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Prompto sat on the bathroom floor, his phone set on a timer. He twiddled his thumbs as he waited for the test results. He and Gladio had been trying to have a baby for about half a year now; and each time that Prompto took a pregnancy test, it would end up as negative. It was really starting to hurt to see a minus sign or a frowny face with every test. Prompto felt like it was hopeless; and maybe he should have waited until Gladio came home, because he was just stirring up his anxiety and depression, because there was always that possibility that he wouldn’t be pregnant.
A part of him couldn’t help but wonder what if, though. What if this was it? What if he looked down and saw a positive symbol? It was a fifty-fifty percent chance that the test would come back positive, that he would be pregnant. He tried so hard to not get his hopes up, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining the outcome.
The test would be positive and he would be overjoyed. He wondered if he would call Gladio and tell him over the phone, or if he would tell him once he got home. How would he tell his husband that they were going to have a baby? Prompto was a sucker for cute things, and he imagined himself telling Gladio that he was pregnant in so many different ways.
He could give Gladio a present with a pair of baby booties or a onesie inside. Gladio would open the present and probably be confused as to why Prompto was giving him such a gift. He’d catch on and hug and kiss Prompto while he told him how much he loved him. Maybe he could schedule a photoshoot and Prompto could reveal that he was pregnant in one of the pictures, or he could announce it with balloons, or put a literal bun in their kitchen oven. Prompto felt his cheeks heat up and tighten from smiling so much. It was such a good thought to have and it made his heart swell with hope that it could be true.
He imagined what it would be like to be pregnant. How big would his tummy get? Prompto thought of how everyone would touch his stomach to feel the baby kick, of how many nights he would spend with his hand pressed to his belly while he would lay awake at night while his little one kept him from sleeping. He imagined Gladio talking to the baby, pressing gentle kisses against Prompto’s stomach as he would whisper I love you’s.
The thought of holding his baby in his arms was probably taking it too far, but it made his heart soar with want. He wondered whether he would have a boy or a girl. Either way, Prompto knew that he was going to be that parent that takes pictures of their kids everyday. He’d probably even post them on his social media to share with his family and friends.
Him and Gladio would most definitely spoil their baby. It wouldn’t matter though, because they would be so proud of them.
Prompto jumped when he heard the alarm on his phone go off, forcing him out of his fantasy. He silenced the alarm and picked up the pregnancy test, his heart racing and palms sweating. A part of him didn’t even want to check the results, to just throw the test away and pretend it never happened. Not knowing was better than getting his heart broken. Right? But there would always be that question of what if nagging at the back of his mind. Prompto took a deep breath before he looked at the results.
It felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and shoved back in repeatedly. His stomach was in a knot and his whole body shook. He dropped the test and buried his face into his hands. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the tears falling down his cheeks or the rough sobs coming out of his mouth.
The test was negative.
Again.
He felt so useless.
Gladio walked into the house, uncomfortable with the silence that surrounded him. It wasn’t unusual to come home like this, especially if Prompto had been working late or was out with Noct. But Prompto’s car was still in the driveway and it was odd to come home to a quiet house. Usually Prompto would have the television or the radio blaring so loud that Gladio would be able to hear the noise outside, or Prompto would always greet Gladio at the door.
He peeked into the kitchen first, just to make sure in case Prompto had his headphones in and hadn’t heard Gladio come in, but Prompto wasn’t in the kitchen. Gladio decided to check Prompto’s study next. Sometimes his husband would get so caught up in a project that he would forget to take breaks, or completely space out the world around him. Prompto wasn’t in there either.
He tried not to worry. Prompto was probably in their bedroom, taking a nap or resting, and Gladio was getting himself all worked up over nothing. But when he opened the door to their bedroom, Prompto wasn’t there. Gladio pulled out his phone, ready to send Prompto a text when he heard a sniffling noise from the bathroom. He sighed in relief and mentally kicked himself. He felt like an idiot.
However, when he walked into the bathroom, Gladio saw Prompto laying on the floor, curled up on himself. Gladio rushed to Prompto’s side, checking him for injuries, as his first thought had been that Prompto had fallen or that he had hurt himself. Prompto seemed to be fine, though, physically.
Gladio lifted his husband from the floor and cradled him in his lap. He noticed the tears stained on Prompto’s cheeks and brushed his fingers against them. He’s a little ashamed of himself that he hadn’t been able to smell Prompto’s scent earlier when he walked into the house, that he hadn’t been able to pick up from their bond that Prompto was in distress. Holding Prompto right now in his arms, nuzzling his nose into Prompto’s hair, Gladio can smell his distress.
Prompto cuddled into Gladio’s chest, breathing in his alpha’s scent. Gladio’s scent was always so soothing, it always helped Prompto relax whenever his anxiety got the best of him. He finally felt himself start to calm down and go still in Gladio’s embrace. He just wanted to stay in Gladio’s arms all the time and not do anything ever.
And then, as if he’d been shocked, Prompto jumped and pulled away from Gladio. Gladio tried to shush him and tightened his arms around Prompto, but the omega struggled and almost fell backwards when Gladio’s grip loosened.
“Hey,” Gladio called out, reaching up to frame Prompto’s face in his hands when Prompto started to cry again. He wiped at the tears with his thumbs as they flowed down Prompto’s cheeks. It broke his heart to see his mate like this. “Prompto, what’s wrong?”
Prompto pushed himself from Gladio’s lap and walked on his knees, reaching for something in the spot that Gladio had found him lying earlier. He sat in front of Gladio, holding out the object to him and keeping his distance. Gladio just wanted to reach out and hold Prompto close to him. He took the object from Prompto when the blond nudged it towards him.
“Oh,” he said when he realized what it was.
A pregnancy test. And he found himself hoping that it it would be positive, that the reason Prompto was so upset was just hormones from the pregnancy. He had wanted this just as bad as Prompto. Hell, he had even spent most of his break the other day just looking at cribs and had almost been late back to work because he had gotten lost in the baby clothes. His Internet history was full of baby names sites and he even had a few names bookmarked. So when he looked down at the test and seen the negative symbol, his heart sunk. He would have been lying if he said that he wasn’t disappointed, but it wasn’t because of Prompto, as he was sure that’s what his husband’s thoughts were.
Gladio set the test down and held out his arms to Prompto. Prompto didn’t budge, though. His eyes were aimed at the floor, not making eye contact. Gladio reached out and took Prompto’s hands, kissing his knuckles until Prompto looked up at him.
“It’s okay,” Gladio assured, and he tugged on Prompto’s wrists, gesturing for the blond to sit by him. “We’ll just try again.”
“Gladio, we’ve been trying,” Prompto said, scooting next to Gladio. He sounded so tired, so defeated. “I don’t know why you’re still with me.”
“Because I love you,” Gladio answered automatically. It wasn’t like that last part had caught him off guard. Prompto would always put himself down when he was having a bad day. Gladio wrapped his arms around Prompto and kissed the side of his head. Usually, a quick reassurance and maybe a few cuddles was all that Prompto needed to feel better about himself again. So it broke Gladio’s heart when the blond turned away from.
“But I can’t give you what you want, what we both want more than anything. I can’t do what my body is supposed to be able to do. I’m an omega. I should be able to have a baby.” Prompto’s voice broke off into a choked noise as more tears leaked from his eyes. “There’s something wrong with me.”
“Prom,” Gladio said, pulling his husband onto his lap. He wiped the tears away and kissed the top of Prompto’s head. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
Prompto buried his face into Gladio’s neck. “But what if-”
Gladio shushed him. He didn’t even want to think about the rest of that sentence, even if it was a possibility. “Do you remember health class? Male omegas usually struggle more with getting pregnant. We’ll just have to try harder. Hey, we can even search up those urban myths that are supposed to help you get pregnant.” He had said that last part as a joke, hoping that it would cheer Prompto up. Prompto didn’t say anything and Gladio nudged at him to make sure that he was still awake. The sadness in his eyes broke Gladio’s heart. He knew what Prompto was thinking and he sighed. “Or we can go see a doctor.”
Prompto shrugged. “Okay.”
Gladio kissed Prompto’s forehead and stood up, lifting Prompto in his arms. He walked into the room and set Prompto down on the bed. Prompto immediately wrapped himself up under the covers. Gladio tucked off his shoes and curled up next to his omega, wrapping his arms around Prompto’s waist. The blond snuggled into Gladio’s chest, and he seemed to fall asleep as soon as his eyes closed.