Chapter Text
Even though it wasn't winter, Anaxagoras could feel that the atmosphere was colder than before. The four pregnancy tests were in front of him, all from different brands, but what they had in common was that positive symbol. Anaxa stared at these four tests. Inanimate objects don't have a mind of their own, but the omega could swear he heard laughter coming from those things, perhaps it was his own mind mocking his mistake.
With a sigh, Anaxa ran a hand through his hair as he thought about what to do. Today was his day off, but was he supposed to go back to streaming tomorrow as if nothing had happened? As if his life wasn't about to change in a short time?
How would the media react? Anaxa could already feel the headache coming on just thinking about those paparazzi and fans hounding him and Phainon like starving scavengers.
Phainon. He didn't know how to break the news to Phainon. It wasn't that he was afraid the alpha would no longer love him or react badly; not at all. Anaxa knew better than anyone how happy his husband would be to know that he would be a father in a few months.
But doing so would mean confronting his current situation and accepting that he was about to be responsible for a child.
Phainon is usually busy with his modelling work, although it is difficult, if not impossible, to raise a baby with this kind of schedule. Anaxa used to stream for 3 or 4 hours every day, but even though he was at home and had a less demanding schedule than the alpha, being a parent was a full-time job. How would he manage to take care of his child and work on live streams if Phainon was also busy with his own work?
Anaxa felt his room spinning and didn't know if it was the stress of the situation or the symptoms of his pregnancy manifesting themselves.
Suddenly he heard footsteps outside the luxurious apartment he shares with his husband; it could only be Phainon. After all, his work schedule should have ended by now.
Quickly, Anaxa gathered the four tests and hid them at the bottom of the most forgotten drawer in his bedside table. Phainon wouldn't even find them because he wouldn't have any reason to look there; that drawer was supposed to be empty.
The omega arrived in the hall and there he was, a white-haired man with a bigger smile than usual, kneeling on the floor to greet their mini dromas pet, which had arrived before him.
Anaxa couldn't help but let out a little laugh at such an adorable sight. The sound seemed to have caught the model's attention because in less than a second he looked up at Anaxa and his smile grew even wider (if that was possible).
“Hi my love!” The alpha said before hugging his husband, pressing his nose against Anaxa's neck to breathe in that minty scent he loved so much. Anaxa also felt himself relax as he smelled his husband's pheromones. He returned the hug with love.
"Welcome home” he was about to kiss Phainon on the cheek when he felt his husband's smile fall on his neck. Phainon began to inhale Anaxa's pheromones with concern. The omega was about to ask what was wrong, but his alpha beat him to it.
“You smell different” With those words, Anaxa felt his heart leap into his mouth. He was only five weeks pregnant; more than a month. pregnant Omegas were supposed to start releasing those sweet, telltale pheromones around the sixth week. It's pretty close to that date, but it wasn't possible that Phainon could already smell his pregnancy, was it?
“Oh... really?” Anaxa asked as Phainon continued to sniff his scent glands. “Yes, you smell different” After saying that, Phainon moved away from his neck and looked at the face with a concerned expression.
“Your pheromones smell like stress and anxiety. Has something happened?”
Anaxa couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. While it is normal for pregnancy pheromones to manifest at the end of the first month, the human body always tends to have exceptions. Luckily, that wasn't the case for him. Anaxa let out a small smile to reassure his alpha.
“I'm just a little stressed about my streaming schedule. I have to do two promos this week and a third one next week. There's nothing to worry about” While it was true about his work schedule, it felt strange to justify it as the cause of his stress. Technically, Anaxa wasn't telling a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
Phainon stared at his omega for a couple of seconds before smiling again; it seemed that the excuse had worked. “If you say so. You know everything will be fine. If companies trust your influence and image for their products, then there's no way this can go wrong”
Anaxa's heart warmed at Phainon's words. He would never tire of the way the alpha always sought to comfort and support him. In gratitude, Anaxa kissed him on the lips, and Phainon wasted no time in placing his hands on the omega's hips.
“Dinner is waiting for us” Anaxa said after breaking the kiss.
“Let's not keep it waiting any longer, come on” said Phainon, still with his hands on his husband's waist and a big smile on his face. Anaxa imagined those same hands around his belly a few months from now, maybe even in a few weeks.
Knowing Phainon, his hands would probably be constantly on his belly the moment he told him the news, even if it wasn't swollen yet.
Is it those alpha instincts to protect his pup, or just Phainon being Phainon? Probably a mixture of both. But whatever the answer, he is certain that nothing bad will come of this pregnancy.
That's what Anaxa was thinking as he had dinner with Phainon, with the alpha telling him about his day while he listened. With his husband by his side and their mini dromas pet lying at his feet, he was able to relax and leave all the stress of earlier behind.
“Yes, everything will be fine” he thought with a smile.
The morning had passed in the usual way for Anaxa and Phainon. The alpha woke up first, embracing the omega. He would be lying if he said didn't spend a few minutes simply contemplating the beauty of his beloved husband, until it was time for breakfast and Phainon had to wake Anaxa.
When Phainon had to leave for work, they kissed goodbye as usual. Now Anaxa was here, ten minutes before his stream was due to start, looking at himself in the full-length mirror.
He was wearing his usual style of simple, loose-fitting T-shirt with a hoodie whose hood resembled the head of a dromas, and although he looked the same as always, this would not remain the case for long.
“Should I buy looser clothes?” He was thinking of telling Phainon soon, and also telling his friends, but he wasn't sure about telling the public. Anaxa has never been someone who cares what others say or think about him; that's one of the characteristics he's known for. But he's also a very private streamer when it comes to his personal life.
Anaxa glanced at the clock in his room.
12:54 p.m.
In less than a minute, the stream has to start. With a sigh, he quickly hid his mating mark with his hair and sat down in front of the computer, waiting for 12:55 to start. He usually allowed five minutes for viewers to start arriving, and after that turned on the camera and audio, greeting everyone.
“I just have to respond to donations and then start playing. Don't think about anything else, don't think about anything else” Today he has to play a sponsored game, but at least hopes that playing alongside Castorice and Hyacinthia will clear his mind.
People in the chat started arriving quickly.
Anaxadromas: Hiii hi chat
Mintpaint: Good afternoon, everyone, Anaxa too
TokioGoon: A wonderful day to appreciate my wonderful wife
1:00
As the timer approached zero, more and more people arrived to watch the live stream. At that point, there were about 100,000 people waiting, but that number would only increase as the minutes passed.
00:10
In those final seconds, the chat exploded with excitement for the stream to begin. No matter how many times he had done this routine, his fans always seemed excited to see him. Anaxa didn't understand that level of fanaticism, but it did make people happy...
The song playing in the background gradually decreased in volume until it was low enough for his voice to be loud and clear, but without leaving a deathly silence in the background. With that, Anaxa turned on the microphone and began his ‘work.’ No personal problems, he would think about that when the four hours were over.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you've had a good morning” With this sentence, he activates the camera. During the live stream, the screen switches from the waiting room to show Anaxa's face, as serene as ever. Next to him, the chat box.
99JnT88: I miss your pretty face in these 24 hours.
Odinaxa: What about the miracle that you're here? You abandoned us!
Angelogogogo: Pose for a photo, you're as attractive as your husband.
LeonK11: Attractive people are drawn to each other; it's a law of nature.
TokioGoon has donated $50
That dromas dressed in silk, I'll fuck iiiiiiit. Hi Anaxagoras, how are you? I hope you're well. I miss you my love, my beautiful gorgeous precious mint candy with coloured sprinkles chocolate and cocoa powder. I love you cotton candy.
Anaxa raised an eyebrow at the user's suspiciously normal message. This person usually leaves him with much more suggestive donations as jokes. He replied with a snort. “I'm surprised you've decided to act like a normal person for the first time in your life today. I see that my absence for just one day has achieved this” He turned his gaze to a third screen on the left, which showed his chat. He pretended to be thinking. "Maybe I should be absent more often?” The reaction was immediate, the chat filled with so many 'nooo's that Anaxa would compare them to a bunch of pups throwing a tantrum.
The omega feels discomfort in his stomach just thinking about pups. Although his face showed no change in mood, inside him that silent anguish that had been haunting him since the previous day had returned. If the man covers his belly with his arms, no one notices, not even Anaxa himself.
The donations continued as normal, with people asking for greetings for themselves or their friends, others asking mundane questions about their day, such as what he had eaten or how he was doing, and one person even mentioning that their rabbit had eaten their favourite jacket. Everything happened so normally that Anaxa managed to clear his mind.
After 40 minutes of responding to messages from viewers, it was time to stop. Donations couldn't be disabled, so Anaxa always raised the minimum amount to the maximum so that no one else would send their money. Hyacinthia had given him this advice years ago, when Anaxa was just starting to gain enough popularity to have to stop donations or he would spend four hours talking to the camera without having time for anything else.
“All right, let's respond to the last few people and start playing with Castorice and Hyacinthia” Anaxa estimates that it will take him approximately 16 minutes to finish the messages, the perfect amount of time to start the game.
By the time it was time to greet the girls, an hour had already passed since the live stream began, leaving him with only three hours left.
Just as he had suspected, after 16 minutes, he only had one donation left.
Ernst197 has donated $20
Hello, how are you? First of all, I apologise because there was no money on my grandmother's card and I couldn't donate to you. Now my grandmother doesn't have her pension, but at least I'm happy with your attention. How was your day off?
Anaxa snorted at his fans' antics. He should be used to it after so many years in the entertainment industry, but they managed to get worse and worse. It's also his fault for allowing it.
In a way, they are a bit like him, but only a little.
“Let's ignore that part. To answer your question, yes. I rarely enjoy my breaks, but yesterday…” Anaxa replied, but paused for a few seconds. Should he tell them? He definitely wasn't going to say anything now, but would he ever?
“I'll just say that I received some interesting news” The chat reacts immediately with emoticons of eyes, excitement, and excited messages in response to such a hint. Whatever they are thinking is surely nowhere near the truth.
The subject of the news was not mentioned again.
Now that all the messages had been answered, the first hour of the stream was over. Anaxa activated his microphone in the chat app to talk to his colleagues for today, Hyacinthia and Castorice. The two omegas are also streamers who work for the same entertainment agency as him, with Hyacinthia having been in the streaming world the longest, followed by Castorice and finally Anaxagoras.
The three omegas have a large fan base individually. They are constantly referred to as part of ‘the elite streamers’, probably because their positions as Chrysos' heirs have something to do with this image of them.
“Professor Anaxa, you're finally here!” Hyacinthia said into the microphone, along with a shy “Hi, Professor” from the other girl with purple hair. They were also doing their own streams.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting” Anaxa replied, but the pink-haired omega dismissed his apology. “Don't worry, Castorice and I have only been talking for a couple of minutes. Now that you're here, we can continue, Professor Anaxa!”
He could only sigh as he opened today's game. “It's Anaxagoras” Anaxa murmured.
The sponsored game was actually quite entertaining, at least enough to take his mind off things and simply enjoy the moment, and being with his friends helped with that too. In the middle of the stream, the mini dromas, Cosmos, entered his studio and the chat couldn't stop gushing over how cute the pet was.
Hastatro3: And who is that beautiful creature?
TokioGoon: The real streamer has arrived. You can leave now, replacement.
Kieto194: Awwwww, I'm dying.
Guera273: The boss has arrived!
AurilxXX: Cosmos, I would sell my house if you ordered me
Anaxa only knew that the pet had entered the room when he felt that heavy weight on the legs. Cosmos had jumped onto his thighs to lie down on top of him. "Cosmos, get down!" Anaxa shouted as he shook his head from side to side. At that moment, he was in a 1 vs 1 battle against the last remaining enemy on the opposing team, and Cosmos, being as big as a German Shepherd, was blocking his entire view of the screen with his head.
The 200,000 people watching were surely having a good time, but Anaxa just felt like his legs were going to end up numb from supporting the weight of his pet.
The mini dromas did not get off Anaxa, but he lowered his head to rest it on his belly. The omega made no comment about the latter, but at least he won the game against the enemy team.
After the stream, Anaxa leans back in his chair with a sigh. He will definitely have to replace it with a more comfortable one for his back in a few months, but that is a problem for the Anaxagoras of the future.
His computer was already turned off and the clock read 5:07 p.m. Phainon would not be back from work until 6. Phainon's working hours were very long, from morning until early evening, but that was only seasonal and was compensated by long breaks and passive income.
It's a shame that his husband couldn't send him messages at lunchtime, as Anaxa was always busy with his own work at that time, but the alpha made sure to watch his partner's streams during that break.
Cosmos had long since fallen asleep somewhere on the floor. Anaxa simply turned off the lights and left the studio, leaving the door open so that the pet could go outside when he woke up. For a moment, the man thought about skipping lunch and just lying down on his bed, but the growl of his stomach stopped him, serving as a reminder.
“Right, I'm not the only one here” Against his will, the omega went to the kitchen to see if he could eat something that was already there or if he would have to cook. Although at this point he would rather order takeout than cook.
Fortunately, there were still leftovers from yesterday's dinner in the fridge. Anaxa put them on a plate and popped them in the microwave to heat up in two minutes. It may not be healthy, but it's quick and better than not eating anything at all. "Phainon definitely won't like that when he finds out" He can already imagine the alpha buying a bunch of healthy ingredients to cook at home. Nothing and no one will stop Phainon from making sure his husband, the person who's carrying their baby, eats healthily.
The beep of the microwave snapped him out of his thoughts. Anaxa noticed a smile on his lips just thinking about Phainon taking care of him. What would he be like as a father?
The growls from his stomach grew louder and more insistent, as if it were demanding food now without wanting to wait. “If you turn out to be as energetic as your father, I'm going to go crazy” Anaxa didn't even know why he was talking to that cell, which probably didn't even look like a bean, but somehow it made him feel better.
While Anaxa was eating his lunch, a thought crossed his mind. “What if I tell Hyacinthia and Castorice?” He definitely wasn't going to break such important news via the messaging app; he was going to tell them in person. But even he hadn't finished processing the information. Despite having taken four pregnancy tests and experiencing symptoms such as dizziness and breast tenderness that had tormented him for the past two weeks, he still found it difficult to process the reality.
The gamer looked towards the kitchen window, the sky was already turning orange. In less than an hour Phainon would be home and the sky was dark. Anaxa was definitely not going to meet up with his friends today, it would be rude to call them without warning to go somewhere so late and after they had finished their streams.
A vibration in his pocket caught his attention; it was the phone. Anaxa turned on the screen to see a message from Phainon.
Honey, I finished work early today
I'm with Mydei at his restaurant before they reopen for the evening
Would you like me to bring you that dish you like so much?
The mint dessert with vanilla ice cream, your favourite
Anaxa's stomach churned at the mere thought of dessert. Phainon is right, it is his favourite dessert at Mydei's restaurant, but for some reason he feels that if eats something sweet will end up vomiting.
That's not true, he knows perfectly well why that is.
Anaxa just wants to lie down in the bed and sleep surrounded by the combined pheromones of him and his husband. Lately, he has also been very tired.
Taking advantage of Phainon's absence, Anaxa must think of a way to break the news to his alpha. The white-haired man deserves to know before anyone else.
The streamer didn't have to think long before an idea came to his mind. Hint.
Everyone knows the basic symptoms of pregnancy, and these symptoms were the main reason Anaxa had taken those tests in the first place. If he could hint to Phainon about his symptoms, such as changes in appetite, nausea, or fatigue, he would definitely put two and two together and figure it out for himself. And it just so happened that Phainon was suggesting he bring something to eat home, and Anaxa knows he is craving it now.
Without thinking too much, he writes the reply and continues eating calmly. Now he will have to eat constantly and not skip any meals if wants this creature to be born healthy. What a nuisance.
The white-haired alpha had a smile on his face as he looked at the phone, although it seemed more like a grimace trying to look like a smile when he saw the message written on the screen.
The mint dessert with vanilla ice cream, your favourite
No, thank you. I don't want dessert
Today I'd prefer something savoury with some prawns
All right, I'll take it to you
Phainon's response took longer than usual. Mydei, who was witnessing his friend's pitiful state, couldn't help but ask about it.
“Did Anaxagoras give you a telling off, or why the long face?” Mydei watches as Phainon's grimace changes to an expression of confusion. “No, it's just that... Anaxa has been acting a bit strange lately” replies the blue-eyed alpha.
“What do you mean, strange? Did you make him angry?”
With that, Phainon finally looks up from his screen to look at his friend. “No, we haven't fought lately. Besides…” Phainon leaned closer to Mydei as if he were about to tell him something personal. “He ordered a dish with prawns”
Now, Mydei understands his friend's confusion. As the chef for the Chrysos heirs, the blond alpha knows the tastes of his ‘golden blood’ friends and knows perfectly well that Anaxa would never ask for that.
Phainon seemed to have read his expression correctly. “Exactly! Anaxa hates all seafood! It's not just his appetite changes” and so Phainon began to rant about the last few weeks.
“He has also been more tired. He used to be an early riser and wake up first, but now I am the one who wakes up while Anaxa is still asleep” The Samoyed turned man runs a hand through his hair. “He also says has been feeling dizzy and nauseous. Fortunately, it hasn't gotten to the point where he has had to vomit”
“All that, and now this change in appetite... Do you think he's sick?” The model looks at him with a worried expression, like a puppy that has been kicked. Mydei already had his own thoughts, but if it turned out to be true and Anaxa hadn't said anything to Phainon, then he didn't want to ruin it.
With a raised eyebrow, the blond man asks the other. “Are you sure you don't know what's wrong with him?” But the model just shakes his head.
The blue-eyed alpha is not stupid. He can be quite cheerful and sometimes naive, but he's not an idiot. Mydei is sure that sooner or later he will find out, or at least suspect something. Anaxa is much more perceptive than his partner, so he was sure that the omega was probably already aware of his own changes.
With a smile, he rose from his seat; after all, he had some prawns to prepare, and in an hour the restaurant would be opening for the evening. Phainon looked at him suspiciously. “Do you know something I don't, Mydei?”
"No, Anaxagoras hasn't said anything to me if that's what you suspect” he replied.
“So why do you have that stupid smile on your face?” The Samoyed followed his friend with his gaze. The blond alpha simply placed the hand on the model's shoulder. “Nothing, just... Congratulations, Deliverer” and with that, the chef heads towards the kitchen, leaving Phainon even more confused.
‘Huh? What do you mean by congratulations?’ Phainon searches his memory but can't think of any recent events worth congratulating. Fashion Week wouldn't be until next year, and Lady Aglaea was busy enough with her personal work to organise a fashion industry event (in which Phainon would obviously be involved if that were the case. Aglaea really enjoys working with Phainon as her model).
The chef simply ignored the question and withdrew to prepare the dishes for Anaxa and Phainon.
“Mydeimoos!”
Anaxa was sleeping in his shared bed when he heard the familiar jingle of keys outside the apartment that woke him up. Rubbing his eyes, he realised that his phone was still playing the video that had been watching, but judging by how far ahead it was, he must have fallen asleep about half an hour ago.
Right now, he doesn't have the energy to get up and greet his husband, so he lets Phainon come to him. Anaxa can hear him opening the door and being greeted by their pet Comos, as usual. He turns off the phone screen just to listen to his husband moving around the place.
The omega must be more tired than he thought because he can't remember when closed his eyes again. He doesn't hear Phainon rummaging around in the kitchen, he doesn't hear their bedroom door opening; but he does feel the bed sink under a weight beside him, he feels small, fleeting, soft kisses on his eyes. Being on the border between the realm of Morpheus and reality, these kisses feel like the fluttering of butterflies.
When Anaxa opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a very smiling Phainon. Seeing him, Anaxa automatically smiled too, not as brightly as the alpha but equally full of affection.
“Hello, dear, I brought you your... prawns” said Phainon as he showed him the plate in his hands. At the mention of prawns, Anaxa noticed that his smile faltered a little, not with disgust or sadness, but with something closer to confusion, as if he were questioning whether he had understood Anaxa's message correctly and whether it had been a mistake in some way.
When he smelled the aroma coming from the plate, Anaxa felt hungry, as if he hadn't eaten recently. He also found it strange, since he had never liked seafood, but that thing growing inside him was already doing strange things to him.
While Anaxa accepted the plate, Phainon continued talking. “You know, when I was passing through the kitchen, I found a dirty plate. When was the last time you ate, Anaxa?” he asked, trying not to let the concern show in his voice. Anaxa saw this as an opportunity to hint to Phainon by telling him about the symptoms.
“About 30 minutes ago” A short and clear answer. Anaxa is not someone who pays much attention to his diet, let alone someone who eats constantly, not because he doesn't want to, but because once he focuses on his work or goal, tends to neglect his own health. Before being in a relationship with Phainon, he even used to faint from going days without eating in order to continue the research for his old job. Hyacinthia always had a heart attack every time that happened.
Phainon was aware of this, of course, and although his tendency to skip meals had improved over time, it did not mean that he tended to eat regularly. The alpha's brain would immediately notice this anomaly. And he was correct. Upon hearing this, Phainon frowned with concern, having noticed his abnormal behaviour.
Anaxa continued eating, but it didn't take long for him to feel something strange. The taste was delicious, of course; any food that passed through Mydei's hands was glorious. What really began to bother him was the texture of the prawns. His stomach told him to eat the food because it tasted so good, but his tongue rejected it the moment it made contact, creating a kind of internal conflict within him.
Anaxa immediately spits the prawn onto the plate. He hoped this wouldn't be an unpleasant sight for Phainon, but he was too blinded by his concern to notice. “Huh? What's wrong?!” asks the white-haired man.
Anaxa sees this as an opportunity to continue with his plan, but before that... “Phainon, bring me a glass of water at room temperature” He could already feel the nausea in his mouth.
Immediately, the alpha shot off towards the kitchen.
Phainon held a glass and headed towards the fridge before stopping. “Room temperature water... This is too cold” He turned his head, looking around for some way to provide the water his omega had specifically asked for, until he focused on the water tap on the dishwasher. "This should work” or so he hoped.
(Maybe he should ask Hyacine what to do?)
When he returned to the room, he saw that Anaxa had his eye closed, probably concentrating on not spilling the food in his stomach all over the bed.
“Here” Anaxa opened his eye when he heard Phainon's voice. He saw the alpha handing him the glass of water, and right now that simple glass looked like salvation.
After drinking some water and calming his breathing, he was able to return to normal. Now that he was calmer, he could continue with his plan. With a fake sigh, looked at Phainon, who looked back at him, waiting for Anaxa to speak. “I'm fine,” he said. With that simple statement, he managed to relax his husband's stiff shoulders a little, but only a little.
Anaxa continued. “Phainon, lately I've been feeling a bit sick, dizzy and very tired” Okay, the alpha would definitely realise with this.
Anaxa could practically hear the gears turning in Phainon's head, his brow furrowed in concentration, until the white-haired man let out an audible “Ah!” with his eyes wide open.
“I can give you lemon water! My grandmother or my mother always made it when someone in our family had an upset stomach”
“Eh?”
The gears were turning in the wrong direction.
“When I get to Okhema, I'll try making it with sparkling water. It tastes better and has the same result. I'll make it for you... Do we have any lemons?” Phainon took the plate of shrimp as he spoke. The smell could make Anaxa sick, and the alpha didn't want that. He quickly left the room and headed for the kitchen.
Anaxa couldn't believe it. It seemed that his alpha's concern had blinded him to his common sense.
The green-haired man followed his mate into the kitchen. He could see Phainon cutting lemons with a glass of sparkling water beside him. Anaxa noticed that the other man was still wearing his smart work clothes.
“You should change into something more comfortable”
Phainon glanced at him briefly over his shoulder before returning to what he was doing. “Let me do this first, I don't want you getting sick again” Anaxa smiled tenderly as he watched him.
A couple of minutes later, when Phainon handed him a glass of water, he kissed his forehead before going to change the clothes.
Now Anaxa was left alone with his thoughts as he drank the liquid (Phainon was right, it didn't taste so bad and now he felt better about his stomach upset).
“The best thing would be to be direct with him” Anaxa reflected. Enough of mulling it over. He was already close to the sixth week, and if he didn't tell him, his own pheromones would.
Anaxa was taking a sip from his glass when a loud thud coming from the bedroom snapped him out of his thoughts.
“Anaxa!!”
He quickly turned his head towards Phainon's voice, momentarily concerned that the other man had been hurt somehow.
The bedroom door flew open. Phainon stood there, his eyes wide with surprise, wearing sweatpants, no shoes, and his dress shirt unbuttoned at the chest, as if he were about to take it off.
But what caught Anaxa's attention were the four pregnancy tests in Phainon's hand.
Oh... yes, that was easier too.