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Oh, no.
'Not again, please, please not again.'
Eren clutched at his large round belly with one hand while the other was covering his mouth. He tried to get his breathing and heart rate under control but as soon as he felt better, he could feel the bile coming back up his throat, trying to escape from his mouth which he simply would not allow.
He glanced over at his husband who was sound asleep, the usual frown on his face was gone which made the 34 year old man seem years younger. The clock that sat on the bedside dresser read 3:42 A.M and Eren grit his teeth in frustration at this, it was way too early to be getting up and not only that, but he didn't want to disturb Levi, he had to go to work in two hours and the last thing Eren wanted was his husband waking up to disgusting sound of him retching up yesterdays dinner.
Quivering hands rubbed the enlarged area in slow circles, trying to soothe his sudden upset stomach. Even after a couple minutes of this, it wasn't working and the longer he sat up in bed trying to keep the vomit down, the more sick he felt. He couldn't keep it down, he had to throw this up whether he liked it or not or else he would soil the bed sheets for the third time this month. Eren moved the covers back and tossed his legs over the edge of the bed, using it as leverage to help him stand up. After a few seconds of struggling, he was finally on his own two feet and began the excruciating walk to the restroom which was connected to their bedroom.
His slightly swollen feet ached in protest with each step he took and as much as he wanted to go lay back down, he knew Levi would be disappointed in him if he just sat in bed and threw up all over it without even making an attempt to get to the toilet. The closer he got to the bathroom, the more nervous and anxious he got, just the thought of throwing up filled him with dread. He really, really did not like vomiting and this wasn't a newly developed phobia that came with his pregnancy, this has been with him for almost all 28 years of his life and not matter what he did, he could not get over it.
It was the smell, the look and the sound of vomiting that freaked him out so bad that he would get panic attacks and break down into tears, crying so hard he couldn't see what was going on around him. But what scared Eren the most about throwing up was the thought of possibly choking on it and dying, whenever he did throw up he couldn't breathe, it blocked his airways and that scared the hell out of him.
He pushed the bathroom door open and flicked the switch, wincing as the sharp, bright light beamed painfully against his eyes as they struggled to get used to the blinding brightness. His heart was beating at an abnormal pace and he was already breaking out into a cold sweat as his stared in fear at the glistening porcelain throne like it was his worst enemy. He lifted the toiled seat up and, with much difficulty, got down to his knees so he could be ready. He sat there for what felt like minutes until he felt his stomach lurch and quickly moved both his hands to his mouth, swallowing to keep the bile down.
No, he couldn't do this, he couldn't.
Tears sprang to his sea-green eyes and he closed them, trying to hold back them back but it was too late, they were dripping down his face and he was already near sobbing.
He honestly hadn't thought about his Emetophobia when he and Levi had planned to start a family and although he was very excited to meet his baby girl, he was also irritated that he completely forgot that being pregnant involved a lot of upset stomachs on the daily.
His stomach lurched again and this time he gagged out loud, choking back a loud sob that threatened to escape his throat. He didn't want to be in here alone, he wanted his grumpy husband to be in here with him to hold his hair out of his face, rub his belly and tell him that everything would be okay while he expelled the grossness from his system.
He jumped when he heard the door creak open and smiled apologetically at his husband when he noticed the dark circles under his eyes. Levi worked for many hours everyday and while he complained about quitting because he was tired of the 'shitty, stupid employees' and the 'incompetent boss', it paid well and he actually enjoyed what he did, although he would never admit it.
"Oh, I woke you, didn't I? I'm sorr--" Levi quickly cut him off as he knelt to the ground and held a finger over Eren's mouth, the other hand reaching down to rub soothing circles in the younger mans stomach. "Hush, we're in this together, remember?" Levi grabbed one of the plastic cups he left in the bathroom for times like this and filled it with water from the sink then handed it to his husband.
"Here, drink the water and try to calm down for me and the baby, okay?" He said gently and Eren was eternally grateful he had such a wonderful husband, while Levi could be a moody ass at times, he could also be sweet, caring and very gentle.
Eren downed the water with tiny sips until he was done and leaned against Levi's shoulder, sighing in relief as Levi rubbed his large stomach and ran his fingers through his thick, brown locks. He ignored the comment from Levi telling him that he needed to get a haircut and closed his eyes, just listening to the sound of their in sync breathing and the ticking of the clock they had hanging on the wall.
Just when he was about to announce that he felt better and was ready to get back in bed, his stomach lurched again and he barely had enough time to shove his head into the toilet as he threw up a little bit of last nights curry. He stopped the process and held the rest in while shaking his head in protest at Levi who was encouraging him to let to rest of it out of his system.
"Eren, I promise you, you'll feel ten times better if you just let it happen. You're only hurting yourself the longer you hold it in." He tried reasoning with the pregnant man but Eren was hearing none of it.
He shoved Levi away in sudden anger, glaring holes into the older man as he choked out in a whimper, "F-fuck you! I don't want to, I don't like it! Levi, please, please don't make me do it!" His chest was heaving rapidly and he was near wailing, his body shaking from fear and anxiousness.
He was scared and overall upset that he still let this stupid phobia get the better of him every single time he got nauseous.
Levi's eye twitched in mild frustration and he had to remind himself that Eren's hormones were all over the place right now and also his Emetophobia was a major factor to his violent mood at the moment.
The older man sighed and ran a hand through his onyx colored hair as he settled down, the only thing he could do was encourage Eren to just throw up and get it over with and comfort him in this time of need. He winced in disgust each time he heard Eren gag, while he loved him with all of his heart, Levi really did not like gross shit.
"Goddammit, now I'm gonna have to clean the toilet bowl before I get back to sleep or else it's gonna kill me..." He grumbled under his breath quietly enough so that his husband wouldn't hear him complaining about it but he couldn't help it, he was a neat-freak and liked his things to be clean.
A hand suddenly latched onto his arm and he winced in pain at the nails digging into his flesh and was about to tell Eren that he was hurting him but the hysterical man interrupted him, "Levi, I-I'm gonna throw up." He choked out through tears.
Levi grabbed one of Eren's hands and squeezed it encouragingly, rubbing small circles into his palm with the pad of his thumb. "It's okay, baby. Just let it go."
After many tears and bone crushing hugs from Eren, Levi was finally back in bed with his husband and sighed in content as his head hit the fluffy pillow, pulling the covers up over his body so he could get warm and he waited until Eren got situated in bed before he turned off the lamp beside their bed.
"...Levi?"
"Fuck, please, don't tell me you have to upchuck again..."
"No, you jerk! I just wanted to say thank you, y'know, for being patient and supporting me and also that...that I love you." He still blushed when he said those three words, even after all these years.
Levi smiled and leaned over to peck Eren innocently on the lips. "I love you, too. Now, go to bed." He then put a hand on Eren's plump stomach and nagged at it playfully, "And let's try not to make your daddy sick anymore, promise?"
When Eren and Levi both felt a kick, they stared at each other in shock then laughed, amused at their little girls quick, active response.
"I think that's a promise, Levi."