Thursday rolled in faster than Minho imagined and before he knew it, he was in the waiting room of the hospital with his husband, waiting for the younger to be called in for the check up.

 

Things between them had been considerably lighter and easier since Minho had come forward with his worries.

 

It was like they were getting back to normal. Well, as normal as they could be, with Taemin's pregnancy more and more evident and the latent nervousness and apprehension that still manifested themselves within Minho from time to time.

It wasn't like he could actually expect things to work themselves out just because he had put his fears and concerns into words, but he would be lying if he said he hadn't hoped as much.

 

Just because he had started coming to terms with his husband's pregnancy, it didn't stop him from constantly thinking about the cons of that whole situation from time to time; telling himself he couldn't do it, that it was a mistake and that Taemin and their child would be better off without him and his messed up mind.

His new acquired daydreaming seemed to have taken a whole new place into his daily life and sometimes, when he came back to himself, he would find Taemin staring at him with a questioning gaze. At those times, he would try to laugh it off, not to worry the younger, but obviously such scheme had soon ceased working and Taemin would squint his eyes at him and question his behavior.

 

“I'm supposed to be the one suffering from pregnancy brain.” the raven-head had said once, with an unimpressed gaze, when Minho had tried avoiding the talk with the lame excuse of not having been thinking about anything.

 

The elder had laughed then, apologizing and kissing the pout off his husband's lips. Unfortunately, freaking out was something he barely had any control over.

 

“I'm going to slap you.” Taemin's voice broke the train of his thoughts.

 

He looked at the younger with a sheepish smile.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Don't give me this bull.” the raven-head scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. “My back's killing me and the last thing I need right now is you spacing out to worry-land.”

 

Minho grimaced slightly, before reaching out a hand that he slipped behind Taemin and set against his lower-back, pressing on random spots with his fingers.

 

That caused the younger to close his eyes and let out a small pleased grunt, reassuring him he was doing well.

 

“A little higher.” the raven-head said, letting his arms fall onto his lap, so he was now cradling his belly as Minho moved his fingers as instructed. “Yeah, right there...”

 

Minho smiled and threw a look around them, just to make sure their little display wouldn't be frowned upon by anyone, but it seemed the only two other people in the room seemed to be too preoccupied in their own world to take notice of them.

 

“Am I forgiven?” he asked after a moment.

 

“Not yet, keep working.”

 

Minho snorted but wasn't given the chance to reply as a woman's voice called for Taemin's name. The raven-head opened his eyes and looked at the nurse standing a few feet away from them, answering her. Minho immediately stopped his ministrations, feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment as he crossed gazes with the nurse's amused one.

 

Clearing his throat slightly, he gave a small push to his husband's back to help him stand.

 

“Please, follow me.” the woman said and they both started walking behind the nurse.

 

As they entered a room, the woman indicated the bed for Taemin to sit on and then proceeded to take his vitals, draw two little tubes of blood and ask questions about the flow of the raven-head's pregnancy. Taemin answered the questions without a hitch, puzzling Minho a little more at each of them as he discovered a few aspects to his husband's pregnancy he hadn't taken notice of before.

 

“Alright, everything seems to be going fine.” the nurse said, writing a few things down on the patient chart she held. “Do you have any question, Taemin?”

 

The younger shook his head.

 

“Okay. If you think of anything, the doctor will answer you. She should be in a few.” the nurse nodded at them before collecting the two tubes of blood. “I'll be taking these to be tested now, if you'd excuse me.”

 

And she went for the door.

 

As they were left alone, Taemin relaxed back against the bed that was angled in a sitting position and rested a hand over his belly.

 

Minho sat sideways on the bed as well, and started questioning his husband on the proceedings of the check up, until there was a knock on the door before the doctor – a woman in her forties, with jet black hair gathered into a bun on the top of her head and her white coat hugging her petite frame – came in with the patient chart the nurse had probably handed to her on her way.

The eldest of the male rose from his position on the bed and greeted the woman as Taemin made the introductions. Minho didn't miss the two seconds of surprise the woman showed at discovering who he was and he felt slightly ashamed at that.

 

Obviously, she had taken notice of his absence for the previous check ups and hadn't expected that day to be any different.

 

The doctor flipped through the chart for a few seconds before smiling at the couple.

 

“You're doing well, as I can see here.” she said. “How about we check the little one?”

 

“Gladly.” Taemin replied as the woman let out a small chuckle and started fiddling with the ultrasound machine.

 

After a minute or two, she was brandishing a tube in her hand as she instructed Taemin to lift his shirt. The raven-head did as told and Minho couldn't help but stare at the perfect curve of his husband's swollen abdomen.

 

“As you know, it's going to be cold.” the woman said.

 

Taemin just nodded and pressed his lips in a tight line as the freezing gel was poured onto his stomach. The doctor then took the transducer and started sliding it over the younger's belly, the ultrasound screen coming to life and showing the black and white image of a baby.

 

“If we're lucky, we'll be able to know the gender.” the woman said. “Do you want to know it?”

 

“Yes.” both male chorused.

 

The woman smiled. And suddenly a loud and fast woosh woosh sound filled the air and Minho jolted slightly in surprise.

 

Of course, he had no trouble identifying what the sound was, still his mouth spoke on its own, as if to make sure he wasn't mistaken.

 

“What's that?”

 

“It's your baby's heartbeat.”

 

Minho held his breath for a moment, relishing in the fast paced and strong sound of the baby's heartbeat, wondering how it was possible for it to have such an awing effect on him. Taemin reached out and seize his hand, squeezing it slightly, with the tiniest of smiles playing on his lips.

 

The woman kept sliding the transducer on Taemin's belly for a while and finally let out what sounded like a displeased hum.

 

“Is something wrong doctor?” Taemin asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

 

The woman shook her head.

 

“No, but it looks like your baby's being shy.” she said and then pointed at the screen where the very distinctive image of baby with legs crossed could be seen. “If they don't uncross the legs, we can't see if it's a boy or a girl, I'm sorry.”

 

"Oh..."

 

"Looks like the secret will be kept a little longer, at least until our next appointment." The doctor said, setting the transducer back on its place and pressing a few buttons on the machine, before it started printing out something.

 

She seized the paper the device spilled and handed it to them, together with a few tissues for Taemin to clean himself. The raven-head passed the ultrasound picture to Minho as he proceeded to clean his abdomen.

 

"Other than that, everything seems to be going well. Is anything bothering you, other than the back pains you reported to the nurse?”

 

“Not really... I'm just glad the nausea isn't such a big part of my days anymore.” Taemin replied with a small grimace.

 

The doctor chuckled. “That's great. If you have any questions, you know where to call.”

 

Taemin dropped his shirt back into place and pushed himself up.

 

“You can go to the front desk to schedule our next appointment, see you next month!” the doctor said.

 

Minho stared at the ultrasound picture all the way back to the car, fascinated by the greyish image of their baby.

 

 

*

 

 

“Are you disappointed?” Minho asked, on the ride back home.

 

Taemin looked over at the older male with a raised eyebrow.

 

“About what?”

 

“Not knowing if the baby's a boy or a girl.” the elder supplied.

 

The raven-head pouted, framing his twenty weeks belly with both hands.

 

“Kind of... I guess... I'd like to be able to refer to our kid as he or she... rather than 'the baby', 'it' or 'them'...”

 

Minho hummed thoughtfully and slowly an idea formed in his head.

 

“We can still find them a nickname, like the one Kibum and Jonghyun hyung had for Yeri.” he suggested, keeping his gaze on the road, but seeing from the corner of his eye as Taemin turned his head towards him.

 

“Of course!” the younger exclaimed and then deflated. “Like what though?”

 

“What about... Surprise?” Minho said, a smirk on his lips.

 

Taemin made an incredulous grimace.

 

“It's ugly... and unoriginal.”

 

“It applies well, though.”

 

Taemin huffed but didn't add anything, instead trying to dig his mind for anything good enough to call his baby. But his attention went elsewhere as he looked out the window and his eyes trained on the sign of the Pizzeria d'Buzza, they were passing by.

 

“Hyung,” he called. “let's stop for pizza!”

 

“What?!”

 

Minho side-glanced at his husband only to see the straighter expression he had ever seen on the younger's face.

 

“It's four in the afternoon.” he told the raven-head, in futile hopes to dissuade the younger.

 

“I need pizza.”

 

“Are you trying to compensate for all those years you haven't eaten that?”

 

Taemin glared at his husband, but a smile quickly broke onto his features as Minho took a detour to drive back towards the pizzeria they had just passed by.

 

“It's your kid who's requiring it.” he said.

 

“Then we'll call them Pizza.”

 

“Do that, and I'll make sure it's the only thing you'll eat until the baby's thirty.”

 

Minho grimaced, hoping deeply for Taemin's aversion for the Italian dish to come back full force when the whole pregnancy ordeal was over.

 

Once they were parked and the both of them walked into the pizzeria, they were soon escorted to a table by a waiter. Once their order was placed, Minho couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he watched his husband his lips, seemingly already being able to taste the food.

 

“What are you laughing about?” the raven-head asked, leaning back against his seat.

 

“Nothing.” the elder eluded, looking away from the younger.

 

Yet the smile he wore quickly morphed into a closed expression when his eyes met the man who had just entered the pizzeria.

 

It seemed he wasn't the only one to notice the other as, a few seconds were enough for the older man to lock gazes with him. A surprised expression appeared on his face and he gave Minho a small nod and the younger reproduced the gesture out of pure reflex.

 

He watched as the man turned to talk to the woman by his side and soon, the two of them and a teenage boy started walking in their direction.

 

Minho cursed his luck. What were the odds of him meeting his father there?

 

“What is it hyung?” Taemin asked, noticing his change of behavior.

 

“Father's here.” Minho said.

 

The raven-head rose an eyebrow in surprise, but before he could react, he saw from the corner of his eye a figure stop by their table.

Instantly, Minho rose from his chair and bowed at the man and his family, Taemin – as quickly as he could – doing the same.

 

“Hi, hyung!” Sehun, Minho's fourteen year-old brother greeted as they reached them.

 

“Hi, buddy.” Minho smiled at the younger and then looked at his step-mother. “Hello, Jaena-sshi.”

 

The woman just nodded to acknowledge him, a tight smile on her face.

 

“It's nice seeing you two here.” Donghyuk said, clasping a hand on his son's shoulder.

 

His eyes then trained on Taemin and to the younger's swollen middle, his eyes widening just slightly.

 

“Taemin-ah... are you...” he seemed to look for his words. “Are you pregnant?”

 

“Hello, Mr. Choi.” the raven-head greeted, with a polite smile. “And yes, I am.”

 

Taemin wasn't even surprised the man didn't know. He hadn't expected Minho to share that with his father, given the fact that, no matter how casual they acted around each other, they were merely business partners.

 

“When were you planning on tell me I'm going to be a grandfather, Minho?” Donghyuk asked.

 

“It slipped my mind.” Minho replied, with a completely blank expression.

 

Taemin had to bite at the inside of his lower-lip, in order not to crack an amused smile at his husband's blatant lie.

 

“It's not the kind of thing that just slips one's mind.” Donghyuk remarked, casting a knowing gaze on his son.

 

“Is that so?”

 

The two men stared at each other for a few seconds and it seemed they were evaluating the pros and cons of pursuing that topic, but their little internal battle was interrupted when Jaena let out a small sigh, taking a step towards Taemin and enveloping him in a loose embrace.

 

“Congratulations.” she said as she pulled back and held him at arms' length.

 

“Thank you.” Taemin smiled at the woman.

 

“Congrats hyung!” Sehun was next.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Donghyuk was the first to break the eye-contact with his son, turning to Taemin and congratulating him before doing the same to Minho.

 

“Do you mind if we join you?” the man asked. “It's really rare for us to be reunited like this.”

 

Minho was about to refuse, but the look Taemin gave him was enough for him to swallow back his words and accept the suggestion.

 

 

*

 

 

Taemin chanced a glance at his husband and bite at his lower-lip in guilt as he saw the elder's tense posture as he drove them back home. Their time at the pizzeria had been one of the most uncomfortable moments they had to go through, with Donghyuk trying to act all fatherly towards Minho, oftentimes coming back to the topic of the younger having omitted from telling him about Taemin's pregnancy. Which of course, always led Minho to step up his passive-aggressive behavior towards the man, that resulted in both Jaena and Taemin trying to diffuse the situation.

 

The raven-head couldn't help but feel guilty for his husband's discomfort, knowing that he was in part responsible for the uneasy position they had been in. He didn't really know what he had been thinking, he had just wanted things not to get awkward with Minho blatantly refusing his father and family's company – which the raven-head knew the elder would've done without so much as trying to find a viable excuse –, but he was conscious that he had only made things worse.

 

As they got home, Minho parked the car and they made their way for the elevator. As the lift arrived and they got in, the ascent to their floor only grew more uncomfortable with each passing second, until the younger couldn't take it anymore.

 

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, looking up at his husband who stood stiffly in the middle of the enclosed space, hands in his pockets.

 

“For what?”

 

That was answer enough for the raven-head, he knew that tone all too well. He wouldn't let it discourage him however.

 

“You know what.” he retorted.

 

The older male let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes, as if he were trying to calm himself.

 

“I'm not mad at you.” he said after a few seconds. “I just don't get why you acted like it was normal for me to just go and accept their company. It's not like you don't know of our relationship.”

 

Taemin pursed his lips. “I know Minho, that's why I didn't want things to get awkward with you just plainly refusing their company. Besides, Sehun and Jaena-sshi have nothing to do with how you and your father relate. Mistreating them like that would've not only been rude, but also unfair.”

 

Minho snorted at the statement but before he could add anything else, the elevator stopped at their floor and the doors opened.

He set his jaw and repressed another sigh as he reached back and set a hand on his husband's lower-back, guiding him out of the lift with a light “come on”.

 

Taemin let himself be pushed, although he kept a small frown assessing the elder's expression as they walked towards their door. It was clear Minho had every intention of letting the matter drop, but the younger wouldn't have any of that. If there was one valuable lesson he'd learned the past months, was to never let Minho avoid that kind of talk. He didn't want a repeat of the situation they had gone through barely even a month ago and if that meant pushing his husband's boundaries, then he would.

 

“Besides,” he spoke up just as the elder tapped in the code on the door-pad of their apartment. “think of how disappointed Sehun would've been. He looks up to you a lot and you barely even have any chances of interacting with the kid.”

 

“Taemin, please.” Minho said as he grimaced and pushed the door open before urging the smaller male inside the loft with a slight push to the back.

 

Once the younger was inside, he followed suit, closing the door and taking his shoes off at the entrance just as his husband did the same.

 

“You're going to say it's not true?” the raven-head insisted. “How long had it been since you'd last seen your brother? You can't let your relationship with Mr. Choi get in the way of how you relate to Sehun and today was a good opportunity of spending time with him.”

 

“I can do it when father's not there to ruin the mood.” the elder said dismissively as he walked further inside the apartment, going straight to the living-room and plopping down on the couch.

 

“Would you though?” Taemin followed, bracing his belly as he sat sideways by his husband. “When was the last time you took the kid out to spend some quality time with you?”

 

He could almost see a vein twitch in the elder's temple. Good.

 

“Why does it matter?” Minho asked, obviously trying to hold in his temper. “Where are you trying to go with this?”

 

“It matters because Sehun is the primary example of how you keep letting Mr. Choi get in the way of things.” Taemin said, leaning against the back of the couch and caressing his rounded stomach. “Just like you were letting him dictate how you were taking my pregnancy.”

 

When Minho didn't respond, Taemin sat straight once again.

 

“He's not almighty, hyung... and he doesn't live to make your life hard, not matter how much it seems like it. You're the one letting him get under your skin and ruin things for you.”

 

“You're saying I have some masochist tendency to let my father hurt me?!” the wry tone in the elder's voice had Taemin scowling.

 

“That's not what I meant, and you know that.” he reprimanded. “I just want you to see that it's about time you cross that bridge.”

 

Minho sighed heavily once again and leaned forward, burying his face into his hands as he propped an elbow on each knee.

 

“I know, Tae...” he said after a few seconds. “I know. But I... I don't think I can just yet... I don't know why... Things are fine and going well and then he comes in and it's like everything comes crashing down again. Maybe I'm letting him get under my skin as you say, but I can't help it.”

 

The elder then looked up to meet the raven-head's gaze, dropping his hands as he leaned back against the couch.

 

“I'm trying, though. You know I am.”

 

“I know you are.” Taemin conceded after a moment of staring into the older male's eyes before he bent forward as much as he could, to lean his forehead on the taller male's shoulder. “I'm sorry...”

 

It was Minho's turn to frown. “For what?”

 

Taemin took his time to answer and when he did, he propped his chin on the elder's shoulder so he could look up at him.

 

“For being pushy.” he said and then bite his lower-lip. “I just don't want things to go back to how they were a few weeks ago.”

 

“They won't.” Minho assured without missing a beat, raising a hand to caress his husband's cheek with the back of his fingers. “I'm not letting my insecurities push you or our baby away from me ever again.”

 

Taemin felt his heart skip a beat at the words and a bright smile stretched his lips. Seeing the complete change in his husband's behavior, Minho couldn't help but let out a disbelieving chuckle.

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“You said 'our baby'...” the younger informed, with barely contained joy. “not 'the baby' but 'our baby'... it's the first time you refer to them like that...”

 

Minho really didn't know what to make of the information. The words had rolled off his tongue so naturally that if Taemin hadn't pointed it out, he would've never noticed.

 

This time a smile of his own stretched his lips as he leaned in and pecked his husband's lips.

 

“Well, you might as well get used to it.”

 

Taemin's eyes were gleaming and Minho couldn't help but be infected by his husband's joy. If when he'd first heard of the younger's pregnancy, he'd known that his acceptance and support in it would've brought the younger such elation, he would've probably let his guard drop more easily. He ignored the annoying echo of Kibum's smug voice chanting an “I told you so” in the back of his mind as the thought formed.

 

The raven-head jolting slightly with a small gasp had his smile dropping as he instantly grabbed the younger by the shoulders and looked him over.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

But the smaller male wasn't even looking at him, instead he was staring down at his stomach as he cupped it.

 

“Love, what's wrong?”

 

Taemin shook his head with an even larger smile – if that was possible. He then reached for one of Minho's hands and placed it on the top of his rounded belly, his breathing slightly shallow, as if he were afraid of taking too deep breaths.

 

The elder frowned, ready to reiterate his inquiry on the younger's well-being, when he felt a nudge against his palm, that effectively knocked the words off his tongue as he stared wide-eyed at his hand.

 

“What–”

 

Taemin laughed, squeezing Minho's hand slightly.

 

“I think our little one approves of your new of way of addressing them.”

 

The elder huffed in disbelief, running his hand down the side of the raven-head's belly.

 

“I can't believe this...” he confessed. “He's always so full of surprises...”

 

Taemin was the one to snort then. “He? What if it's a girl?”

 

“Whatever, 'they' is ugly.”

 

The younger grimaced. “We really need a nickname.”

 

“I told you, let's call him Surprise.”

 

A swat on the arm. “I said no. You're so lame.”

 

Minho was about to protest when Taemin shushed him with a kiss, before pulling back with a cheeky smile.

 

“I'm the one carrying him, I choose.”

 

The elder rolled his eyes. “You sound like Kibum.”

 

Taemin winked at him. “I learned from the best.”

 

Minho could only snort once again.

 

---

A/N: Hi guys! I know it's been a while since my last update and I'm so sorry, I got swooped back into my other stories (with Forbidden mostly... the ones who're subscribed to it know x3). Anyways, I didn't forget this and I've had like, three quarters of that chapter written for a while and yeah... it's here.

The next one should be the last! I'm debating whether I put everything into one chapter or make a chapter plus an epilogue... but that will be decided by the story (yeah, that one has a mind too...).

Thank you all for being so patient with me! I hope you guys enjoyed this and yeah... hehe thanks for the comments, subs and upvotes!

Do tell me what you think ;)

See you next time!

xoxo