More Than Us (Ianthony)

Chapter 02: Joy

"Excuse me? Do you know where I can find the little baby onesies?" Anthony asked the associate nervously, hoping that he called it the right thing. She smiled a little and nodded.

"Of course. What age?" Anthony froze at the unexpected question.

"I-I'm not sure. I just need a small one that says #1 dad or something on it. My husband is pregnant and I'm the only one who knows about it because he was too impatient with the tests and he didn't throw them away." The associate smiled.

"So you're wanting to buy a onesie to put in a little gift box or something to surprise him with his little unknown bun in the oven?"

"Yes, exactly." Anthony chuckled.

"Follow me." The associate led him to the baby department and took him to the newborn section. "I would recommend getting a 0-3 sized one so that the baby can wear it as soon as it's born instead of waiting 6 months or so before it can wear it." Anthony nodded.

"Okay." He then started to pick through the racks in search of the perfect onesie to give to Ian. He thought the associate had left, but she spoke up again from behind him.

"You must be excited." She said. Anthony spun around to face her and smiled widely at her.

"You have no idea. We've been trying to have a baby for five years now and it's finally happening. I just think it's funny that I figured out before he did and I'm not even the one carrying it." The associate laughed.

"Sometimes things turn out in hilarious ways." Anthony continued to make small talk with the associate until he came across a onesie that said: "I have the best dad in the whole world."

"This is perfect." Anthony said, showing the small onesie to the associate. She smiled and nodded her head.

"I would've chose that one too. Do you need a gift box too or do you already have one?" Anthony gestured to the gift bag in his cart.

"I already got something to wrap it in."

"Well, if you're ready I can check you out."

"If you don't mind." The associate hinted for him to follow her.

"Not all." Anthony placed all of his items on the counter and let the young woman scan them. "$7.09" Anthony handed her a $10.00 from his wallet and took the bagged items into his hands. Once he got his change back, he thanked the associate and started walking out. "Congratulations!" She called to Anthony.

"Thanks!" He called back, finally exiting the store and getting into his car. When Anthony made it back home, Ian was still visiting his mother. Anthony sighed a breath of relief knowing that he still had time to prepare Ian's "present." Anthony ran into their room and retrieved one of the positive tests he had kept from that morning and went back into the kitchen. He took out the roll of glittery ribbon he bought and cut a small piece off, tying it around the test and setting it aside. He then took some filler paper and stuffed it into the gift bag, grabbing the onesie and folding it to where you could easily read what was on it. He gently placed it into the bag and laid the test on top of it, covering the items up with more filler paper. Once he was finished, he hid and threw away the access materials and hid the gift bag from Ian's sight. He couldn't wait until Ian got home. To kill time, Anthony laid on the couch with Daisy and Pip watching some random shows/movies on Netflix while eating a bowl of watermelon. Anthony's heart leaped out of his chest when he heard Ian walk through the front door about an hour later.

"I'm home, babe!" He called. Anthony jumped up from the couch and ran over to him, pecking his lips and pushing him into the kitchen.

"I'm so glad you're home! I have a surprise for you." Ian gave Anthony a confused glare while taking his jacket off.

"Okay... What is it?"

"Just sit down and I'll be right back." Ian threw his jacket over the chair and sat down, feeling his stomach knot up at the smell of Anthony's watermelon. He grimaced a little, but thought nothing else of it. Anthony came back with the small gift bag in his hands and handed it to Ian. "Here ya go, baby." Ian examined the bag for a moment and looked at Anthony with a questioning glare.

"It's nothing gross or creepy like a tarantula or some shit like that, is it?" Anthony shook his head.

"No, not at all. Just open it!" Anthony excitedly said, gesturing his hand for Ian to go faster. Ian opened up the bag and gently pulled out the filling paper, still looking at Anthony like he didn't trust him.

"I swear Anthony, if there's something nasty in here you better...." Ian drifted off, looking into the box with an unreadable expression.

"Surprise." Anthony laughed. Ian looked up from the bag, mouth slightly agape and his expression still unreadable.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ian finally said.

"No baby. I'm not kidding." Ian looked back into the bag and stayed silent for another moment before throwing the bag onto the table with an angry motion, catching Anthony off guard.

"How he hell could you do something like that to me!?" Ian exclaimed, standing up from the table with a very angry look on his face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Anthony asked.

"You bought a fake test and put it in a bag with a fucking onesie! HOW DARE YOU TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS LIKE THAT, ANTHONY!? YOU KNOW HOW BADLY I WANT A BABY!" Anthony's heart broke. He didn't think that Ian would react this way.

"Ian, that's not a fake test. That's YOUR test! The one YOU took this morning." Anthony explained, but Ian didn't believe him and began to cry.

"LIAR! YOU'RE LYING TO ME ANTHONY! THE TESTS WERE NEGATIVE THIS MORNING!" Ian was in hysterics. "HOW COULD YOU TREAT ME THIS WAY, ANTHONY... HOW!? YOU FUCKING KNOW HOW BAD I WANT A BABY AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS MOCK ME!"

"Wow... Ian really is pregnant." Anthony thought to himself. "Baby, listen to me. I'm not mocking you. I could never do anything like that to hurt you." Ian seemed to calm down a little.

"Then what is this!?" He asked, waving the pregnancy test around.

"That's your test, honey. When you took the tests this morning, you didn't give them enough time to change colors and you just automatically assumed you wasn't pregnant; but when I went to use the bathroom they were all positive... All of them." Ian stared into Anthony's eyes for a little bit before looking back to the bag. He then picked up the test and examined it closely.

"Anthony can't be lying to me." Ian thought. "He would never do something like that to me..." Ian then grabbed the bag and reached into it, pulling out the onesie.

"Ian... Honey, you're pregnant. We're going to be dads." Anthony said, resting his hand on Ian's shoulder. Ian stared at the onesie for a while and began to cry again, but out of happiness this time. He held the onesie tightly to his chest and covered his mouth with his sleeve as Anthony pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry." Ian cried. "I-I thought you were-"

"It's okay, baby. It's alright" Anthony whispered, kissing his head. Ian then gasped and broke the embrace, staring into Anthony's eyes as his own still trickled with tears.

"Anthony! W-We're pregnant! We're having a baby! Of course I need to make an appointment with Dr. Goodin just to make sure, but ALL FOUR TESTS! AAH!" Ian then jumped up and down a little and fell back into Anthony's arms, his tears not stopping anytime soon. Anthony held his husband close and thought about all of the trials and tribulations that both of them had went through just to get to this moment. From Ian's messed up ovulation cycle, to Anthony's inability to produce "good sperm," they'd been through it all; but none of that mattered anymore. They were finally having a baby and not a thing in the world could bring them down from that pedestal.