Delaney can't help but stare at the ring sitting on his left ring finger. It's a simple gold band, like he wanted, but on the inside of the band the day they first met is engraved. He was a little hesitant to wear it out of the house, but the way Elias' eyes lit up whenever he saw the flash of gold, was enough to push aside any concerns Elaney had about what others would think. He smiles faintly at the band, feeling elated as he thinks about how lucky he is to be engaged to someone like Elias; someone so kind, gentle, loving, funny, handsome...

Delaney sighs softly as he runs the fingers of his right hand along the band. Their engagement wasn't a huge ordeal and honestly, that was what he wanted. They had dinner at Elias' restaurant and the next morning in bed, Delaney woke up to breakfast and Elias beside him, trembling hand holding out a ring box as he expressed how his life changed for the better when he met Delaney.

But little does Elias know just how much he's changed Delaney's life. Delaney's world was so dark prior to Elias. He was lonely, constantly chasing after what he believed to be love. Now that he has Elias, he knows what it feels like to truly be loved and to truly have hope for the first time. And it's this hope that foolishly leads him to say,

"I think we should try."

Elias is at the stove, preoccupied with preparing dinner, but he still asks, "Try what?"

Delaney has given this a lot of thought. He's even spent time researching it. There were a handful of cases of omegas with a similar medical condition that were able to become pregnant once they bonded with their mate. There's a part of him that knows this is a fool's errand, but who knows... just maybe...

"To...get pregnant..." he hesitantly answers, waiting with bated breath for Elias to remind him that he was empty, barren, broken, incapable of—

"Okay," Elias answers. He turns from the stove and faces Delaney with a timid smile brightening his face. "If that's what you want, I'm willing to try."

"What do you want?" Delaney asks from his seat at the table. Elias turns the flame down to low and washes his hands before joining Delaney. He reaches out to hold Delaney's hand, the pad of his thumb brushing along the precious metal.

"I would love to have a child with you, Delaney. It makes my heart incredibly happy to know that you would want me to be the father of your children. I would also love it if we just spent our lives together, traveling and seeing the world like we've talked about."

The pout can't be hidden from his voice when he counters, "That's not a firm yes. You sound as if you're on the fence."

"I'm not on the fence about you, love. It's hard to find the exact right words to say here, but just understand that I'm fine either way." Elias pushes to stand, and while still in a squat, he leans in and kisses Delaney's forehead. "It's more important to me that you're fine as well."

Delaney grabs Elias by the collar of his shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. When they pull apart, he has a moment of intense vulnerability, and asks, without asking, for reassurance in the form of backtracking. "We don't have to. I just thought that now that we've bonded—,"

Elias cups his face tenderly between his hands. "I would go to hell and back for you, Delaney Richards-Bordeaux. Anything you asked of me, no matter the cost, would be yours. I am eternally yours, which means I'm not going anywhere if you still can't—,"

"Okay," Delaney rushes out, cutting Elias off. Oddly enough, hearing Elias speak the truth about his possible infertility aloud made it exponentially more difficult to deal with.

"All I ask," Elias seamlessly moves away from the delicate topic, "is that this doesn't become a source of stress for either of us, okay?"

"Agreed," Delaney smiles as he watches the alpha return to the kitchen to finish dinner.

It becomes a stressor.

Delaney has genuinely done everything he can to keep it from becoming stressful. But, he's also type A. It starts innocuously with him doing a bit of research. He learns dominant alpha's have a higher chance of getting a mate pregnant, regardless of their presentation. He frequents a few forums and finds countless stories of omegas like him who tracked their body temperature for months and were able to catch a spike in time for ovulation. There were others that followed calendars, some that changed their diet drastically, and others that swore sex in certain positions and angling your hips up after being knotted was the trick. Luckily Delaney already has the first two. So, he tracks his temperature at the same time every day for two months straight, writing down in his journal information related to his slick and the consistency. He makes sure to angle his hips after. He does all of these things for months and nothing. He believes it to be the frequency. They're still spontaneously having sex for the most part, with Delaney making sure to initiate on certain days. If none of it worked, then surely that was the issue. His answer?

Initiate more.

Elias hasn't returned home from work yet, affording Delaney the opportunity to prepare for their night together. He showers and shampoos his hair,diffusing the long locks in order to give his curls more volume. He sprays a bit of perfume on his pulse points and glosses his lips. Thanks to his knack for being extremely punctual, he's in position and sitting on his calves in the middle of the bed, hair falling around his shoulders right as Elias comes home. He waits, slightly impatiently, his scent giving away his displeasure at how leisurely Elias is being. He focuses on tonight being "the night" and soon annoyance fades and is replaced with the faint aroma of hope.

"Delaney?" Elias calls out, "Where are you? I have some news to...tell...you...," he slowly stops speaking as he opens the bedroom door and crosses the threshold, taking in the sight of Delaney. "Wow," he exhales softly, " You look... wow." He walks over to the bed and leans down to kiss his mate. He pulls back just as Delaney lifts his arms to encircle him. "I have news!"

"It can wait," Delaney insists. He reaches over to unbutton and unzip Elias' pants, but the alpha gently grabs his wrist. Elias' scent is slightly distressed and Delaney stops to look up at his mate. "What's wrong?"

"I've said twice that I have news."

"And I said once it can wait."

Elias' sigh is heavy, dragging down his shoulders with the breath as he dropped Delaney's wrist and stood. "I'm not in the mood, Dee."

Delaney feels slightly offended and it's evident in his tone of voice. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Elias inhales deeply, holding his breath in his lungs before exhaling slowly, "I don't want to have sex tonight."

Rejection is a scent reminiscent of something sweet burning. Delaney pulls his lips in and nods slowly as he climbs out of the bed. "That's fine."

"It's not and we need to talk about it."

Delaney turns on his heels and stares over Elias. He can feel the anger rising the longer they maintain eye contact without Elias saying anything. He folds his arms over his chest and questions, "Well?"

Elias scratches at his scalp, staying silent, presumably to gather his thoughts. After a while he finally speaks, albeit too slowly, and states, "It's become a stressor. The checking of your temperature. The tracking of the consistency of your slick. You're not eating dairy, you haven't had alcohol in months, not that I mind, and you cut out all processed foods. I love you. I love making love to you, but you hardly speak to me anymore. When you do it's about some new thing you've learned and want to try out. I'm tired. I know you are too. So tonight I just want to take a break."

Delaney, on some level, understands Elias. He is tired but the alpha doesn't get it. He doesn't understand what it's like to hope for something for years just to be told it's impossible. Elias doesn't understand the feeling of promise that grows with each article he reads and each person online that says they conceived through those methods. He can't know what it's like to be devastated month after month because you feel sick, you're sleepy, certain foods make you nauseous, but it's nothing. It passes and you're emptier now than what you were before. He doesn't know what that's like. But Delaney wants him too because despite understanding Elias, he's extremely irrational right now and he lashes out,

"You're a dominant alpha. Act like one." As soon as the words leave his mouth he wishes he could take them back. He wants to snatch them from the air and dispose of them, erasing their existence before Elias registers what was said. However, it's too late.

Elias takes a step back, moving away from Delaney. His expression is blank but his scent gives his true feelings away. Hurt, anger, and the slightest hint of betrayal make Delaney immediately regretful of his actions.

"Elias," he starts, taking a step toward the alpha who takes another one back. "I didn't mean—," Elias cuts him off,

"So, uh, I need to leave, okay? I'll be at Malik's. Please don't call me. Or do. I don't know right now. I just," he stops to take a deep breath and when he speaks again his voice is thin, breaking under the weight of his emotions, "I need to go." He grabs his car keys from the night stand and turns to leave. Before crossing the threshold into the hallway, he stops and turns around to face Delaney to say, "I love you."

Delaney knows wholeheartedly, even in this moment, Elias truly does. So he respects his boundaries and despite feeling as if his foundation is crumbling underneath him, he doesn't go after him. He gives Elias the space he needs. He waits until the taillights of his car are no longer visible before grabbing his phone and calling Tristin.

"Yes my lo—," Delaney cuts him off with a choked sob.

"I fucked up, Tris. I fucked up so badly."

"I'm on my way."