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Of course, the reaction to his pregnancy reveal was insane. He just didn’t expect how insane. Though truthfully, he shouldn’t allow these things to surprise him anymore. Lifting his head, he saw a familiar pink portal web out in front of the door. One by one, all of the Z-team made their way in: Alice, Herman, Malevola, and Katon-Ur all immediately rushing over to him while the rest filtered in after him. Everyone was dressed in their civilian clothes, save for Katon-Ur, Prism even having her hair in a bonnet, and Courtney had left her house in her pajamas.
“God, you called in these fuckheads?” Chase groaned, “Why do you hate me, kid?”
“In my defense, I didn’t ask them to come. I just told them I was pregnant before I could chicken out.” Robert explained, letting out a surprised noise as Alice suddenly dropped a hefty set of blankets and pillows on top of him.
Before he could question what they were for, she held up her hand. “Don’t bitch, it’s too late to buy you a mattress, so this’ll have to do. We’re gonna make this couch a fuckin blessing for you and that little one. And I hope you understand that we are going to spoil the FUCK out of this kid.” Alice explained.
Malevola made her way over, sitting on the edge of the couch as she patted his leg under the blanket. “No wonder I could sense you were hurting, but couldn’t place it. I can’t take sickness or cure normies, so can we do anything for you, luv?” Mal asked, running a hand through his hair, making him sigh at how nice her warm palm felt.
Out of his peripheral vision, he could see Ajmal seething from the kitchen, but he couldn't place way. Looking away from Ajmal, he quickly realized his chances of lying were nonexistent right now. “Well… I have been dealing with some pretty bad nausea all day.” He said, wincing at their reactions.
“You’ve been feeling like shit all day and still worked? What the hell, lad?” Colm asked.
“I couldn’t just skip work because my stomach hurt.” Robert quickly replied.
Malevola hummed before standing up, “Be right back, mate.” Before he could ask, she quickly vanished into a portal with Victor.
He hummed in response, lying back down and curled into his new blankets. A soft sigh left him. Of course, Alice would choose some of the most plush blankets. He liked it, though; his apartment could get so cold. Beef wedged himself under the blankets as well, getting comfortable against Robert’s chest. It was nice enough to close his eyes for a moment, adjusting his neck on the soft, feathery pillow.
As he got comfortable, he became acutely aware of Katon-Ur suddenly crouched in front of him, staring at him with the same intensity as when Blonde Blazer broke up with him. “Jesus! Trying to give me a heart attack?!” He exclaimed, sitting up fast enough to knock Beef off the bed, which Katon-Ur quickly caught.
The alien stared at him intently, leaning forward before speaking. “I am afraid I am confused. From my research, homosepians, or humans, can only reproduce via a woman impregnated by a man. Have I mistaken you for a man? If so, I apologize for making remarks on your stature, as I have seen it is normal in women.”
Fuck, there it was. How could he expect Katon-Ur to understand something as trivial as gender identities on Earth? He knew that his world was vastly different from theirs, such as claiming that Katon-Ur was hideous to his people.
Everyone must have seen the look on Robert’s face as they all tried to quickly think of what to say without getting mad. Well, everyone except Ajmal was thinking about getting mad, as the fire wielder looked ready to start a fight even if he’d lose.
“He’s like a sea horse, bro.” Bruno suddenly spoke up. When had he arrived? “The men carry the baby. Some humans are just like that.”
Robert gave a small smile, finding it sweet how Bruno came to his defense once again. “I appreciate the analogy, it’s sweet, but I think educating him would just be better. I was born a girl, I have the anatomy of a girl, but in my mind and heart, I know that I’m a man. I was just born in the wrong body. It’s called being transgender. Some of us get surgery or hormone therapy; there’s no right or wrong way for this. I can’t afford my shots anymore, so I had to stop taking them. Meaning that even though I AM a man, I can still get pregnant because my sex is female. Does that make sense to you, big guy?”
Katon-Ur hummed in thought before nodding quickly, “Of course, Robert Robertson the Third. I understand, and I will be certain you are referred to correctly.”
“Thanks, big guy.”
Listening in on it all, Herman nervously stepped up. “Y-You said yo-you couldn’t afford your shots. Does o-our insurance cover it?” He asked, to which Robert shook his head, “What if we gifted- bought it for you?”
“Not bad, Herm, I’m gonna shoot Mal and Victor a text to go grab some.” Alice piped up, quickly snatching her phone out of her bubble gum pink tracksuit.
He didn’t even get a chance to but in, hearing Courtney say that Victor could probably get it for free from a ‘friend’. Everyone was so invested, they… they all cared so much. All are pitching in in their own ways, no matter how chaotic it may be. Alice and Herman were texting Victor and Mal for extra things to grab, and Ajmal was calling out from the crowd about what vitamins his sister used while pregnant. Bruno and Courtney were making suggestions about how to make the house look less depressed; no need to pass his mental illness down to his baby. Janelle was already planning out safety protocols, saying he’d need a better lock on his sliding door. Even Colm was pitching in, discussing plans on helping pitch in for baby furniture, while Katon-Ur offered to carry all the furniture in so Robert would not hurt his small mortal body. Chase, being Chase, threatened to kill Robert if he named this poor kid Robert Robertson the fourth, which he swore heavily against.
It was nice, a little overwhelming, but nice. Through it all, Ajmal finally made his way over to the couch. He lightly swatted Robert’s legs off the couch, sitting beside him. “How are you doing?” He whispered, his hair still smelling like that fancy shampoo and conditioner he uses.
Robert made a muffled noise, burying his face into the couch pillow. “Too overwhelming?” He softly asked, to which Robert nodded, “Want to go to my place?” There was another nod, which was good. No way he’d let this fucker sleep on a couch, not while pregnant. Not while pregnant with his kid… It had been three months, and Robert said he had taken the pill, so he wouldn’t have considered this an option.
Three months. Three fucking months. How fucked was Robert’s health that he would not realize he was pregnant for three months?
Standing up abruptly, Ajmal clapped his hands to get the team's attention. “I’m taking Robert to my place, so leave. He’s exhausted, and if I hear any of you teasing or laughing, I will fucking burn all your cars.” With a warning glare, he hoisted Robert up in his arms, who was still wrapped in his cocoon of blankets, for taking off.
Miraculously, the pair had made it to Ajmal’s apartment without any of the blankets catching fire. The taller of the two carried Robert to his room, gently laying him down on the bed he had been spread against only months ago. “Been a minute.” Robert sighed, much more comfortable already thanks to the memory foam.
Pulling from Robert, Ajmal went to walk out, and Robert snapped his head up. “Are you going to sleep on the couch..?” He asked.
“Yes, you need it more than I do. So stop looking like a kicked puppy.” Ajmal said, getting ready to step out.
“We… we could just share the bed.” Robert offered tentatively, “I can’t just take your room too. Not after us not speaking for months or barely interacting since the party or stopping Shroud.”
Ajmal let out a frustrated groan, turning towards the bed, and in an instant, he was on the bed, on all fours to lean over Robert. “I have been avoiding you because I cannot stand that Robert Robertson is Mecha Man. That the man I have fallen for is the same man I despise.” He hissed out, “I was trying to be mature, as Prism so loves to say, and work out my emotions on my own. So yes, I do like you. Even if I cannot stand you being Mecha Man. And I will keep my promise to you. Both of you, I will stick around.”
To probe a point, he leaned forward to press a kiss on Robert’s lips. A gentle warm scorched his lips, not enough to burn them, but just enough to make them sting. Pulling away from the kiss, Ajmal slowly went lower, pressing a kiss on Robert’s neck as well. He slowly crawled down the man’s body, lifting his hoodie up to kiss just above his collarbone. Moving lower, he kissed underneath one of Robert’s breasts before stopping. Robert craned his head to see Ajmal whispering something in Dari before gasping as he leaned in to kiss his stomach. His breath hitched softly, watching Ajmal delicately pepper his stomach with kisses.
He kept this up for almost an entire minute before climbing back up, kissing Robert once more on the lips before lying down beside the other man. “You know, I was going to call you a sap who was bad at relationship talk, but… actions speak better than words,” Robert whispered.
“Must you always ruin the moment, bitch? I want to make this work, with both of you.” His voice suddenly became serious, turning Robert on his side to look at him, “Tomorrow we are scheduling you for an appointment and then after that… I’m recommending you to my therapist.”
“You have a therapist?”
“Fucking mandated by SDN, duh, bitch. I’m not going to have a baby with a man whose father hated him so much he named him Robert Robertson the third.” Ajmal stated.
“Actually, I chose Robert when I transitioned. I wanted to be like my dad. Butttt, my dad did leave me with a lot of issues I really, really do not want to burden this kid with. I don’t want to be a broken parent.” His tone came out more frail than he wanted to, but it was true. He had fuck all experience with good parenting, his mom jumped ship when he was only 5, and dad loved being Mecha Man more than he loved his son. With Shroud dead, he was forced to confront his childhood, and it was a depressing one. He couldn’t do that to his kid.
Two warm hands suddenly grabbed his face, Ajmal forcing Robert to look at me. “You might be a pathetic hero, but I think you’ll be a decent father. And for now, that should be enough. Don’t spiral, just take a breath. We will take this one day at a time, together.”
Together… together sounded good. Slowly nodding, Robert allowed himself to be pulled against Ajmal’s chest. A doctor’s appointment to check on the baby and mandatory therapy… two things that slightly terrified him, but he needed to remind himself this wasn’t just about him anymore. This was about all of them now.