by J. R Fox
When Deacon pulled up in a parking lot inside a large suburban park, he did at least get a raised eyebrow out of Jonas. “Are you going to make a four-and-a-half-month pregnant person walk to wherever it is we’re going?”
“Nope, we’re already here.” Deacon nodded to the park, and then got out of the car. Jonas followed, his curiosity apparently getting the better of him.
“Why are we here?” Jonas asked, catching up with Deacon as he went to sit on a nearby bench.
“Because as of…” Deacon paused to check his watch. “An hour and a half ago, this is the first public space for dragons to shift in.”
It had never been, strictly, illegal for dragons to shift in public, but it was illegal to appear naked in most places—and human clothes just didn’t fit shifted dragons—and even if it hadn’t been, there were very few places that were accessible once you’d shifted. Add to that that flying low over private property left you running into all sorts of local bylaws and health hazards, and any dragon who couldn’t afford to own a lot of land, or belong to one of the exclusive clubs that did, couldn’t shift in their day-to-day lives.
It was a stifling, unpleasant existence, but this was a step toward a better future. Deacon was glad he had Jonas to share it with.
“The official opening isn’t until nine a.m. tomorrow, but one of the perks of being friends with the guy who pushed for the change is that you get a sneak peek. There’s a local interest story for you.” Deacon grinned.
“This is amazing,” Jonas said in awe. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” Deacon blushed to the tips of his ears, but he couldn’t stop smiling. He was proud of this achievement, and thrilled that Jonas was, too. “So, you wanna go flying?”
“Can we?” Jonas’ eyes widened. He was clearly eager to do exactly that.
“That’s the whole point of the park.” Deacon laughed, standing to start undressing. He hadn’t had a chance to fly since he’d been in college, and the excitement was hard to contain. He was, however, thankful for the high fences surrounding the area, so no one but Jonas would see him.
Jonas joined him without shame, kicking off his shoes and then shrugging off his coat before removing his sweatpants and t-shirt. Deacon forced himself not to stare at his rounded belly, no matter how much he wanted to reach out and touch it.
Instead, he took both of their clothes back to the car so they wouldn’t be stolen. Not that it was likely, but it paid to take precautions.
By the time he turned around, he saw that Jonas had already shifted and was stretching his wings out. He remembered the deep crimson of his scales, which shimmered purple and gold depending on the way the sun hit him, but it was new to see Jonas as an obviously pregnant dragon.
Regardless of his pregnant status, Jonas had no trouble taking off. Delighted laughter echoed around the park as he soared into the air, and Deacon just watched him for a few moments before shifting as well to join him.
In his dragon form, the whole world seemed much smaller and less complicated. Up here, the breeze was strong and the air smelled of a thousand different interesting things. He could see all the way to where Jonas’ apartment had been, and his dragon senses honed in on a few people who were watching he and Jonas fly. No doubt some of them would report it, but they’d quickly discover that they had every right to be doing this.
Jonas dove toward him, veering off at the last second as a playful challenge. Deacon took it up, swinging around to chase him through the sky and roaring with laughter the entire time. It felt good to stretch his wings, and he was so glad other dragons would get this chance now.
It was also nice to just play with Jonas. Fun wasn’t something Deacon took a lot of time out for, so it was a change for him to do this, and to share it with someone else. He paused to hang in mid-air, flapping his wings enough to keep himself in position, and watched his friend’s scales sparkle and change color in the failing sunlight. They’d have to land soon, since flying in the dark was a recipe for disaster, but they could always come back.
All the same, some deep, dark part of Deacon didn’t want to share Jonas with anyone, even by proximity. He shook the thought off, flying close by Jonas’ side and then moving to land, assuming he’d follow.
After a few moments Jonas landed as well, shifting back into his human form gracefully while Deacon went to get their clothes from the car. When he got back, Jonas was standing in the near-dark, cradling his stomach and looking out at the park.
“I’m so happy that she’ll have this,” he said as he accepted his clothes from Deacon. “I mean, I’m also happy that we have it and I’ve had a wonderful evening, but this is bigger than that. This is going to mean so much to so many people. Thank you for doing this for us.”
Deacon blushed furiously, glad that the lack of light was hiding most of it. “It wasn’t just me. Loads of people worked on this. You’re just the very lucky dragon who gets to benefit from it first.”
Jonas hummed thoughtfully at that as he started pulling his clothes back on. “There are a lot of advantages to being your mate, huh?”
“I guess.” Deacon focused on getting dressed, the cool night air becoming uncomfortably cold on his skin.
“How come you didn’t find one straight out of college?”
The question was completely casual, and Jonas couldn’t have known how deep it cut. Deacon had promised himself that he’d never admit that for the whole of their last year together at college, he’d wanted desperately to ask Jonas to be his mate. He hadn’t done it, in the end, because he knew Jonas could do better than him, and he’d regretted it for a long time after.
He’d thought—he’d been sure, in fact, that those feelings were over and done with, never to resurface again, but here he was, standing in a park with Jonas nearly five months pregnant with a child that he put there, and wishing that the lie they were telling everyone was true.
“Dunno. Never met anyone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, you know? Or I guess I never met anyone who wanted to spend the rest of their life with me.” He smiled wryly. “You know how difficult I am.”
“You just take a little getting used to. And training.” Jonas smiled at him, still holding his belly. “That was good for the baby. She’s so excited right now.” He laughed, looking down.
Deacon swallowed. “Can I…?” He reached out unsurely, not confident that Jonas would want to be touched at the moment.
“Of course.” Jonas took one hand away to let Deacon put his in place of it, and Deacon smiled as he felt a tiny, surprisingly strong kick against it.
“Wow. I mean, I know there’s a tiny person in there, but sometimes I forget how real he is.”
“She,” Jonas corrected, like he did every time. He’d gone so far as to not let the ultrasound technician tell him whether it was a boy or a girl, so that their bet would still be valid when the baby was born.
“Well, if I can make the world a little better for it, whatever it ends up being, I’m happy.” Deacon smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I hope you’ll take a much-deserved break now.”
“Actually, if it’s okay with you I was gonna take some time off when the baby’s born, starting a few days beforehand. Just so I’ll be around if you need anything. I’m betting the first couple of weeks are going to be hectic, and I’d be a really bad mate if I didn’t help you out at home.”
“Normally I’d be offended, but I think I could probably use the help. It’s completely okay with me. I’d appreciate it, actually. I don’t want to do the scary part alone.”
“Then you won’t have to,” Deacon promised. “I am at your disposal.”
For the first time since they’d parted ways after college, Deacon’s heart ached from not having Jonas. He promised himself then that he’d do his best to take care of him and give him and his baby whatever they needed, regardless of whether they’d ever really be mated. He had almost everything he wanted
, and he wasn’t about to screw it up by bringing his stupid, inappropriate feelings into it.
Chapter Four
Since Deacon had left in the morning, Jonas had spent the entire day becoming increasingly anxious for no reason he could pinpoint. He didn’t have anything to worry about—he had his work for the week finished and was waiting for a new assignment, so that wasn’t it, and there was nothing else he had to do for the day. It wasn’t the baby—he couldn’t feel anything wrong there, and if he had he would have called a doctor immediately.
By the time Deacon was due home, though, Jonas was watching the clock, barely holding back tears of fear and frustration at himself for feeling like this. He realized that it must have been a pregnancy thing, but it seemed strange that Deacon coming back felt like the solution. Regardless, he watched the minutes tick by, each one closer to the relief he was sure he’d feel when Deacon came inside, and tried not to devolve into full blown panic.
When he heard Deacon’s key in the door, Jonas raced toward it, hovering on the other side of the door as Deacon came through it.
“Hey,” Deacon said as he came in, surprise obvious in his voice. “Is something wrong?”
Jonas opened his mouth to explain himself, but only ended up sobbing. To Deacon’s credit, he came into the apartment and shut the door behind him, pulling Jonas into a hug immediately. He shushed and cooed and made soothing noises, focused on calming Jonas down rather than demanding to know why he was crying.
“It’s okay,” Deacon murmured. “Whatever’s wrong, we’ll fix it. First things first, is it the baby?”
Jonas shook his head. “No, the baby’s fine. I’m fine. Nothing’s happened, I just… I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Well, you’re heading into the last trimester of pregnancy and you were alone all day, so…” Deacon trailed off. He clearly knew something Jonas didn’t, though, and Jonas wanted to know what it was.
“So…?”
“So this is apparently normal. I mean, expected, I guess. I’ve been reading up.”
“How do I fix it?” Jonas asked, though the worst of the tension was already leaving him now that Deacon was back.
“Well, normally your mate being close would fix it. But, uh, I guess all you have is me, so whatever you need, I’m here.”
Jonas swallowed. Something in the back of his mind was already telling him what he needed, and that he needed it from Deacon. It was terrifying to think about, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to get on with his life until he gave in to it—or until Deacon gave him a definite no.
He looked up, meeting Deacon’s eyes, and took a deep breath. “You know what I need, don’t you?”
Deacon blushed, but nodded. “I kept reading.”
“Would you… can we…?” Jonas swallowed again. He’d thought about what having sex with Deacon would be like a few times when they were in college—usually when he was close to heat, or in the middle of it—but he’d never thought it would actually happen. Deacon could do a lot better than a scrawny omega with questionable-at-best breeding who was too loud and too independent to be a good mate.
To Jonas’ surprise, Deacon bowed his head to kiss him. Arousal flared low in his gut immediately, almost before he’d made contact with Deacon’s lips. The last of his worries dissolved as Deacon shifted his hold on him, running one hand down his back and around the curve of his belly, stroking gently through Jonas’ t-shirt with his thumb.
“I’ve wanted to do this since forever,” Deacon murmured, then took Jonas’ hand. Jonas followed Deacon without a word as he was led to the bedroom, basking in the calmness that came with knowing he was about to be as close to Deacon as he wanted to be.
He let Deacon undress him—all three pieces of clothing he was wearing—and stood nervously in front of him, aware that he wasn’t currently in his most attractive state, with his pregnant belly sticking out. Deacon stepped forward and laid both hands on the bare skin of it, grinning broadly.
“You’re so beautiful like this,” he said, as if Jonas had stated his worries aloud. Perhaps he had, in the storm of nerves currently rattling his brain. “Not that you’re not always beautiful, but…”
“Thank you.” Jonas reached up to loosen Deacon’s tie. “But honestly, I’m a warm body, and that’s all I need you to treat me as.”
Deacon’s face fell. “You are so much more than that to me. You’re my best friend, Jonas. I know you’re not looking for a mate, but I’m not going to treat you like a stranger, either.”
“Okay,” Jonas said softly, relieved this wasn’t just going to be Deacon seeing to his needs out of obligation or misplaced helpfulness. Deacon leaned in to kiss him again as they both started undressing him, and when they were both naked, Jonas moved onto the bed, holding himself up on his hands and knees and waiting to get the unpleasant part of this over and done with.
He’d done this twice before and hated it both times, only going through with it to end uncomfortable heats that didn’t want to go away on their own. Deacon was his friend, and Jonas was sure he’d be careful with him, but the whole process had only ever left him equal parts sore and embarrassed. Hopefully, Deacon would understand that this was no fun for omegas and wouldn’t interrogate him about whether it was good or not, like the last two alphas Jonas had slept with had done.
Jonas gasped with surprise when, instead of immediately being entered by Deacon’s cock, he felt his mouth against him. His legs weakened, though there was nowhere for him to fall, so he managed to stay upright.
No one had ever done this for him before, but it felt so good. He shifted his knees further apart to give Deacon better access, and heard him chuckle.
“Can I assume you like this?”
Jonas nodded eagerly, at a loss for words. Deacon licked at him again, apparently unbothered by how wet he was getting in anticipation. Instead of dreading the next part, Jonas was beginning to look forward to it. Perhaps Deacon knew things those other alphas hadn’t.
Deacon took his time, covering Jonas in his own scent until Jonas was ready to beg for more, which was a first for him. Just before he got to the point where he thought he’d have to ask Deacon if he was ever going to give him his knot, he finally felt the other man’s body move over him, the head of his cock brushing against him.
“You ready?” Deacon murmured in his ear. Jonas swallowed, nodded, and then braced himself.
Instead of tensing up or wincing in pain, Jonas felt all the tension leave his body as Deacon slid inside him. He took it slow, giving Jonas plenty of time to adjust to the stretch, and by the time Deacon was fully seated inside him, Jonas was on the edge of his first orgasm.
That had never happened with an alpha before.
“If you move, I’m gonna-” Jonas cut himself off as Deacon did just that, rocking against him once and tipping Jonas over the edge before they’d even started. The force of his orgasm made him dizzy, his limbs weak, but Deacon held him up while he recovered.
“I know,” Deacon said softly while Jonas was still catching his breath. “I want you to enjoy this. I don’t want you to resent me later because you feel used.”
Jonas laughed at that. “I’m using you in this scenario.”
“No you’re not.” Deacon leaned forward, grabbing the headboard with one hand and resting the other one on Jonas’ stomach. “Don’t ever think I feel that way. I care about your happiness so much. I’m honored you came to me.”
Not trusting himself to respond to that in any way he wouldn’t regret later, Jonas nodded and took a moment to gather himself together. Deacon dropped a kiss on his shoulder that threatened to break his resolve, but he hung in and took a deep breath.
He didn’t need to have an emotional heart-to-heart talk with Deacon while his cock was inside him. He needed Deacon to fuck him; that was what his whole body was crying out for.
Thankfully, Deacon started up again without needing to be prompted, shallow, teasing strokes at first that were completely new to Jonas’ e
xperience of sex with alphas. Deacon was, truly, different, in every possible way.
A tiny, possessive voice in the back of Jonas’ mind told him that was because Deacon was supposed to be his, and that he needed to make that clear before Deacon found someone else.
By the time Deacon sped up to a constant pace, Jonas couldn’t stop himself moaning aloud, eventually crying out on every thrust, which only seemed to speed Deacon up. The pace and the force was nearly too much for Jonas, but not quite—he could feel another orgasm building, and Deacon was definitely encouraging it.
Everything in Jonas’ world narrowed down to the place where he and Deacon were joined, to the growing pleasure that was almost a pain but held the promise of release, and to the thought that for the first time in his life, this felt right. Deacon felt right inside him and surrounding him, his hand splayed across Jonas’ belly, cradling their child.
Tears sprung up in Jonas’ eyes as he came again, groaning lowly with relief and letting himself collapse, letting Deacon hold him up as he thrust a few more times before Jonas felt him come inside him, his knot beginning to swell. He tried to pull out before it got too large to do that, but Jonas used the last of his energy to squeeze him tight and hold him there, and Deacon gave in to it and held still.
“You’re crying again,” Deacon said, a note of caution in his voice as he eased them onto their sides. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want you to be sorry.” Jonas sniffed. “I’m not upset. I’m just… tired and I was so tense and that really helped. Thank you.”
Deacon kissed the back of Jonas’ neck so softly that Jonas wasn’t sure he’d actually done it. “I’d say any time, but you’d probably hit me.”
Jonas took a deep breath, thought of all the things he wanted to say, and then thought better of it. “I probably wouldn’t hit you,” he said instead, sighing deeply.
As guilt from not being honest with Deacon settled in his stomach, he added, “I’ve been with two alphas before you and I hated just about every second of it. I didn’t realize that could be anything other than painful and awkward. I’m still processing.”