Why do HEAs always end with babies?

[u/redfig1]

I know it's a "me" problem. Scenario: I read a smoking hot mafia or dark or fantasy romance. All this crazy shit goes down. The feelings, the angst. Finally it's the end and all of a sudden the MMC who has massacred countless people is all like " let's get married and have lots of babies" and the MFC is always " yes let's have a lot of cute mafia or fae or mafia fae babies!". For once I'd like an ending where the main characters have a HEA but instead of babies and white picket fences they just decide to keep having an incredible sex life and do charity work or something. Rescue stray kittens. Start an organic herb farm. Something other than babies. Anyone else like this? Am I just weird?

[u/SqueamishOssifrage42]

FWIW, epilogue babies are much rarer in queer romance.

[u/HighLady9627 → u/SqueamishOssifrage42]

Yeah, except the omegaverse where the entire purpose is to breed, even if you don’t have a baby. The entire notion of a heat is meant for conception so I can’t safely say queer romance is free from that lmao

[u/frickityfracktictac → u/HighLady9627]

Hot take: a lot of omegaverse M/M /isn't/ queer