“I still can’t drink coffee.” Joonmyun had said to him on Monday when they’d met up for lunch. “I went off it before I even knew I was pregnant. Actually now I think about it I think it was the very first sign that I was. It came way before the morning sickness anyway. It was pretty weird.”

And Kris hadn’t thought anything of it. Yes he was drinking tea when he would usually have gone for coffee, that’s why the subject had come up but it wasn’t a big deal. He’d had a lot on at work which had meant a lot of late nights followed by early mornings and he’d needed to drink lot of coffee to survive them. That’s why he was sick of the stuff, he needed a break from it.

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

“Drinking on a week night, that’s not like you.” Minseok had said to him on Wednesday. And Kris had to explain to him that he didn't have a hangover. The reason he looked off-colour was because he had a stomach bug. It was that or he’d eaten something that didn’t agree with him because he’d been feeling queasy all morning. He’d be fine though he assured Minseok, he hadn’t actually thrown up yet and he had no plans to.

Ten minutes later and he’d lost the contents of his stomach to his wastepaper basket. Minseok sent him home.

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

On Thursday he still wasn’t feeling great but he went to work anyway because he was a man and he could handle it.

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

On Friday he’d forced himself to eat breakfast in the hope that it would make him feel a little more human. He’d immediately thrown it back up again. He’d called in sick.

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

On Saturday he was feeling a lot better. Well enough to meet Zitao for lunch. With work being so manic he hadn’t had been able to spend as much time with his boyfriend as he would have liked. He definitely hadn’t been able to spend as much time with him as he deserved. As relationships went theirs was a relatively new one, they’d only been officially together for three months give or take and as such Kris couldn’t help thinking he should still be trying to make a good impression. He should be making an effort to take him places, be showering him with attention that kind of thing. And he’d start on that next week as soon as everything calmed down at work. Right now phone calls on his lunch break and spending the weekend together doing nothing very much would have to do.

And having lunch just the two of them had been nice. The food had been good, being able to have a conversation that lasted more than fifteen minutes had been great and Kris had quite enjoyed having Zitao pester him into buying him ice cream afterwards. Pouting had been employed, it had been cute.

Then it had been back to his where they’d spent the afternoon in front of the TV before ordering take out for dinner. Then he’d let Zitao loose on his DVD collection. Zitao had chosen the one and only romantic comedy Kris owned (where and why he’d bought it he couldn’t even remember) and Kris had fallen asleep before the halfway mark. Luckily Zitao hadn’t seemed to mind, waking him up as the credits started rolling and ushering him through to bed with an amused smile.

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

On Sunday Kris had woken up to an arm thrown over his waist and a kiss being pressed to the back of his neck and had sighed a contented sigh before going back to sleep.

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

On Monday when he woke up there was no Zitao in his bed, which had been slightly disappointing. What greeted him two minutes later though when he’d decided to sit up was a wave of dizziness coupled with the urge to hurl and he’d quickly forgotten about the disappointment and stumbled his way to the bathroom.           

And despite spending at least twenty minutes of his morning kneeling in front of the toilet bowl he’d decided to go to work anyway. He couldn’t afford to take another day off not when Minseok would probably think he had another hangover he thought as he shrugged his jacket on. For some reason it was his go to conclusion whenever people were ill. Although to be fair Sehun and Jongin did have a habit of coincidentally calling in sick on the same day, usually after making no effort to hide the fact they were planning to go out the night before so Kris supposed he couldn’t really blame him.

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

On Tuesday morning he was sick again. And he couldn’t help feeling a little betrayed because he’d felt perfectly fine since Monday lunch time and had assumed he’d gotten over whatever it was that had had him throwing up again. The virus or whatever it was had obviously lulled him into a false sense of security and he didn’t think that was fair.

Then when he made it into work it was to find that Sehun had brought coffee and pastries in for everyone (what he was after Kris didn’t know, but there was sure to be something. Sehun wasn’t big on random acts of kindness). And no longer feeling half as queasy Kris suddenly found he was starving and had made his way through two pecan and maple danishes. He’d turned down the coffee.

Then he realised what he’d done and had thought back to the conversation he’d had with Joonmyun the week before and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach again.

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

It was Wednesday afternoon and Kris was on the verge of a panic attack. He’d spent a whole twenty-four hours trying to convince himself that not liking coffee was nothing to worry about and that there was such a thing as a stomach bug that only made you want to throw up before noon and left you alone for the rest of the day. Because while yes that sounded suspiciously like morning sickness there was just no way that it could be. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew what contraception was and he always made sure to use it. And for him to fall into the two per cent of people who ended up pregnant despite using a , especially when he could count the number of times he’d had to use one in last couple of months on one hand, well it was pretty unlikely.

Only it wasn’t impossible was it? And that thought kept overriding all of his attempts at reassurance until he became so preoccupied by it that Minseok noticed. And Minseok had sighed and shaken his head then he’d sent him home saying there was no point in him being there if he wasn’t getting any work done. And Kris hadn’t argued because he was right. He wasn’t getting any work done and he wouldn’t be able to until he cleared his head.

So he’d stopped by the pharmacy on the way home and bought a pregnancy test. Not because he really thought he was pregnant, odds were he wasn’t and he was just being paranoid but the thing about paranoia was that it was often hard to shake so the sooner the test came back negative and put a stop to the pointless worrying he was doing the better, that’s what he’d thought.

Unfortunately the test hadn’t come back negative, it had come back positive.

Not wanting to believe it Kris had thanked whoever it was that had decided pregnancy tests should be sold in pairs and taken the second test from the box. The first test had obviously been faulty, the second one was sure to come back negative.

Only it didn’t.

And now he was back in his living room, perched on the edge of the couch, gripping the couch cushion beneath him so hard he was sure his knuckles must be turning white as he stared down at the two tests sitting side by side on the coffee table. Positive. They both read positive. He was pregnant. He was actually pregnant. It just wasn’t computing. And if he was having trouble accepting the fact he dreaded to think how Zitao was going to take the news.

Badly most probably. He’d talked about kids with Zitao only once, they’d been two weeks into their relationship when Joonmyun’s son had been born and Kris had mentioned how hard it was getting his head around the fact Joonmyun and Baekhyun were parents now. Zitao had asked him if he ever wanted kids and he’d said he didn’t know, he hadn’t really thought about it, all he knew was that he wasn’t planning on having any in the near future. There were too many things he wanted to do before starting a family. And Zitao had agreed, he’d started talking about all the places he wanted to visit and all the things he wanted to see. Then after giving it some thought he’d added ‘give it five years and then I might be ready to think about kids’.

Five years he’d said and now he was going to be a father before the year was out. He didn’t have a choice in the matter, not anymore and Kris had no idea how he was going to break it to him. The words ‘I’m pregnant’ and ‘it’s yours’ would have to be in there somewhere but other than that he had no idea what he was supposed to say. Should he apologise? This was no more his fault than it was Zitao’s but he couldn’t help feeling guilty. All those plans he’d had to travel and see the world, he was about to trample all over them, the least he could do was say sorry. In fact an apology probably wasn’t enough, what he should be offering him now that he thought about it was a way out. Zitao was only twenty-two and twenty-two was still so young. If he didn’t think he was ready to deal with the kind of responsibility having a baby would entail then Kris wasn’t going try and guilt him into sticking around, that just wouldn’t be fair.

Breaking up with Zitao wasn’t something he wanted to do but if he wasn’t ready for this then it was probably best for both of them. As happy as they were now (and they were incredibly happy, spending time with Zitao was always the highlight of his week, something to look forward to. Just being around him made him smile, Kris hadn’t felt that way about someone in a long time) that wasn’t going to last once there was a baby in the picture. A new baby put strain on even the strongest and most stable of relationships, they’d been together for less than half a year, they didn’t stand a chance. It was better to call it quits now before they ended up resenting each other because that was exactly what staying together for the sake of a baby did, it bred resentment and Kris didn’t want things to end up that way.

So that was what he was going to do. He was going to tell Zitao that he didn’t have to feel obligated to stay with him, that if he wanted to end things between them that he wouldn’t hold it against him and that he could still be a part of the baby’s life even if they weren’t a couple. But first he had to tell them there was a baby and that was something he really wasn’t looking forward to.

But he didn’t have to worry about it, not yet. He wasn’t planning to see Zitao again until the weekend and that was still two days away. He had plenty of time to work out what he was going to say and how he was going to say it.

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

So Kris spent the rest of his afternoon trying to take his mind off the fact he was pregnant and he did that by watching as much mind-numbing tv as possible and eating a ridiculous amount of junk food.

And then the doorbell rang.

There was no reason for his doorbell to be ringing. He hadn’t ordered take-out, no one had called to say they were popping round, it didn’t make sense.

The doorbell rang again.

Kris reluctantly disentangled himself from his duvet and got up from the couch. If he wanted to find out who it was he was going to have to go to the door. So that’s what he did, he went to the door and he peered through the peephole. He froze.

“Come on Kris, open the door.” Zitao called, knocking on it this time. “I know you’re in there. The lights are on, I could see that from downstairs.”

Well if he knew he was in then pretending he wasn’t would be pointless. In fact it could be classed as highly suspicious behaviour. Kris sighed and opened the door.

And he suddenly felt extremely self-conscious because Zitao looked good, really good, just stepped off the front cover of a magazine good and he was acutely aware of the fact that he didn’t. He was wearing a sleep shirt so old it was practically threadbare, one leg of his sweat pants had risen halfway up his calf and he’d run a hand through his hair more times than he could count that day so there was a high likelihood that he looked like he’d been dragged through a hedge backwards.

“Oh my God Kris, you look awful.”

Well that was hardly surprising, he felt awful. He felt groggy and tired and now with Zitao standing there in front of him he felt unbelievably nervous. “Thanks.” He offered in response when all Zitao did was keep staring at him, a concerned frown on his face.

“Is that why you didn’t call me earlier, because you were sick?”

With all that had happened that day calling him at lunch had completely slipped his mind. “Uh yeah…” Kris mumbled. It wasn’t technically a lie and agreeing with his assumption was much easier than telling him the whole truth.

“I was worried.” Zitao continued. “And then you didn’t answer my texts and I started to think maybe I’d done something wrong. Maybe you thought I was being too clingy and you couldn’t deal with it, I don’t know.”

“I’m sorry.” Kris said, his hand going to his hair again. “You’re right, I wasn’t feeling great and I completely forgot to ring you. And I left my phone in my room, I haven’t checked it since I got home. It wasn’t because of anything you’d done, I promise.”

“I believe you. There’s no way you could fake looking that ill without the help of a professional make-up artist.” Zitao told him, side-stepping him and making his way into the living room. “If you were sick you should have called me though, I would have come over to take care of you.”

Kris closed the front door and followed him. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that. I can take care of myself

“I’m sure you can, but even if it wouldn't have made you feel any better it would have made me feel better.” Zitao explained and he stepped forward and swept Kris’ hair back, pressing a hand to his forehead. “You don’t have a fever.” He said contemplatively. “Have you eaten yet?”

Kris’ eyes automatically flickered to the almost empty bag of tortilla chips he’d left on the coffee table.

“Okay, that doesn’t count as food.” Zitao informed him and he was heading for the kitchen. “I’ll make you something decent to eat.”

“You really don’t have to…” Kris argued, trailing after him.

Zitao stopped with his hand on the fridge door and turned to look at him. “You’re my boyfriend, yes?”

“Yes.” Kris nodded. He didn’t know for how much longer but right that second, yes he was.

“Then it’s my job to look after you when you’re sick. Just like it would be your job to look after me if I was sick.”

“But you really don’t have to…” Kris insisted. He couldn’t take Zitao being so nice to him, what he had to tell him was going to ruin his life and here he was worrying about him. It wasn't right.

“I know that, but I want to.”

“You don’t have to cook for me. I’m not that hungry and to be honest I’m not that sick.”

Zitao wasn’t having any of it. “Kris, you look horrible. If you’re not sick then I hate to break it to you but I think you might be a zombie or possibly a vampire. Which would be unfortunate, you know how I feel about horror films.”

Kris did know how he felt about horror films. Their second date had been a trip to the cinema, the only film showing at the time they’d shown up had been the latest big budget horror film, full of creepy music and cheap scares. Zitao had spent at least half of the film hiding behind his hands and by the end he was pressed so closely into Kris’ side that he may as well have been in his lap. But as endearing as that had been he needed to stay focussed. He needed to get Zitao to stop being nice to him for a second and just listen because now that he was here there was no way Kris could keep what he had to say to himself. “I’m not lying. I’m not sick.” He said, his voice wavering ever so slightly. Just thinking about what Zitao’s reaction might be had him wanting to throw up.

“You look green.” Zitao pointed out. “Maybe making you something to eat isn’t the best idea. Maybe you should go and lie down.”

Okay so it had him looking like he wanted to throw up too. That was just great. “I don’t need to lie down. I need to…” he needed to tell him he was going to be a father, that’s what he needed to do but he never got that far. The nausea he’d been feeling since he’d looked out into the hall and found Zitao standing there, well he’d thought it had been nerves, but now the feeling was intensifying and he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Correctly interpreting what Kris’ sudden silence coupled with an unfocussed expression meant Zitao had him by the shoulders and was ushering him out of the room. “Bathroom.” He ordered.

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

“Sorry about that.” Kris said five minutes later as he finished washing his mouth out at the bathroom sink. He felt mortified, that hadn’t been something he’d wanted Zitao to see.

Zitao who was sitting on the edge of the bath watching him just shrugged. “You’re sick, it’s not like you could help it.”

Kris bit his lip. He had to tell him, if he didn’t the whole ‘let me look after you’ thing would just carry on and he didn’t want Zitao to worry, the guilt was already killing him. He turned away from the sink and took a deep breath. “I’m not sick…” he said for what felt like the thousandth time.

“Like hell you’re not.”

“Let me finish!” Kris all but shouted. Zitao looked a little stunned by the outburst but thankfully did as he was asked. “I’m not sick… I’m pregnant.”

Zitao’s eyes widened ever so slightly, that was the entirety of his response. Kris frowned. “Did you hear what I just said?” he asked.

“You-you’re pregnant?” Zitao stuttered out at last.

“Yes.” It was the only answer Kris could think to give.

“How long have you known?” Zitao asked next and there was no mistaking the hurt in his voice.

“Only since this afternoon.” Kris assured him, not liking the vulnerability in Zitao’s eyes one bit. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner but it came as a bit of shock, I think still am in shock to be honest, and I just wanted to try and get my head around it first before I told you.”

Zitao nodded to himself then repeated the words “You’re pregnant.” only this time in a whisper.

“Yes.” Kris said again. He had the feeling his reply had just gone right over Zitao’s head.

“You’re going to have a baby.” Zitao said slowly.

Kris nodded, biting his lip again as the nerves crept back.

“My baby.”

Kris nodded for a second time.

“Our baby.”

A third nod.

Zitao smiled.

Kris frowned. “Why are you smiling? This isn’t something to smile about. There’ll be no Christmases in New York or trips to Venice when there’s a baby to think about.”

“I’ve kind of always wanted to be a dad.” Zitao told him, the smile not fading. “I can live without seeing New York for a while.”

“You said five years.” Kris reminded him, the whole conversation striking him as slightly unreal. This definitely wasn’t the reaction he’d been expecting. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine that.”

Zitao had the grace to look a little sheepish. “I thought that was what you wanted to hear.” He explained. “You said you weren’t sure if you wanted kids or not and I didn’t want to scare you off. I liked you too much, I didn’t want to ruin things when they were going so well.”

“So you want kids?” Kris asked, needing to clarify. That’s what it sounded like he was saying but he wanted to be sure.

“Yes. I’ve always wanted kids. And I know this is far from ideal, we’ve not been together all that long and I know you’re probably freaking out about that but I’m happy about this. I really am.”

Kris had no idea what to say to that. He’d been prepared for denial, anger, clinical shock… happiness as a reaction wasn’t something he’d even considered. “You’re right, I am freaking out.” He admitted. “But aren’t you? There’s a difference between wanting kids in the future and finding out you’re actually going to have one. Aren’t you scared?”

“A little bit.” Zitao said with the slightest of shrugs and then he was on his feet and squeezing Kris’ hand. “But that doesn’t matter. We made a baby, admit it, that’s pretty amazing. And yes being a parent is hard and yes we haven’t been a couple very long but I like you, I really like you. And I think we can do this. I think we can make it work.”

And all thoughts Kris had had of telling Zitao that breaking up would be for the best went out the window. “I really like you too.” He confessed. That was all he wanted, for things between them to work out. It was all he’d wanted for a while. A baby was bound to complicate things somewhat but if Zitao really was as happy about this as he seemed to be, well he wasn’t about to ruin things by arguing with him.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~

AN: Taoris for samoyed! I hope you like it.

For some reason I write better either ridiculously late at night or just after I wake up and since I was on an early shift this week that didn't leave a lot of time for writing. That's why this took so long. Or maybe it just seemed like it took me forever to get it finished, I don't know.

Also... over one hundred subs! *does the over one hundred subs dance"

So amazing, thank you everyone for showing an interest in this. Thanks for the comments and the ideas and the prompts...

And here's the list:

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
Suchen for Justanotherfic
Taohun for ILuvSkyDragon
Krishan for Doyoureallynotseeme
Chankai for VanillaHeaven