Chanyeol sits on the metallic chair inside the tent where all communication lines are settled. Outside, he can hear the bustling noise of his troop chatting animatedly, some yelling and laughing; if he pays enough attention, he can hear the sound of gunshots far in the distance. The ground trembles as one of the heavier trucks drives by the dirt road a few feet away from the camp.

He clicks a few times here and there on the computer, and then introduces his password, mentally thanking his superiors for recently allowing this kind of communication technology. He never thought that Skype would be useful in the middle of nowhere. The base had equipped them with all the needs for this kind of situations: from the computers to the satellite antennas to receive the internet connection he's using right now; and although Chanyeol had been skeptical at first about this whole set-up actually working, he had been the first one to sit in that same chair a few weeks ago and try it, hushing all his comrades away and not feeling bad in the slightest for using the I am your Captain card on them. It was totally worth it. And well, he is indeed the Captain.

The connection wavers a little and the screen rattles, a bit of static forcing him to pry the headphones away from his ears for a short second before the image freezes and then focuses on the person on the other side.

"There you are." Chanyeol mumbles to himself, a fond smile stretching on his lips. It takes a couple of more seconds for the sound to settle. He can see the other male waving at him eagerly; Chanyeol feels his heart fluttering at just that gesture and leans in to have a better view.

"Ah, finally!" The voice of the other makes him jump on his spot. "Oh my god, it's really you!" The brunette covers his mouth with his hands and sobs a little. "How are you? Is everything okay? Are you eating well? Oh my god, I miss you so much!" He keeps on rambling and Chanyeol can't help the amused laughter that abandons his mouth.

"Breathe, baby." He says. Baekhyun sits straight, wipes the tears with the back of his hand and takes a deep breath. "Everything's fine and I'm eating as well as one can in this place." Chanyeol shrugs. "How are you, Baek? Are you eating well? Having enough rest? Is Kyungsoo taking good care of you? How's our puppy?"

Baekhyun giggles. "We're perfectly fine, right baby?" He looks down at his eight months old pregnant belly and smiles. "And yes, Kyungsoo comes to visit us every day... I miss you, Yeol." Baekhyun adds, biting on his lower lip and the glint on his eyes changing from excitement to sadness in a second.

"I miss you too, so much." The Captain lets out a long sigh. "How I wish I could touch you right now."

"Don't start, you're going to make me cry and you know how hard it is for me to stop nowadays." Baekhyun pouts. "I wish you were here too. He... he hasn’t move much since the last time you talked to him." Baekhyun casually says. "I was worried about something being wrong, but Yixing says everything’s going alright."

"Really?" The slight faltered expression on Chanyeol's face lights up at his husband's words.

Baekhyun nods eagerly. "I think he misses your voice."

"You think? Can he even hear me through this thing, though?" Chanyeol chuckles.

"Of course! Yixing said that if I put the headphones around my stomach he can hear you perfectly."

"Do it, I want to talk to him." Chanyeol asks. Baekhyun, with a smile, removes the headphones from his head and carefully places them around his belly, fixing them so they won't fall. "Hi, baby." He starts and the moment the last letter leaves his mouth, he feels his throat closing and the tears threatening to fall. "How are you doing in there? Are you being a good boy to dad? I love you, puppy, and I miss you so, so much... even though I've never─" he clears his throat, ushering the tears away "even though I've never been near to you. I just want you to know that you and your dad are everything for me, the most important and I promise you that I'll come home and meet you soon. I can't wait to see your face and have you in my arms." He sniffles. "Be a good baby and don't cause too much trouble, okay? I love you and tell dad I love him too, yes?"

When he's finished talking, he looks up to see Baekhyun still looking down at his belly, Chanyeol can see the shine of tears on his cheeks. Baekhyun looks at the screen again and Chanyeol opens his mouth to express his worry, only to close it again when he sees the wide smile on his husband's lips.

"He's moving, look!" Baekhyun puts the headphones back and lowers the camera. Chanyeol gasps at what he sees, because he can actually see the way Baekhyun's belly stretches on the front and the sides over and over.

"Doesn't─ doesn't it hurt?" Chanyeol blinks.

Baekhyun shakes his head. "It feels a bit weird and it tickles, but it doesn't hurt at all. See? I told you." Baekhyun's voice softens and he places both of his hands over the bump where the baby is stretching, giggling when he feels it on his palm. "What did you say to him?"

"That's a secret between my son and I."

"Yeol~" Baekhyun whines.

"You'll have to wait until I come home to know." Chanyeol smirks.

Baekhyun blinks at the screen, his smile faltering a little. "You will come home, right? Safe and sound? You're being careful, right?"

"Of course, baby. I wouldn't dare to leave you two alone. I would never forgive myself. I'll be with you sooner than you expect." Baekhyun smile returns. It doesn't reach his eyes, but for now, that's enough to keep Chanyeol going. "I have to go." He announces. "There's a line waiting outside." Chanyeol sighs. "Take care of yourself and of baby."

"Don't worry, he's still has two months left in here. We'll be fine."

"I'll see you soon." Baekhyun nods, tears on his eyes again. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The screen shuts down and Chanyeol takes a few seconds to recover himself from all the emotions he’s feeling. He takes his cap and gets on his feet to get out of there. Stepping outside, he's quickly greeted with friendly pats on the back and bows, some of them formally salute him before continuing to do whatever they were doing and Chanyeol’s lips twitch on a smile, being here is not really such a bad thing.

"So..." Chanyeol stops and looks over his shoulder. The smirk he's known for years now, greets him "how are the puppies?" His tone is teasing, making Chanyeol scoff.

"They're fine. And talk to me properly, soldier." Chanyeol smacks him in the back of the head. "I'm still your superior."

Jongin growls and glares at him. "." He mumbles.

"Anyway," Chanyeol gives him a bright smile and motions for his friend to walk with him "did you talk to Kyungsoo?"

"Yeah, I was the first one today." Jongin announces proudly.

"Did he say something? You know sometimes Baekhyun doesn't tell me everything."

"Not really." Jongin shrugs. "Well… he did mention something about Baekhyun fainting─"

"What?"

"Nothing to worry about!" He says quickly. "They called Yixing right away. He said it was because of exhaustion. I guess carrying a big, full belly is not easy at all, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Chanyeol mumbles.

He doesn't feel comfortable until he sends a letter to Yixing, their friend and family doctor, asking about his husband’s and son's well-being. The reply comes three weeks later, assuring him that everything's fine and that for when he comes back, a very healthy baby boy will be waiting for him. Chanyeol starts sleeping again.

…

"Captain Park! Captain Park!" One of his soldiers approaches him, out of breath and waving in the air a small white envelope.

"Yes, Cha?" He frowns at the seemingly desperate boy.

"This came for you in matters of urgency. It has your husband's name on it." The boy pants.

Chanyeol snatches the envelope from his hands and makes a run to his tent. Once inside, he tears the envelope apart and clumsily tries to unfold the piece of paper. It has Baekhyun's name on the front, but it's Kyungsoo's handwriting on the inside.

Labor came a week earlier. By the time you read this, you'll be a father. Congratulations, Park.

P.S.: Baekhyun says you're an idiot and that he loves you.

The air gets stuck in his throat; he can feel his heart erratically beating against his ribcage, his eyes burn with tears and this time, he doesn’t even bother to stop them from falling. Chanyeol can't believe he's a dad now and the sudden feeling of guilt because he wasn't even there to be a part of it starts to grow on him. He wasn't there to hold Baekhyun's hand, to kiss him and tell him everything's gonna be fine; he wasn't there to see his son's face for the first time, but somehow, it doesn't feel as bad as he thought it would, instead, he feels a new resolution starting to grow on him: no matter what or how, he's going to come back home, safe. He made a promise, and he's going to keep it.

"I'm a dad." Chanyeol says to himself. "I'm a dad!" He yells this time, full of emotions. "Jongin!" He rushes out of his tent and runs to where his friend is sitting around a small bonfire along with some other soldiers