“Wait a minute, how did it even get up there?” Minseok asked, crossing his arms over his chest and aiming a searching look at his five year old son. Hyeongmin had been so obviously distraught at losing his new favourite toy to the top of the wardrobe he’d been about to go and get the step-ladder without question but then two things had occurred to him. The first one being that the wardrobe he was currently looking at wasn’t in Hyeongmin’s room it was in his. The second one being that for the sparkly bouncy ball in question to end up on top of the wardrobe in the first place it had to have been thrown up there.

“Um…well… I don’t know. Dad did it?” Hyeongmin offered before biting his lip uncertainly.

“Your dad’s at work.” Minseok pointed out, arms still crossed. If he was going to lie he could at least come up with something halfway believable.

“He is?” Hyeongmin exclaimed as if it was something he was hearing for the first time and he hadn’t been clinging onto his father’s legs that morning begging him not to go. “Well it was the cat then.” He said when Minseok didn’t respond.

“So the cat stole your ball, somehow managed to open my bedroom door and then he came in and threw the ball up on top of the wardrobe just to spite you?” He asked just to clarify. Halfway believable lies obviously weren’t something Hyeongmin was capable of producing he thought with a sigh.

“Yeah.” His son said brightly, rocking back on his heels and grinning up at Minseok. “He jumped on the bed, that’s how he could reach.”

Minseok glanced at the bed and saw that yes, the bedcovers were indeed rumpled in a way that suggested someone had been jumping up and down on them. “Ah I see.” He said slowly. “That makes sense I suppose.” He probably shouldn’t be encouraging him, compulsive lying was a bad thing but Hyeongmin looked so pleased at being believed that Minseok didn’t want to burst his bubble. When he smiled he looked so much like Kyungsoo he found it nigh on impossible to tell him off anyway. He just hoped their next kid looked less like their father or they were going to end up just as spoiled he thought, his hand straying to the small bump under his sweatshirt.

“Are you going to get it down for me?” Hyeongmin asked, his expression wide-eyed and hopeful.

Minseok blinked, the question bringing him back to reality. “Of course I’m going to get it down for you. Let’s go and get the stepladder from the cupboard.”

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

“I don’t know what possessed us to buy furniture designed for giants.” Minseok muttered to himself as he stretched for the ball once again and missed it by about a millimetre. It had rolled right to the back of the wardrobe which wouldn’t be so bad if the thing wasn’t almost as deep as it was wide. “It’s not like either of us are exactly tall.”

“You’re taller than me.” Hyeongmin piped up cheerfully. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed, the cat in his lap. They were both watching him in something akin to fascination and Minseok was finding it a little disconcerting. He always had hated being the centre of attention.

“You’re five.” He reminded his son, trying not to let it bother him. “I’d be worried if I wasn’t.”

Hyeongmin automatically defended himself. “Older doesn’t mean bigger. Jeongnam is bigger than me too and he’s only four.”

“Well Jeongam’s parents are both freakishly tall so I wouldn’t worry about it.” Kris and Chanyeol were basically giraffes in human form so it was no surprise their son’s height was way above what might be considered average.

“We should call his dad then and get him to get my ball.” Hyeongmin suggested.

“No, we are not calling Kris.” ‘Hey Kris, sorry to bother you but I’m not tall enough to reach the back of my own wardrobe; can you come help me out?’ He’d never live it down. “I can get it, just give me a minute.” He stretched forward for the ball again and bit back a curse as he only just missed grabbing hold of it. He looked down at his stomach and frowned. Being almost five month’s pregnant really wasn’t helping, as ‘neat’ as people kept telling him his bump was that wasn’t stopping it from getting in the way. There wasn’t much he could do about it though other than shrug it off and try again so that’s what he did.

Then a shout of “What are the hell are you doing up there!” sounded from the doorway and he almost had a heart attack.

“God Kyungsoo, don’t do that.” He snapped, a hand going to his chest as he turned to frown at his husband. “I nearly fell to my death.”

Kyungsoo didn’t look all that apologetic. “Exactly, you shouldn’t be standing somewhere where falling to your death is possible so get down from there before you do.”

“I don’t think he’s going to die Dad.” Hyeongmin said his expression ever so serious. “I think he was joking. He’s not very high up really.”

“He’s right, I was definitely joking. I’m three steps up from the floor, I think I would probably survive the fall.”

“Minseok, you’re pregnant.” Kyungsoo felt the need to point out and Minseok rolled his eyes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed. He just didn’t happen to share in Kyungsoo’s belief that being pregnant made him completely incapable of doing the simplest things.

“That doesn’t mean I’m made of glass.” He told him and with that he turned around and got back up on his tiptoes. He was going to save his son’s favourite toy from the shadows on top of the wardrobe and prove he was could do anything a non-pregnant person could do if it was the last thing he did. Unfortunately that plan fell by the wayside when he found himself pulling back with a grimace, a hand going to rub at his side. “Ow.” He muttered.

“Did you pull something?” Kyungsoo asked sounding more exasperated than he did concerned.

“No, no I’ve had this all week.” Minseok told him, his other hand going to grip the top of the wardrobe as another shooting pain went through his side. “It’s a ligament thing, that’s all.” As his waistline expanded things that weren’t used to being stretched were being stretched and were protesting strongly about being forced to do so. “It never bothered me half as much with Hyeongmin but apparently it’s not uncommon for it to hurt more during a second pregnancy.” Not that anyone had told him that before he’d made the decision to have another baby. If they had he might not have bothered or at least have given adoption some thought, the stab of pain he was rewarded with every time he made a sudden move was getting really annoying.

“Oh,” Kyungsoo breathed as realisation dawned, “so that’s why you’ve been so cranky lately. Why didn’t you say something?”

There was no point arguing with him, he’d been a nightmare to be around the last couple of days and he knew it. He’d gone from his usual self, all smiles with a kind word for everyone to snapping at anyone who dared open their mouth. But at least Kyungsoo had refrained from bringing hormones into it; if he had he’d probably have hit him. “Because it’s not a big deal.” He said instead. The pain had mostly faded leaving behind a dull ache in its place. He couldn’t decide it that was better or worse. It hurt less but he didn’t know if he could cope with feeling that uncomfortable for the rest of the day.

Kyungsoo shook his head and walked forward, holding out his hand for his husband to take. “If you come down I’ll run you a bath later. I promise.”

Minseok thought about arguing with him some more. He still hadn’t saved the bouncy ball from the top of the wardrobe and he’d never been one for giving up but the thought of warm water and bubbles was pretty tempting. If anything was going to make him feel better that would be it. “Actually that sounds amazing.” He said at last his will crumbling and he took Kyungsoo’s offered hand.

“What about my ball?” Hyeongmin asked when he was back on the floor.

“You threw it up there that means it’s your problem. Find a way of getting it down yourself.” Kyungsoo told him in his patented ‘I’m your father so do as your told’ voice.

His husband never had been very big on babying their son but Minseok didn’t need psychic powers to know that leaving Hyeongmin to work things out for himself would only end in disaster. So he decided to step in and be the responsible parent. “Don’t tell him that, it’ll be him we’ll have to rescue from the top of the wardrobe next. And anyway it was the cat.” He told his husband.

“Yeah it was the cat.” Hyeongmin parroted nodding his head quickly and Kyungsoo to his credit accepted the rather absurd statement without question.

“Well in that case I’ll get it down for you in a bit.” He told him obviously deciding that pointing out how ridiculous a lie it was would be a waste of his time. “But first you’re going to help me make dinner so your mother can put his feet up. He needs some peace and quiet.”

“I already worked out what we’re having and it’s not going to take long, I can do it.” Minseok argued the objection automatic. Offering to run him a bath was one thing, taking over completely as soon as he got back from a long day at work was another thing entirely.

They’d been together for six years now but Minseok still found it hard to let the younger man take care of him. There were only three years between them which wasn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things but it was an nonetheless and he had always felt that since he was older it was his job to watch out for Kyungsoo which had made finding out he was pregnant with Hyeongmin a difficult time for them both. They’d only been together three months and to make matters worse Kyungsoo had only been twenty-one at the time. Minseok had been sure he’d just ruined his life. Kyungsoo had done his best to convince him that his life was far from ruined and that he was excited by the prospect of becoming a father but Minseok had been sceptical, brushing off any offers of help and insisting that it was something he could deal with on his own. Unsurprisingly this had resulted in a number of arguments as well as one almost break-up, things only settling down after Minseok’s second ultrasound. From the way Kyungsoo had gripped his hand, his eyes glued to the screen as he watched their baby his thumb it was easy to see how hopelessly in love with their child he already was. He’d tried to be a little more gracious when it came to accepting help after that but he’d still found it difficult, unable to shake the feeling that the only reason Kyungsoo was worried about his health was because of the baby so he’d found his first pregnancy particularly hard.

Things were obviously different now. They were older, they were settled in their own home, they were married (it had taken two years and three proposals before Minseok had accepted the fact that Kyungsoo wasn’t just asking because he wanted Hyeongmin to have a proper family but they’d gotten there) and what’s more this baby had been talked about and planned. Old habits die hard though so Kyungsoo didn’t seem too surprised by his response. “I’m not saying you can’t do it” He said gently. “I’m saying that I want to do it.”

“You really don’t have to.” After spending the whole day at home running around after Hyeongmin the idea of doing nothing for the rest of the evening sounded enticing but he just didn’t have it in him to back down. Especially not when Kyungsoo looked so tired, he always did on a Friday, teaching high school students was a demanding job.  

Kyungsoo however could be just as stubborn. It was part of the reason their relationship had been so rocky in the early days, they were far too much alike. “Minseok the laundry is done, the dishes are clean, the house is spotless… there’s nothing left for me to do. I feel like a spare part and I hate it so when I say I want to cook dinner tonight I mean it. I’ve hardly been around this week, so please, I know you can manage on your own but just humour me. Let me do something useful.”

The sincerity in his voice and the wide-eyed pleading look that accompanied it were enough to have him throwing every argument he had lined up and waiting out the window. Making Kyungsoo feel useless had never been his intention and he hated to see him feeling so down about it. “You’re being ridiculous, you know that don’t you?” He said feeling incredibly guilty. 

Kyungsoo shrugged, not quite meeting his eyes. “I don’t know about that, you manage pretty well without me most of the time.”

“Well yes,” Minseok conceded, “I can manage but that doesn’t mean I don't struggle to sometimes. I just find asking for help really hard, you know that. When I’m having a bad day just knowing you’re around is usually enough to make things more bearable though so it’s usually fine.”

“Really?” Kyungsoo asked. He still didn’t sound like he believed him but he was no longer addressing the wall behind them so that was something.

Taking a deep breath Minseok closed the gap between them and took his hand. “Yes really.” He assured him. “I might not need you to make dinner but I do need you.” Talking about his feelings wasn’t something he’d ever been comfortable doing and he could feel his cheeks reddening at the admission. It was obviously making Kyungsoo feel better though so he carried on. “I couldn’t get by without you. I know I don’t say it enough but it’s true.”

And that was when Hyeongmin decided to remind them both that he was still there. “Can we have pizza for dinner?” he broke in, clearly bored by the turn the conversation had taken.

Kyungsoo sighed in annoyance. “Thanks for ruining the moment. Do you know how rare it is for your mother to say nice things about me?”

“You’re welcome.” Hyeongmin chirped, sarcasm wasn’t something he understood yet and he looked incredibly pleased with himself. Minseok thought it was adorable.

“You know, that’s a great idea,” Hyeongmin’s smile was just as contagious as his father’s if not more so making it impossible for Minseok not to smile a smile of his own. “If we order pizza then nobody has to cook.”

“The pizza man does.” Hyeongmin pointed out, pushing the cat from his lap and jumping to his feet. The cat shot him a disgruntled look before retreating to the relative safety of the windowsill. And it was just as well he did because Hyeongmin unable to contain his excitement  immediately started using the mattress as a trampoline. “Do you think he’ll put cheese on it? And olives! Can we have olives? I love olives!” He squealed.

Minseok made a face. Olives had actually been a craving of his when he’d been pregnant with Hyeongmin. This time around though and he couldn’t even look at them without wanting to throw up. “Not today.” He said.

“But I want them!” Hyeongmin whined, his jumping suddenly becoming more tantrum-like than excited. Yeah, spoiled was definitely the right word Minseok thought, rubbing his belly absently. That had been part of the reason they’d decided to have another baby, it was an attempt at damage control. Hyeongmin would find it much harder to get his own way if there was another kid in the picture.

“You’ll get nothing if you break the furniture.” Kyungsoo told him but there was no real bite to his words, in fact he seemed a little amused by his son’s behaviour. Smiling faintly he stepped forward and grabbed him under the arms, lifting him up and throwing him over his shoulder. “Come on,” he said, ignoring Hyeongmin’s unintelligible squeaks of indignation and flailing limbs as he headed for the door, “we’ll go and get the menu and you can choose something else to put on your pizza. There might even be chicken, you like chicken don’t you?”

Hyeongmin gave up on trying to pummel his father into submission with his fists and let his head drop down. “Maybe.” mumbled with a scowl that only Minseok could see. It was almost as cute as his smile and he had the sudden urge to pinch his cheeks. Not wanting to make things any worse he refrained from doing so.

“Great.” Kyungsoo said cheerfully. “Chicken it is.”

“With green pepper.” Minseok put in, his smile refusing to fade as he followed them out onto the landing. He was getting pizza for dinner without Kyungsoo trying to talk him out of it by pointing out how much saturated fat they’d be eating and how much money they’d be wasting. Being told he was needed had improved his mood drastically and Minseok just hoped it would last until after Hyeongmin was in bed. As difficult as he found it to tell Kyungsoo how much he cared about him he had no qualms at all when it came to showing him so as soon as an opportunity presented itself that was exactly what he planned to do.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

AN: So this is for SA_Sunggyu who wanted some Xiusoo. I actually have no idea what it is I've just written... I did have a plan but then things got away from me and this is the story I ended up with. I hope you like it anyway and that it's not too awful.

Thanks again for all the comments and subs. Over 60 subscribers already, it's amazing. I feel kind of giddy.

And here's a snapshot of my to do list:

Baekxing for horidoribabe
Kaixing for Mitsuka501
Baekhun for kookiehs
Xiuhan for KspazzingFangirl

If anyone else wants to leave an idea or a prompt please do.

Thanks again,
aanyaa xx