Embers // Dylan O'Brien X Reader

~7~

"I'm gonna miss you," you mumbled into the fabric of Dylan's sweater. "And I cannot believe you're actually leaving." A few weeks ago, Dylan had received an invitation to San Diego Comic Con and in the weeks following, you had argued back and forth on whether or not he should go. Surprisingly, you wanted him to go while he didn't. 

You won the argument, though, and now you were outside your apartment building saying goodbye at the car. 

"Y/N, it'll be fine. I'll be back tomorrow night, I promise," he told you. 

You nodded. "I know," you muttered. "But if the baby decides to come while you're gone, I'll have your head." 

Dylan laughed. "If, and that's a big if, the baby decides to come while I'm gone, you'll go to your parents and call me, and I'll hop on the first flight back." 

You were a little over 35 weeks pregnant, which meant you only had about a month to go. Dr Goodman had warned you, though, that since this was your first baby, you could go into labour sooner than your estimated due date. This only added to your worries and anxieties that you were trying so hard not to let yourself be affected by. 

You breathed in deeply and stepped back from the hug. "Promise you'll bring back some new merchandise?" you asked. 

"I promise," Dylan said with a smile before planting a kiss on your forehead. He pulled you back in a hug and held you close, your swollen stomach slightly squashed between you. 

After a few minutes, you stepped back and held out Dylan's bag. "You should go or you'll miss your flight."

Dylan put his bag in the trunk of the car before sitting down behind the steering wheel and starting the engine. He lowered the window. 

"Be careful, okay? And say hi to the cast for me," you said. 

He smiled and nodded. "Of course." 

"Good luck today. I'll see you tomorrow night," you said. You leaned down for an extended goodbye kiss. You finally stepped back and waved. "I love you," you told him. 

"And I love you. I'll see you tomorrow," he said. He drove the car out of the parking spot and left the parking lot, waving until you couldn't see him anymore. 

You inhaled shiveringly. This was the longest time you'd been apart since finding out you were having a baby and to say it felt wrong was an understatement. Last night, Dylan had asked if he could announce your pregnancy at the convention and you had agreed, knowing you didn't have long to go anyway.

You knew you couldn't blame Dylan for leaving. Conventions like these were part of his job, and since Teen Wolf was coming to an end, you knew he had to go. 

After shutting the door to your apartment, you headed to the nursery you had spent over two months preparing for your new baby. It was perfect, though. You had chosen a light blue for the walls and one of your friends, who was a professional painter, had come over to paint clouds and birds on the walls. The ceiling was white with the texture of clouds, and the ceiling light was in the shape of the sun. 

The crib had white sheets and you had added few stuffed animals that you had received from the few friends and family members you had told about your pregnancy over the past few months. With a sigh, you took the white, stuffed dog from the crib and travelled to your and Dylan's bedroom, where you sat down on the bed against the headboard. You placed the dog on your swollen stomach. 

"Hi, baby. Are you okay in there?" you asked, placing a hand on the side of your stomach. Seconds later, you felt your daughter kick against your palm. You laughed softly. Ever since you'd felt her first kick months back, she had yet to stop moving around. You felt like she was always kicking your stomach or bladder, or rolling around your womb. You didn't really mind that she was often the reason you had to pee every ten minutes, you loved feeling her movements.

You sat up when you heard Bailey barking for your attention. You sighed and heaved yourself out of bed. You headed to the kitchen and dumped a handful of food in his bowl. He wagged his tail as he sat waiting for you to finish. You stood back up. "Okay," you told him and he dove into his bowl, gorging down everything within seconds. You sat down at the kitchen table as you waited for him to eat his breakfast. 

You smiled as he came toward you, tongue sticking out. "Wanna go for a walk, buddy?" you asked him and he twirled around, making you laugh. You grabbed his leash from the cupboard where you kept most of his things. He stood still just long enough for you to attach it to his collar.

Bailey had been extremely close and protective over you ever since you'd gotten pregnant. You liked to think he somehow knew. 

As you headed outside, you called your parents, asking if you could come by. Your father would be at work all day, but your mother was home. You didn't feel like spending the day on your own, so after a quick walk around the block with Bailey, you put him in the car with you and drove to your parents' house. 

After parking the car in the driveway, you walked up to the front door with Bailey by your side. You hadn't bothered attaching his leash again, simply because you knew he would follow you anywhere. 

"Hi, honey," your mother said as soon as she opened the door. She greeted you with a hug and ruffled Bailey on his head. 

"Hey, mom," you said before following her to the living room.

"Where is Dylan?" she asked. 

You chuckled breathily. "Off to San Diego for a convention."  

"San Diego? When will he be back?" she asked, eyeing your stomach. 

"Tomorrow night if all goes well," you replied, sitting down on the couch while your mother went to the kitchen to get the two of you something to drink. 

"Oh, then there's nothing to worry about," she said once she came back, handing you a cup of tea. 

"I know, but I just have a weird feeling about all this," you told her, wrapping your fingers around your tea. 

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. I'm sure that baby of yours will wait until Dylan is back," your mom said reassuringly. "Well, let's talk about something happier. How are you doing?"

You laughed softly. "It's been pretty hard if I'm completely honest. The only thing that has gotten better is the nausea. Today is one of the first good days I've had in a while. Yesterday I could barely get out of bed because my back was hurting so much," you told her. "But I'm not complaining. I've been waiting for this to happen for years and now that it's finally happening, I couldn't be more excited." 

"That's good to hear, darling," your mom said. "As long as you stay positive, it'll all be worth it." 

You nodded. "I know. That's the only thing that gets me through those hard days, knowing I'll have the cutest baby ever in a few weeks," you said. "And Dylan, of course. He's been amazing." At the sound of your boyfriend's name, Bailey looked up from his spot on the ground, tilting his head to the side. You chuckled. 

"You obviously don't have to tell me but have you and Dylan decided on a name yet?" your mom asked. 

You shook your head. "We've talked about it a lot and we have a short list of names that we really like, but we're gonna wait to decide on one until she's born. We want the name to fit her, you know?"

She nodded. "Yes, I understand completely. You didn't have a name for a whole day after you were born. Your father and I couldn't choose between two names. He liked one and I liked the other. I won, of course," she said with a wink, making you laugh. "I'm really excited for you, Y/N. The timing couldn't be better, honestly."

"I agree," you replied. "I mean, we tried for over two years but we were always busy. The whole process has really made us stronger and now that things are slowing down for the both of us, we're ready to fully focus on this little sprout." 

We're getting closer! I decided to have a time jump this chapter just to speed things along. A lot will be happening in the upcoming chapters and I'm really excited for you to read them :)