Chapter Text
A year changes things in drastic ways sometimes.
It slips in through routines, through shared spaces, through the way people stop asking “are you staying over?” and start assuming you will.
The apartment Eva and Lovro had to rent because of how far their campuses were, wasn’t big, but it had grown into a cozy place that felt stable, lively.
It smelled like both of them, that was the first thing anyone noticed when they walked in.
Lovro’s scent sat low and steady in the space, it clung to the furniture, to the curtains, to the sleeves of hoodies that didn’t belong to him in the first place, -ehm ehm, Ivan- but somehow always ended up back here.
Eva’s scent was brighter, sharper at the edges. It shifted more, depending on her mood, her energy, the day she’d had. Some mornings it was almost citrus like, clean, quick, alert. Other days, it softened into calmer, quieter flowers.
It wasn’t perfect but enough that the apartment felt like a shared territory instead of a divided one.
The first few weeks after moving in had been… tense. Obviously, no fights, no slammed doors but just small adjustments that neither of them were used to, and don’t blame them, living with someone else other than your parents was hard, okay?
By the time autumn settled in, it all worked out.
And then, there were the boys, the boys that had never really stopped being part of that space. They didn’t live there, but at that point the lines were definitely just some blur.
Ivan showed up the most, at first, it had been practical. His faculty wasn’t far from his parents house but Eva and Lovro’s apartment was closer to everything that mattered, cafés, study spots, places that stayed open too late, and of course, to Lovro. It made sense to crash there after long days.
He’d let himself in like he belonged there, calling out a lazy “I’m here,” as he dropped his bag somewhere it definitely wasn’t supposed to go.
Jakov was different, where Ivan slipped into the apartment like it was an extension of himself, Jakov arrived with presence and Eva always reacted first. Not in a way anyone could call out but there was a shift, a flicker of awareness like her body recognised something before she allowed herself to. She tried to play it off and most of the time, she succeeded.
And Jakov never stayed as long as Ivan did. His faculty was too far, his schedule tighter, his life structured in a way that didn’t leave room for the kind of drifting Ivan seemed so comfortable with. When he came over, it was always with the excuse of hanging out with Lovro, and of course with Ivan. Escaping his parents was nice, always tiptoeing around Eva was, not so much. He still came though, often enough that his presence wasn’t unusual and often enough that the four of them started to fall into something that looked, from the outside, almost like a system.
It was a Tuesday when things shifted. Eva didn’t finish her coffee, more like, she couldn’t. She left it half-full on the table, something she never did, and didn’t even try to before she almost ran to the bathroom.
Lovro kept noticing things that day, the way her movements slowed as the morning went on, the way her scent, usually so clear and defined, felt… just off. “Are you okay?” he had to ask at one point, leaning against the kitchen counter, watching her more closely than he meant to.
Eva glanced up, blinking like she’d been pulled out of somewhere distant. “Yeah,” she said, too quickly. Then, softer, “Just tired.”
Lovro didn’t push, he knew better than that but he didn’t stop noticing, either.
That afternoon, the apartment was too quiet, this time not the comfortable kind.
Lovro was sat at the table with his laptop open, notes scattered around him in a way that should’ve made sense but didn’t. He’d been staring at the same paragraph for the past ten minutes, reading it over and over without actually processing any of it.
From down the hall, he could hear Eva moving and it distracted him so much. She hadn’t gone to class and that alone was enough to throw him off. Eva didn’t skip unless it was a life or death situation, she complained about lectures, sure, dragged herself out of bed some mornings like it was killing her but she still went.
Today, she hadn’t even tried. She’d made it as far as the kitchen, poured herself coffee, stared at it like it had personally wronged her and then disappeared into the bathroom for maybe the tenth time today.
Lovro exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face before forcing his eyes back to the screen. He had a midterm next week, he had to focus.
The next day, Eva said she felt better but she definitely wasn’t. She went to class this time but came back early and spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the couch with a blanket pulled up to her chin, staring at nothing in particular. Her scent was muted, in a way Lovro couldn’t quite place anymore. “Still sick?” he asked at one point, hovering awkwardly by the arm of the couch.
Eva nodded without really looking at him. “Yeah. Probably food poisoning, it doesn’t go away.”
Lovro wanted to believe him but Eva was also quieter, it was obvious something was bugging her and not just physically though she moved slower, took longer to do simple things. It was like she was somewhere else entirely even when she was sitting right there.
Lovro caught her staring him with the side of her eyes. “Eva?”
She shook her head before he could even finish. “It’s nothing.”
And by the end of the week, Lovro stopped telling himself it was just food poisoning or cold. Colds didn’t last like this, didn’t go on like this. It wasn’t just the nausea or the fatigue or the way Eva kept disappearing into the bathroom at the worst possible times.
Now it was her scent too, it definitely had changed and it didn’t sit right anymore. Sometimes it felt warmer, sometimes heavier, it made him restless and he didn’t know what to do with that, he didn’t know how to help her because Eva would not accept any help, let alone any questions from anyone.
Ivan noticed the second he walked in and he hadn’t even get past the door. “I’m here-” he started, voice easy and familiar, with the same warmth as always, then he stopped in his place unexpectedly.
He went still in a way that didn’t match his words, his posture shifting as he took a slow breath in like he was trying to place something he couldn’t immediately understand.
“Hi baby,” Lovro looked up from the table, his face fell as soon as he saw Ivan’s halt. “What?”
Ivan didn’t answer right away, his eyes flickered around the apartment like he was following an invisible trail in the air. Then they landed on Lovro.
Something in Lovro’s stomach dropped. “What?” he repeated, more sharp and guarded this time. Suspense annoyed Lovro so much, it always had.
Ivan stepped further inside, closing the door behind him without looking away. “Fuck, come here.”
Lovro blinked. “What? Why?”
“Just-” Ivan exhaled, running a hand through his hair, clearly trying to keep his tone normal and failing. “Just come here, please.”
Lovro hesitated for a second before pushing his chair back and standing up. “Is everything okay? You’re being weird.”
“I know,” Ivan said quickly. “Just, be quick.”
Lovro rolled his eyes but walked over anyways, stopping a few steps in front of him. “What is wrong?”
Ivan didn’t answer but instead he reached for him, hands settling on Lovro’s arms as he leaned in, close enough that Lovro could feel his breath, his presence, the shift in the air between them. He pulled him closer, Lovro barely had any time to react before Ivan pressed a deep kiss to his lips, instinctive, grounding and tasting his mouth like it’s where he belonged.
Lovro pulled back when they had to breathe some air in, brows knitting together. “Okay, what’s going on?”
Ivan’s grip tightened around his wrists, pulling him into Lovro’s room just to be sure nobody is there to hear them. “Are you pregnant?”
Lovro was already shaken with suspense and the following deep kiss, then being pulled in his room abruptly that he could just stare at Ivan until he was able to form a word. “I- uh? What?”
Ivan’s grip tightened again before he let go, stepping back half a step to scrutinise him from top to bottom, which made Lovro’s chest tighten for a completely different reason.
Lovro let out a breath he didn’t realise he’d been holding, his pulse still uneven from the kiss. “How would that even be possible?” he said, the words coming out defensive and a little upset before he could stop himself. “Ivan, we had unprotected sex once, once and that was like, what, seven, eight months ago? You didn’t even knot me and I wasn’t in heat. What are you even implying here?” His voice edged up at the end. He didn’t know why he felt so defensive, very briefly considering maybe this wasn’t what Ivan meant at all but he had already reacted this way now, he felt the need to stand his ground.
Ivan blinked, the tension in his shoulders dropping just a fraction. “Hey- ugh, no, no,” he said quickly, hands lifting like he didn’t want this to turn into something else. “I’m not, oh no, I didn’t mean it like that.”
Lovro huffed out a breath, running a hand through his hair, pacing once across the small space of his room before turning back to him. “Then what did you mean?” He made sure to say this one softer, already a little regretful after his first lash out.
Ivan hesitated and that was enough to make Lovro’s stomach twist again, he should have been harsher, okay, lesson learnt. “Ivan.”
“I’m sorry,” Ivan said, he looked fully confused and distraught. “I didn’t think before asking. It’s just,” he lowered his voice even more, almost a whisper now. “This place smells like a pregnant omega Lovro. I know when I smell one, so my first instinct was to somehow get closer to you, sorry.”
They kind of hung there for a second, both of them looking at each other with an unexpected expression.
Lovro frowned. “Smells like what?”
“I’m serious,” Ivan said, eyes flicking briefly towards the door like he could simply see the smell. “I noticed it the second I walked in,” he shook his head, frustrated.
Lovro stared at him until he could hear something shattering inside his brain, realisation hitting him like a truck.
“Oh my god.”
Lovro’s eyes widened, his expression shifting in real time as the past week replayed itself all at once. “Eva’s been sick, oh fuckity fuck,” he whispered with the ultimate shock and disbelief. He stepped closer, words picking up speed as they came out. “Like, properly sick. For a week now. She’s been throwing up, she skipped classes, she-” he cut himself off, slapping a hand on his open mouth. “She said it was food poisoning, but it didn’t make sense, I knew it didn’t make sense. Ivan, are you sure?”
Ivan went very still. “One hundred percent.”
“That must be it,” Lovro said, talking more to himself now, the pieces falling into place one by one. “That has to be it.”
“Fuck,” Ivan muttered under his breath as he let himself fall onto Lovro’s messy bed, sighing deeply and breathing all the air inside his lungs out.
Lovro stood there for a second longer, then let out a quiet breath as well, dropping down onto the bed, beside Ivan. The mattress dipped under his weight, their shoulders brushing contently. He turned his head, looking at Ivan. He looked different like this, flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, one arm thrown over his eyes like he was trying to block everything out for a second. “You okay?” Lovro asked quietly.
Ivan let out a small huff of air, something almost like a laugh but without much humour. “Yeah. I just,” he paused, dragging his arm down his face before turning his head to Lovro. “That really scared the shit out of me.”
Lovro’s lips twitched faintly. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” Ivan said, nudging him lightly with his shoulder. “I walk in and the whole place smells like that and you’re just sitting there like everything’s normal, what was I supposed to think?”
Lovro rolled his eyes, Ivan was rarely this dramatic and he was stealing his role now. “That I’d tell you?”
Ivan gave him a look and to be fair, yeah, Lovro in fact would not tell Ivan, he was kind of famous for not telling things.
“…Okay, fair,” Lovro admitted, rolling his eyes again.
A small silence followed, then Lovro shifted a little closer, almost without thinking and his body craving proximity, his hand brushing against Ivan’s before settling there. Ivan didn’t hesitate, his fingers curled around Lovro’s instinctively.
It always came easy with them.
Lovro leaned in, pressing a brief kiss to Ivan’s jaw, Ivan turned his head just enough to meet him halfway, their lips finding each other again. Something just to steady both them, it felt good and familiar all over.
Lovro pulled back first, resting his forehead lightly against Ivan’s temple for a second before speaking. “Why did you sound so relieved?” he asked quietly.
Ivan frowned, he must not have expected this question that it was obvious he didn’t have an answer ready. “What do you mean?”
“When you realised it wasn’t me,” Lovro said, he was curious, not expecting to have a conversation like this today too. “You looked like you could finally breathe. Do you want kids, I mean, of course eventually?”
Ivan stilled and his eyes focused on something distant, out of the room. For a second, Lovro thought he might have asked a bad question, that perhaps Ivan wouldn’t answer to.
Ivan exhaled slowly, his grip on Lovro’s hand tightened just a little before he let it completely go. “I mean,” he started, then stopped like he wasn’t sure how to phrase it. “It’s not that I’d-” he huffed softly. “That’s not what I meant.”
Lovro didn’t interrupt as Ivan stared up at the ceiling again, quieter now. “I always thought I’d have kids before,” he said after a moment. “A lot of them, actually. Like… a big family,” he went on. “I don’t know. It just always made sense in my head. A house full of noise, people who has my and my lover’s faces, chaos.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I was weirdly specific about it too.”
Lovro’s lips curved a little. “You? Specific? No way.”
Ivan nudged him again, lighter this time. “Shut up.” But the smile didn’t fully stay, it faded as his gaze drifted away. “Then I got diagnosed,” he said, even quieter now.
The shift was immediate. Lovro felt it, not just in his words but also in the way Ivan’s whole body seemed to settle heavier into the mattress. Ivan swallowed once, his jaw tightening before he continued. “And I don’t know,” he said. “It just… changed things.” He turned his head again, meeting Lovro’s eyes this time. “I don’t want to risk it,” he said simply. “Passing it on. Watching them go through the same shit I am. Not knowing if I could handle it if they did.”
Lovro’s chest was hurting by the time Ivan stopped talking. He hadn’t expected that answer, hadn’t expected the feelings with it. “Oh,” he said, just squeezing his hand gently. “That makes sense,” he added after a second, quieter.
And it did, it really did but it also didn’t stop something small and sharp from settling in his chest anyways. Because he had thought about it too, of course not so seriously since they had a whole life ahead, so not in a planned-out way, but enough that Ivan’s answer broke his heart a little nonetheless.
He thought about it, with Ivan, a few years from now, a different apartment, maybe a house and they both would have stable jobs by then, they’d perhaps get cats first, to make sure they could handle the responsibility of keeping something alive. And then eventually Lovro would have his heat, he would beg Ivan to have his kids and Ivan would agree this time, Lovro would carry their babies, they would come out looking like a mixture of both of them.
It almost looked like what Ivan had just described, in his previous dream.
Lovro swallowed, pushing the thought down before it could sit too long. He didn’t let it show, he couldn’t because this was a serious topic now, the problem was Eva and he didn’t have time to think about all this nonsense, which now seemed very far away anyways.
“…So,” he said after a moment, his voice softer now, but steadier. “Not to gossip or something but, who do we think the father is?”
Ivan let out a breath through his nose, eyes still fixed somewhere above them. “I mean,” he murmured. “It’s obvious, no?”
Lovro tilted his head, studying Ivan’s profile he loved so much. “You think it’s Jakov, right?”
Ivan didn’t answer immediately which was an answer enough.
“I mean,” Lovro went on, shifting onto his side so he could see him better, “that’s the logical assumption. I think they’ve been… doing whatever they are, for months.”
“Yeah,” Ivan said, finally turning his head to smile at Lovro. “It’s not exactly a secret.”
Lovro huffed softly. “It’s not not a secret either. They’re really weird about it. When I ask Jakov he just dodges the question.”
“They’re always weird,” Ivan muttered.
Lovro smiled but it didn’t last long with the possibility that rushed into his head. His brows pulled together as he grimaced. “There’s… also Nix.”
Ivan’s eyes narrowed as if he was trying to remember who that was, maybe he didn’t even know about him.
“Roko’s friend, you might not know him. But I’m just saying,” he added quickly. “She has been hanging out with him from party to party. And there was a party last month-” Lovro exhaled quietly, rolling onto his back again, staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know,” he admitted after a second. “It could be him.”
“You don’t like that option,” Ivan said.
“No,” Lovro said simply. “I’d rather it be Jakov,” he admitted.
Ivan glanced at him. “Yeah?” he asked.
Lovro nodded eyes still on the ceiling. “He loves Eva, I know he still does, he always had…” he hesitated, searching for the right words. “And he would be a good father, not that I’m biased but I know he would.”
“I believe you,” Ivan said.
“And he loves babies,” Lovro went on. “And Eva. Even if they’re both terrible at showing it like normal people.”
That pulled the faintest hint of a smile from Ivan. “Understatement,” he murmured.
“Nix is…” he trailed off, not knowing how to go on, he realised he actually didn’t know much about the guy, he was basically an NPC in the background.
“Unpredictable,” Ivan finished for him.
Lovro nodded. “Yeah. That. And Eva doesn’t need that right now,” he added. “Not with this.”
Ivan went quiet again until he suddenly spoke. “We don’t actually know anything,” he said after a moment. “We’re just guessing. Maybe she won’t keep it, she’s still young.”
“I know,” Lovro said. “But it matters. Also,” he added, a hint of something lighter creeping back into his tone, “if it is Jakov, we’re going to have to deal with him.”
Ivan groaned, dropping his arm over his eyes. “Don’t remind me.”
Lovro let out a quiet laugh. “He’s going to lose his mind.”
“He’s going to pretend he’s not losing his mind,” Ivan corrected.
“Which is worse.”
“Way worse.”
Lovro’s fingers found Ivan’s hand again, lacing loosely with his. “We should let her decide if she wants to tell us,” he added. “Maybe not push too much.”
Ivan squeezed his hand once. “Agreed.”
Lovro shifted closer again, resting his head against Ivan’s shoulder.
Ivan relaxed into it almost immediately. Neither of them spoke for a while after that.
Outside the room, the apartment was quiet, a little too quiet, maybe. Because somewhere down the hall, behind a closed door, something real was waiting and neither of them knew yet, how much it was about to change everything.
They didn’t confront Eva immediately, they wanted to ask but not knowing how to do it exactly.
They stepped out of the room like nothing had changed and like Ivan hadn’t just dropped something that rewired the entire past week in Lovro’s head.
Eva was in the kitchen, stood by the counter, staring down at something, her phone, maybe, or nothing at all, her posture slouched like even standing up took more effort than it should.
She looked up when they walked in. “Hey, oh Ivan, I didn’t hear you come,” she said. It all sounded normal, yet remarkably disturbing.
“Hey,” Ivan replied just as easily. He was a bad actor with the way his scent spiked up, all the hair behind his neck standing up as Lovro could see.
Lovro felt the need to interrupt, break the weird silence so they could keep up with the undecided act. “You didn’t eat,” he said after a moment, nodding towards the untouched plate on the counter.
Eva shrugged. “I did, when I was out. Now I’m not really hungry.” She smiled but that was the fakest smile Lovro had ever seen from her, considering he was involved in breaking her relationship up, that was how bad it was.
Lovro tried again, they had to be casual, casual questions, very normal ones if they wanted to gain her trust. “Oh, so how was the class?”
Eva shrugged. “Fine, the guy speaks so much though.”
“What did you do after?”
“Nothing much, we went to that bistro we discovered with Vanessa.”
“Still feeling sick?” Lovro listed the questions one by one, not even realising he was almost interrogating Eva like this, mentally noting everything she’s been saying.
“Uh, a little.” Eva raised an eyebrow at him, now probably a little suspicious by both of their attitude. “What’s with the interrogation?”
Ivan watched the whole thing like he was trying to read between the lines, picking up on things Lovro couldn’t, or trying to radiate laser from his eyes with the intense look he’s been throwing.
Eva stood up straight, bringing both of them to their senses with how quick she was with it, pressing a hand to her stomach. “I’m gonna- uh, I’ll be back.” She almost ran to the bathroom, the door closing behind her a second later.
Silence.
Lovro exhaled slowly, sitting down and leaning back in his chair. “Wow, okay, so… yeah.”
Ivan nodded once, jaw tight. “Yeah.”
“You really actually think-”
“I know what it smells like,” Ivan cut in quietly. “Trust me.”
Lovro swallowed, they had a big storm coming.
They tried again the next day.
Ivan brought food and they just watched what she did with it. Lovro lingered a little longer in the same room, trying to catch her eye, trying to get her to say something first.
“Do you want me to come with you to the doctor?” Lovro asked at one point, as casually as he could manage.
Eva froze for half a second. “Why would I go to the doctor?” she tried to sound casual, yet failing miserably because of her enlarging eyes.
Lovro shrugged, forcing it. “You’ve been sick for a week.”
“I’m fine,” she said, too quickly, too flat. She picked at the edge of the food Ivan had brought, moving it around more than actually eating it.
Ivan watched her like a hawk, his whole body was aware, tense in that quiet, coiled way that made Lovro hyper-aware too.
Lovro leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms, trying to look less involved. “You’ve barely eaten,” he added. “And you keep,” he stopped himself before saying throwing up. “feeling sick.”
Eva huffed and it was obvious that she was annoyed. “It’s probably just a virus or something. It’ll pass.”
“It’s been a week,” Ivan said.
That made her look up again. “Why are you both acting like this?” she asked, her voice tightening and she was about to cry, Lovro could tell. “It’s not a big deal.”
Lovro and Ivan exchanged a quick glance.
Her eyes narrowed as she stood up, fight or flight reaction if they’d ever seen one. “I’m going to lie down.”
Lovro and Ivan just watched as she walked past them, down the hall, and then the bedroom door closing softly behind her.
The second it clicked shut, Ivan exhaled sharply. “Okay, we’re terrible at this.”
Lovro let out a breath that almost turned into a laugh. “You think?”
It went on like that for days now. There were small attempts, careful questions and casual tones that weren’t actually casual.
Eva still dodged everything like her life depended on it.
By the first week of this, whatever this was, the tension had settled into the walls and now you could feel it the second you walked in.
Ivan was also restless, the scent sitting low in the house made him snap out of his mind from time to time. He was super clingy with Lovro even though this has nothing to do with him, almost following him to the bathroom too, finding stupid excuses to wait at the door as if Lovro was the pregnant one.
All these happened while Eva was right there, pregnant and possibly in so much worry since she still didn’t even dare to mention it.
Lovro felt it too, maybe he was too much of an empath that he was just as restless as the both of them, his heart was always pounding, something feeling just different, anticipation nearly killing him. He found himself watching Eva more than he meant to. The way her hand would drift towards her stomach before she caught herself and dropped it again. The way she looked at them sometimes like she was on the edge of saying something and then pulled back at the last second.
There were so many signs, yet so little talk about it.
That evening, Ivan ended up staying over again as usual. He’d been staying for a week now that at that point, it would’ve been weirder if he didn’t.
Eva was in the living room, half-curled into the couch, a blanket wrapped around her even though it wasn’t really cold. The TV was on, they put on a freshly out film but none of them were really watching it.
Lovro lay between Ivan’s legs, close enough that he could feel the faint shift of his movements behind him.
Ivan was sprawled on the opposite to Eva, other end of the couch, one arm thrown over Lovro’s chest protectively.
Lovro let his head fall back on Ivan’s chest slightly, staring at the ceiling for a second before speaking, tone deliberately casual. They have planned this, Ivan and him, they would just try to invite Jakov and watch Eva’s reactions. That way, they would simply confirm both of their suspicions.
“We should call Jakov,” Lovro muttered as if it was just an idea that came to his mind. “I haven’t seen him since forever.”
The effect was immediate, as expected. Eva went completely still across them, you could see her body stiffen with the offer.
Lovro’s eyes flicked up, just enough to catch the way her fingers tightened around the blanket.
“Yeah,” Ivan added, just as casually. “He hasn’t been here in a few days. I miss the guy.”
Lovro held his head up, looking up at Eva now. “We could invite him over. Just hang out.”
Eva shifted, too quickly this time like her body was trying to move before her brain caught up. “I- uh, I don’t think it’s a good idea now. He has classes tomorrow, right?”
“He would never say no to some booze and chilling with us,” Ivan cut in, he knew this was a stretch but still not letting it drop.
Eva laughed lightly, it sounded wrong. “Yeah, I know,” she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, not meeting either of their eyes. “I just… I feel like shit today, so maybe another day?”
She started to stand up like she needed to get out of there.
Lovro sat up fully this time, his hand coming up and catching her wrist before she could step away. It wasn’t that harsh but it was firm enough to stop her. “Eva.”
She froze for a second, didn’t turn around, then when slowly, reluctantly, she did, there were tears collecting in the corner of her eyes. “What?” she asked but her voice had already started to crack.
Ivan was watching her now, not even pretending anymore. “Why does the idea of Jakov being here make you look like you’re about to run away?”
That did it, Eva’s face crumpled like something inside her finally gave way. “I’m not-” she started, shaking her head quickly, trying to pull her hand back. “I’m just tired, Lovro, can you just-”
“Eva.” Ivan stopped her again.
She looked between them, her breathing uneven now, her composure slipping in real time.
“Hey,” Ivan said, gentler now, getting up and stepping closer. “Just, look at me for a second.”
She didn’t want to, that was obvious but she still did.
“We know something’s up,” Ivan finally said, as careful as he could be. “We’ve known for days.”
Eva’s lips parted yet no words came out.
Lovro swallowed, his grip finally loosening as his hand slid down from her wrist to her hand instead, holding it this time. “You’ve been sick for a week,” Lovro added. “You won’t talk to us. You can’t even eat anything without-” he stopped himself, exhaling. “Eva, please.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, her face pained.
“Yeah, you can,” Ivan said gently, stepping closer now, as his voice turned into something warmer. “You don’t have to do it alone. You’re not alone.”
Her eyes spilled instantly. “I don’t know how,” she said, her voice trembling now, barely holding together. “I don’t-” she let out a shaky breath, her free hand coming up to press against her mouth like she could hold it all in. “I don’t know what to do.”
Lovro felt his chest tighten, he squeezed her hand gently. “Hey, hey…”
Eva shook her head again, tears spilling over despite her trying to stop them. “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear I didn’t, I just-” her voice broke completely, the words collapsing into quiet, helpless sobs.
Lovro stood up immediately, pulling her into him without thinking, wrapping his arms around her as she broke down properly, her face pressing into his shoulder.
Ivan stepped in too, right there beside them, his hand settling carefully on her back. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “Just breathe for a second, okay? You’re okay.”
Eva shook against Lovro, her grip tightening in his shirt like she needed something solid to hold onto. “I think I’m pregnant,” she whispered finally, the words barely audible, like saying them out loud made them heavier somehow.
Lovro closed his eyes for a second, there it was, real now. “I know,” he said softly.
“Of course you do.” Eva let out a shaky laugh that turned into another quiet sob. “God, I’m so bad at this.”
“No, you’re not,” Ivan said immediately.
“You kept it together for a week,” Lovro added, giving her a small, reassuring smile. “That’s… actually impressive.”
She huffed weakly through her tears, shaking her head. “It’s not impressive, I was literally losing my mind.”
“Yeah,” Ivan said. “We noticed.”
That earned a small, broken laugh.
Progress.
Lovro wiped at her cheek gently with his thumb. “Hey… look at me. You’re not alone in this,” he said, grounding. “Okay? Whatever this is, we figure it out together.”
Ivan nodded beside him. “Yeah. One step at a time.”
Eva swallowed, her breathing still uneven but slowly, very slowly starting to settle. “I don’t know how to tell Jakov,” she admitted quietly.
Lovro and Ivan exchanged a glance. So it was Jakov’s, thank god, Lovro thought. He squeezed her hand again. “We’ll get there.”
Ivan nodded. “Yeah. We’ll help you.”
Eva looked between them, something fragile settling into her expression. She wasn’t okay yet, not even close, but at least not alone anymore.
And for now, that was enough.