By Zephyria 
Koi simply stared blankly at Ashley for a while. Seeing Koi slap his own cheek softly, Ashley opened his mouth.
“It’s reality. You’re pregnant.”
The reaction came after a few seconds of silence. Koi, who had only been blinking, suddenly stood up and shouted.
“Pregnant? Me? How?”
To the barrage of questions, Ashley answered, seemingly on purpose, with pauses in between.
“Because you’ve changed into an omega.”
Koi froze for a moment. Ashley, not missing that reaction, subtly furrowed his brow.
“You knew.”
Koi stammered, then confessed reluctantly.
“When you fainted from pheromone shock… my heat cycle came.”
“At Al’s place?”
To Ashley’s immediate reaction, Koi shook his head.
“No, it happened suddenly on the street. Nothing serious happened. Al helped me…”
This time, Ashley fell silent. For a moment, complex thoughts swirled in his mind. At least he should be grateful that thanks to Ariel, a horrifying incident he couldn’t even imagine was avoided. But the thought that Ariel had stolen Koi’s long-awaited heat cycle made him furious.
Pressing down on the intersection of emotion and reason, he returned to reality and focused on the matter at hand. Koi was the priority now. There was no rush to think about anything else later.
“That’s a relief.”
At Ashley’s business-like tone, Koi hesitated, then gathered his courage to ask.
“What do you mean, Al? Pregnant, I don’t understand at all…”
Seeing his flustered state, Ashley opened his mouth.
“You can get pregnant because you’re an omega. What you and I did was originally intended to result in pregnancy.”
A memory he had momentarily forgotten surfaced. What had Ash said when they first slept together? He didn’t remember exactly, but he recalled the gist. Back then, he thought Ashley was mistaken, wondering how he, a beta, could get pregnant, but it turned out he was the one who was wrong, not Ashley.
Then, could it be?
“Ah… you knew? That I had become an omega… you, you did it on purpose…?”
Seeing Koi unable to finish his sentence, Ashley spoke.
“Not necessarily.”
“What do you mean?”
Koi asked, feeling like he was about to cry. Ashley spoke slowly, in a more measured tone than usual.
“I don’t know if you know this, but I was in rut then. Perhaps because it came at an unusual time, it was very short, and the memories remain intact, but I had no reason while having sex with you.”
Koi listened intently to the calm explanation. There were no flaws in his words. It must be true. Hadn’t he actually seen how helplessly Ashley, and even Shepherd, had succumbed to Angel’s pheromones?
If it’s true that I’m a hyper-omega…
Then it made sense that Ashley lost control and went into rut. Perhaps it was only because Koi couldn’t control his pheromones well that it ended as a short rut without him fainting or anything.
But if that’s the case…
“You mean you knew I had become an omega back then?”
Ashley stared intently at Koi. While Koi often seemed clueless, his occasional ability to catch him off guard was one of the charming aspects Ashley had thought about him, but it wasn’t very welcome now.
“Yes.”
Ashley answered honestly this time as well. He had told countless lies in his profession, but Koi was an exception. He hadn’t told the whole truth, but he hadn’t lied. Koi knew that too, and though disappointed, he had no choice but to believe him.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
He desperately tried to hold onto his trust in the person he loved.
“You should have told me sooner, that I’m an omega, that I’m pregnant… why did you hide it until now? Why?”
“I didn’t hide it.”
“Then what is this?”
To Koi’s immediate questioning, Ashley spoke slowly, as if hesitating.
“I was just waiting for the right timing.”
“Timing.”
“Yes.”
As Koi repeated the word with a contorted face, Ashley continued.
“I couldn’t be sure you were an omega. I smelled pheromones from you, but you seemed clueless, and I wondered if you were trying to hide it. Don’t you remember? The night before, you lied to me, saying you’d slept with many men. You said the same thing the day after we had sex, that we were just sex partners.”
For a moment, Koi felt like he had walked into his own trap and gotten his foot caught. Seeing his expression, Ashley narrowed his eyes.
“What would you have liked me to do in that situation? Tell me, Koi.”
Koi fumbled, unable to find words. He was already bad at speaking, and being cornered made it even harder to think of anything. After watching Koi, who was flustered and looking around helplessly, Ashley called his attention.
“Anyway, even if I wasn’t sure, I should have told you, and that’s my fault. So, what do you want to do now?”
“Huh?”
As Koi blinked blankly, Ashley spoke, as if forcing his cluttered mind to clear.
“First, we need to see a doctor to get an accurate assessment of your condition. If you’re ready, we can meet a doctor right away. Shall we think about what to do next after that?”
Koi unconsciously gripped the sheets tightly. After exhaling a shaky breath, he opened his mouth.
“I want to see a doctor.”
“Okay.”
Ashley readily agreed and picked up his cell phone. While he was making the call, Koi just sat on the bed, blinking blankly.
*
Hours later, Koi was still sitting blankly in the same spot. The only difference was that he had visited the doctor’s office and had a consultation. However, he still couldn’t believe what he had heard.
Pregnant, really.
Only then did he understand the reason for the occasional abdominal pain he had felt. The doctor advised Koi to rest for a while, stating that strenuous activity had been a stimulus. He also explained that heat cycles sometimes occur in early pregnancy, and in some cases, they continue until childbirth. He heard explanations about how it was due to hormonal imbalance causing an inability to control pheromones, but it still didn’t feel real.
Is there really a baby here?
He tentatively touched his stomach, but it was still flat. As he sat there, bewildered, there was a knock, and the door opened a moment later. It was Ashley, as expected.
“How is it? Are you feeling any better?”
Instead of answering, Koi looked up at him blankly. He had thought earlier that he was just being confused and unable to judge properly, but that wasn’t it. His tone was still cold, with no warmth at all.
He doesn’t seem like the Ash I know.
Come to think of it, the apology earlier was too vague. If it were the Ashley Koi had known and loved for a long time, he would have apologized much more sincerely, and his tone wouldn’t be so stiff. No, he would have come to the hospital the moment he thought he might have gotten me pregnant. Isn’t it a cold and calculating act to just leave me be and observe the situation?
He thought it was impossible to hear the reason why from Ashley. While he didn’t lie to Koi, he didn’t reveal everything either. Then, who would tell him the truth in this situation?
A face that flashed before his eyes made Koi feel absurd. But despite his reluctance, his reason told him that she was the one he needed now.
Taking a deep breath, Koi finally opened his mouth.
“I… I want to meet someone. Can you call her?”
Ashley frowned upon hearing the name, but soon complied. And Bernice arrived at the hospital room about an hour later.
\
Knock, knock. At the crisp knock, Koi turned his head, tense. Waiting a moment, she soon opened the hospital room door and entered.
“Ash had some urgent business at the office.”
As her gaze swept briefly around the room, Koi spoke first. This was perfect timing. If that hadn’t happened, he would have had to rack his brain to get Ashley to leave.
“You wanted to see me about something?”
Bernice asked, as business-like as ever. Koi swallowed dryly and opened his mouth.
“I want to know specifically what Ash’s brain disorder is.”