Love In A Mug

Chapter 17

⚠️ Trigger: mention of suicidal thoughts

Naruto waited with bated breath when the elevator doors opened. 

"Naru..." Itachi's voice sounded throughout the empty space.

He and Itachi were the only ones inside of the steel manufacturer box and he was tempted to hit the button to take them back down to the garage floor and get back into their vehicle.  He had been nervous ever since the therapist called with the meeting time. 

The therapist assigned to him was deemed to be the best but because male pregnancy was rare the therapist's group sessions for this particular matter didn't happen often.  Surprisingly though there are seven cases currently four including himself who would be meeting in person and three individuals by zoom.  They had to drive over an hour to reach the office so Naruto had plenty of time to prepare himself but he was still feeling apprehensive. 

"Hey.  Are you okay?"  Itachi asked hitting the "open doors" button to keep the doors from automatically closing because the elevator was wanting to move onto the next floor where others were waiting.

It wasn't until Naruto felt the raven's hand gently tug him out of the elevator that he came out of his head space.  So much has happened to his body that he didn't know where and how to express himself without crying.  'Stupid hormones' he thought.

"Uh, yeah."  He blinked.  The nervousness was bleeding off of him. Naruto squeezed the paler's hand allowing him to walk him to the receptionist desk.   He was glad that they had filled out all the necessary paperwork ahead of time and that the check-in process went fairly quickly because it meant he could stay pretty much aloof behind the tall form of his husband and not have to approach the window to answer questions.

He really didn't want her to see him.  Much to his dismay, his center of gravity had shifted making everything about his belly more pronounced.  So far all the pregnancy weight has settled in his midsection.  Having always been petite his stomach now sticks out like a centerpiece looking like he's swallowed something the size of a basketball.  Needless to say he was becoming more self-conscious of the bump and loathe the looks he sometimes gets from people, a daily reminder that he's basically in a different body not recognizing himself in the mirror anymore. 

At the last prenatal appointment the baby put on so much weight that the doctors had thought they miscalculated the time of conception but they weren't wrong because he was a virgin up until his wedding night.

He feels the fullness and heaviness increase every day with his back muscles stretching to support it.  Walking down the hall beside Itachi, he can't help but cringe at the soreness in his back and how strained every task is becoming to do. The other day, he had to pause when he noticed that his walk had turned into a slight waddle.  He was in tears, spending the rest of the morning trying to make himself walk normal but the pull on his right hip was defying his efforts having him lean awkwardly to support the weighed down organ. 

Today he was wearing a loose navy colored maternity shirt and a pair of linen maternity pants with a pair of white/navy checkered hands free kizik sneakers.  They were the only type of shoe that accommodated his swollen feet and that he could slip on by himself without the help from Kiyoshi or Itachi.  Even though he can't see his feet anymore, he knows they're still there because he can feel how swollen they are.  They ache too much in spite of being invisible.  He's reached the point where he could barely bend over and they were sneakers that he could slip on and off without a problem.

Naruto suddenly feels the warmth of Itachi's hand slipping into his own meaning that the raven has noticed.  "The conference room isn't too far you'll be able to sit down soon."   The blonde rolls his eyes at how nothing gets by the raven but was grateful for the consideration.