Work Text:
Clinton woke as Neal got up again to use the bathroom. He couldn't complain, though, since he wasn't the pregnant one with a baby pushing up against his bladder.
It still blew Clinton's mind a little. They'd been hearing about male pregnancies in the last few years, and it was approximated that a hundred million men were capable of it, though less than two percent would actually achieve pregnancy.
Of course Neal was one of them. They hadn't been careful. They didn't think they needed to be careful. There wasn't a test to find out if you were one of the hundred million. There was only the one where you pee on a stick and it gives you one line or two.
Clinton had expected a lot of things out of this relationship, but pregnancy had most definitely not been one of them.
Only in the dark of night, when he was alone in the bed would he admit to himself how much it scared him. Kids had always been a someday thing. And now it was an in five months and counting thing. It was happening so fast.
And what if things didn't work out with Neal? They'd only been seeing each other a few months before the pregnancy. He wanted things to work out, he loved Neal, but there was reality to look at. Relationships fail all the time. No matter what, they'd be completely bonded together forever through this child.
Clinton took a deep breath. This was happening whether he was ready for it or not.
He was so lost in thought, he started when Neal crawled back into bed.
"Sorry," Neal said, pulling the blankets around him.
"Don't apologize," Clinton said. He wrapped his arms around Neal's body, resting his hand atop Neal's swollen abdomen. For all his fears, he knew it was a hundred times scarier for Neal. This was happening to his body, and he had a lot more to give up by having this baby. His entire lifestyle was disappearing, and now he was completely grounded.
"Love you," Neal muttered sleepily, and in that moment, Clinton's fears disappeared. Neal was in this, fears or not. Clinton knew he could do that too.
Even though he knew Neal had already drifted off, Clinton pressed a kiss to his lover's temple. "Love you too."