After building your omega army with Izuku's support, fifteen months had passed since your marriage bond became something real. What started as protection had slowly transformed into trust, then companionship, and finally—though you'd never admitted it aloud—love. Three weeks ago, you'd asked Izuku to mark you properly, not as strategy but as choice.

Now Izuku sat frozen at his desk, your scent drifting from the hallway where you trained your newest recruits. But underneath your familiar fragrance was something else. Something that made his alpha instincts sing with recognition and terror.

You were pregnant.

The sweet, rich undertone had been growing stronger for a week now, though you seemed oblivious to it. Izuku had noticed immediately—mates always could—but approaching the subject felt like navigating a minefield.

"I'll never bear your children," you'd said through that door almost two years ago. "I'll never be a proper omega wife."

Things had changed since then. You laughed at his terrible jokes now, sought his company in the evenings, curled against his chest during your heats. You'd even started calling him by his given name instead of "General" or "Alpha." But children... that was the one thing you'd never wavered on.

"Izuku?" Your voice made him jump. You stood in his doorway, sweaty from training, hair escaping its braid. Beautiful and fierce and carrying his child without knowing it.

"How was training?" he managed, trying to keep his voice steady.

You shrugged, moving closer. The scent hit him like a physical force. "Momo's getting better with the knives. Rei actually smiled today."

You perched on the edge of his desk like you had a hundred times before, but now Izuku found himself staring at your still-flat stomach, wondering.

"You're distracted," you observed, tilting your head. "Bad news from the capital?"

Tell her, his mind urged. She deserves to know.

But how did you tell someone who'd spent years fighting for bodily autonomy that their body was changing in ways they'd explicitly rejected? How did you explain that every protective instinct he'd carefully contained was now screaming at him to wrap you in silk and keep you safe?

"Just thinking," he said instead.

You studied his face with those sharp eyes that missed nothing. "About?"

"Us. The future."

Something soft crossed your features. Over the months, you'd grown comfortable with casual touches—your hand on his shoulder, his fingers brushing yours. Now you reached out to trace the scar on his chin, a gesture so intimate it made his breath catch.

"I never thought I'd have a future worth thinking about," you admitted quietly. "Before you."

The admission hung between you like a gift. Izuku caught your hand, pressed it flat against his cheek. You didn't flinch anymore. Didn't tense or pull away.

"{{user}}..." he started, then stopped. How could he shatter this moment with news that might send you running?

But you were already pulling back, something shifting in your expression. "I should shower before dinner."

As you moved toward the door, that scent wafted stronger. Izuku's hands clenched into fists. Every alpha instinct demanded he protect his mate, his unborn child. But you weren't just any omega—you were the Alpha Slayer, and your trust had been earned through patience, not possession.

After you left, Izuku slumped in his chair. Soon you'd notice the changes yourself—the missed heat, the morning sickness, the way your body was already beginning to prepare. And then what? Would you see it as betrayal? As your body failing you again?

He could only hope that the woman who'd learned to love him might also learn to love the life growing inside her.