pairing: andrew “pope” cody x reader
content: angst | fear of infidelity (?) | pope and reader are married | reader is pregnant with pope’s baby
🟡 author’s note: blurb i came up with while watching animal kingdom. it’s based on the animal kingdom plot from season two, but i tweaked it.
you had finally hit the second trimester of carrying your baby. you thought you’d be thrilled… in fact, you should’ve been over the moon that you were finally living out the life you’ve always wanted with your husband, but instead, you’d spent the past few weeks stewing in bitterness, jealousy, and a deep, gnawing insecurity you couldn’t quite shake.
you’ve always been well aware of who pope cody was. you knew about the jobs, the lies, the things the codys did to survive. and despite pope’s deep entanglement in a life of crime and violence, none of that had ever scared you away from him. especially not when your sweet pope practically worshiped you. throughout your time with him, he never once hesitated to spoil you, to keep you fed and comfortable, to make sure that you were utterly fulfilled. what you hadn’t expected however, was having to watch your husband play house with another woman.
amy wheeler was the target.
amy was soft-spoken, effortlessly pretty, with shoulder-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. god, you could go on and on about all the great and wonderful attributes this woman had, but it felt like she was the complete opposite of you in every conceivable way. she led a bible study group at the megachurch the codys were planning to hit, and from the beginning, you had hated the idea. you couldn’t stand the thought of pope being used to manipulate someone, even when manipulation was practically second nature to his family.
at first, pope hated it too. he resisted the assignment longer than anyone expected. he’d get all stiff and visibly uncomfortable anytime craig or deran teased him about “wooing the church lady.” but eventually, like he always did, he folded under pressure from his brothers along with the promise that it was only temporary.
temporary somehow turned into weeks.
you endured weeks of your husband getting too close to amy. endured them going on dates, holding hands, even kissing, all because he had to sell it. it also meant that you’d have to tolerate him staying over at her apartment because that was what the job required. he always promised you the same thing afterward, “none of it is real. i’m doing this for you. for us, okay?” but lately the reassurance felt thin and worn-out, like something repeated too many times to still mean anything.
it felt like a slap to the face when you started noticing the change in him. and you hated yourself for noticing.
in the beginning, he would come home tense after seeing amy, irritated and restless, like he couldn’t wait for the whole thing to be over. but now he lingered before answering questions. stayed quieter. less defensive. like somewhere along the line he stopped forcing himself to spend time with amy, and started tolerating it a little too well.
the pregnancy only made everything sharper. or maybe it had made everything messier. you couldn’t tell anymore. but every emotion sat too close to the surface now, raw and impossible to contain. it was hard not to let your mind wander down a rabbit hole as you contemplated just how far he’d gone with her.
there were days when you’d catch your reflection in the mirror. a fuller face, more swollen chest, the growing bump beginning to round out your stomach. it should’ve made you happy seeing the physical evidence of the love you and pope created, but all you could think about was how different you were from amy. you were softer, moodier, exhausted all the time. while amy was easy, gentle, and painstakingly understanding.
to top it off, pope barely touched you anymore. it wasn’t intentional, and that made you feel even worse. he still hovered around you constantly, made you food, checked the locks at night, watched you with that same intense concern he always carried, but the intimacy between you two had become strained and fragile. as if the both of you were waiting for the other to snap first.
the prenatal appointment only made the tension more obvious. pope sat stiffly beside you in the exam room, knees spread apart, arms folded tightly over his chest while the doctor reviewed charts on a tablet. you stayed quiet next to him, absently rubbing your palm over your stomach.
“everything looks healthy so far,” the doctor said with a reassuring smile. “baby’s measuring right on track.”
you gave her a small nod, but the doctor’s eyes flicked between the two of you for a moment too long, picking up on the silence hanging in the room.
the doctor continued carefully, unaware of the exact bruise she’d pressed on. “you know, stress hormones can affect both mom and baby long-term, so emotional support, consistency, reassurance… all of that matters just as much as physical health right now.”
you could practically feel pope withdrawing into himself, the same way he always did when someone implied he was failing at something he cared about.
after you two left the clinic, the drive back home was filled with uncomfortable silence. he didn’t even spare you a glance until he was helping you out the passenger seat.
“i—i gotta stop at amy’s place… but i’ll be back and we can have dinner together. just tell me what you want and i’ll get it,” pope said, his voice soft and careful.
your face immediately tensed at his words, an ugly wave of jealousy threatening to spill over. “okay,” you replied plainly, quickly turning toward the front door to hide your disappointment.
“hey,” he called out, “i’ll be back soon, okay? i love you.”
you gave him a nod as you glanced back to look at him. because even now, after amy, after the lies, the distance, the sleepless nights, pope still looked at you like losing you would destroy him.
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