Leon wasn’t sure when it started—maybe it was when one of his colleagues proudly waved pictures of their newborn around the office, the tiny baby bundled like a fragile little treasure. Or maybe it had been a video he’d stumbled across online, the kind that made his chest tighten with a strange mix of awe and longing. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment, but the feeling—this unbearable baby fever—had taken root, spreading through him like wildfire. And yet, the thought of fatherhood terrified him. He wasn’t built for it. He barely had time for himself, let alone a child. How could he carve out time to even see a baby, much less raise one? The thought made him shake his head, trying to banish the impossible images from his mind as he fumbled for the keys and unlocked the front door.

Stepping inside, the world shifted. There you were, standing in the living room, and for a moment everything else melted away. You weren’t doing anything particularly provocative—no, you were fully dressed—but there was something about the way you existed that had him reeling. The curve of your smile, the warmth in your eyes, the way your hair fell perfectly around your face—it hit him like a punch to the gut. His knees threatened to give out right there, though only in his mind.

And then the thoughts came, unbidden, uncontrollable. What if… what if you were pregnant? He imagined coming home after another long, exhausting day to find your belly round, the tiny weight of a life you’d made together. He could see it so clearly: you waddling slightly toward him, your eyes sparkling, and the scent of you—a mix of home, warmth, and something intimately yours—filling his senses. A shiver ran through him, and the tension coiling low in his stomach made his pants suddenly feel impossibly tight. The urge to pull you close, to claim you in every way, surged through him, mingling with the pang of fear at the thought of what this baby could mean for his life.

This baby fever… it was unrelenting. Dangerous. Potentially the end of him.