Work Text:
Till curled up under the blanket.
To be honest, it was a hot day. The weather forecast said the sun would be blazing, no rain expected at all. Still, Till chose to hide somewhere, quietly crying and wiping away tears with the back of his already-soaked hand.
People said mood swings during pregnancy were normal, but Till just couldn’t get used to it. It annoyed him—being sad like this and trying not to cry alone in this huge bedroom he was supposed to share with Ivan.
Yeah.
Ivan should’ve been with him right now, lying in bed or watching Till’s pick of the day on the couch. But it seemed like Till’s dumb beloved alpha was swamped with work. The sun was already right above their heads, and Ivan still hadn’t finished whatever he was doing.
Normally, Till wouldn’t mind. He was happy if Ivan was busy and focused. That meant Till had time to rest or work too. But now? Ugh. Pregnancy hormones were the worst.
Till didn’t want to bother Ivan, but he couldn’t shake the bad feeling hanging over him. His heart whispered, What’s so hard about spending your day off with your pregnant husband, you idiot?!
While Till was quietly sobbing, the sound of the door opening made him freeze. He quickly wiped away the tears and pretended to be asleep. He knew that was Ivan walking into their room.
“Till?”
Shit. Ivan’s voice was soft—way too soft—and that made Till want to cry even more for no reason at all. But he didn’t. He just mumbled something from under the blanket, hoping his alpha wouldn’t notice he’d been crying.
“What’s wrong, Till?”
Shit again. Why was Ivan so damn sensitive?
“Are you sick?”
Till could feel the mattress dip. Ivan must’ve sat at the edge of the bed, slowly scooting closer and gently rubbing Till’s back through the blanket.
“I’m fine,” Till whispered, too soft for Ivan to probably hear. “Go back to work.”
God, he wanted to punch himself. Wasn’t he just upset because Ivan was working instead of spending the day with him?
He heard Ivan chuckle. That bastard. If Till wasn’t like this right now, he’d have already smacked him. Ivan probably knew exactly what was going on with his husband.
“I’m serious, Ivan. Just go work,” Till grumbled, suddenly feeling hot and wanting to throw the blanket off.
“Your pheromones are all over the house, Till,” Ivan murmured, his hand moving to rub Till’s now-rounded belly. “What’s wrong?”
Till hated when Ivan was like this—gentle and caring. Till spent most of his time being annoyed with Ivan who was always naughty and annoying, Till spent his childhood being annoyed with Ivan who always bothered him and made him feel bad.
Sure, there were moments when Ivan became the sweetest, most romantic guy ever. And that made Till either melt or, like now, even more frustrated.
“I said I’m fine, Ivan! You’re making it worse!” Till snapped, already starting to sniffle again. “I— I just want to be alone.”
Silence.
Till assumed Ivan had left and gone back to work.
Of course not. That man would never leave him like that.
Ivan gently turned Till’s body, pulling him out from under the blanket.
“Hey!” Till yelped in protest, his red, tear-streaked face now fully exposed. He felt so embarrassed he wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
But embarrassment quickly lost to sadness, and he started crying again.
“A-Are you hurt? Hey…?” Ivan asked, instantly panicking. His hands backed off quickly. “Say something… Are you in pain? Do we need to go to the doctor?”
Still sobbing, Till shook his head slowly and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry…” he whispered, barely able to speak, knowing if he talked more he’d just cry harder.
“You don’t have to apologize. I think I’m the one at fault here.”
“No, no, it’s not your fault. I’m just being dramatic…” Till finally opened his eyes and looked at Ivan—who was staring back at him like a confused, panicked puppy. His hair was neatly combed—he probably had an online meeting earlier.
Even now, Ivan looked so handsome that it made Till’s heart flutter. If he wasn’t this annoyed and emotional, he would’ve kissed the guy right then and there.
Ivan smiled and let out a long breath. “Oh, my pretty baby…” he said as he lay down beside Till. “What’s wrong, hm? Tell me.”
Till hesitated. Should he just tell Ivan that he was sad over something silly? He stayed quiet for a bit, until Ivan spoke again.
“If I did something wrong, I’m sorry, okay? But please don’t stress yourself out, babe. I don’t want anything bad happening to you or the baby.”
That made Till shake his head. “It’s just…” he said softly, drawing random shapes on the blanket with his finger. “I’m just sad.”
“Sad?”
“For being alone in this big room all day.”
A weird silence filled the room.
Till swore he’d smack himself again for saying something so cringey. His eyes teared up once more, and he started crying again—cursing the unpredictable rollercoaster of hormones inside him.
“Oh man… I’m really sorry,” Ivan said while wiping away Till’s tears. “My work made you feel lonely, huh? I’m so sorry, Till.”
Till shook his head again. “No, it’s not that… I’m just overreacting. I think this is what people mean by mood swings or whatever during pregnancy. I’m sorry. Really. There’s nothing wrong,” he said. “You can go back to work, Ivan.”
“My love,” Ivan whispered. “I’ll go back for a bit, and then I’ll come join you right here, okay?”
“Okay,” Till nodded, letting Ivan wipe away the rest of his tears. “Do you want some iced chocolate? I can make it for you.”
Ivan grinned and gave Till a soft, loving kiss before getting up. “Iced chocolate made by my beautiful husband on a hot day like this? That sounds perfect.”
Till smiled too. He followed Ivan to the kitchen and made two glasses of delicious iced chocolate. They spent the rest of the day watching a movie together on the couch.
Before they knew it, the sky outside had started to darken. Till didn’t even check the clock. Sleep was already calling.
And just before he drifted off, he heard Ivan whisper gently in his ear:
“Love you, my pretty little baby.”