Prompto shifted so he could bring his knees closer to his body as he tried to massage his stomach into comfort. Cramps were not a stranger to him, they often came before and after his heat, but a small part of him hoped that they would fade once he was actually pregnant.

He should have known that was wishful thinking and when he shifted again his lower back throbbed in protest. While he had done only light lifting that day but apparently that was enough for his back to stage a protest at any exurcioson. Prompto tried to think about where the heating pad may have gone but knew that the only person who knew what had happened to it was asleep beside him. 

The urge to try a different position struck but Prompto squashed it down, Ignis had an important meeting first thing in the morning and the omega was not about to ruin his sleep over something stupid. However at a particularly sharp cramp Prompto made up his mind and as quietly as he could exited the bed. 

After sparing the figure in the bed one last look he left their room and fumbled his way to the living room, finding the couch he wrapped himself in the decorative blanket that adorned it and laid down. The couch was much firmer and colder than the bed but Prompto thought it was a small price to pay for being able to toss and turn as he pleased, he tried to rub the soreness away but it did little and eventually sleep overtook him anyways. 

Two hours later Ignis awoke to an empty bed and after noticing that the bathroom light wasn’t on and the bed was distinctly cold he was sitting up. Throwing back the covers he looked quickly for any signs of a struggle and quickly walked through the halls to the kitchen. He was expecting to find a sleepy Prompto eating a late night snack with a guilty expression, he wasn’t expecting to find his lover asleep and curled up in a ball on their admittedly uncomfortable couch. 

Flicking on the lights he went over to the blond head peeking out of the thin blanket, glossy blue eyes met his and it obviously took a moment for Prompto to collect his bearings. When he determined the blond awake enough Ignis asked the question Prompto silently dreaded. “Why are you out here and not in our bed?” 

Prompto tried to avoid his intense gaze and sat up, only for his already sore back to protest louder after the sleeping conditions he had put it through. “Cramps.” Ignis stared at him and the omega shifted at the silent demand that he continue.

“My stomach was cramping and my back hurts so I couldn’t sleep and kept tossing around, so I moved out here.” 

“So instead of asking for assistance you instead chose to potentially make the problem worse and ignore it?”  Ignis knew Prompto had a hard time relying on others but a small part of him hoped that the blond would have been able to put aside his normal trepidation once they began dating. 

Prompto rubbed the back of his head, “it wasn’t that bad, just annoying and I didn’t want to wake you because of that thing in the morning.” Reminded of said appointment Prompto checked the clock before wincing at the time, “speaking of which, you should go back to bed. I have all day to do nothing but relax and sleep, you have actual important stuff to do.” 

Ignis didn’t bother to look at the clock before he stared into blue eyes, “you are immensely important to me, and it is myduty to make sure you are well taken care of in every way.” Prompto felt his breath catch at the sincere words but felt guilt creep in at the implication of them. 

“No, Iggy you have to be up early tomorrow. You have more important things to be worrying about than some-” 

“I highly beg to differ. Now, where exactly is the discomfort and how severe is it.” Prompto wanted badly to argue but knew that the only way he would get the beta to go back to bed would be to let him think everything was alright. 

“It went away already, guess I just needed a nap.” For someone who kept his secrets so closely guarded Prompto was a poor liar and Ignis merely stared until the blond caved. “Alright, alright, I’ll talk. Just stop looking at me like that. It’s right around here, not terrible pain but annoying.”

Prompto showed the other where the back pain was radiating from and Ignis nodded, “and the cramps?” This took longer for Prompto to say and the blond shifted before running a hand over the bottom of his stomach. “The doctors and everyone said it was normal and it was no big deal.” 

Ignis knew that Prompto didn’t like to call attention to his stomach on any occasion, and with the small swell beginning to form he was more hesitant than usual. The beta nodded and after ignoring the pleas of to just go back to sleep, he was looking through the closet and brought out the heating pad. 

Plugging it in he handed it to his mate who was hesitant but grateful, placing it over his stomach the effect was immediate and he gave the other a small thank you. It quickly became clear that Ignis intended to do more, “if you would please sit up and turn to the side I’m sure I could ease the discomfort in your back.” 

Prompto fidgeted before doing as he was told and Ignis quickly sat down behind him and began kneading the aching muscles. The blond hissed lightly before melting into the man's touch, briefly he wondered when Ignis had learned how to give massages but he tensed up when he saw the clock again. 

“You know you really don’t have to do this for me, I mean it’s super sweet but-” Ignis dug his thumb in deeper and Prompto’s back arched, “why wouldn’t I be helping you?”

“Well, because you’re important and I’m just some random omega. Look, I know we haven’t been going out long and that this whole pregnancy was a surprise, but please don’t feel like you’re bound to me. You don’t need to wait on me hand and foot just because I messed up, it’s not fair to you.” 

Ignis had stopped in his movements and Prompto felt the silence stretch out before he heard the man sigh. “My apologies, I should have been more clear from the beginning. Prompto I love you, more than anyone or thing else and the fact you’re carrying my child has made me the luckiest man in Eos. I want to support you as best I can, and it is difficult that I must be away from you so often. Which is why when we have moments to ourselves I want nothing more than to see you happy.”

He heard a sniffle and in a blur Prompto turned and was burying his face in the others neck, arms wrapped around a solid figure. “I love you too and thank you.”

  Noctis was the first one awake, which was abnormal to say the least. Prompto usually went running at the ass crack of dawn, Ignis was the next to rise for Ebony and organizing the days events. Gladio was the second to last to rise for training and things of the sort. . But, the three were sprawled out next to him, the blonde omega was curled into an incredibly tight fetal position, his golden curls were splayed around his head like the rays of the sun. Carbuncle was sleeping peacefully against his back. Ignis moved the least out of the four of them and usually stuck to sleeping between Gladio and Prompto, so Noctis could cuddle Prom as much as he wanted. Gladio was splayed out on his back with an arm thrown over his face.  Noctis squinted at the clock and his brow furrowed in confusion, why were they all still asleep and so late into the morning at that.  

   Prompto shifted from his position and stretched out as he slowly awoke, his nose wrinkling in distaste when Carbuncle moved to settle onto his newly exposed and no doubt warm belly, he was like a furnace at night. A pleasant feeling bubbled in the pit of Noctis' belly; this was the first time he'd woken up to a full bed in a long while, it was incredibly lovely.  

   They could finally spend time with each other. Noctis hummed in delight and leaned down to pepper kisses across Prompto's face, the omega mewled in discontent before Noctis buried a hand in his sleep mussed locks and tugged until Prom rolled to face him, blue hues peering up at him behind hooded lids. "What is it Noct?" The Alpha hummed again and leaned down to catch his lips in a kiss.  

   Prompto's kisses were always soft, always left you wanting more, a slow burn that ticked every want in Noct's body. Prom slowly melted into the kiss, a soft sound of need pushed into Noct’s mouth as he raised his hands to cup the back of Noct’s head. Gentle caresses passed between the two as tongues caressed one another, soft moans and labored breaths woke the men beside them and they watched in lethargic interest as the two clung to one another. Carbuncle darted out from between the cuddling pair, dissatisfied with becoming a pancake of a creature and Noct silently thanked him as he spread Prompto's bare legs and settled between them. Prompto always started out in shorts and a shirt when he slept, but he usually only had on the shirt by the time morning rolled around. Noct wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside his mate and was about to live out his heart's want when the bedroom door flung open.  

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

The mates froze at the sound of Lunafreya Flueret's voice greeting the royal pack.

 Reality came crashing down around Noct and he realized why his pack was still in bed this morning.  

Why the last month had been a hectic mess. Why the faint scent of pine and cinnamon flooded every corner of the citadel.  

It was the day that Shiva and Ifrit's gift to the earth had been born, the savior of mankind. The prophet of the Gods.  

Prompto's favorite holiday.  

The omega in question wiggled out from underneath Nocits and launched out of bed. Noct held in a whimper at the loss. 

 "Merry Christmas, Luna!" The two chatted excitedly as Prompto quickly stepped into his shorts and followed the other blonde out of the royal pack's bed chamber, while the pair began discussing the days events. Noctis whimpered as his mate left him behind without a thought and turned to glare at his other two pack members as they guffawed at Noct's misfortune.  

There were two things that were rated higher than Noct in Prompto's list of important things: Chocobos and Christmas.  

It was shortly after seven-thirty in the morning and during a particularly strong contraction, that Prompto heard three pairs of footsteps thump around upstairs. From where he knelt in the centre of his nest, chest resting on the largest and fluffiest pillow he could find, Prompto pointedly ignored their calls. They would find him soon enough, his scent would make sure of that. He was more interested in focusing on the contraction and trying to get through it. Thirty-six seconds after the now familiar pain began, it finally ended. Sighing in relief Prompto shuffled around, trying to alleviate some of the pain in his lower back to no avail. With a huff he grabbed his phone and set the timer, continuing to ignore his mates as the footsteps thundered down the stairs and the calls increased in volume.

Three echoes of ‘Prompto?’ followed by a wave of familiar scents suddenly assaulted his senses. Pulling his head away from the pillow he stared at the heavy wooden door separating him from his mates. They obviously knew where he was, he could see the Noct’s shadow as the other Omega tried to peer through the gap between the door and floor. He continued to stare in their general vicinity in silence until Gladio threatened to break the door down.

“‘M fine” He called out, his voice muffled as he turned his head back into the soft fabric of the pillow. He could hear his mates shuffling around on the other side of the door, but his attention was taken away from them by a harsh kick to his spine. Hissing in pain he rubbed his bump. “Come on baby, please stop kicking.” So far he had managed to keep his composure, burying his fear in favour of focusing on safely delivering his pup.

Early in the morning after being woken by his water breaking, he’d broken down. Not quite able to believe that after so long, after so many lost pups, the little one inside him was so close to being safe and most importantly, alive in his arms. That he was finally going to be a parent. It was almost too much for the young Omega, and he so desperately wanted to wake his mates and bury himself safely in Gladio’s arms. But he didn’t. Instead he found the playlist Ignis had helped him create for the labour months earlier, and made himself comfortable as he focused on calming down. He was going to be the bring this pup into the world safely and he was going to be a much better parent than his own, nothing was going to hurt them.

Once again he was forced to speak up when he overheard Noctis start panicking. “I’m fine.” The voices fell silent.

“Prom.” Gladio rumbled in response. Six that voice never failed to make his legs go weak, not that they were particularly strong in that moment. “Open the door please.”

“I’m fine.” He repeated for the third time as he carefully shifted to lay on his side, wedging a pillow between his legs (He’d have to remember to wash it later) and another behind his back. “I can do this.”

“Darling, no one said you cannot. We just want to help.” Prompto would forever be grateful for having Ignis’ calm personality in his life. “How long have you been in there?”

“All night.” Prompto replied, voice barely loud enough to be heard, but heard he was if Gladio’s soft curse was anything to go by.

“C’mon Prom, open the door please.” Noct chimed in. The shadow beneath the door, or lack of one, informed Prompto that his fellow Omega had laid himself down. Whether he was still trying to look in was another thing entirely, it was most likely that Noct had simply gotten lazy and couldn’t be bothered to stay kneeling.

“I can’t. The door’s locked and I don’t want to move. ‘M comfy.” He shot back. It wasn’t a lie, he had made himself quite comfortable and really didn’t want to get up or well...shuffle across the room to open the door for his mates. Still, it was amusing to hear and smell his Alpha’s frustration. Unlike Ardyn, even when Gladio was frustrated there was never any malevolence to it, and if there was it was never directed at him. Initially that frustration had been terrifying, Gladiolus was after all significantly larger than Ardyn could hope to ever be, but after being accepted into the back his size was more comforting than threatening.

“Baby, please open up. I promise that once you’ve opened the door you can lay back down and you won’t have to move again.” Gladio said. Prompto huffed and looked over at his phone, three minutes and twelve seconds. If the last few contractions were anything to go by, he had about two minutes to get to the door and settle down again. With a fair amount of difficulty Prompto was able to shift onto his knees and start crawling towards the door, there was no way he was going to try to stand up if he didn’t have to. He’d tried that once a couple of hours ago and very nearly face-planted into the floor.

It was just as he released the lock that the familiar pain started up once again. Grunting in pain he placed his hands on either side of his bump and hunched over. Closing his eyes he tried to retreat into his head, focusing on breathing through the pain and attempting to time it. He lost track at thirty eight seconds when the pain finally overwhelmed him. As soon as the first cry tore itself from his throat he was bombarded by the comforting scents of his mates, as well as a soft crooning noise that could only be Ignis. He gasped when it finally subsided. That had undoubtedly been the most painful contraction yet.

“Shift away from the door Prom.” Gladio said softly and it was only when a hand touched his back did Prompto realised they had managed to open the door a fraction. Just enough to get their arms through but nothing more. Doing as asked, the labouring Omega shifted slightly and blushed when Noctis wriggled his way in through the larger gap. He’d completely forgotten that he was naked. In spite of having spent plenty of heats with his packmates, he was still incredibly self-conscious about the state of his body, more so when the stretch-marks appeared.

“Hey Prom” Noctis whispered with a smile. Slowly and cautiously he approached the blonde until they were within arm’s distance of one another, at which point Prompto gladly collapsed against him. Nuzzling Noctis’ neck and inhaling as scent. Immediately Noctis’ arms were around him as he returned the gesture. “You should’ve woken us up Prom.”

“Sorry” Prompto whimpered, clinging onto him as though he would vanish at any moment.

“You have nothing to apologise for darling.” Raising his head from Noctis’ neck, Prompto was greeted by the sight of Ignis and Gladio, the latter carefully maneuvering himself through the doorway in an attempt to prevent it from swinging open and hitting one of his mates. He couldn’t help but giggle at the sight, a sound which brought a smile to everyone’s faces. Ignis leant over and pressed a kiss to Prompto’s forehead, moving aside a moment later to let Gladiolus do the same.

While the Alpha and Omega lavished the youngest member of their pack with affection, Ignis took stock of the nest. Eyes landing on the damp pile of blankets and abandoned clothing  in the corner, accompanied by a few empty bottles and water and an apple core. It was quite obvious what had happened.

“I forgot to time it.” Prom mumbled after a few minutes. The three looked at him in confusion. “I’ve been trying to time the contractions and the space between them. Forgot to do it this time.”

“The contraction lasted forty-three seconds.” Ignis added helpfully with a warm smile. “I began timing it as soon as your scent changed.” With a smile of his own Prompto reached out and took Ignis’ hand. “We’ll time the space between the next two, one missed one isn’t going to cause too much of a problem.” Lifting Prompto’s hand to his mouth he pressed a kiss to the back of it. Prompto pulled a face and placed a hand on his bump, moving away from Noctis slightly to look down.

“Please stop kicking me.” He said softly. Gladiolus tilted his head and shuffled around the pair of Omegas, laying himself flat on the ground so he was eye level with his pup’s current home. Grinning up at Noctis and Prompto he winked.

“Stop kicking you mother pup.” Gladio chided playfully. Prompto made an almost inaudible noise and shifted once again, a sure sign that the pup was quite happily ignoring its parents.

“I blame you for this.” Prompto joked as he relaxed against Noctis once again, dropping his head onto his shoulder. Despite his earlier determination to give birth to his pup alone, it was a relief to be surrounded by his pack, his mates. Behind him Ignis started rummaging through Prompto’s collection of blankets, throwing the damp ones down the hallway and setting the clean ones off to the side.

Noctis watched the Beta over Prompto’s shoulder “What are you doing Specs?” He questioned.

“It may have escaped your attention but this is hardly the most hygienic location for a child to be born.” Ignis started, wrinkling his nose when he discovered three apple cores hidden beneath a pillow. Gladiolus sat himself back up, keeping a hand on Prompto’s thigh. Collecting up the pillows Ignis set them against the far wall, he’d organise them once he had cleaned up the mess. Satisfied that everything was in a more manageable state, he turned to his three mates. “Gladio, Noctis, why don’t you take Prompto upstairs and get him in the bath while I finish up here.” The blonde Omega looked back over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. “You’re thighs are covered with various fluids darling, and a warm bath will help with the aches and pains.”

Prompto had completely forgotten that he was entirely naked from the waist down, and how disgusting his legs were. A bath was a really good idea. Aw crap. He was pretty much sat in Noct’s lap, almost certainly covering him in said birthing fluids. Not to mention Gladio had been lying on the floor beside him. He blushed brightly and ducked his head, burying his head in Noctis’ shoulder.

“Don’t be embarrassed Prom.” Gladio said, noticing the way his Omega tried to hide his face from them.  “We’ve been covered in worse.” Noctis snorted, playfully swatting at the Alpha while Prompto whined and tried to shrink in on himself. With a groan Gladio climbed to his feet, nudging a few pillows out of his way. “C’mon babe, let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up.”

It took both Ignis and Gladiolus to get Prompto onto his feet, though they had to pause mid-way to allow him to breathe when his back twinged in pain. When he was finally on his feet Prompto took a deep breath and stretched his arms above his head, after spending so many hours on his knees and in various positions laying down, it was almost a relief to be standing once again.

“Oh, ow.” His hands desperately searched for the nearest body, which just so happened to be Ignis. Grabbing onto the Beta he bowed his head as another contraction tore through him.

“Easy baby.” Gladio soothed, stepping up behind Prompto and massaging his lower back. “Breathe in time with Iggy.” Rather than attempting to copy his breathing patterns, Prompto elected to take a deep breath and let out a soft moan.

Noctis moved to stand beside his mates, wringing his hands together. He longed to touch them but wasn’t sure if his presence would be welcome when Prompto was in pain. Instead he settled for making comforting noises and whispering words of encouragement.

“Forty-eight seconds.” Ignis stated once it was over. “Noctis would you please reset the timer on Prompto’s phone please?” Happy to do something for his mates, Noctis nodded and collected the phone from where it had been left on the floor, doing as asked. “While you’re upstairs make sure to keep track of the time between them okay?” The older Omega nodded and gave a jaunty salute before ducking beneath Ignis’ arms to pop up between him and Prompto. Startled by Noctis’ sudden appearance and the bright smile on his face, Prompto giggled and leaned in to rub his nose against his.

“Alright you two.” Gladio interjected. “Break it up, we’ve got to get sunshine upstairs and in the bath.” The two Omegas reluctantly parted from one another, allowing Gladiolus to open the door fully. Prompto winced at the sudden harsh sunlight, in all the excitement he’d forgotten it was nearing mid-morning.

Ignis accompanied them to the bottom of the stairs, collecting the previously discarded blankets as he did so. “When you come back down darling, we’ll check how far along you are.” Turning to Prompto he kissed him softly. “Enjoy your bath.” With that Ignis retreated into the kitchen with an armful of blankets and the determination to make the nest as comfortable and clean as possible.

Noctis had been dozing off in the back of the Regalia when Gladio’s voice suddenly boomed, “you doin ok back there, kid?” Noctis blinked the sleep from his eyes and his brow furrowed, “what?” 

Gladio made a sound of gruff irritation and Noctis could practically feel the eye roll from the other. “Not you, was askin blondie.” Immediately Noctis looked over to said blond and noted that he did in fact look oddly pale and was clutching his stomach.

Concern spread through the alpha and he was about to ask what was wrong when Prompto spoke up suddenly. “Ignis, the car, pull over.” His voice was low but desperate and as soon as the words were spoken he clamped a hand over his mouth while Ignis quickly stopped the car. 

The car had barely come to a halt when Prompto had thrown open the door, he only made it a few steps before his stomach betrayed him and he bent over. Noct followed behind him and laid a gentle hand on the omega’s back, he felt Prompto tense under his touch and a small part of him felt hurt at the action. 

“What’s wrong?” If Prompto was getting sick then they should go out and get some medicine, maybe hunker down at town if need be. Prompto shook his head after the nausea began to fade, “I’m fine, must be motion sickness or something.” Somewhere from behind the pair he heard Gladio make a noise and told the beta, “or something.” 

Noctis couldn’t hear whatever Ignis said in response due to Promto once again heaving up whatever was left in his stomach,“Prom, you sure you’re ok?” Prompto nodded and after a few more minutes he straightened up, “ok, think it’s finally done. Sorry bout all that guys.” 

Noctis shook his head, “better out here then in the car.” Prompto gave a strained smile at the comment and gladly took the water that Ignis offered with a small thanks. Ignis looked up at the sky before giving the blond a quick glance, “it will be night soon, we should find a place to rest.” 

Prompto shook his head, “I’ll be fine, we need to keep going.” Ignis locked eyes with the man and a silent conversation seemed to play out between the two before Prompto cast his eyes to the ground in submission, the beta then looked towards Noctis and gave him a meaningful look. 

It took Noctis a moment to understand what the look meant and he nodded, “yeah, let’s find a haven and settle in for the night.” Ignis nodded in agreement, “there should be one close by, I believe we should be able to walk there.” 

They all nodded and set off, though Noctis couldn’t help but notice how silent the omega had become. He wasn’t the only one and Gladio gave Prompto a large pat on the back, “still feelin sick?” Prompto shook his head but it was clear by his silence that he was still fighting back vomit and the concern that had blossomed earlier bloomed in full in Noctis’s chest. 

His phone let out a small chirp and he checked it instinctively, ‘Prom Heat’, he stared at the alert that he had set up and felt things click into place. He had heard that omega’s sometimes got sick before a heat began and the when he thought about it harder he realized that the man’s scent had changed. 

Not drastically, just enough to notice and Noctis knew that they should head into town and wait the heat out. Though how they would play it out next would be tricky, Noctis had helped Prompto through his last two heats but now, well things had changed and he would probably need to talk to Promto about it. 

When they got to the Haven Ignis wasted no time in getting dinner started while  the others began setting up camp, though Noctis noted that Gladio seemed to be doing most of Prompto’s usual chores but he didn’t have too much time to dwell on it before dinner was served. 

It was soup and it was no surprise to Noctis that it was delicious, however when he looked over he saw that Prompto had barely touched it. Ignis noticed this as well and took a breath, “you must eat, even if you feel nauseous. You worked hard today and you need your strength.” 

Noctis could hear that something was going unsaid and it was further confirmed when Prompto obediently started eating and Noctis felt something unpleasant begin to worm its way through his chest. After the dishes were put away both Ignis and Gladio went into the tent with a final look to both Noctis and Prompto, something that again struck Noctis as odd. 

After the pair left Noctis noticed an immediate shift in tone and seeing the blond pull into himself caused his heart to throb. After a few moments of silence Noctis began, “look Prom, I already know.” This caused said man to stare at him with round eyes and Noctis frowned at the fear present in them, “really? How?” 

Noctis nodded before rubbing the back of his head, “remember that time that your heat started in the middle of class?” Prompto was obviously confused but nodded, it was an experience he would likely never forget. 

“Well after that I set up an alert on my phone for every three months, just in case. I’ll tell the guys that we should settle down in town for awhile.” Prompto blinked at the explanation before leaning forward, “that’s not going- we won’t need to do that. My heat isn’t coming, it won’t for awhile.” 

He told the last part to the ground and let out a deep and shaky breath. Noctis leaned forward in concern, “please tell me you didn’t take that weird suppressant stuff again.” Noctis couldn’t help but think back to the time Prompto had tried some new injection that stopped a heat all together, and how it landed the blond in the hospital. Prompto seemed to swallow around an invisible lump in his throat and shook his head, “nothing like that.”