like he wanted to get married to the guy or anything, but by god he missed him.

He drifted in and out of sleep after he put his phone away. Everytime he woke, he'd throw up and have to get up and rinse the container out in the bathroom sink. It was a messy business, but he didn't want to wake his mother up again. But by the time his alarm went off at seven in the morning, he felt okay enough. Still a little nauseous but not enough to puke again. He began to get ready for work but his mother yelled at him to stay in bed and get some rest. Resigned, he slid back into bed and fell asleep again.

He was woken up around eleven by his phone going off. He reached out for it and saw Raj had texted, asking why he wasn't at work. Howard was surprised, it was the first time Raj had texted him since the night they slept together. It wasn't a surprise, however, that Raj realized he wasn't at work. With Sheldon and Leonard, he didn't see them until lunch so, in theory, they shouldn't know he wasn't there, at least not yet. But Raj always arrived after Howard, and always parked right next to his Vespa, so he'd notice if it was missing. He typed in a cold, short reply, then shut his phone before he sent it. After a few minutes he tried again, but couldn't send it. He sighed and put it down on the pillow next to him and stared up at the ceiling. He had no idea what to say anymore. Before the one night stand, he knew exactly what to say when it came to Raj. Now too many thoughts and worries got in his way.

Howard rubbed his temples as a headache started to form. He didn't want to deal with this right now. Gathering his courage, he grabbed his phone, typed out, was sick several times throughout the night, Ma made me stay home and sent it before he could wimp out. There. It wasn't too cold, wasn't too warm. Howard sat up and went to go brush his teeth. After throwing up all night, they felt disgusting everytime he ran his tongue over them.

By the time he'd finished his morning routine and gotten dressed, Raj had texted back. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon. It made Howard smile a little. It was the warmest they'd been towards each other in a while. He pocketed his phone and wandered out into the kitchen, where his mother was cooking something. He kissed her cheek as a greeting and she waved a knife threateningly. 'Now, don't you get me sick, Howard,' she warned, although she was wearing a small smile.

'I'm not sick, Ma,' Howard rolled his eyes. He took a painkiller and made himself a sandwich. 'I probably just had a tummy bug, I feel fine.'

'Are you still going over to play at your little friend's house after school lets out?' his mother asked, raising a brow.

Taking a couple of bites, Howard shrugged. He had planned to hang out with Leonard after work because he was getting bored just sitting at home playing video games by himself. He felt well enough to go, but Sheldon would probably be there and he would freak out if he knew Howard had been sick.

Maybe that was the sole reason he pulled his phone out and started to text Raj again, or maybe he just wanted to believe that. Either way, he had to ask. Does Sheldon know I was sick?

The reply came through in seconds, and that warmed him slightly. No, why?

He'd freak out if he knew. Thanks.

You're welcome.

He shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked at his mother. 'Yeah, I think I will.'

'When will you be going, then?' she asked as she put some kind of green vegetable into a pot full of water.

'Uhm...' Howard frowned. He wasn't sure when Leonard finished, actually. Checking his watch, he saw it was nearly midday. The guys would probably be having lunch in about twenty minutes. He decided to go to the university to join them, and actually do some work until Leonard was ready to go. 'Now, I think. I'll see you later, Ma.'

'Be a good boy, and be back before curfew,' she told him seriously, but she smiled when he kissed her cheek goodbye. He pulled on his helmet once he was outside but he couldn't resist sending one more text to Raj. He craved the contact after two weeks of ignoring each other. I'm coming into work. Don't tell Sheldon I was sick.

Once he sent it, he hesitated, wondering if he should wait for the reply or just get on his scooter. But his phone went off a moment later and decided it for him. Are you sure? And I won't.

I'm sure, he typed back. I feel fine. And thanks.

You're welcome. See you soon.

Howard smiled at this as he put his phone away and got on the Vespa. He'd missed talking to Raj. The only problem was, would they continue talking to each other in person, or was this new contact only allowed through text?

When he got to work, however, he found the guys waiting for him at their usual lunch table, and when he sat down, Raj smiled at him. It was small, and nervous, but it was there all the same. 'What's up, my nerdizzles?' he joked, trying to make Raj feel more comfortable. The man was radiating nervousness. Maybe he was having the same doubts and worries Howard was.

'I'll tell you what's up,' Sheldon sniffed haughtily as he poked at his food. 'Leslie Winkle has once again belittled my work in front of everyone. That woman is a disgrace to the world of science.'

'Calm down, Sheldon,' Leonard rolled his eyes. 'You do realize she teases you so much because she finds your reactions hilarious?'

'I don't follow.'

Howard wasn't particularly hungry after the sandwich he'd just eaten, but he did grab a salad as Leonard and Raj tried to explain Leslie Winkle to Sheldon. When he got back to the table, they'd somehow gotten onto the topic of Leonard's work and Sheldon was insulting it as always. The words 'extremely derivative' and 'pointless' were used more than once, and Leonard's jaw was clenched. Howard and Raj both tried to jump in and ended up talking at the same time.

'So, Leonard, about that new-' Raj tried to say.

'Sheldon, leave off-' Howard started.

They both stopped once they realized the other was talking and flushed, looking down at their plates. Leonard stared at them both, looking confused. 'What's wrong with you two?' he finally exclaimed. 'You've been acting weird for weeks now.'

'Nothing, nothing's wrong,' Howard grumbled, stabbing at a green leaf on his plate.

'Did you two have a fight?' Sheldon queried.

'I said, nothing's wrong!' Howard snapped, his shoulders tense. 'Nothing happened. Now can we please talk about something else?'

Raj looked upset and said nothing. Leonard sighed and shook his head. 'Fine. Have you guys seen the new Batman comic?'

Lunch continued like this for a while, trading pointless banter until it was time for them to get back to work. Howard left first, wanting to avoid being left along with Raj, and was startled when his phone buzzed just as he got to his office. He pulled it out quickly, expecting (and hoping) to see a text from Raj, but was disappointed when he saw it was from Leonard. You still on for after work?

Sure am, he texted back. Are we going together or am I following you on my Vespa?

We can go together, I'll drop you off back here afterwards so you can pick up your scooter and drive home.

Sweet, thanks. Howard put his phone away and sat down. After two weeks of moping about in his bedroom, he was looking forward to some xbox with Leonard.

Xoxoxo

'This is going to be great,' Howard grinned as he and Leonard climbed the stairs to his and Sheldon's apartment. 'Ma agreed to let me stay late, and we can watch a movie too. How about the third Star Wars movie?'

'Yeah, sure,' Leonard shrugged as they reached the fourth floor. 'Oh, by the way, I invited Raj,' he added, opening the door and letting himself inside before Howard could react.

Howard felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, but also a mix of nervousness and, weirdly, happiness. Deep down inside, he really did want to see Raj more. He walked inside the apartment to find Sheldon sitting in his spot reading a comic, and Raj on the floor drinking a soda. When he saw Howard enter, his eyes widened and he shot a glare at Leonard who was walking past. 'You didn't tell me he was coming!' Raj hissed, intending for just Leonard to hear, but all of them did.

'Look,' Leonard set down his bag and turned to face them, his arms crossed and looking slightly pissed off. 'I am sick and tired of you two acting all weird and avoiding each other. Whatever is bothering you, you two need to sit down and sort it out!'

'Nothing is bothering us,' Howard lied, avoiding looking at Raj. He didn't want to know how the man would react to such a blatant lie.

'That's bullshit,' Leonard glared at him. 'Sheldon and I are going over to Penny's, and you two will sort this out like adults!' he grabbed a protesting Sheldon by the arm and tugged him out of the room. The door slammed shut behind them and Howard was at a loss for what to do. Raj was still sitting on the ground, and was staring intently at his soda, saying nothing.

'Maybe we should talk,' Howard sighed as he crossed over to the armchair and sat down. Raj glanced up at him, looking both fearful and hopeful. He nodded once, and Howard played idly with a button on the cuff of his sleeve, trying to formulate his words. 'We had sex,' he said at last. 'We need to get over it and stop ignoring each other.'

It was hard to see because Raj's skin was such a deep brown, but his cheeks flushed. He refused to meet Howard's gaze and continued to stare at his soda. 'I know,' he croaked out. Once he started, the words just came tumbling out and he couldn't stop. 'I shouldn't have made a move on you, I'm sorry, I was drunk and you were acting really cuddly that night and I thought that because you know how I feel about you, that you were hitting on me and I'm really, really sorry.'

Howard held up his hands, his eyes widening. 'Woah, woah, slow down there, buddy. Why are you apologizing? I was an active participant, you know. It takes two to tango,' he paused and watched as Raj nodded slightly. 'And what do you mean by "how you feel about me"?' he added, frowning slightly. He didn't know anything about that.

'I... thought you realized...' Raj looked more embarrassed than ever, gripping his soda tightly. 'I have feelings for you.'

'I had no idea,' Howard blinked a couple of times, trying to process the information. He tried to take stock of how he felt about that. There was shock, of course. He'd always assumed that Raj was just more affectionate than most men. There was the curiosity. He wondered just how long Raj had liked him for, and if it had been present the night the heat went out. He waited for the expected disgust to come, but it didn't. He wasn't disturbed or disgusted by it at all. In fact, he felt something he'd never felt towards Raj before (or at the very least, something he hadn't admitted he'd felt). Longing. He had to admit, he'd thought about it once or twice, a relationship with Raj. But he'd always gotten embarrassed, and would think about something else. His father had always called him a fag, at least up until he abandoned him, and he'd grown up thinking there was something wrong with men liking men. But right now, with it staring him right in the face, it didn't seem so bad. It was actually tempting. He cleared his throat and spoke again, 'why didn't you ever tell me?'

Raj glanced up at him once, fleetingly. 'Leonard asked me if I liked you once and I said yes. He told me it was pretty obvious and from then on I assumed that if it was obvious, that you already knew.'

'I just thought you were being, I dunno, affectionate,' Howard looked down at his lap for a moment, trying to gather the courage to say what he wanted to. 'Look, I don't know how I feel about you. I mean, obviously I'm attracted to you if we ended up in bed together but I'm not entirely sure what that means.'

'I understand,' Raj sounded put out, but he attempted a smile.

Howard returned the smile with one of his own, and then continued, 'could you give me time to work out how I feel? And in the meantime, can we go back to being best friends?'

'Sure,' Raj blinked, looking surprised. 'That's actually a better deal than I expected.' the smile returned, but bigger this time. They grinned at each other for the moment. 'But this stays between us.'

'Obviously.'

Xoxoxo

There you have it! The first chapter. Tell me what you think, guys! I drew a lot of inspiration from The Shiny Trinket Maneuver episode where Raj says to Howard, "you're so caring, I've often pictured you guiding a young boy into manhood."

Next chapter we see Howard find out the good (bad?) news.

Please review and tell me what you think!