Chapter Text
Things got better with time. That’s the phrase Johnny always heard growing up.
Pregnancy seemed to be an exception. He admits it was pretty fun at first. The jitters and joy of the announcement. Telling all their friends. Watching the bump slowly form.
He had no idea how much trouble it would be this late.
Johnny pulls off his shirt with a huff. He wasn’t going to be able to fit into anything at the end of this, would he?
“What’s the occasion?” Gyro says, openly staring Johnny up and down. His faithful mate still had his humor at least.
“Trying to dress this time. Not undress.”
“Shoot,” Gyro says with a cartoony snap of disappointment. He walks over to their closet, pulling out another paternity shirt that he tosses to Johnny. “What happened to the one you were wearing?”
“It’s hugging my belly. It’s gonna leave an indent. You want our kid coming out with a line across them?”
“That’s not how it works, amore.” Gyro walks over and leans down, observing Johnny’s belly up close. “You are getting really big really quick.”
“They’ve gotta find space for them and all my other organs.”
“Mio polpetto,” Gyro kisses Johnny’s bump before he leans back up to rub his wrist over Johnny's cheek, scenting them both. “But you’re my favorite meatball.”
Johnny huffs in amusement and pushes at Gyro’s chest. “Give me room.”
Gyro only takes a step away. “Besides the shirt is there anything else off?”
Johnny pulls on the new shirt as he hums in thought. “It’s the same as before.”
Gyro frowns. “The same isn’t that good.”
“You’re a doc, ain’t you? You know this stuff is normal.”
“Nurse, caro. Just because I have medical knowledge doesn’t mean I can’t be upset.”
"It's gotta go away once this is all over right?" Johnny waves a hand. "I ain't the first to have pregnancy complications and I sure as hell won't be the last. I'm growing a whole ass human being over here."
Gyro sighs. "You are rather big. We're only a week away from the third trimester. At this rate, you might just pop before we can make it to term."
"If I do then you better be there to stitch me back together mister."
"Again, not my job, but for you," Gyro leans down, sarcastically batting his eyelashes. "Anything."
Johnny tosses a pillow at him.
--
The weight of the world was as heavy as the weight on his lap. It's a good thing Johnny can't feel below his knees. He can barely even feel his thighs with how often his kid is resting on them.
“I’m punching out.” Johnny weakly mutters from his comfortable position on the couch.
“Already? It’s only…Oh. It’s after five.” Gyro frowns.
"I don't do overtime, bossman." Johnny drawls in a monotone.
"We're in the third trimester now. Shouldn't it be gone by now?"
"You know more than me. If you got any complaints you gotta take it up with HR." Johnny gestures to his belly.
"I thought they were the union."
"They betrayed us for a cushy job. Keep up."
Gyro laughs way too loud at what is a very simple joke. That helps ease the burden just for a moment.
"Why don't you take off with me?" Johnny raises an arm.
"One of us needs to feed you, remember?"
"I haven't been feeling too nauseous."
"Only because I've been staying on schedule and your friends are good at stuffing you with snacks when you are working."
"Poor HP is practically a vending machine at this point."
"As long as you're not shoving quarters at her I think she'll be fine."
"No thanks. I quite like keeping my fingers out of splits." Johnny jokes in a monotone. He doubts she would do anything other than glare at him at the end of the day. That's one of the biggest perks of pregnancy. He could do whatever he felt like and no one would dare touch him. No one but his adoring mate anyways. And those were the kind of touches Johnny didn't mind.
"I'll be back. Why don't you put on that stupid American show you love so much?"
"My stupid show? Excuse me but you're the one who watches it through every time. I fall asleep half of the time."
"No, I don't. It's just on because the noise helps you rest. I'm looking at my phone the whole time."
"You're such a liar. I bet I could quiz you on the show right now and you'd get it right."
"You? You don't even remember the main character's name half of the time."
"And what is it?"
"Cassie."
Johnny lifts a little finger gun that he 'fires' at Gyro's chest.
"Got ya."
--
Johnny rubs his arms. He always hated how chilly they kept hospitals. They were keeping bodies in the basement but still.
He does get some relief when Gyro takes his shivering hand into his. He was warm as a furnace no matter the weather.
"Remember to tell them everything you're feeling," Gyro says.
"You're the nurse here. That's your job."
"I can only tell the obstetrician what I've seen and I'm not exactly happy with that."
"You're telling me I'm not hot as fuck? I'm carrying your baby, you know."
Gyro smiles and kisses Johnny's cheek. "That's not what I mean. Your symptoms haven't gotten any better. If anything they just seem to be getting worse with time."
"It's nothing we haven't been able to manage. According to the docs, everything is fine internally. They've got the right weight and limbs and all that."
"As far as they can tell." Gyro looks at Johnny's bump. "Your baby's as much of a troublemaker as you. They're never in a good position for the scan."
"I think you mean a troublemaker like you." Johnny puts a hand on his lips. "Or was it me who bonded someone in their sleep?"
Gyro opens his mouth to retort but the door suddenly swings open and a nurse calls out.
"Mr. Joestar."
Johnny glances over but not before he sees the small twitch on Gyro's face. Ha. Even after a full year and a half it still bugged him. Too bad. They were either both changing their names or neither were changing. Besides, he'll let their kid be a lameo Zeppeli.
Johnny raises his free hand.
"That's me."
--
"You know these probably would go faster if you didn't spend the whole time talking to the staff." Johnny sighs as he pulls his sweater back on. No one was in the room but him and his mate again. He was grateful for it but it always felt strange to him. Their obstetrician was fine with prodding at Johnny inside and out but he couldn't stand seeing Johnny naked.
"I work with some of them." Gyro rolls his eyes. "And they're just as concerned as I am about you."
"If they're that concerned then they better bring a damn good gift to the shower."
"Naturally, carino. You'll be a prince for a day."
"Fuck that. I wanna be king."
"Then what about me?"
"You can be my very handsome but completely powerless consort."
"Hmmm as long as I get to stay handsome." Gyro shrugs and helps Johnny back onto his chair. "Speaking of my coworkers, maybe we should be seeing them more often."
"I like to party as much as any other alom but your little one over here makes it hard to leave the house most days."
"Not like that. I mean more appointments. We've only been seeing them- what? Once every two weeks or two? Sometimes even less than that."
Johnny shifts uncomfortably in his spot. He didn't exactly have the best time with hospitals. "We go a lot already."
Gyro frowns, placing a hand on Johnny's cheek. "I know you're not happy to be here but these are good people. They'd never hurt you. if they tried I'd break their bones myself."
"At least save some bones for me you hog." Johnny deadpans.
Gyro leans down to place a kiss on Johnny's forehead. "So can we start going a little bit more often?"
Johnny looks down at the ground. "Do we have to?"
Gyro lets his hand slide down over the bonding bite along Johnny's neck. There's a long batch of silence before he speaks up with a sigh. "Alright. We'll stick to what we have."
Johnny sighs in more relief than he expected. His heart steadies. "Thank you, honeybun."
Gyro picks Johnny's head up by his chin. "Honeybun? Maybe I should make you upset more often."
Johnny pretends to snap at his finger and it makes them both laugh. Their laughter echoes in the tiny room. Everything feels alright.
--
Johnny opens up the freezer with a sigh of satisfaction. His mate truly was the best. He was stock full of Italian ice in all different flavors. Johnny couldn't explain it. It was another one of those oddities that carried over from his second trimester. There was something heavenly about the cold taste and the fruity juices on his tongue that nothing else could beat.
Johnny stacks two pints onto his lap and starts to roll back until he bumps into a tall roadblock.
"I need to get into the fridge," Gyro explains, stepping around Johnny and closing the freezer for him. "Still on that gelato kick?"
"Mhm." Johnny hums, setting one of the pints onto the kitchen island while he pops the other one open and fetches himself a spoon. one of those tiny ones that go with tea. It helped the food last longer and it was pretty cute.
"Thank god I bought enough to supply a small store. I'd be really out of luck if you suddenly started hating it." Gyro sets some meat on the counter.
"Maybe our baby will be a little snowman. Pink like good strawberry. Hmmm. Or cherry." Johnny takes another bite.
"Careful, polpetto. Your oma is still hungry." Gyro teases with a glance back to Johnny's belly as he starts to cut the meat.
Johnny lays his free hand over his bump and takes another bite. "Maybe their name should be sorbet. They like it so much they'll have to like the name too."
Gyro stops his cutting to look over his shoulder with disdain. "Amore, we are not naming our child after a food."
"So says Mr. Gyro?"
"It's not even pronounced the same." Gyro sighs, shaking his head. "My name is special. It's powerful. Like Gyromagnetisim. Or Gyroscope."
"Or lamb gyro. Gyro combos. Gyro with rice." Johnny deadpans.
"Look away, little one," Gyro says as he sets the knife down.
Johnny's eyes widen, spoon still in his mouth. He rolls back but he bounces into the kitchen island. "What? Why are you getting closer?"
"I need to teach your ommi a lesson," Gyro says, raising wiggling fingers as he continues to creep close and closer to Johnny's sides.
"Hey-wait-Gyro!"
--
Johnny runs his hand through his hair with a grimace. Ugh, when was the last time he took a real long proper shower? Staying under the heat made him nauseous but he clearly needed it. His hair was limp. Johnny’s eyes go down to his outfit.
His clothes weren’t much better. A complete mess that stretched in odd places around his growing body. So much for the gorgeous heartthrob jockey he used to be. It’s a wonder Gyro can even look at him like this still.
Johnny rolls into the bathroom, starting to turn on the shower. He catches himself in the mirror and glances up. Gyro had their sink fixed up ages ago. Now they had a really long mirror so both gyro and Johnny could see themselves. Johnny was exposed to all parts of himself. His hair brushing over his shoulders. His shirt had a stain on it too how did he not see that?
Oh.
Wow.
He’s gotten so big.
Johnny lays a hand on his belly and he readjusts to try and see himself from the side. He’s gotten properly huge now. His stomach was enveloping his little lap.
Johnny’s eyes squint up in a smile, he runs his hand up from his belly to his bonding bite.
Well. At least he looks good somewhere.
--
It seems Gyro was right about one thing. The issues piled up instead of being resolved. Johnny's not sure when exactly it started but it's been happening for a solid week now. It was random at first. A sharp pinch in his lower back. He wasn't all too unfamiliar with that. After he first got shot he dealt with that a lot as his body tried in vain to heal what was already too far gone. So he didn't think all that much of it. Didn't tell anyone. Certainly not Gyro. He was a worrywart at the worst times.
But then it kept coming. Harsher. Sharper. Longer. It would be followed by numbness all down his legs. To his knees at least. He couldn't exactly tell if it went below that given his condition. Sometimes there would just be odd tingling.
Johnny was simply rearranging his nest when it hit him yet again. A gasp escaped his lips as his hands clutched the sheets by him.
"Kiddo?" Johnny pants. "Are you alright? Fuck. Maybe I should-"
Johnny can't speak anymore as the numbness starts to travel down again. It aches his body and his mind alike. Was he getting too big? His body was already fractured. Could his own kid be the end for what little sensations he had left?
His vision was foggy now too. His face hot. Wait. That wetness. Tears. He was just crying. When did he start crying?
"Johnny!"
The shout breaks Johnny out from his head. Shit. He didn't want Gyro to see. He can't even cover his face like this. His knuckles were white with how hard he was gripping the nest.
Gyro blocks his view now, soft hands over his teary cheeks. "What's going on? Fuck. Is it the baby? Speak. Signal me. Something. Johnny."
Johnny grits his teeth and manages out a few words. "Dunno what it is."
"Where is the pain? Your belly?"
Johnny shakes his head. The numbness wasn't going away this time. Fuck. He really should have said something. He's such a jackass sometimes. All that work he did to get himself to a stable state was gone. He can only hope the baby is okay.
"Amorino." Gyro takes Johnny's hand off the sheets. Johnny doesn't grip it as hard but it feels better in an instant.
Johnny breathes in the heavy cinnamon and nutmeg coming off his partner in waves. There were hints of his own scent there too. "I think the baby is okay."
"What about you?"
"I don't know."
"Don't speak anymore. Just move my hand alright? Focus on that. Nothing else. Show me where."
Johnny looks into Gyro's eyes. Those were always Gyro's tell. No matter how stoic or carefree he tried to seem his eyes told the whole story. Right now they were flooded with worry. So Johnny obeys and brings Gyro's hand down to his lower back and then drags it down till he gets to his knees.
"All of here? Pain?"
Johnny grunts noncommittally. "Yes and no."
"Can you say more?"
"Numb but it hurts too. Hard to explain."
"Numb and hurt," Gyro mutters as he looks over Johnny's thighs and back. "How long has this been going on?"
"A week."
"And this is the first you've told me?" Gyro shouts.
Even with the angered tone, Johnny can still see the worry. He doesn't bother answering.
Gyro readjusts his grip over Johnny's hand so now his wrist was rubbing against Johnny's arm. He glances away only for a moment before he looks back. "Sciatic nerve pain."
"Bless you."
"That's very funny but not now. The only good news is this isn't something fatal for you or the child. You have got to get better at telling me this stuff."
"Hun, I can't even spell Sci-sciento-what was it again?"
"Your symptoms. Our little one is resting on a nerve in your spine."
"My spine?" Johnny glances at his bump. "Buddy that place is already pretty fucked up. Pick a new target."
"It is a persistent symptom but it isn't one without a solution." Gyro slowly takes his hand away and stands up. "I'm going to need your help for this one."
"I love you and all but moving hurts like fucking crazy."
"This is going to help. I can't do it all on my own. I need to know if it gets any better or worse. So just work with me." Gyro reaches up, quickly tying his hair off into a messy ponytail with his own long locks.
"Alright, doc." Johnny grips the side of his chair. Can't possibly be any worse than how he's feeling right now, right?
Gyro readjusts Johnny's chair making him face the wall instead of the bed. That sure did nothing. Now he doesn't have anything but his chair to stabilize himself with. Thankfully Gyro doesn't end it there. He gets onto his knees and grabs one of Johnny's calves. He carefully stretches it up. Johnny could only watch. It reminds him more of his numb feeling. He couldn't feel a damn thing Gyro was doing now. Just could watch as Gyro now bent his lower leg and turns it carefully to the side. Gyro finishes off by placing Johnny's leg over his lap. What was left of it anyway with their baby in the way.
"It's the same," Johnny says.
"Now's the part where you come in." Gyro raises his arms. "Lean down only with your back. Like you're going to be kissing me."
"If you want a kiss you don't need to do all this." Johnny rolls his eyes and leans down, pressing his lips to Gyro's. He feels his lower back stretch faintly and just as he feels that he feels some of the numbness turn to a vaguer tingling. Johnny raises back up. "Oh."
"I know what I'm doing." Gyro winks. "Again. If five more of these doesn't make it better then I've got some more stretches we can do."
Johnny repeats the motion, planting a tiny kiss onto Gyro's nose this time. He manages to get a small smile out of Gyro.
"Again."
"Bossy bossy," Johnny mutters as he leans back up just to repeat the motion and just press his forehead against Gyro's. He can't properly scent him like this but it was close enough. He did have this huge weight on him. if he leaned down anymore he would fall right onto his face. Not what he needed when he was already in pain. Actually not that much pain now. The numbness was nearly completely gone. Just tingling now.
"Promise me you're gonna tell me from now on when something new happens," Gyro says as he motions for Johnny to do it again.
"It wasn't so-"
"Johnny."
Johnny frowns but he looks into Gyro's eyes. Even if he was scolding Johnny his eyes told a story of fear and panic. God damn it. he loves this nerd too much. "Okay..."
Gyro sighs in relief.
"Okay."
--
There was something special about the fall air. Pumpkins had started to line every house on the block. Skeletons and witches alike peeked out of windows and chimneys. Even a godfearing country boy like him could appreciate the holidays.
His very foreign mate was the same. According to Gyro they kind of barely had Halloween. You would never guess it from the way Gyro was decking out their front lawn. Little ghost dogs. Zombie teddybears. Even their candy bucket was a cute fish bowl full of 'eyes'. Maybe it wasn't so much the holiday that Gyro liked. Just the excuse to buy everything cute in the aisles without worry.
"You think there's gonna be any new kids going around the block."
"Everyone was in costume last time. Not like we could tell."
Johnny nods with a hum, his hand gravitating to his belly. He couldn't explain why. He used to make fun of the omegas who would sigh and hum holding their belly like it was a cute accessory. Now he was one of them.
Gyro's gaze follows his hand. "I've got the perfect costumes for us."
"Really?" Johnny raises a brow. Their last costumes were just some bear pajamas that Gyro adored. With how happy he was Johnny just thought they'd be stuck in that every year.
"Yeah. You could be a pumpkin." Gyro bursts into laughter at his joke as soon as he gets the last word out.
"Wow Gyro. You should write that down."
--
In the end, Johnny was right. The teddy bears won out from everything. Though Gyro did tease Johnny a couple of times about wearing a bright orange t-shirt underneath and unbuttoning some of the pajamas to have his 'pumpkin'. Right now Johnny was able to hold him off but he still had some hours to go.
"Mio tesoro." Gyro sing songs as he walks into the living room, his hands behind his back.
Oh no. So much for winning the fight.
"No one but us is going to get the joke, Gyro." Johnny sighs.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You're hiding something. Just put it on me."
Gyro sighs. "Your eyes are too good."
He reveals what's in his hands but it's not the t-shirt like Johnny was expecting. Instead, he's greeted by a tube of nail polish along with some swabs and nail polish remover. Sparkling blue nail polish.
Johnny squints. He sure didn't ask for that. It's not a color Gyro wears that often either. "Okay."
"Well since you're already here you might as well lean back and give me a hand." Gyro shrugs.
"For what?" Johnny leans back in his chair and holds out his hand.
"I know you weren't exactly top of your class but I think it's pretty obvious." Gyro gets on his knees and gently holds the hand in his. He opens the bottle without any effort and starts on Johnny's pinkie.
"Not what then. Why?"
"Why not? You don't like this color anymore?"
"I do."
"Then I'm gonna put it on you. Till the kids start arriving at least."
"Are you trying to bribe me into the pumpkin idea? You don't need to."
"Exactly. I don't need to bribe my mate into anything. You'd say yes because you love me." Gyro emphasizes the 'love' in a childish singsong.
"So why?"
"You're just full of questions today, huh? So suspicious." Gyro blows on Johnny's nails. One hand was nearly done. Gyro was pretty good at this. Hands of a surgeon Johnny liked to say.
"You're doing suspicious things."
"I think being mysterious is hot and cool." Gyro waggles his brows.
"Sure." Johnny huffs in amusement. He glances at Gyro's hand and notices a lack of polish. So it wasn't to match them.
Gyro presses a kiss to one of Johnny's knuckles. Johnny raises a brow till he spots which one it is. Ring finger.
"Thought you didn't like beta things," Johnny grumbles.
"I don't but it gets a reaction out of you. Always like that."
"Sure sure." Johnny holds up his dried hand as Gyro continues working on another. It's a color he likes for a reason. Always looked good. It didn't contrast all that much with the fuzzy brown pajamas Gyro had them wearing. It shone in the light, reflecting all the little bits like stars.
Gyro hums Halloween melodies to himself as he continues to carefully paint.
Johnny lets the silence overtake them. He could still feel their baby squirming inside him, awoken by their apa no doubt. Even with the movement, it was peaceful.
"Done," Gyro says, bringing his other hand to take Johnny's first. Now both were carefully laid across his palms.
Johnny looks between them. Not a line out of place. Didn't need that remover. "Done. So you ever gonna tell me what's up or is this meant to haunt my dreams for the rest of my life like a Halloween scare?"
"I could tell you but Halloween scare sounds like much more fun."
"Of course." Johnny opens his fingers wider, watching them sparkle under the dim light.
"I suppose if you twist my arm I have to tell you."
"I'm not ruining these just yet so twist it yourself."
Gyro laughs for a moment before he sighs and looks up into Johnny's eyes."You haven't been able to take care of yourself these past months. Well. No that's not accurate. All you do is take care of you and our little one. You just haven't been able to do things you used to. Your hair’s getting long. Your old shirts have been sitting in our closet for months. I've got a sharp eye, carino. I see the way you look in the mirror sometimes. You always look at your belly with a smile. Your face? Not really."
Johnny looks away but he can't hide from the words. "I don't have a complex or anything. I'm really happy to be having this kid. I don't care if they fuck me up every day."
"I know that. I'm sure our little one does too." Gyro leans over to plant a small kiss on Johnny's belly. He's greeted with a small kick that makes Johnny wince. "I still want you to feel your best."
Johnny sighs, leaning down to kiss Gyro's head.
"Careful. You're gonna smudge the polish."
"I love you," Johnny mutters, rubbing his face into Gyro.
"You better." Gyro snarks before blowing on Johnny's nails.
The doorbell rings, getting both of their attention. Gyro carefully avoids Johnny's nails as he squeezes his hand.
"I think that's our cue. I'll hand everything out for now but I expect you to double on candy duty once that's all done."
"Bossy." Johnny glances at Gyro as he gets up and then back to his nails.
They had survived another month. Johnny rubs his belly.
Just three more to go.