Work Text:
Naim had been up and down all night long having to pee every hour on the hour. That combined with insomnia made for a very fun time.
It also gave him plenty of time to work on his mural that he was sketching on Daisy's wall of her nursery. It was a smaller sized room so there wasn't a lot of space to work with but Naim was just grateful to have a space that could be just for their pup. She would probably prefer her bassinet that was gifted to them by their landlord but that would be alright with them too.
It had been a hot minute since he had been actually able to sit down and draw, having picked up more hours at the servo trying to get in as many as he could before he absolutely couldn't be on his feet anymore. That window was getting very close to closing — he was basically all belly at this point. But the funny thing was that no one ever guessed that he was pregnant from behind. It was a perk and a curse — a double edged sword of being small.
It was still dark out, the world was asleep while he was wide awake as was the mood for most nights. It was perfect for thinking, sometimes getting too lost in thought but drawing helped him quiet the thoughts that were louder than the others.
"Let's go before your dad realizes I'm not in bed." Naim murmured to his midsection, a hand on his lower back and the other placed on the side of it as he waddled down the hall to Daisy's nursery.
It was nice to be able to draw on the walls again. Freeing in a way, it was nice to just be able to do something he loved again for someone he loved so much already. He hoped she liked it, the vision of what to draw just came to him out of nowhere one day. It couldn't be any clearer than the day they had picked her name.
A field of daisies with a deer in the middle of it, standing there. It was crystal clear in his head, he would daydream about it all day at work while he stocked the shelves.
After his shift, he would bring home what he had briefly sketched on a random napkin between customers. So far he had at least the field sketched or at least what he wanted it to look like and an outline of the deer.
Having a bigger canvas like the wall helped, Naim would sit on a stool with his feet dangling — Ryan would nag him later about how his feet were going to balloon up because of it — as he copied over the sketch he had on the flimsy piece of paper.
Naim felt a bittersweet ache in his chest as he continued to draw, leaning back for a second against the salvaged chest of drawers in Daisy's room taking in what he had so far. It looked so much like what he used to do to his old walls back in his bedroom in Bandee as a teenager. Many nights spent drawing late at night to take his mind off things.
Losing himself in his work, Naim hadn't noticed what time it was or how much time had passed until he heard the familiar footfall of a certain blonde who would be getting up to grab a shower before work.
"Ah hell, let's go." Naim whispered to himself, attempting to hurry out of the room back to bed but it was too late.
"So, I looked over in bed and thought 'wow that side definitely isn't snoring and isn't lumpy so Naim has to be up to no good'." Ryan leaned against the door frame, hair matted from sleep.
"Mm oh really? Am I just a lumpy snoring figure to you now?" Naim didn't want him to work today he wanted his alpha to stay but they both knew it wouldn't bring home the money they needed with his due date steadily approaching.
They were both trying their best — Ryan, was busting his ass from morning to night doing his normal landscaping job and then picking up odd jobs around their suburb to add on to their 'Daisy fund'. Miss Whitaker always had a job for Ryan she was a sweet granny a few units down from them. She talked about Daisy as if she were already there — like she was her grandie.
It was the sweetest thing, it made Naim feel good about staying with her when Ryan wasn't home. She insisted she loved company so it was a win-win situation. Her eldest daughter tried paying Naim but he wouldn't hear of it, it gave him somewhere to be and Miss Whitaker's verandah provided him with a good spot to sketch birds from so it was a win win.
Naim eyed the clothes in Ryan's arms, he was probably getting ready to shower like clock work every day. They had a routine but Naim liked to break it every now and again by letting Ryan summon him to the shower with a simple nod of his head.
"Right now?" Naim raised a brow in question not really feeling the need to take a shower but his lower back did ache and he didn't mind keeping his alpha company.
"I mean yah, gotta hurry though. We're workin' a job that requires a lot of work and uh- just c'mere." Ryan wrapped his arms around Naim's waist pulling him close.
"A true romantic, fine let me get some clothes." Ryan hurried ahead of Naim to the bathroom leaving him in the nursery.
Naim took another glance at the mural so far to admire his handiwork. It was really coming along.
"I'll get it done before you get here don't worry. I mean if we could distract your dad that would be dandy." Naim patted his bump lovingly, making his way down the hallway to join Ryan.
After spending all evening with Mrs. Whitaker, Naim brought home the pavlova she had baked for them all because he had mentioned craving some the day before.
Ryan met him at the door which wasn't really necessary — it was the weirdest thing anymore Naim didn't see the entity when he was alone. It was a theory he had tested out by himself which was stupid, yes but he just wanted to see if he was truly alone what would happen.
His theory? It was the baby. When Naim was alone with no one else around but himself he didn't see it…like at all.
His thought process was that being pregnant made him technically not alone — at least not completely. It wasn't exactly something he could prove but so far the only Ryan he had seen was his own.
"You ready to go?" Ryan was covered from head to toe in the grime from a hard day's work, it stirred something within Naim every single time he saw him like this. Something about seeing his fiance — smelling like fresh gardening soil and the aftershave he had bought for him for his birthday.
"I have pavlova and Miss Whitaker wanted us to go over what we have for Daisy and make a list of what we don't have." Naim knew she wouldn't take no for an answer, he would probably make a small list, nothing too big because he already had an inkling the sweet older lady would try to make up the difference and get them something for Daisy.
"Okay you had me at pavlova."
While Ryan was in the shower again, Naim was busy trying his best to reach one particular spot on the mural that was too high up for him to reach.
"Okay, let me see…oh wait we have the step ladder." Naim pulled it over to the corner he was trying to reach and started his climb. His belly threw off his center of gravity making it difficult to stay steady on the ladder.
Naim used both hands to stay up on the ladder, pencil in his mouth as he steadied himself. "There we go," He mumbled to himself as started to sketch on the wall, focusing on the details of the deer standing in the middle of the field.
He was so into what he was doing that he didn't realize that the shower had shut off, the gentle hum of water having silenced without him realizing it. Whenever Naim really got into drawing it was hard to pull him out of it.
"Naim, what are you doing— Naim!" Ryan rushed over, dropping the towel he had been using to towel his hair off on the floor.
It was a short distance to fall, Naim knew what he was doing. He wasn't going to just tumble over because the wind blew in the wrong direction except Ryan's voice had startled him and he made an attempt to step down quickly off the ladder but he miscalculated a step and his foot slipped through one of the openings sending him backwards which thankfully Ryan was able to catch his arm and pull him on top of him.
The ladder folded in on itself, flopping over like the useless piece of junk it was and Ryan gave it a kick.
"Mate, what the hell? You could've hurt yourself or Daisy—"
Naim's heart raced in his chest, it had taken his breath more than anything almost falling like that.
"But I didn't, see? I was just putting the final touches on Daisy's wall and you snuck up on me."
"I snuck up on you? Mhm yeah sure, sure. You really weren't even supposed to be up there in the first place. I could've done whatever it was that needed to be done."
"Oh yeah? Could you do the shading on the deer's nose?" Naim held out his pencil for Ryan to take, wiggling it in front of him.
Ryan instead crouched slightly, put his arms behind the back of Naim's knees and quite literally swept him off his feet. "Nah, I don't think I could but tell ya what I can do…" He grinned mischievously, pressing a kiss to the bridge of Naim's nose as he carried him bridal style all the way down the hall.
Naim melted into Ryan's arms, letting himself be carried to the bedroom the relief of the weight being taken off his hips was enough to make him let out a purr against his alpha's chest as he buried his face. The scent of Ryan's cheap bodywash and the lingering scent of his musk was tickled his nose.
"You think she'll like it?" Naim asked softly, leaning his head back against the pillows as he looked up at Ryan hovering above him after he laid him down in their nest.
"I think she'll love it. Won't you, baby bird?" Ryan had his face now lowered against Naim's torso, cheek against his belly that looked like if it grew any more it might pop. They were so close to meeting their daughter — so close to meeting a tiny little version of themselves combined. A product of their love for each other and they couldn't be more excited.