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It turned out that hiding an omega male pregnancy is easier than anyone would've expected.
Zanka had presented as an omega later than most, barely a month into being seventeen. His first heat had been so short that some mistook it for a regular teenage mood swing, and his scent was relatively weak for an omega.
He had the perfect combination of factors, but that didn't make it easy. By then, he'd already been secretly seeing Jabber Wonger, a boy who supposedly had presented as an alpha as young as thirteen or fourteen.
It'd been that very spring, as the world was starting to come back alive after winter (as much as the ground ever did come alive). He'd felt off in ways that were unfamiliar to him. It took a couple weeks before saw it fit to go to the infirmary, and when he did, Eishia was out of office.
Thankfully, Eishia kept a closet full of essentials anyone was free to take from, no questions asked. Things like menstrual pads and tampons, deodorant, bandages, heat and rut suppressants.
Pregnancy tests.
Zanka had half the mind to take a couple, and when he took them in the quiet of his room, they were positive. All of them. He would've thought he was being pranked if he didn't know in his gut it was true. He was carrying the raiders baby.
That was three months ago. Miraculously.
He'd cried many tears, and spent many long hours painfully working to suppress any sort of sweet or milky scent he had. It worked, and nobody had suspected a thing. That was the only sign he had of pregnancy. His belly had managed to remain flat as a damn pancake.
According to the medical books Eishia had in the infirmary, it wasn't so uncommon for male omegas not to show. It was a complete blessing for Zanka. His abs weren't as grand as they once were, but he looked bloated at best on a bad day, and he was counting his blessings.
Mainly because he had no idea what he'd do with the baby once it was here. Probably leave it somewhere safe, like the front step of a daycare or the home of a newlywed couple.
That wasn't his problem right now. For now, his problem was that it was one in the morning and he was having a violent craving for these stupid lychee candies they had back at the hell guard. They had a close equivalent to them there at the cleaners, but it wasn't close, and he knew indulging would just leave him more irritated since it wouldn't be the exact thing. That's how pregnancy cravings worked.
Still. He got up.
Throwing a jacket over his evening clothes, he pulled himself out of bed and begrudgingly made his way to the dining room. He needed something to satiate him, even if if was just enough for him to sleep. The insomnia was driving him crazy, and he needed to control himself.
Once he was there, he found himself rummaging through the drawers in search of those stupid candies. The assortment of small sweet treats had grown in the time since Rudo joined the cleaners, something he couldn't quite complain about, but it made searching for a specific one harder. He was growing irritated.
Finally, he found the candy he was looking for. He could tell just from the soft scent that it wasn't quite right, but it'd do.
He sat down and popped two hard candies in his mouth at a time, and pretended not to be bothered.
Who knew how long Zanka had been sitting there when the door creaked open. The clock above it read 1:22 AM, an honestly ridiculous time to be in the dining room, let alone up.
Enjin entered. Of course. The beta was a notorious insomniac, who else would it be?
He walked right past Zanka and into the pantry looking for something to snack on. He was looking through the salty snacks, unlike Zanka. It only took him a second before he landed on a bag of chips.
Then he quietly shut the pantry door, and sat beside Zanka on one of the chairs. "What are you doing up, kid?" He asked, looking over a visibly exhausted Zanka.
Zanka shrugged, chewing on the candy even though he knew it would be bad for his teeth. "Couldn't sleep."
Enjin exhaled. "Same here."
Silence stretched between them, but it wasn't awkward. It was never awkward between the two of them, at least it hadn't been since Zanka was a trainee. Enjin was the first adult in Zanka's life he really felt he could be safe around, and he appreciated his presence, even if it was just sitting in the dead silence of the night, snacking in the dining room.
But something in the silence changed, and Zanka noticed Enjin eyeing him. Eyeing him and not eating his snack.
Zanka looked up from the candies in his hand, into his eyes, then down at the bag in Enjin's hand. "You… gonna eat that?"
Enjin didn't answer. He just looked at Zanka.
Then.
"You're pregnant."
Zanka went pale. It was like all the blood had been sucked from his body in a split second, leaving him cold and exposed. He felt his muscles lock up, the tension consuming him, going straight into a freeze response.
Shit.
He forgot to put his scent blockers on.
Every minute since he'd found out about the baby, he'd been layering and layering scent blockers to the point he damn near smelled like antiseptic instead of his usual incense and wisteria. He wouldn't leave his room without them usually.
In his pursuit of a midnight snack, he'd forgotten.
Now Enjin knew the truth, and he had to figure out how to play this. There was no getting out of it, no matter how hard he tried. Enjin was smarter than that, and he knew better.
"Zanka." Enjin's tone was firm, but not emotionless. If anything it sounded like he was trying not to get emotional on Zanka. "Talk to me. I can tell, kid. I wasn't born yesterday."
If Zanka wasn't already panicking, that made it a thousand times worse. He could tell Enjin was pulling an I'm not mad, just disappointed on him. Somehow that was worse than just straight up being cursed out in the middle of the dining hall.
"I didn't think you were," Zanka's bitter tone sounded more like a kicked puppy than it did his usual headstrong self. He couldn't tell you why he was so defensive. "What was I supposed to say, huh? Hey, Enjin, I'm seventeen and pregnant! You guys might as well toss me out now since I'm about to be such a drain on resources!"
Enjin furrowed his brows. "You were supposed to come to me so we could find a solution. You didn't have to hide this. We could've helped you."
"Helped me!? Helped me how!?" Zanka's back curled in on itself like a threatened cat. "The boss is gonna have a field day with my ass!"
"The hell do you think Corvus is? You aren't some rando, Zanka, you're part of our team!"
"Yeah right! Yeah right I'm—… I'm…"
The lump in Zanka's throat caught up with him, and suddenly he was choking.
Zanka was curled up in the chair like he'd bite if anyone got close. He brought his knee's up shakily to bury his face in them, and practically collapsed inward on himself. Normally, he'd be far too prideful to ever be this visibly week, but every muscle in his body was going into survival mode and trying to shut down against his will. Everything was too loud and too quiet and too much and too—
"This ain't the hell guard, you aren't going to be thrown away for being inconvenient." Enjin's hand landed firmly on Zanka's shoulder, and that did it.
Tears fell from Zanka's eyes as he let go of his legs, not sure what to do with his hands. They just shook there as he looked up at Enjin, before half-reaching for him as if looking for permission.
It was granted immediately. Enjin stood from his chair and pulled Zanka into his arms, letting himself be the anchor the younger needed. His hand landed firm on the small of Zanka's back and kept him close.
Zanka felt himself break down into a million pieces. He'd been suffocating in silence since he'd found out he was pregnant, and he hadn't had anyone to turn to to make the pain go away. He needed to be strong, he couldn't be weak like he had been all his life.
But here was Enjin, giving him the relief he needed. The beta was like an anchor, pulling Zanka from his head, forcing him to accept the reality. He was loved, he was cared for, he wouldn't be thrown out the minute the news got out. There was room for redemption.
His breath shook as he choked out a quiet "I'm sorry."
"Zanka…" Enjin's voice was so gentle it hurt. "Kid, you're more troubled than you think you are."
Zanka laughed at that. Laughed, because it was true. He passed off all the trauma he'd gone through like it was Tuesday, but Enjin was just as guilty.
"As if you're any better," Zanka chuckled through his tears, "What the hell am I gonna do?"
Enjin pulled back to look him in the eyes. "You know you have options."
Zanka swallowed hard. Did he, though? He was probably too far along for the option he wanted, if he was being honest. He didn't even know how much time had passed.
"I don't know…" Zanka hesitated. "It might be too late for that."
Enjin raised an eyebrow. "Too late?"
Zanka cowered under his gaze. "I… don't know how far along I am."
Enjin managed to conceal his frustration on his face. Zanka still felt it, though. Enjin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"…well, there's no use dwelling on it. It's almost two in the morning," he sighed, "how about we get some sleep and go by Alice's clinic in the morning?"
Zanka would've loved to protest, but as it was, there was no real other option. He wasn't going to be able to hide his pregnancy anymore, so there was no reason to refuse the medical care. He probably needed it anyway.
"Okay" he murmured as he pulled back from Enjin's embrace, composing himself.
The next morning, Zanka got an ultrasound. Alice's examination (through her thoroughly chewing him out for his lack of responsibility) concluded that by then, he was already around six months pregnant.
That was much further along than anyone would've guessed, but it was… much more obvious when Zanka relaxed and stopped trying to hide it. It looked like bloating to the untrained eye, but would clearly be pregnancy within weeks.
The ride to and from the clinic was silent.
He knew Enjin was disappointed.
He was disappointed, too.
In an ideal world, he would've been strong enough to admit it to Enjin the moment he found out about the pregnancy. Then, he could've gotten an abortion, and wouldn't have to think about the realities of fatherhood.
As he stared at the print of the ultrasound scan. It showed a full fetus rather than the little white blob he'd expected. A full baby was there in that photo, in a rather… interesting position as well. She was visibly a girl, and dammit, she was already just like her father with how she pissed him off.
Zanka sighed and put it down, staring out the window. He wasn't excited for the conversations he was going to have to have when he got home.