Chapter Text
Wonwoo knew there was something off when his lovely omega did not meet him at the door of their apartment. After Mingyu went on maternity leave, he wasn't left with much to do at the house except cook and clean and he was getting to the point where both of those were getting too tiring for him. His feet were swollen beyond belief and due to that, standing for long periods of time was just not something he couldn't do anymore.
"Mingyu," Wonwoo called as he kicked off his shoes. He could smell him, delicate omega pheromones able to reach his senses. The peppermint and chocolate smell of the younger was so inviting and sweet. Ever since he got pregnant, the scent of pine was added, thanks to Wonwoo's own pine and warm fire kind of smell, with a hint of cinnamon and Mingyu smelled just like Christmas. It was an insight to what their upcoming pup was to smell like.
"Wonnie?" Mingyu's voice sounded, close in proximity. He was in their room for sure and so Wonwoo set his keys on the table by the door and headed to their shared bedroom. His mate's scent grew stronger the closer he walked to their bedroom, only concluding his suspicions. Wonwoo pushed their bedroom door the rest of the way open and his jaw nearly dropped.
"Did you make a nest?" he immediately asked upon sight of what was once their bed.
It was now, indeed a nest. Wonwoo had shortly noticed that the pillows of their couch were missing and but hadn't paid much mind to it. Now he could see that they were missing from the couch and were instead strewn across their mattress that was now on their floor, "And you moved the mattress by yourself?!" he asked next, knowing that a mattress wasn't exactly easy to move by yourself nor was it light, and it was even harder to move when pregnant.
"I called Seungkwan and he helped me," Mingyu stated, shifting so he was laying on his side facing the older.
Their omega friend was quite the complainer so Wonwoo expected that he complained a lot while helping move their mattress to the ground. But the alpha disregarded that and further studied the nest his mate had built. All of their blankets in the house were added to the mattress and arranged by color, some bunched up and used as pillows among their collection of throw pillows and the pillows from their bed. Wonwoo could see his sweaters and sweatshirts thrown into the mix, one of them stacked under Mingyu's head in the nest. It was the college sweatshirt the omega always stole when he went through heats at the beginning of their relationship. Mingyu had been shy about letting an alpha help him through any of his heats and hadn't even invited the older to help him until a year into their relationship. Their first heat together had been when Wonwoo marked him and mated him.
"I don't know if that's much better," Wonwoo commented as he headed towards his mate's nest. He kicked off his shoes and dropped to the ground, crawling onto the mattress, careful not to disturb the placement of things and keeping them in order. Mingyu smiled as the older got closer and tilted his head, inviting the alpha to scent him. Wonwoo obliged and pressed his nose to Mingyu's scent gland and his lips to the mark on his neck. Mingyu shivered at the familiar scent of his mate and hummed, quickly turning his head to press a kiss to the alpha's ear. Wonwoo pulled away with a smile, "Why are you making a nest? Are you feeling okay?" concern was heavy in his voice.
Mingyu nodded and his hands found their way to his round belly, stroking the soft skin and looking so blissed out as he interacted with their baby, "My belly dropped last night I guess and since he's due in five weeks, I thought I would be at the utmost comfort in a nest," he reached out and grabbed Wonwoo's hand to place it on his round belly. Wonwoo couldn't tell that it had dropped from where he was lying down, but he trusted his mate, "He's been so restless recently and now its like he's a whole new kid when I'm in the nest. Nests have a really great effect on the mother and baby and can keep both of them calm. It can also promote a healthy delivery."
Wonwoo scoffed, "Did you read that somewhere?" he asked as he got himself more comfortable by lying down next to his mate. Wonwoo placed a soft kiss to the omega's lips and Mingyu hummed into it. The alpha pulled away and smiled, "I really missed you today."
Mingyu giggled and brought his alpha closer and snuggled into his chest, wanting to smell nothing but his mate's pine scent, bonfire swirling into the mix, "I really missed you, too. I'm sorry about making such a mess with the nest."
He knew that he had gone a bit over the top. He had stripped their entire house of every soft and warm thing he could find and added it to the nest. He had even grabbed the blanket Wonwoo's mother had made for their pup and it was buried somewhere deep in the confines of the nest. When their pup is born, he is going to be drowned in his mother and father's scents, making sure he knows who his parents are. He would sleep in the nest for the first few months of his life and Mingyu only wanted the best for their little pup.
Wonwoo shook his head, "I'm not mad, but I am wondering how you're going to get up and down from here when you need to move around. You're not exactly the most agile right now," he reminded the omega, hand sliding up his side to feel the gentle curve of his mate's abdomen. He was really getting bigger as the baby got bigger and they were having no small baby. Doctors warned that if he was to go past his due date, he could be at least twelve pounds.
Mingyu shrugged and easily showed Wonwoo how easy it still was for him to get up and down even when he had a watermelon attached to his front. He was still huge, but not that huge yet, "I'm not completely immobile yet. And why should I worry when I have a big, strong alpha to help when I'm struggling?" he smiled, perfectly white teeth shining past his lips and bringing a smile to Mingyu's lips as well.
"You're right," Wonwoo agreed, nuzzling his nose along Mingyu's scent gland again. He started projecting his scent and Mingyu felt an entire length of calm just overtake his body. Mingyu only imitated his alpha and the room started to smell heavily of Christmas, "When I'm on paternity leave, you won't even need to leave the nest. I'll do absolutely everything for you, you won't need to lift a finger."
Mingyu scoffed, "What about when I need to go to the bathroom? Or when I need to shower?" he very well couldn't do any of that for him. Mingyu would need to get up at some point during the day and be a functioning adult.
Wonwoo's smile grew crooked, "I'll have to carry you to and from the bathroom. Like I said, my omega won't have to do anything. I'll do everything for him."
Mingyu rolled his eyes, "You can try but I can promise you this: you will get so tired after I tell you to do everything. You won't rest a single second when you're on paternity leave," his eyes grew dark as he thought of all the things he would make Wonwoo do while he was just resting and getting ready for their pup to be born."
Wonwoo gulped in fear, the look in his omega's eyes not helping. He knew it was a loose threat, but Mingyu had been known to have terrible mood swings and he had kicked Wonwoo not only out of the bed, but out of the house as well. He knew not to upset or mess with the younger, but then his features softened again and Wonwoo's anxiety decreased drastically, "You're going to be the death of me."
Mingyu laughed, "No, I need you to help raise this pup. He'll need you," he again shifted his mate's hand to where their pup was starting to kick and they both smiled when he kicked his father's palm, "He'll be sad if his father isn't there to love and protect him."
"But you'll be there for him, too," Wonwoo reminded, "He'll need his strong alpha father, and his strong omega mother."
Mingyu's heart fluttered, "Of course, we'll both be there for him when he needs us."
Wonwoo's pheromones leaked out in pure waves of love and admiration, flooding his mate's nostrils. Wonwoo was so intense with his emotions and it was always soothing for the omega because he knew exactly how he was feeling at all times of the day. He himself had had trouble expressing his emotions but when it came to Wonwoo, it was easy to be himself and communicate how he was feeling just with his scent, "You won't need to worry about that. I'll always be here. Don't worry."