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The couch still held the dent of Pai’s body when Tim came home, his jacket tossed carelessly over the back like it had been flung there by muscle memory alone. The apartment smelled faintly of warm tea and laundry detergent, the familiar scents of their shared life settling comfortably in the air.
Pai was curled into the corner of the couch, knees tucked up to his chest, blanket half pulled over his head. Only the tip of his nose and a faint scowl were visible, dark hair sticking up in unruly tufts from a long, exhausting day at work.
Tim paused in the doorway, toes nudging off his shoes, his lips already curving into a grin.
“Well hello there,” he called lightly. “I didn’t know we adopted a stressed ducky today.”
The blanket shifted. One eye peeked out, sharp and deeply unimpressed.
“I am not a duck.”
Tim leaned casually against the doorframe, crossing his arms. “You absolutely are. All ruffled feathers, pout, and attitude. If you quack at me I won’t even be surprised.”
Pai’s scowl deepened, but the corner of his mouth twitched traitorously.
“Come here and say that again, alpha.”
Tim needed no further invitation. He crossed the room in a few quick strides and dropped onto the couch beside him, immediately poking at Pai’s side through the blanket.
Pai yelped, jerking away with a startled laugh.
“Stop, stop, that tickles, you menace.”
“You look less like a duck now and more like a wriggly eel,” Tim teased.
With a huff, Pai kicked the blanket aside entirely, scrambling upright and grabbing the nearest cushion. In one smooth motion he hurled it straight at Tim’s chest.
Tim caught it easily, eyes sparkling, and lobbed it right back.
Within seconds, their quiet living room had turned into their usual battlefield. Pillows flew through the air, laughter bounced off the walls, and the coffee table was hastily shoved aside with a careless foot.
Pai darted around the couch, hair bouncing with every step, cheeks flushed and glowing, soft giggles spilling from his lips. Tim chased after him with an exaggerated growl that only made Pai laugh harder.
At one point Pai pretended to be cornered behind the armrest, clutching a pillow like a flimsy shield.
“Mercy,” he pleaded breathlessly, though his eyes sparkled with mischief.
Tim grinned and pounced.
He caught Pai around the waist, pulling him back against his chest in a loose, playful hold. Bringing both their bodies to the safety of their sofa. Pai squeaked in surprise, then dissolved into breathless laughter, squirming uselessly in Tim’s arms. They’re facing each other Pai scrambling away, from the alpha’s hold. It’s far to difficult to manoeuvre himself away with his hands pinned above his head but he tried to squirm regardless.
And then, suddenly, Tim stilled.
His face had instinctively buried itself in the curve of Pai’s neck, as it always did when he held him close. Pai’s scent was something Tim knew better than his own, warm and sweet like honey in sunlight, comforting and familiar.
But this time, there was something different beneath it.
A new note, delicate and soft, like fresh rain touching spring grass. It was still undeniably Pai, yet layered with something Tim had never smelled before.
Not bad, not strange in an unpleasant way, just changed.
Tim’s breath hitched.
His playful grip around the omega’s wrist loosened without him even realizing it.
Inside his chest, something shifted.
At first, there were no thoughts, only instinct. His alpha surged forward, warm and protective, spreading through his body like fire beneath his skin. His arms tightened around Pai automatically, careful but possessive, as though his body already understood that something precious needed guarding.
A pup.
The word formed in his mind before he could stop it.
Their pup.
Bliss crashed over him in a sudden, overwhelming wave. His heart began to hammer wildly, not with panic but with a fierce, dizzying joy that made his fingers tremble where they rested against Pai’s waist.
Images flooded his mind in an unstoppable rush.
Tiny fingers curled around his own. A small, soft weight tucked between them at night. Quiet whimpers that would pull him from sleep. A little face that might have Pai’s wide, expressive eyes or Tim’s lopsided grin.
A child that belonged to both of them.
Something born from their bond, their love, their connection.
Tim swallowed hard, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes before he even realized he was emotional. He pressed his face more firmly into Pai’s shoulder, breathing deeply like he was trying to imprint the moment into his very soul.
But slowly, as that first surge of bliss softened, a different feeling crept in.
Fear.
Not sharp or sudden, but heavy, settling deep in his ribs.
His arms loosened just slightly, though he still kept Pai close.
What if he was not ready?
What if he was not enough?
Tim had always been confident, steady, the teasing alpha who made Pai laugh even on his worst days. But now, faced with the reality of fatherhood, that confidence wavered.
His mind raced.
He did not know how to be a father. He did not know how to properly support an omega through pregnancy. What if he said the wrong thing, did the wrong thing, missed something important?
Their apartment suddenly felt too small. Their lives felt too messy. Their schedules too unpredictable.
What if Pai suffered? What if Tim could not protect him the way he needed to? What if he failed them both?
The fear tangled with the joy in his chest, messy and complicated, pulling him in two directions at once.
Pai must have felt the change, because he stopped laughing. The omega straightens himself up in the sofa and the change in position has the alpha scrambling up on to his feet.
“Tim?” he asked softly. Face contorted in momentary confusion due to the alpha’s weird behaviour.
Pai gets up from the sofa and with that Tim slowly lifted his head to face his mate.
Pai looks at his alpha carefully, cheeks flushed pink from their play fight, chest still rising and falling with faint huffs of breath. His dark hair was tousled, his eyes impossibly wide and shining, lips parted like he was still trying to catch up to the moment.
His hands clutched Tim’s shirt tightly, knuckles pale, as if he was afraid to let go.
He looked small and vulnerable and breathtaking all at once.
And in that instant, all of Tim’s spiraling worries felt painfully insignificant.
He gazed at Pai, truly looked at him, and felt something deeper settle over him than any fear.
Love, raw and unwavering.
Tim imagined again, softer this time, a tiny pup curled against Pai’s chest, their child breathing peacefully, wrapped in warmth and safety. He pictured Pai smiling down at them, eyes gentle, voice tender in a way only he could be.
He imagined himself beside them, protective, steady, finally understanding what it meant to be someone’s anchor.
His fear did not vanish entirely, but it shrank, dwarfed by something much greater.
Tim lifted his hands slowly, cradling Pai’s face between his palms, thumbs brushing lightly over his flushed cheeks.
For a moment he said nothing, simply memorizing the sight of him like he wanted to keep this instant forever.
When he finally spoke, his voice was low, trembling, but certain.
“Pai.”
He leaned his forehead gently against Pai’s.
“I think,” he continued softly, “that you are carrying our pup.”
Pai’s eyes widened even more, his breath catching.
“What?” he whispered.
Tim slid one hand down to rest protectively on Pai’s lower back, careful, reverent, as though he was already guarding two lives instead of one.
“Your scent changed,” he explained quietly. “Just enough for me to notice.”
Pai stared at him in stunned silence, then slowly looked down at himself as if he might see proof written across his own body.
Tim smiled, gentle and full of devotion.
“And whatever I was scared about just now,” he admitted, “it means nothing compared to this. Compared to you. Compared to us.”
Pai did not speak right away.
His hands were still clutching Tim’s shirt, his body frozen in a way that made it clear his mind was racing far faster than his mouth could keep up with. His wide eyes flicked from Tim’s face down to his own stomach, then back up again, as if he was searching for something he could not quite see yet.
His lips parted, closed, parted again.
“A… a pup?” he whispered finally, voice thin and unbelieving.
Tim nodded slowly, his hands still cradling Pai’s face like he was afraid the moment might shatter if he moved too quickly.
“Yes,” he murmured. “Our pup.”
Pai let out a shaky breath that sounded halfway between a laugh and a sob.
“You sound so sure,” he said, blinking rapidly.
“Like you just… just know.”
Tim gave a small, breathless laugh of his own. “Alphas don’t always just know everything, but this… I feel it. In you. In your scent. In my chest. It’s like my body figured it out before my brain did.”
Pai swallowed hard, tears welling in his eyes again.
“Tim,” he whispered, voice trembling. “What if you’re wrong? What if I’m just… just weird today? Or sick? Or hormonal? You can’t just decide I’m pregnant because I smell different.”
Tim softened instantly, brushing his thumbs gently over Pai’s cheeks.
“I don’t think I’m wrong,” he said quietly. “But we don’t have to treat this like certainty right this second. We can check properly. Together. Whenever you’re ready.”
Pai stared at him for a moment, then let out a weak, disbelieving huff of laughter.
“You sound so calm,” he murmured. “Inside I feel like my brain just exploded.”
Tim let out a soft chuckle, pressing his forehead more firmly against Pai’s.
“You’re not the only one,” he admitted. “My heart’s been trying to beat its way out of my ribs since I smelled it.”
Pai sniffed, finally lifting one hand to wipe under his eyes.
“You just… grabbed me like you were afraid I’d disappear,” he said quietly.
Tim’s expression shifted immediately, becoming more serious, more tender.
“Because right now,” he said softly, “you feel like the most fragile, important thing in the world to me.”
Pai’s breath hitched.
His lips trembled before he could stop them.
“That’s not fair,” he muttered weakly. “You can’t say things like that when I’m already emotional.”
Tim smiled gently, brushing his thumb across Pai’s bottom lip.
“You started it by looking at me like that,” he teased softly.
Pai let out a shaky laugh, burying his face briefly against Tim’s chest.
“Are you… are you happy?” he asked after a moment, voice small and uncertain.
Tim did not hesitate.
He wrapped his arms around Pai more securely, holding him close, chin resting atop his head.
“More than I’ve ever been about anything,” he said honestly. “Scared too, yeah. Terrified, actually. But happy in a way I didn’t even know was possible.”
Pai lifted his head again, searching Tim’s face.
“You’re scared?” he asked, eyebrows knitting together.
Tim nodded slowly.
“I was thinking about all the things I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “How to be a dad. How to take care of you properly. Whether I’d mess it all up. Whether I’d be enough.”
Pai stared at him, eyes softening.
Then, very slowly, he reached up and cupped Tim’s cheek in his hand.
“You’ve always been enough for me,” he said quietly. “Even when you’re annoying. Even when you call me a duck.”
Tim huffed out a soft laugh, his own eyes shining now.
“My very stubborn, very pregnant duck,” he teased gently.
Pai let out an indignant squeak. “Don’t call me that when I might actually be carrying your child.”
Tim grinned, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his forehead.
“Fine,” he murmured. “My very beautiful, very fierce omega carrying our pup.”
Pai’s cheeks darkened even more, but he did not pull away.
After a moment of quiet, he glanced down again, resting his own hand hesitantly over his lower stomach.
“So… there might be a tiny… tiny person in here,” he said, almost to himself.
Tim carefully placed his hand over Pai’s, warm and steady.
“Maybe,” he said softly. “A little mix of you and me.”
Pai’s lips twitched upward despite his tears.
“I hope they get your stupid hair,” he murmured.
Tim snorted. “Excuse me? My hair is iconic.”
“And your smile,” Pai added quietly, eyes soft.
Tim’s chest tightened.
“And I hope they get your eyes,” he said gently. “And your stubbornness. And your kindness.”
Pai let out a watery laugh, leaning his forehead against Tim’s shoulder.
“If they’re stubborn like me and dramatic like you, we’re doomed,” he muttered.
Tim laughed quietly, tightening his hold around him.
“Then we’ll be doomed together,” he said simply.
For a long moment they stayed like that, standing in the middle of their messy living room, hands entwined over Pai’s stomach, breathing each other in.
Finally, Pai lifted his head again.
“Tim?” he asked softly.
“Yeah, ducky?” Tim replied, unable to resist.
Pai lightly smacked his chest, but he was smiling now.
“Will you… stay with me? Through all of this?”
Tim’s expression grew serious instantly.
He tilted Pai’s chin up gently so their eyes met.
“Always,” he said firmly. “Through every doctor visit, every mood swing, every late night craving, every scary moment, and every beautiful one. You are not doing this alone.”
Pai’s smile trembled, then widened.
“Okay,” he whispered.
Tim leaned in, pressing a slow, tender kiss to his lips.
When they pulled apart, Pai rested his head against Tim’s head again, eyes fluttering shut.
And for the first time since Tim walked through the door, the grumpy, exhausted tension completely left his body, replaced with something softer, warmer, and full of promise.
Two young men, wrapped in each other, already beginning their new chapter without even moving from that spot.