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"Do tell me why I am the one who has to carry this child and not one of the many of you." Pantalone sighed as he began to strip bare. The surgical room - much like the rest of the lab - was frigid, the cold air biting at Panatlone's skin as he unclothed himself. He did not flinch, he was already incredibly familiar with this preparation process and had become desensitised to it centuries ago.
Through the windows that lined the upper walls of the operating theatre, many cherry red eyes peered down onto his vulnerable form, the segments all chattering and squawking in excitement as they readied their notepads and pens. The whole scene wasn't dissimilar to the way crows would swarm onto trees in a cemetery, cawing at any unfortunate soul to walk beneath them.
"Why darling, we've been through this already, our work is much too dangerous for such a vulnerable seedling to be exposed to." The segment in charge of the procedure- Omega - chuckled from where he and two others were scrubbing in.
Pantalone rolled his eyes before sliding onto the icy surgical table, he didn't even shuffle around in an attempt to get comfortable, knowing it was a futile endeavour. He closed his eyes, waiting for one of the segments to put him under in silence, as he lay bare in this cold room, glaring lights highlighting all his vulnerabilities as a crowd watched on in delight.
"Do be quick with this Dottore I have a meeting in 3 hours." Was all he said before he was knocked unconscious was that he distantly heard the doctor laugh at his request before the world turned silent.
When he awoke he found himself in his chambers, tucked soundly into their warm, cozy bed. Humming in approval at the change in scenery Pantalone lifted the blankets to inspect the new changes to his body. He didn't particularly feel any different, the only notable change being a long vertical scar along his lower abdomen. He didn't ponder on it long; instead, he spared a glance towards the grandfather clock in the room and swore to himself, shooting up to prepare for his meeting as he mentally cursed Dottore already telling himself to reject his next few proposals.
It was easy for him to forget he was pregnant during the early days, if not for the fact that a segment had been assigned to prevent him from smoking Pantalone would say almost nothing had changed. Well, there had been one other change also.
The segments - Omega in particular- had grown increasingly clingy, though this was not something Pantalone particularly minded. They would fuss and fret over every trivial thing, they'd bring him gifts and pamper him endlessly, they would hold him close, a hand over his abdomen as they would speak of their future child. The last action was the thing that shocked him the most truthfully, he had thought this was just a mere experiment to the Doctor and he'd have to put in effort to get the man to acknowledge the child properly, but it seemed he was worrying for nothing as the man seemed nothing but excited and absolutely delighted at the thought of their child.
"Do you have any ideas for the name, my love?" Dottore had asked one night as they lay in bed, Pantalone's back to his chest as the doctor splayed his hand against the banker's bare stomach.
"I was thinking something from Sumeru," Pantalone answered, hand lowering to cover the one pressed possessively over that newly made artificial womb of his.
"Oh?" The doctor uttered, sitting up as to look Pantalone in the eye," Any reason why?"
"No." Pantalone answered, "It just feels right."
The first of his pregnancy symptoms occurred at a rather unfortunate time, it was during the first meeting of the day, the owner of one of the delusion factories had come to his doorstep begging for more investment, when a bout of nausea overcame him. Pantalone had stopped mid-sentence when it hit, alerting the segment on duty that something was wrong.
"Out with you!" The doctor barked at the factory owner, all but dragging the man out and slamming the door behind him before rushing over to Pantalone's side, pressing a comforting hand to his back as the banker slumped forward slightly.
"Are you ok dear?" Dottore fretted, fingers massaging soothing circles into the small of his back.
"Yes, I-" Pantalone never managed to finish his sentence, lurching over to where a bin was located to the side of his desk as he began heaving.
Dottore handed him a glass of water after he had finished, Pantalone uttering a quick 'thank you' before chugging the contents in big gulps.
"Dottore my love, the genius that you are, please tell me you can make something to ease these...side effects?" Pantalone asked dryly, wincing at the horrid taste in his mouth as he watched the doctor pour him another glass.
"I'll get the segments to work on it dear." He spoke assuredly, handing him the glass before taking out his notepad and swiftly jotting something down.
Two days later a daily pill was made that helped minimise his bouts of morning sickness and a firm rejection notice was sent to the unfortunate factory manager.
Three weeks in and Pantalone found himself on that surgical table once again, almost in the exact same situation as prior. Segments staring at him from above, Omega scrubbing in as he waited naked on the table, incredibly bored.
"What are you doing again dear?" Pantalone asked lazily, fingers drumming on the steel that lay beneath him.
"Putting something in place to allow us to know when you're ready darling, it will only take a couple of minutes you won't even feel a pinch." He replied, stepping towards the prone man with a bizarre mechanical instrument.
Pantalone simply hummed, opting to stay silent and count the segments above him as though he were counting sheep.
The doctor had been partially truthful, whatever he was doing to him didn't hurt exactly, but a strange warmth flooded his lower abdomen that made him squirm slightly. That heat on his front contrasts drastically against the cold metal on his back.
"Keep still." The doctor hummed, Pantalone's fingers found the edge of the table, gripping it harshly as he willed himself motionless.
The procedure truly didn't last long as the doctor stated, perhaps 15 minutes passed before Dottore hummed in approval and began to pack his tools away.
Curiousity overcame Pantalone and he sat up, looking down onto his stomach the man let out an incredulous scoff.
"Is that a womb tattoo?" Pantalone kept his voice steady, restraining himself from yelling.
"Do you not like it? I know you have a liking for the arts, I hope it lives up to your standards." Dottore hummed happily as he began to wash his hands.
Pantalone let himself fall back onto the table, eyes closed in order to block out the sight of those red eyes staring down at him. He let out a small groan at the feeling of his head hitting the hard metal before laughing to himself.
"Oh Celestia above, why on earth did I marry you?"
Dottore and himself had negotiated a plan with the Tsarista on what to do when Pantalone began to show. The archon had been more than happy for the pair, fawning over their unborn baby in such a warm way that contrasted with the usually icy demeanour she wore like a shield.
She had sent the couple to the south of Snezhaya, in one of Dottore's remote laboratories under the guise of a field mission.
"You can just say that you found the child during your time away and became attached, I'll publicly bless your 'adoption' so that there are no objections over the matter." The Tsarista spoke softly before taking a dainty sip of tea from her beautifully decorated crystal teacup.
"Many thanks for your benevolence Tsarista," Pantalone said, bowing slightly as he did so. He dragged Dottore into a bow alongside him, pointedly ignoring the annoyed huff the man let out. The Tsarista simply smiled and dismissed the two, eyes fond as she watched them leave.
Two months after that meeting they left for the south. Omega insisted only he should go with him, the other segments were needed back at the palace to carry out research and missions in their stead. So the two - three some may argue - left together, Pantalone sat on the hard seat of the train watching the icy scenery go by as he cradled that ever so slight bump in his hands.
"Are you feeling well my love?" Dottore asked from across him. The man had spent the majority of the journey writing things needed for the nursery that would soon be built. Nurseries even, one in the lab they were heading towards and another in the palace.
"Yes, yes I'm fine. My answer has not changed since the last time you asked me two minutes ago." Pantalone sighed fondly, straightening his back as he peered over at the contents of the list in Dottore's hand.
Dottore hummed acknowledgingly, staring at his husband with such uncharacteristic worry it made Pantalone's heart skip a beat.
"Have you had any further thoughts on the name yet?" Dottore asked, flipping over to a new page as he stared at Pantalone in anticipation.
"I've got three in mind." Pantalone started hesitatingly, "You are certain it's a girl, yes?"
Dottore hummed in confirmation, gesturing Pantalone to continue.
"Yes well in that case, I've stuck to what I said prior about having a Sumerian name and narrowed it down to Nuha, Asha or Anaya." He said, eyes fixed on Dottore's partially masked face, waiting to analyse his thoughts on the matter.
"Anaya huh?" Dottore mumbled, "Do you know the meaning behind Anaya darling?"
"Gift from god is it not?" Pantalone spoke, eyes drifting back to the scenery outside.
"Yes, a strange one for you of all people to choose," Dottore stated, eyes not leaving the figure in front of him.
"Not if you truly think about it, darling." Pantalone started, dragging his eyes back to his husband," She is a gift from you after all."
The months in the lab dragged. Pantalone grew bigger by the day, that damned tattoo of his gaining colour as the days went by. There wasn't much to do in the lab, not for Pantalone anyway. Dottore flitting between work, prepping for the baby and worrying over Pantalone, whilst he himself lazed around mainly, quickly finishing the tiny sliver of work sent to him occasionally.
"I'm pregnant not an invalid." Pantalone had complained one day, fingers twitching as they ached for something to do.
"Both myself and the Tsarista don't want you stress or be overwhelmed by work darling, besides you're nearly due. Let's enjoy this peace whilst it lasts," Dottore said as he assembled the crib, sat cross-legged on the floor of the nursery.
The peace did indeed cease rather soon, a week after that conversation that distantly familiar warm sensation spread across his abdomen. Pantalone shot up, lifting his shirt to see that the tattoo, once plain black had now begun to glow electric blue.
"Dottore! It's time!" Pantalone shouted, hearing the man drop something in the other room and come sprinting his way. He thought in this moment he would've felt a lot more panicked, scared even but instead he was filled with complete anticipation and excitement. A grin spread across his face as Dottore stumbled into the room, the man flushed from his rush but smiling like a madman as he approached.
The delivery itself happened via C-section, Pantalone in his drugged-up state watching Dottore clean and swaddle their baby - their Anaya - with such a fond smile he truly did think he had indeed grown sentimental in his now old age. Never once did he think he'd have a child - a family even.
After being closed up and stabilised Pantalone held Anaya up against his chest, peering down at her round spodgy face.
"Do you think she'll take after you or me?" He asked absentmindedly, eyes not once leaving the baby in his arms.
"I left that up to chance, darling. Perhaps if you want another I can modify it to take after whoever you'd like." Dottore spoke from behind him. The man had cleaned up after the procedure, settling himself down so that Pantalone was resting practically on top of him, chin hooked on the banker's shoulder so that he could peer down at their daughter.
Pantalone simply snorted, turning briefly to press a kiss into his husband's cheek before turning back to the baby.
At that moment Anaya chose to open her eyes, a dark scarlet red revealing itself as she stared up at her parents.
"Hmm, I suppose that answers that question." Pantalone chuckled, finger moving to lightly caress Anaya's cheek. Dottore laughed along with his husband, the pair soaking in the warmth that came with their new addition to the family.