“Relax.” Luhan whispered, taking Minseok’s hand in his and interlacing their fingers in a bid to stop him digging crescents into his palm with his nails. It was something he did whenever he was feeling particularly anxious, most of the time without realising and whenever he caught him he always felt the need to step in and stop him before he left marks.

“I’m trying to.” Minseok told him, his voice also hushed. Luhan’s mother was only in the kitchen and this was something neither of them wanted her to overhear. “But it’s hard. I had it in my head that we were going to tell them after dinner and when we couldn’t it threw me a little. That’s all.”

“I know, but it’ll be fine.” Luhan assured him. “He can’t stay at the office all night, I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” He was referring to his father who had bailed on the dinner his mother had painstakingly prepared for them because he’d had a deadline to meet at work. His mother had not been amused in the slightest and had made that perfectly clear. It had done little to ease Minseok’s very palpable nerves making for an uncomfortable atmosphere at the dinner table to say the least.

“He’d better be.” Minseok said not looking very reassured. “I don’t think I could handle waiting until tomorrow.”

“He will be.” Luhan told him, trying to sound more confident about the statement than he actually was. There was no telling how long he’d be but Minseok was stressing himself out and it wasn’t good for him or the baby. He needed to nip it in the bud. “Give it half an hour and he’ll be sitting in that armchair complaining about what a ty day he’s had, then Mum will tell him off for missing dinner and as soon as they’re finished we can tell them the news. And they’re both going to be thrilled, I promise.”

Minseok looked even less convinced. “I doubt that.” He said flatly. And Luhan couldn’t really blame him for his pessimism. He and Minseok had been together for four years now and in that time they’d visited his parents a grand total of three times. His parents had visited them once. And every one of those visits had been initiated by him, they didn’t seem interested in getting to know Minseok in the slightest. If he was to be perfectly honest Luhan was more embarrassed by their attitude as he was hurt by it. They’d never been the most amiable and approachable of people but for them to insist on acting so stand-offish around Minseok when Luhan had made it perfectly clear how much he meant to him, it was just rude.

And what made it worse was the fact that Minseok was always defending them. ‘You’re their only son.’ He’d say, ‘You can’t blame them for wanting someone better for you.’ Luhan would argue of course, tell him there was no one better but Minseok never seemed to take it in. It was infuriating but there wasn’t much he could do about it, Minseok had never been the most self-assured person and that wasn’t going to change just because Luhan wanted it to. It wasn’t as if he could click his fingers and make all his insecurities vanish, things didn’t work that way. All he could do was keep telling him how much he cared about him in the hope that some of those insecurities might at least fade a little.  And he was about to do just that but before he could the living door was swinging open and his mother was backing into the room, a tea tray in her hands.

“I’ll get that for you.” He said, dropping Minseok’s hand and rising from the couch. If he played the dutiful son now then maybe she’d be in a better frame of mind to deal with the baby news once they finally got around to telling her.

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

Half an hour later and they were still in the sitting room waiting for his father to get home. His mother had given up on small talk as soon as her cup of tea was finished and brought out her sewing. And to combat the silence Luhan had switched on the television and flicked through until he’d found a news channel. He wasn’t particularly interested in what they were saying, he just wanted some background noise. The quiet was making for an awkward atmosphere and he’d never been very good at dealing with awkward.

However he was quickly coming to the realisation that this might have been a mistake. It had been a long day for both of them, with Minseok being the organised person that he was they’d been up stupidly early making sure they had everything ready. And while the flight had only taken a little over two hours they’d spent just as long if not longer in the airport beforehand and for some reason navigating check-in and security and then hanging around the departure lounge was always more energy draining than any plane journey. Then once they’d landed there’d been more hanging around the airport waiting for luggage before they were heading to his parents, a journey that usually took about thirty minutes by car but had taken over an hour this time due to traffic. Add to that how on edge they’d both been all day and the fact Minseok was having a hard time keeping his eyes open wasn’t really a big surprise. Especially not when the only thing there to keep him awake was the steady drone of the television, a reporter talking about the state of the economy in a language he didn’t fully understand. It was a little problematic Luhan thought with frown, there would be no telling his parents about the baby tonight, not if Minseok fell asleep on his shoulder. And that was something he could see happening pretty soon, Minseok having given up on trying to keep himself upright was leaning into his side and while he was still forcing his eyes open every time they drooped shut it was only a matter of time before he lost that battle was well. Luhan sighed, he knew he should probably do something about it. The thing was he didn’t really want to, the thought of elbowing his pregnant and obviously exhausted fiancé in the side to keep him awake didn’t sit well with him.

And then his mother was excusing herself, saying she needed to fetch some more thread and Luhan couldn’t help feeling relieved because that meant he could try and convince Minseok to go get some sleep without her getting suspicious. “Hey,” he said nudging the other man’s shoulder with his own and Minseok turned his head to blink blearily up at him. “You look exhausted, you should head up to bed.”

“I can’t do that.” Minseok argued, sounding more than a little groggy. “It’s only half past seven. It’d be rude.”

“No one is going to mind.” Luhan told him. “It’s not like you can help being tired. And even if you do stay down here what’s to say you’re not going to fall asleep anyway? You can barely keep your eyes open.”

Minseok frowned as he thought over what Luhan had just said. “You might be right. I nearly fell asleep in a staff meeting the other day, did I tell you that? Jongdae caught my elbow just as it was about to slip off the table.”

Luhan tried to keep from smiling at that, he didn’t want Minseok to think he was being made fun of. It was hard not to though, the image he’d just conjured up was ridiculously adorable. “No you didn’t.” he told him. “I’m glad Jongdae was there to stop you dying of embarrassment though.” And then he was steering the conversation back on track. “But if you’re tired you should sleep.” He told him and he pressed a kiss to the top his head. “Forcing yourself to stay awake can’t be good for you, you or the baby.”

“Sssh.” Minseok hissed, immediately hushing him. “Do you want your mother to hear us talking? We don’t want to upset her.”

“Hear you talking about what?” Asked a voice from the doorway and Minseok was bolting upright, suddenly far more awake.

Luhan fought the urge to swear. How was he going to get out of this one without telling her the truth? “Um… I was just trying to convince Minseok to go up to bed.” He told her, hoping that since it wasn’t technically a lie that she might believe it. “But he was saying he didn’t want to excuse himself early in case you thought he was being rude, that’s all.”

“Really?” His mother asked, sitting back down in her chair. “The two of you have been acting strangely ever since you got here. Are you sure there’s not something else you want to talk to me about?”

“No, there’s nothing.” Luhan said, a little nervously. He knew his mother, if she thought there was something they weren’t telling her she was going to keep on pestering them until she got it out of them. “What makes you think that there is?”

 “Oh I don’t know, it could be because the last time you turned up here all jittering nerves you’d come to announce your engagement.”

Well she was on to something there Luhan supposed, what they had to tell her this time was equally as big news if not bigger but she didn’t need to know that. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s nothing we need to tell you.”

“I don’t believe you.” His mother stated bluntly. She’d always been pretty straightforward.

“What he means is there’s nothing we need to tell you that can’t wait until tomorrow.” Minseok hastily answered for him, obviously worried that he was going to keep on lying and make things worse.

And Luhan braced himself for the inevitable ‘I knew it, you were always a terrible liar’ from his mother. Only it never came.

What his mother actually said was “Are you feeling okay dear?” and it was aimed at Minseok who nodded slowly in response. “You’re looking a little pale that’s all.” She continued, “And you hardly touched your food at dinner. I thought it might have been because you felt uncomfortable, I didn’t do much to hide how annoyed I was with my husband after all but thinking back you looked a little peaky then too.”

“Wait, where did that come from?” Luhan asked, more than a little shocked. She hardly ever called Minseok by name, and now she was calling him dear and enquiring after his health. It wasn’t like her at all.

“Where did what come from?” His mother asked in confusion.

“The concern. You’ve hardly said a word to him all day and now you’re asking how he’s feeling.” He just didn’t get it.

His mother didn’t look any less confused. “Sorry, am I not allowed to worry about my son-in-law?”

“Well it’s not like you’ve ever worried about him before.” Luhan pointed out. She’d never called him her son-in-law either, today was just a day for firsts. Then he realised what he’d said and cursed the fact his brain to mouth filter always insisted on malfunctioning whenever he was stressed or tired because that wasn’t something he’d meant to say out loud.

His mother frowned. “I know we’re not especially close but that doesn’t mean I can’t be worried.”

Luhan snorted. Of course they weren’t especially close, whenever Minseok attempted to get to know her better she unceremoniously brushed him off. “You’ve never made the effort to change that though have you? He’s nothing but polite to you and all you can manage is coolly civil.”

“It’s okay.” Minseok said quietly and Luhan turned to see him staring at the floor. “I don’t want you to argue with your mother because of me. Civil is fine. I can’t expect to be liked by everyone I meet, it’s not realistic.”

“No, civil is not fine…” He started to say, trying to catch Minseok’s gaze.

But his mother was almost immediately interrupting him. “I don’t dislike you Minseok.” She said and Luhan could almost swear she sounded guilty. “I don’t know you well enough to say that.”

“And whose fault is that?” Luhan asked, his patience with the conversation fast wearing thin.

“It’s mine of course.” His mother admitted

And again Luhan had to fight the urge to pinch himself. He wasn’t used to his mother being so open and honest. What on earth had been in that tea? “It is, you’ve never tried to get to know him better, not once.” He said, not sure what else he could say to that. “And I don’t understand why you haven’t. You know how important he is to me.”

“I do and I’m sorry. It was never meant to get to this point… and it was never about Minseok, not really. I don’t have anything against him and it’s obvious he makes you happy, I just…” she said before trailing off. She was clearly flustered and Luhan didn’t know what to make of it. Flustered wasn’t something his mother was very often.

Minseok however had always been pretty good at working out what people were trying to say even if they weren’t sure what is was they were saying themselves. “I took him away from you.” He said softly as realisation dawned.

“You what?” It was the most ridiculous thing Luhan had ever heard. No one had taken him away from her. He’d gotten a job offer and relocated, that was all. People moved because of work all the time. And if his mother had been that upset by the fact he was moving away then surely she would have said something.

Or maybe not because she was nodding her head now with a sigh. “When he told me he wanted to stay in Korea that’s what it felt like. And it was childish for me to pin the blame on you, he’s an adult and he can make his own decisions but…”

“It was easier.” Minseok finished for her.

“It was. And I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to go on so long but we started off on such a bad foot that I didn’t know how to fix it.” She admitted.

This was all too surreal Luhan thought, completely at a loss now. He wasn’t used to his mother talking about her feelings so he had no idea what to do. Should he tell her how mad he was at her for treating Minseok as she had been for no good reason or should he tell her how sorry he was for not considering how she might feel about him moving to another country? It was taken out of his hands though when as usual Minseok was the one who knew just what to say to smooth things over.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to apologise, I understand. I’m just glad we’ve been able to talk about it and get it sorted.”

“Me too.” His mother replied, clearly relieved. “I never wanted to make it so hard for you to talk to me.”

Minseok gave her a wavering smile. “We’d be nervous about telling you this even if we were on the best of terms to be honest.” He told her.

His mother didn’t smile back, the expression on her face becoming serious instead. “I’d rather you told me now to stop me thinking the worst.” She said. “And I just hope whatever it is it isn’t insurmountable. I know how much Luhan cares about you, if anything ever happened to you he’d be heartbroken.”

Luhan’s face paled at the words. Firstly because it was true, if anything ever happened to Minseok he wouldn’t know what to do with himself and secondly because he got it now, he knew what had brought on the outpouring of emotion and he felt incredibly guilty. She thought Minseok was ill. And she didn’t think it was the flu, no she thought he was seriously ill and that’s what they’d come to tell her. “He’s fine Mum, I promise. You don’t have to worry.”

She shook her head, clearly not believing him. “Don’t lie to me Luhan. You’ve been treating him like he’s breakable all day. You wouldn’t let him bring his own luggage in, you pulled his chair out for him at dinner before he could do it himself, every five minutes you’re asking him if he’s okay. It’s obvious you’re worried about him.”

“I’m okay, honestly.” Minseok was quick to assure her before turning to Luhan. “We should probably tell her.”

“Yeah we probably should.” He agreed, he couldn’t leave her worrying like that, it wouldn’t be fair and once they explained he was sure his father wouldn’t mind being told later. So he took a deep a breath and turned back to his mother. “We did come to tell you something but it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s true Minseok’s not been feeling great but it’s not because he’s ill. It’s because he’s pregnant.”

And yes, as expected shocked silence reigned supreme. “P-pregnant?” his mother eventually stuttered out and Luhan nodded.

“You’re going to be a grandmother.” He told her.

“Oh…” she breathed. And then she was smiling, actually smiling. “…well that’s… that’s wonderful news. How far along are you?” she asked Minseok.

“Thirteen weeks.” He told her, just as surprised as Luhan at getting such a positive reaction.

“You waited that long to tell us?” She sounded a little hurt.

“We didn’t want to tell anyone until we were sure everything was okay.” Luhan explained hoping that would make her feel better. And it was true, they’d only started telling their friends a week ago after Minseok’s first scan.

And then Minseok was telling them he’d be back in a minute and heading for the door and at first Luhan thought it was his morning sickness playing up. Not that morning sickness was the right name for it in Minseok’s case, it was more like early evening sickness which Luhan thought was probably worse. At least in the mornings you didn’t have a lot to throw up. But Minseok was only gone for a few seconds and when he came back he was carrying his jacket. “Sorry about that,” he said, sitting down again and ping the inside pocket. “It’s just we have something to show you.” And with that he pulled a small rectangular piece of card from his pocket and held it up. Mounted on it was the picture from his first ultrasound. “Here.” He said and he held it out to Luhan’s mother.

She reached out a tentative hand, her eyes wide and took it from him. “That’s my grandchild.” She said quietly unable to tear her eyes away.

“Yes.” Luhan said. Wide-eyed wonder definitely hadn’t been the reaction he’d been expecting but he certainly wasn’t going to complain. And then he noticed something. “Are you crying?” he asked incredulously.

“No,” his mother replied, even though her eyes were clearly watering, “no, I just… this is amazing, it is. You know how much I want grandchildren. I just can’t help thinking that I won’t get to see him as often as I’d like. You’ll be in Korea and I’ll be here and…”

“Actually there was something else we wanted to talk to you about.” Minseok said, looking at Luhan as if asking for consent.

It took a second for Luhan to realise what he was referring to but once he did he found himself nodding. They weren’t going to tell them about it until after the baby news had sunk in but that had been back when they’d thought it wouldn’t go down well.

“The thing is…” Minseok continued, permission granted, “…Luhan’s had a job offer. It means more money but it also means moving so they gave him some time to think about it. But what you just said about not being able to see the baby, it’s got me thinking he should take it.”

Luhan’s mother sniffed and looked up, her expression turning hopeful. “You mean he’s been offered a job here? In Beijing?”

Minseok nodded.

“And you really think he should take it?”

He nodded again.

And Luhan watched in surprise as his mother got up from her seat and dragged Minseok up from the couch, enveloping him in a hug, the ultrasound picture still held tightly in her hand.

“Mum, you’re suffocating him.” He felt the need to point out when it became apparent she wasn’t going to let go of him unless prompted. And then it was turn to be swept into a bone crushing hug.

And while there was the very real possibility of him fainting due to lack of oxygen he was just thankful she was happy. He just hoped his father took the news half as well and that he wouldn’t be too annoyed about being the last to know.

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

AN: And here's some Xiuhan for KspazzingFangirl. It's a little more angst filled than I thought it would be but hey, what can you do?

As always all the thank yous for all the things, the comments, the subs, the requests. And here's my list going forward:

Chenhun for itoexo
Taoris for samoyed
Seho for painkillerxxx
Krishun for mitsuka501
Baekyeol for parkbyun
Krisoo for horadoribabe
Xiuyeol for MidnightMaurader
Kaisoo for xNurulx
Hunhan for anncherry
Sekai for xhigoodbye
Suchan for kookiehs
Krisyeol for Alluma