“Was I too harsh?” cries Minseok, sniffling into the new tissue Kris has just handed him. “Sehun says it’s my fault that Luhan leaves us, is that true?”

Kris just continues patting his younger brother on the back, unsure if Minseok’s asking him questions rhetorically or actually.

“It’s our anniversary today—well yesterday since it’s almost one in the morning now. I completely forgot.” Minseok blows his nose into the tissue and flings it into the trashcan by his feet.

Kris hands him a new one as Minseok continues on hysterically.

“I’m a horrible excuse for a human being. I deserve all of this—but can you really blame me? How am I supposed to remember all these dates and whatnot when I’m trying to take care of my son? I mean, he takes up all my time. And on top of that I’m trying my best to be emotionally stable now that I’m pregnant again but Luhan just irks the living out of me—”

“Wait, what?”

“Luhan is such a jerk! How can he leave me all by myself for weeks with a son and a baby? Doesn’t he have any responsibility towards us?”

“You’re pregnant?”

“And now he’s moving to Manila because he hates my guts because all I do is nag and argue with him. I’m a terrible person but so is he!”

“You’re having another kid?”

“That’s what I’m saying! Tell me he’s wrong for leaving us, hyung. How can he leave us in this state? How am I going to raise two kids on my own?”

“Minnie!” Kris pulls back from his brother and looks at him carefully. “What are you saying? I think you’re over thinking again. Why would Luhan leave you when you’re carrying his second child? He’s not that type of person.”

“He is because he told me he wants to leave us!”

Kris frowns, not quite convinced by Minseok’s words because he’s known Luhan for a long time, and the latter is definitely not the type of person who would abandon their whole family for something as frivolous as money.

“Have you talked to him about it?”

“There’s no point because it always ends in an argument. I can’t talk to him anymore.”

“I mean, have you told him about the baby?”

As Minseok goes silent, Kris realizes his brother probably hasn’t even mentioned that part to his husband, and he sighs out loud.

“Minseok…don’t you think that this is something that Luhan should know about? It’s his baby—he needs to know.”

Minseok opens his mouth to argue but gets cut off.

“Don’t give me that bull about how he doesn’t care about you and Sehun because you know damn well that he does. That man would kill for you.”

“Then why has he neglected us? For months he doesn’t come home, he doesn’t call, he doesn’t talk to me like he used to. It’s obvious that he doesn’t care anymore.”

“Have you ever asked Luhan these questions? Have you tried seeing Luhan’s point of view? Maybe the man is tired—exhausted from trying to impress the people who gave him the promotion. He’s trying to secure his position so that he can give you and Sehun the best life possible. He works hard and comes home only to be met with fighting and arguing, how do you think he feels about that? Do you think he enjoys fighting with you, Minnie? He loves you—the man looks at you like you gold—you are his life.”

Minseok is silent because he doesn’t know how to respond to that. He knows the type of person Luhan is, and he knows that everything Kris is saying is true, but he’s still so upset by the last few months to forgive him so easily.

“You know everything he does is for you and Sehun. Talk it out with him—don’t let this get worse than it already is.”

***

Minseok flings the bathroom door open and falls to his knees, retching into the toilet with every spasm of his stomach. He feels so drained and lethargic, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the covers and sleep the rest of the day away. He finishes emptying his stomach contents and leans back on his knees, closing his eyes and almost letting his head rest on the toilet seat before he hears his son’s voice.

“Daddy, are you ok?”

Minseok is immediately up, flushing the toilet and going over to the sink to wash his mouth. He doesn’t want Sehun to see him in this state, so pathetic and sickly.

“Daddy’s not feeling too good, Sehun,” he says, wiping his mouth clean and kneeling down to get level with his little boy.

“Can I help you feel better?” Sehun runs his dimpled hands over Minseok’s face, and Minseok lets out a small chuckle.

“Your cold hands feel so good, baby.” He grabs them and hold them to his cheeks, sighing in content. “I feel better already.”

Sehun giggles as he jumps in excitement for helping his daddy feel better, while Minseok is now genuinely worried that he might just have something more than morning sickness if his warm skin is any indication.

He really hopes he’s not getting a fever.

But by the time it’s afternoon, Minseok is shivering underneath the thick blankets despite his body burning up. His whole body feels sore and his headache is progressively getting worse.

After scavenging Kris’s medicine cabinet and finding out he’s out of Tylenol, he wants to call him and ask if he could bring home some, but he doesn’t want to disturb his brother who might be in the middle of his class.

He’s also kind of glad that Sehun and Tao are at school so he doesn’t have to worry about looking after them. He doesn’t think he could manage it in his state.

He knows he has one more person at his disposal that he could call, but he’s not sure whether he could manage him in his state. But Minseok is becoming more and more delirious by the minute, and so he picks up his phone and dials the number.

***

It’s no more than an hour later when Minseok hears the front door open, and he barely manages to open his eyes to welcome the visitor.

His vision his blurry but he can make out Luhan rushing towards him with a bag and sitting on the bed.

He feels cool hands touch his forehead and cheeks, and Minseok groans at the welcomed feeling because he feels like absolute death right now.

“What happened?” asks Luhan frantically, ruffling through the bag and pulling out the medicine. He pops open the new bottle of Ibuprofen and shakes out two pills. “Here, take these while I go get some towels.”

He places the pills in Minseok’s hands as he shuffles off to grab some towels and cold water.

Minseok squints at the medicine, realizing that he can’t actually take it because well, he’s pregnant and Ibuprofen isn’t really the safest choice. He then groans because now he’ll have to wait longer for the right medication to help with his persistent fever.

Luhan comes back hastily, taking the same seat and begins soaking the towel. He wrenches it out and carefully places it on Minseok’s sweating forehead. He hears Minseok moan lightly, and smiles at the response.

“You haven’t taken the meds?” he asks, noticing the pills still in Minseok’s hand, who rasps out a small no. He takes them from Minseok and holds them up to his lips, grabbing the glass of water nearby and waiting patiently for Minseok to open his mouth. “Come on, they’ll make you feel better.”

Minseok shakes his head slightly, wincing at the heavy pressure inside his head.

“I know you’re not scared of taking medicine, so open your mouth Minnie,” encourages Luhan again, waiting on Minseok to make his move, but the latter refuses once more. Luhan sighs, lowering his hands and giving Minseok a puzzled look. “It’s Ibuprofen, even kids can take it,” he chuckles but doesn’t push the matter any further.

Yeah, but not unborn ones.

This is the perfect time to tell Luhan about their baby, but Minseok just doesn’t have the strength to bring up the topic right now.

Maybe once he isn’t feeling like death personified, he’ll take Kris’s advice and finally try and have a civil conversation with Luhan. Keyword try.

But for now, he just wants to be pampered and taken care of by his husband, who for once looks like he isn’t going anywhere until Minseok feels better.

And that in itself makes Minseok feel a little better.

***

“Hey baby…”

Minseok hears a muffled voice bring him out of his sleep, and he blinks his eyes a few times to adjust them to the darkness.

He knows he still has a fever, but it’s not as raging and pounding as before.

“I brought you some soup,” he hears Luhan say as he tries to sit up in bed. He’s definitely feeling a lot better than before, and he gives Luhan a small smile. “You haven’t eaten all day so eat this and then you can go back to sleep.”

“Thanks,” he says as he reaches for the bowl with the little strength he has left in his muscles.

Upon seeing Minseok struggling, Luhan sits down on the bedside and takes the bowl from him. “I’ll feed you,” he smiles as he brings up a spoonful to Minseok’s lips.

“I’m not a baby, you know,” he mumbles before taking the sip and relishing the taste. “This is probably the only good thing Kris hyung knows how to make.”

They both share a laugh before Luhan has another spoonful waiting for Minseok to sip on. Minseok watches him as Luhan continues to feed him, looking so concentrated trying to fit as many vegetables onto the spoon as he can, and he feels a pang in his chest from realizing how much he missed this idiot.

Yes, he’s been frustrated over his lack of presence and yes, he’s been complaining about it, but he realizes he never actually did anything about it either. He realizes he’s been playing the victim card as much as he could without actually putting in effort to fix the problem.

He’s just as much to blame as Luhan, and he realizes this now as Luhan lifts the spoon once more. He hasn’t been fighting for this man like he used to. He hasn’t been supporting him enough, and instead has been blaming Luhan for only doing what he thought was the best for them.

He realizes that maybe if he had put in even a little bit of effort instead of crying about it, they wouldn’t be in the situation that they are now.

And maybe he has been overthinking a bit much and assuming things that were never true because this man in front of him, the one who hasn’t left his side since the moment he got Minseok’s phone call, this man is the same man Minseok fell in love with and married all those years ago.

 “I’m pregnant.”

And just like that, it slips out of his mouth before he can even process the words.

Maybe it’s because he’s so caught up in his thoughts and the emotions flooding through him, he looks at Luhan expectantly, the latter freezing with the spoon in midair.

“What?” whispers Luhan, looking at Minseok with wide eyes. He looks stunned, unmoving, as Minseok feels his stomach flip in nervousness. Is he unhappy? Minseok can’t tell, he’s too anxious to try and figure out Luhan’s astounded expression.

“Luhan…I’m—three months ago, we—the doctor said I’m pregnant and…” Minseok trails off, looking down, not knowing what more to say other than the fact that he’s carrying their second child and well, he wants Luhan to give some sort of reaction instead of just staring at him like he’s growing a second head instead. “A-Are you mad?”

He doesn’t hear Luhan respond, and he refuses to look up in case he sees an expression he doesn’t want to see. But so far, Luhan just looks shocked and not disgusted so that’s good.

His breath hitches when he feels a cool hand cup his cheek and wipe away the tear he didn’t even realize escaped.

“Minseok, look at me,” he hears Luhan say in a low voice, but he can’t bring himself to raise his head.

Maybe he shouldn’t have told Luhan about this yet. After all, they already had so many problems, and adding an unexpected pregnancy in the mix wasn’t the soundest idea, but it’s too late now. Minseok let it slip and Luhan is not happy. Maybe he misjudged Luhan—maybe the latter really has changed and is planning on leaving them.

“Baby,” he hears Luhan say again, still thumbing away the stray tears falling from Minseok’s eyes.

Minseok’s heart skips when he hears the term of endearment, feeling a rush of anticipation coursing through his body. He lifts his head up just the slightest and he feels Luhan touch his forehead with his.

“Minseok, why are you crying?” he says gently, bringing up his other hand to cup his other cheek, foreheads still pressed together as Minseok lets out a shuddering sigh.

“You hate this,” he replies, eyes still looking downward. “You don’t want this baby.”

Luhan pulls back and Minseok can feel the other’s piercing gaze on him. He feels Luhan’s hands slide down to rest around the nape of his neck, turning his head up so that Minseok can look him in the eyes.

“Why do you say that?”

Minseok finally gathers the courage to look at him. “Because now you might not get to go to Manila like you planned. Do you feel stuck here with us? With me—”

Luhan doesn’t let Minseok finish as he pulls the other by the neck and presses their lips together. Now it’s Minseok’s turn to be shocked as Luhan holds him there, working on biting his lower lip while pressing him closer.

And Minseok lets him continue for a few more seconds before he pushes him away weakly. “Are you crazy? I’m sick!”

But Luhan just pulls Minseok closer again, stopping just before their lips touch.  They both remain like that, hearts racing and blood pumping, breaths hitting each other’s lips as Luhan finally breaks the silence. “I love you,” he whispers before pressing their lips together again, this time with more passion and a hint of urgency—because he needs Minseok to know how much he really, truly loves him. He pulls back briefly to look into Minseok’s eyes. “I love you so much, Minseok.”

Minseok looks at Luhan, the anxiousness slowly dissolving and being replaced by a fluttering feeling. He’s still a little unsure of what’s exactly happening between them, but hearing Luhan say those words after so many months makes the tightness in his chest loosen slightly.

“I love you so, so much,” he says again, leaning in to press a kiss on his jaw line. “I’m—”

Luhan chokes on his words, and Minseok realizes that his husband is trying his best to hold back his own tears.

“Luhan,” he says, taking Luhan’s hands off his neck and intertwining them with his above his lap.

He doesn’t exactly know what to do as Luhan takes a few minutes to collect himself. His husband rarely cries—the last time being probably when Sehun was born—and it’s starting to hurt him as well. He realizes he doesn’t like seeing Luhan be sad like this.

“I’m sorry,” says Luhan a few minutes after, sniffling.

“It’s okay to cry once in a while. I won’t hold it against you,” says Minseok, trying to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere.

“No, I mean I’m sorry for everything,” says Luhan, clutching Minseok’s hands tighter in his own. “I’m sorry for saying all those things to you. About Manila, about wanting to get away—I’m sorry about not being around and I’m sorry that I put you through so much. I’m seriously an idiot, aren’t I?”

“I think we’ve both been acting like idiots.”

“I’m sorry for ever making you feel like I’m stuck with you. I love you and Sehun so much, I love our little family. I never considered moving away in the first place because I couldn’t ever leave you two. And of course now our little one.” Luhan moves to place his palm on Minseok’s stomach, rubbing the growing baby bump ever so gently. “I do want this baby, Minseok. You don’t know how happy I am right now. I am the luckiest man in the world.”

“Really?” whispers Minseok, a fresh set of tears pooling in his eyes.

“Where would I go, Minnie? My home is here with you,” replies Luhan, “I have nothing if I don’t have you. I don’t want to fight anymore. It’s not just hurting us, but it’s affecting Sehun too.”

“I don’t want to fight anymore either. I hated how I felt these past few months, they almost made me regret marrying you.” Minseok brings up his hand to cup Luhan’s cheek. “I never want to feel like that again because I don’t regret marrying you. It’s been seven years and I’m still as in love with you as I was when we first met. You’re my everything.”

 “You mean the world to me, Minseok.”

This time Minseok leans in and captures Luhan’s lips, the latter reciprocating the action and pulling Minseok in closer to sit on his lap. He wraps his hands around the nape of Minseok’s neck and kisses him harder, tongue along the lower lip asking for entry, which Minseok eagerly allows. Luhan plunges into Minseok’s mouth, their tongues meeting each other furiously as they curl and whatever and wherever.

 It’s so needy, passionate, and exactly what Minseok and Luhan have been wanting for the longest time.

They pull away from each other after making out for a few minutes, both of them adorning matching smiles on their lips. They bump noses cutely, taking a few minutes to enjoy each other’s presence.

“So, another kid huh?” asks Luhan, grinning as he turns Minseok around, both slowly falling back onto the bed.

Minseok smiles as he feels Luhan’s hand reach below his shirt to caress the skin underneath. “Are you ready?”

“I think so,” he says quietly before speaking up again. “Boy or girl?”

“We’ll find out soon enough. I don’t mind either one, just as long as they look like me,” says Minseok jokingly.

“Why not me? I think I’m pretty cute too.” Minseok can hear the pout in Luhan’s voice, and he only chuckles in response. “Look how cute Sehun turned out with my help.”

“I think we got lucky on that one,” laughs Minseok again, turning around when he hears Luhan grumbling under his breath. He pecks the latter’s lips lightly. “Okay, okay, maybe you are a little cute.”

“Very cute.”

“Yes Luhan, very cute indeed.”

“You’re cute too, but also a little scary.”

“How so?”

“Remember when you were pregnant with Sehun and you asked me to bring home some cotton candy?”

At that, Minseok begins laughing loudly, remembering back to the time he punched Luhan for refusing to go back and get the correct flavor.

“I still think they all taste the same! Either way, I’m kind of scared of what this baby is going to make you crave,” says Luhan, exaggerating a shudder.

“Hey, you deserved it back then, okay? You brought home bubblegum instead of blueberry!”

“It’s the same thing!”

“You weren’t the one with pregnancy cravings! Your son wanted blueberry.”

“I eventually went back and got the right one.”

“Yeah, after you finished writhing on the floor from the pain.”

“It’s not my fault you punch like John Cena.”

“Yeah I do, and don’t you forget it.”

“Never,” mutters Luhan as Minseok lets out another laugh, snuggling into Luhan.

God, he missed this.

“Hey, Luhan?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“You know you’re totally going to get sick now, right?”

“Nah, I have the immune system of a raging bull. I never get sick.”

Minseok just smiles as he closes his eyes, content for the first time in months. He has wanted this for so long, and now that he has finally gotten it back, he’s never going to let go again.

He hugs Luhan tight as he falls into the deepest sleep he’s had thus far.

a/n – for the record, Luhan does wake up with a fever lol pfft…raging bull my . The epilogue is still in the works so this fic is not done yet :] thank you for reading!
oh yeah, i have some news! Click here to read...it's not that special tbh, so don't get your hopes up heheh