Work Text:
The door banged recklessly as Tay covered his mouth with hand, tears falling from his eyes as his other hand unintentionally wrapped over his binded abdomen,
His back was stuck to the bathroom wall as the banging got louder, he pressed his back further into the wall as if it could swallow him forever.
"Ai'Pete! I know you are inside and I know you will not open this damn door! So let me remind you that I decide what will be the rent of this apartment!"
Tay flinched as the landlord, yelling in his scruffy voice, kicked the door as it shook but didn't budge from the hinges,
"And in this economy, it is not going down! You either pay me in cash by the third night or I'll have you thrown out in the worst way possible!"
He kicked the door again as Tay gasped holding his mouth tighter from both of the hands and shaking like a leaf.
"The damn prostitute had to run..." The landlord's irritable voice distanced from the door as Tay finally broke down silently and crumbled down beside the bathroom door,
He cried a lot, unknowingly holding his belly. Fear was like a second home to him now,
He tried fighting the landlord last time verbally over the blatant increase in rent. He thought the label of beta would protect him and his features that became sharp when he set his jaw tight,
But when the landlord tried grabbing him from the collar, there was no thought in his mind except the baby inside him as he had pushed the much stronger guy with all of his force and had run back just in time, locking the door by the time he had recovered from the blow,
Since then he's been afraid to face him, with no fighting skills and a baby inside him he was as useless and vulnerable as a female lead of some cringe movies.
His roommate, a prostitute who went by Jan, ran away just last night with some guy named Ssing, he overheard her conversation with him when he pretended to sleep in the bathroom.
Now all of the bills were on his shoulders.
But at least he wouldn't have to sleep in the dirty tub, which no matter how hard he scrubbed wouldn't clean,
At the same time the thought of sleeping on the worn down mattress that probably contained every STD and STI on it, made him think otherwise,
He wiped his tears as he got up from there, letting loose the binder and tossed it aside, he took the mattress and squeezed it in the small balcony,
He knew sunlight was bad for mattresses but he was helpless, he didn't have the money for dry cleaning.
Whatever he could earn, half was blown on bills and a big quarter on the prenatal vitamins the pharmacist, who was very enthusiastic about his work, guided him over.
He rubbed his hand over his face as he walked through the almost empty small apartment and opened the bathroom door, the sheet he could clean from the washing powder hanging over the curtain railing,
He took it off and it was thankfully dry as he laid it down, cranking the regulator to the highest speed realizing it was already at it's limits as he looked up,
The ceiling fan rotated half as fast from what the regulator promised, he unknowingly sighed, looking away from it,
When New used to be with him, they would cuddle with the air con regulating the atmosphere in the room,
He took the support of the wall and placed his hand on the lower side of his abdomen as he gently lowered himself, setting one knee down first on the sheet. His back and feet aching like he walked a thousand miles and carried a thousand bricks,
Then he switched his hands as he then took the support of the floor and placed his other knee down, gently settling his butt down and resting his back against the wall, looking outside the sliding window he already had opened but tonight no wind seemed to come in and cool him off,
He sighed again, his hands automatically wrapping around his growing belly, he gazed at the dark sky and the somewhat rooftop balcony he could see of the other building,
Tomorrow was Wednesday, his shifts were starting again. Wednesday to Sunday wash the dishes at the restaurant two blocks down from here, from six to four, then take a two hour break,
If he had enough money then get something down his throat otherwise beg the owner to give him some leftovers.
At this point he just wondered at himself, instead of tearing up, about how he could stand getting scolded everyday for asking for some food.
There were all sorts of questions; why did he get scolded if he was under the guise of a beta? Betas were also favored. Why couldn't he just steal a few things here and there? Why couldn't he buy them himself? Was his hunger really important to ask for food everyday?
He didn't know the answers to these questions but he surely knew that he was going to stop asking for food from his restaurant boss, he always yelled saying that Tay should do some real work like a real beta and take the reins of his life in his hands,
Oh how easy it was to just say and how hard it was to do,
Especially when the interviewers didn't reach back to you after the first round.
Tay had forgotten the count of interviews, maybe ten? Maybe more? He didn't remember...
His luck seemed to run out...
He felt small, cautious movements as he looked down, realizing he was not alone,
He gazed back up and out of the window, his eyes becoming distant as he gently hugged his belly,
"Nu," He gently called out as the baby moved under his skin again, "I'm sorry that I have kept you in such a dangerous environment,"
Tears rose up in his eyes again as he pulled back his arms, his baby continuously moving now,
"You deserve nicer, richer parents to care for you..." His voice cracked and tears leaked his eyes as he caressed his belly now, feeling like the baby was actually listening to him although he was only five-six months something,
He inhaled and exhaled, looking down then, "Your other father," He smiled through tears, "He is a kind, generous man,"
Then froze completely, his eyes becoming astray as Tay with a choking up throat and trembling chin and lips whispered before breaking down,
"Was..."
*
Tay cried for a long long while before he eventually came down to soft sobs, once again caressing his belly, feeling his baby move from time to time,
"Your father was literally everything to me, nu,"
He kept softly gasping as he blindly gazed outside,
"Your father was a cool breeze in the scorching hot summer, your father was a warm hug to someone shivering from the cold, your father was so nice that no one could, even willingly, dislike him,"
Tay dryly chuckled as if his husband was standing right in front of him,
"When he used to smile it felt like spring had come over the entire world, when he used to cling to me it felt like a child was craving for candy,
"When he used to love me it felt like I was made of gold and diamonds because how can a person like your father, who was dashing, stylish, rich, handsome and humble, could love me, who is nothing but an omega trying to just somehow get by everyday..."
Tay rested his head back, letting his eyes close, "I never had any charm in me to befriend anyone, let alone woo... I don't know how your father fell in love with me but I'm glad he did...
"Because of him, I was able to come out of the hell I used to live, the past six to seven years of my life have been nothing less than a dream... A dream that now feels too good to be true...
"Maybe because your father was such a kind of a man, that God took a special liking to him and eventually called him back to himself,"
Just then, the baby kicked a little too hard as he sharply gasped. He opened his eyes and looked down then, smiling a little,
"I know you are with me now, but you also deserved to meet your father, to know the kind of man he was... I don't know how long we have together, nu, but as long as we have together, I want you to know the name of your father and never forget it,
"New Thitipoom Techaapaikhun,
"Your father's name is New Thitipoom Techaapaikhun, he's a family man... He loves children, he wanted to have his own kids one day, he wanted to raise his kids with the person he loved, he was everything an alpha of this era should be,"
With a little desperation in his demeanor, Tay gazed down and rubbed his thumb over his belly,
"Promise me, if you present as an alpha then you will take after your alpha father, right? You will, right?"
The baby didn't move or kick, as Tay's desperation became depression and let his head fall back,
Just as he was about to lose all will, he felt a gentle but a prominent kick into his skin,
Making Tay almost sob again as he controlled himself, gazing down again and smiling in relief, patting and rubbing his belly,
"You have freed me from my worries, nu,"
Swallowing back on an empty, slumber finally found it's way to Tay's eyes,
"I finally feel like I can rest now..."