❀Goober❀

“Nik, uh… there's somethin’ we need to talk about,” Price said, running his palm over the top of Nik's hand. He felt the subtle shift; a coil of apprehension winding through Nik's body. Price hooked one socked foot around the leg of the stool next to him and dragged it out far enough for Nik to slide into it.

“Is everything okay?” Nik asked.

“‘m not dumpin’ ya, ya muppet.”

Nik’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “That is a relief.”

The words stuck in Price's throat as he saw the brightness return to Nik's face. He really fucking cared, didn't he? This wasn't just a pit stop for him. This was it. The pack, Price; this was everything he wanted and for a moment there he had been concerned about losing it. Thing is, with Nik, he was an overthinker. On the outside, he was laid back, not easily ruffled, but Price had watched him lay awake in the early hours percolating a dodgy deal, an awkward conversation, a poor choice. Nik was a worrier. Perhaps it came with the dominant alpha role. Either way, Price knew he couldn't give him another thing to stew over. Price swallowed, opened his mouth, but still the words wouldn't come, so he grabbed his rucksack from the floor and found what he was looking for in his side pocket.

He placed the stick on the countertop and stared at it rather than Nik because he didn't want to see his face. Not because of the fear of disappointment, or anger, or… No, it was the opposite. He didn't want to see what he knew, in his heart, he would see there.

Nik took the stick from the counter and gazed at it for a moment. It looked so small in his big hands. Price's weren't small by any stretch of the imagination, but Nik was just bigger. Those were hands made for holding and protecting, and Price wanted their comfort more than anything in that moment.

“This is yours?” Nik whispered.

“I tested three times. All positive. ‘m definitely knocked up, and it's yours Nik, can’t be any of the lads ‘cause the timin’ doesn't match.”

Price heard the stuttered breath and chanced a glance up. Nik's face was a wreckage of emotion, his dark eyes shining, his lower lip pressed into his mouth as he chewed it for control.

Price felt that surge of indignant anger he always felt when pushed into the back foot. Not quite the tidal wave when Shepherd had sneered ‘or what?’ nor when he'd realised letting Makarov slip away had bit him in the arse, but it was there all the same. “I ain't bloody cheated before y–”

Nik left the stool and in the next breath Price was buried against his chest, strong arms wrapped snugly around his back, head tucked beneath Nik's chin. He felt the stuttering breath rattle out of Nik's mouth, and the lingering kiss pushed into the untidy fluff of his hair. A cold feeling settled in the pit of Price's stomach as he realised that this was a hug of elation. When Nik pulled away, his eyes were a little red, glistening, and he cupped Price's jaw, glancing down at the stick in his hand. “How long? Two months, perhaps?”

Price cleared his throat. “Yeah, ‘bout that…”

“This…” Nik half laughed, incredulous, thumb brushing over Price's cheek as big fingers cupped the back of his neck. “A pup, John. A pup.” It was comforting, the weight, but Price couldn't take his eyes off of Nik's face. He was so fuckin’ happy. Price's blood thundered in his ears, like a rush, his heart beating hard against the cage of his ribs as he felt something heavy close in around him. “I believed I would never… I thought my chance had passed.”

This was when he had to say something. To cut it off at the knees. But he just… he couldn't. The words turned to ash in the heat of Nik's joy. The way Nik's deep voice broke around the last word like it was too much for it to handle, the soft smile on his lips, the way he looked up to study Price's face with gentle concern. “I thought you were looking…”

“...like shit?”

“Like shit.”

“Yeah, well, it… been throwin’ up half the mornings. Feeling queasy, I–” Nik's palm pressed over his belly, retracing the path he had stroked previously, but with a new reverence. His fingertips left prickles of pleasure in their wake, playing in the fur of Price's happy trail before tucking just into his waistband below the slight curve. Nik was imagining what he would look like further on; heavy with their pup, body swollen and aching. Nik would hold him, wouldn't he? He would worship his pregnant body as much as he did his operation fit one. The thought made Price dIzzy, a little nauseous. Goosebumps erupted on his arms, but when he looked up to say something, to try and broach the subject of what next, Nik kissed him.

It was deep, breathtaking. Nik's arms wrapped his back, palms stroking down to the curve of his arse as he stepped forward, nudging Price's thighs apart. Nik caressed him, coaxing his body easily into a needy arch as his palms and fingers worked their magic, teasing him with promise. Nik broke the kiss and dragged his teeth down the edge of Price’s jaw, and then his lips and tongue were working at his mating mark. “Ah… ah, Nik…”

“You are so beautiful, so strong,” Nik whispered against his skin, soft kisses tracing his neck. Those big hands scooped beneath his arse and lifted him from the chair, all six foot two of him. Nik was one of the few who could, and he carried Price into the bedroom, Price’s cunt bumping and rubbing against the hard bulge in the front of his sweats.

Nik set him down on the sheets like a precious thing and removed their clothes in a prolonged act of worship, every new inch of skin caressed or kissed. Wet, panting, Price arched into it, desperate for the grounding weight of Nik's body over him, the certainty of his touch, the hot, hungry work of his mouth as he pushed Price's thighs back and apart so that he could feast between them like a man indulging in a banquet. Price came on his tongue and Nik groaned in heady euphoria as slick dripped down his chin. When he rose onto his knees, his thick cock pressed inside in a single, glorious thrust that left Price gasping, clenching the sheets. Like Gaz, Nik was gentle, kissing, whispering softly, the firm slap of his hips making the bed springs whine but the touch of his hands and lips a tender comfort.

Price's eyes rolled back in his head and he let himself drift in the intensity of Nik's passion. Strong fingers threaded through his hair, tilting his head back so that his alpha could nip and lick at his throat, John's heels knocking into the curve of Nik's arse as it rose and fell in deep, rhythmic thrusts. The swells of pleasure were constant, Price's body responding to Nik's scent, his chuffs, his perfect cock with tight, eager squeezes. He was so wet, it was pooling in the bedsheets, soaking Nik's heavy balls as they slapped against him.

The knot stretched him perfectly as it always did, the flood of heat - thick, fertile cum that had got him into this fuckin’ mess - made his toes curl in instinctive delight. Like, now his body had confirmation his dominant alpha could breed him, it was even keener on him.

He didn't.

Nik groaned into his throat, nuzzled his beard, and stayed only long enough for his twitching cock to still before he rolled slowly onto his back. Price settled in the fur of his chest, eyes lidded, and inhaled deep lungfuls of scent as that leaden weight returned.

Nik stroked circles on Price's back with lazy fingertips. “The others should find out soon.”

Price swallowed, pressing his eyes closed. Fuck. He was a fucking coward, he– “Yeah. ‘Course.”

“And I will tell Yuri, Laswell… but at twelve weeks, no?”

“Yeah, I… I dunno ‘ow any of this works.”

“You are nervous.”

“Course I bloody am.”

Nik pressed another kiss into his hair. “We will be here. Every step of the way. No matter what happens.” Nik's voice sounded soft, fainter, as he drifted towards a doze with his omega draped over his body, pregnant, and knotted again.