Yixing looked at the clock before turning on his laptop. The time difference between Beijing and London always confuses him and he had made many mistakes, either calling too early or too late. Xiuying had said that tonight should be a good time to call her parents, though, seeing that it would be morning where they are and usually the older couple would just stay in on Sundays.

Quickly logging into his Skype account he saw the familiar number and clicked it. Leaning on the back of his chair he hollered into the hallway behind him.

“Baby, come in here. I’ve already called your parents.”

There was a muffled answer from the kitchen but before he could ask some more the laptop revealed a screen and in came the pixelated image of his mother-in-law, a small lady with short, dark bob hair and laughter lines around as she smiled widely at the sight of him.

“Yixing!”

Yixing grinned back, an automatic response by now whenever she smiles. After all, Xiuying got her smile from her mother and it was the first thing that attracted him to her.

“Hello, Mom. How are you and Dad?” It was a bit strange for him at first to call his in-laws by their English titles instead of their Chinese ones but he supposes it was natural, seeing that his father-in-law is British, after all.

“I’m fine, we’re all fine. The weather has been horrendous lately, but what else can you expect here?”

A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and Yixing smiled softly as he turned to pull Xiuying down so she could sit on his lap sideway. She giggled and kept a palm at the nape of his neck as she waved at the screen.

“Hey, Mom!”

Her mother shook her head fondly. “Hello, sweetheart. How are you?”

“We’re all good here.” She leaned back into Yixing, turning to share a secret smile. “In fact, we’re more than good.”

The screen may be blurred and lacking clear image but even then Yixing could see the way his mother-in-law leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. “Xiuying…? What-“

“Where’s Dad?” Xiuying quickly cut her off.  “There’s something I want to tell you and I want Dad to hear it too.”

Her mother’s eyebrows raised so high Yixing thought it was going to recede into her hairline. “Xiuying….? Is this….is this what I think it is?”

Xiuying only chuckled. “I’ll tell you in a moment. Just, please call Dad, will you?”

The older woman practically bristled with uncontained excitement as she left the screen though they could still hear her loud voice calling for her husband to come quick.

Yixing nuzzled Xiuying’s neck, blowing softly on her skin to earn him a giggle and a weak slap on his arm.

“You think your mother suspect what we’re going to tell them?”

Her body trembled slightly from the force of her scoff. “This is the woman who knew every time I snuck out of the house when I was a teenager and when I was hung over from every party I attended to in uni, even though I live in a dorm far from home. Trust me, she knows.”

Yixing’s laughter was cut short when another person plopped down on the screen, a big, burly Caucasian man in his mid-fifties with thinning blonde hair sprinkled with grey and round, old-fashioned glasses perched on his nose, hiding his merry, blue eyes. His father-in-law had a slightly confused expression on as his wife hovered besides him, which quickly turned into a big grin at seeing Xiuying.

“Sweetheart?”

“Dad!”

“How is my little girl?”

“Daaaaddd!!” Xiuying whined loudly, gone were the strict lecturer persona she adopts at work. “I’m over thirty and have my own husband to boot. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“To me you’ll always be.”

It never fails to bring warmth down Yixing’s chest at the obvious affection between his wife and her father, especially knowing they have no blood relation. After her husband died shortly after Xiuying turned six, her mother had migrated to Britain to build a new life. It was there she met her second husband, a regular customer at the bank she worked on. He had pursued her relentlessly and she objected at first, worrying over how her daughter would accept a new man in her life. Her worry was for nothing though, because Xiuying bonded with him since the first time they met and her father adored her just as much, treating her like his own flesh and blood even after the birth of Xiuying’s stepbrother.

“Now, what’s the matter, dear? Your mother said you have something you want to talk to us about.”

Yixing rest a hand across Xiuying’s stomach, absent mindedly rubbing circles through her shirt. His mother-in-law saw the motion and her excited smile grew even wider.

Xiuying only chuckled seeing her mother almost bouncing up and down on her seat. “Well, I think Mom might already suspects, but I’ll say it anyway.” She turned back to Yixing and he smiled back, letting his other hand grabbed hers in a tight grip.

“Yixing and I…..” Xiuying beamed to the screen. “We’re pregnant.”

His mother-in-law’s squeal was so loud that Yixing almost jolted out of his chair before quickly regaining his balance, his arms tightened unconsciously around Xiuying so she wouldn’t fall. His father-in-law on the other hand though just sat stock still, only his eyes blinking once in a while any indication of life.

“I knew it, I knew it! Oh sweetheart, what wonderful news!” Her mother was gushing across the ocean at the screen at them, her arms swinging wildly. “How far along are you? You need to start eating right! What about your doctor, is he good? I can search around for some better ones if you’re not satisfied with him.”

Both Yixing and Xiuying chuckled at her excitement and numerous questioning.

“I’m about eight weeks now. And yes, I’m watching what I eat; this guy over here have been nagging me about my diet.” Xiuying glared mockingly at Yixing who only chuckled and leaned up to press a kiss on her jaw. “And my doctor is wonderful, you’ll like him.”

Her father has been quiet as his wife chattered excitedly about names and baby cribs and what kind of color for the nursery. It was after some time after Xiuying answered all her mother’s question did she turned to him.

“Dad?” The older man was startled when all attention turned to him. “You haven’t said anything. Are you…are you not happy?”

“NO!” The loud exclamation surprised everyone and he looked sheepish as he shook his head rapidly. “No, no, sweetheart, of course not!”

He put his fingers on the screen as if he wanted to caress Xiuying. “It’s just that….you were so little when I first met you, with your hail tied with those butterfly clips, wearing that pink, ruffled skirt that made you itch awfully and you were so adorable I loved you in an instant. And now look at you.”

The tears were already trailing down his withered cheeks as he smiled widely. “My baby is having a baby of her own.”

“Dad….” Xiuying’s own fingers were pressed on the screen mimicking her father’s. “Stop crying or you’ll make me cry too…..”

“I love you so much, sweetheart and I’m so happy for you.”

By now Xiuying already burst into tears that her mother joined in. Yixing’s own eyes felt hot and prickled but he pushed it down, opting to hold Xiuying tighter and pressing kisses at the back of her head.

When the chat was over he lifted Xiuying still in his arms and brought her to the living room. Putting her down on the couch he quickly prepared a cup of hot tea for her, before settling himself behind her and just held her silently.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They’d decided to wait a little before announcing it to the general public, telling their closest family only. After her parents, they called his parents and her stepbrother and thought that was it.

Of course, they forgot to put Luhan into account.

The older man had been abroad for the shooting of his newest movie but the moment he landed back in Beijing he’d called Yixing and invited himself to the couple’s home for dinner a few days after.

Yixing just went along with it, knowing full well the other man won’t stop until he gets what he wants and truth be told he missed his friend too. After a few minutes of small talk Xiuying excused herself to prepare for their diner and Yixing directed Luhan to the living room, though still making sure he was seated where he can still watch over his wife putting about in the kitchen.

Luhan was telling Yixing excitedly about some fight that happened between his co-stars during the shoot when Yixing saw Xiuying standing on her tiptoes to reach the upper shelf. He almost ran to the kitchen, heart beating wildly as his hand wrapped around her waist in case she falls while the other grabbed the large bowl she wanted easily.

“Baby, you should’ve tell me if you want something,” he admonished her gently.

Xiuying only patted his arm exasperatedly. “Xing, it’s fine, I’m fine. I am still capable of cooking dinner.”

“Yes, I know, but!” His hand rubbed across her stomach, a habit he picked up lately. “I’m just worried about you.”

A soft cough made them turned around and belatedly Yixing realized Luhan was still there, having the perfect view of everything from the kitchen’s threshold.

The older man tilted his head, frowning in thought. “Am I missing something here?”

His gaze roved over Xiuying, who had a small blush on and looked elsewhere, to Yixing who still had an arm around her waist and one hand across her stomach. Luhan’s eyes widened and he quickly shuffled closer, looking back and forth between Xiuying’s stomach to her and back to Yixing.

“W-what…is it…what I’m thinking….really?” Luhan stumbled over his words and Yixing would‘ve laughed about it if not for the fact that their secret was blown. He sent a helpless look at Xiuying but his wife only shrugged easily with a grin.

Yixing sighed. “Yes, it’s true what you’re thinking.” He rubbed his wife’s stomach again with a proud smile. “We’re expecting a child.”

The high-pitched shriek Luhan emitted was enough to deafen Yixing’s ears but he just chuckled instead as Luhan rushed over to them, hands flinging here and there and a big smile on, a true one that always contorted his face into a creepy expression instead of the controlled smile he used for the cameras.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, congratulations, you two!” He pulled Yixing first for a hug before turning to embrace Xiuying next. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me straight away!”

Xiuying laughed. “Sorry Luhan, it’s not that we didn’t want to tell you; just that we thought we’d keep it among families.”

“And I’m not?”

“Yes, yes, we’re sorry for not telling you first, but-“ Whatever Yixing wanted to say went out the window and he glared down at one of his oldest friend. “Hey! Stop groping my wife!!”

Luhan looked up, wide innocent eyes blinking at him, as if him kneeling in front of Xiuying with his hands hovering just inches from her stomach was a normal thing. “I’m not groping your wife; I’m merely talking to my future niece or nephew.”

Ignoring Yixing’s indignant splutters and Xiuying’s embarrassed shuffling, Luhan cooed into Xiuying’s shirt. “Hey there, little baby, this is your future godfather, uncle Luhan.”

“Godfather??”

“Yes, his or her godfather.” Luhan glared up, eyes steely hard. “Seeing that I introduced the two of you, I think I deserve that right. Not to mention that you didn’t tell me about this straight away, so you owe me twice.”

Yixing opened his mouth, ready to argue but another glare from Luhan shut his mouth. He guessed the other man was probably right; he did owe him for introducing him to Xiuying. A few years back Luhan was cast in a historical movie and the production company wanted a history expert to help them with the movie’s authenticity, who turned up to be Xiuying. He then introduced her to Yixing who had visited him on set, and the rest was history.

He sighed, casting a side glance at his wife who only nodded with a small smile.

“Fine, you can be the godfather.”

“Yaaayy!!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They had told Luhan not to breathe a word about the pregnancy to another soul but of course, Luhan being Luhan, ended up spilling it on a talk show. Luhan insisted that it was a slip of tongue on his part but Yixing didn’t believe him. Soon enough the news was all over the internet blogs and gossip sites.

And then the gifts poured in. EXO may have disbanded six years ago but the fans haven’t forgotten, and Xingmi turned up in full force to show their supports, along with his ex-members. Tao had called them a few days before, alternating between laughing and crying and apologizing because he couldn’t congratulate them in person since he was still in the middle of shooting his newest action movie in Italy. The day before it was Minseok who called, congratulating him excitedly about the pregnancy and made promises to visit China soon so both their children can have playdates, seeing that the older man himself had a child of his own last year.

Xiuying looked up from the couch, a book on his lap when Yixing came through the door. “What’s that?”

Yixing sat down at the other end of the couch, putting her feet on his lap before rummaging through the bag of letters he had brought home. He refused to accept the cribs and strollers and rocking chairs his fans send them, but set aside the letters and cards, kept it in a special box in their closet.

Xiuying looked through the letters with him, smiling at the congratulatory words. “Your fans are really the best, aren’t they?”

Yixing grinned. “They really are. Oh, and I also have this.” He leaned to grab the other, much larger bag he brought, pulling out giftwrapped boxes. “These are from my members; they sent it to the management office.”

Joonmyun had sent a baby book while Chanyeol’s present was a CD collection of classical music for babies. A huge dog plushie that was almost as high as his waist was from Jongin and a box filled with various baby clothes in pale purple from Sehun.

Yixing was admiring a cute onesie with an embroidered duck when his phone vibrated. Pulling it out to see a message from Jongdae, he frowned at the text.

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure; Jongdae said I should check instagram and make sure you’re with me when I do.”

Xiuying leaned closer and perched behind his back as Yixing check the site and found a post from Baekhyun just a few minutes ago. It was an instavideo of Baekhyun, Kyungsoo and Jongdae all grinning into the camera, saying that this small performance was done for a special baby. After shared grins they sang a beautiful lullaby, a perfect harmonization of the three voices.

Xiuying was crying when the song ended, laughing through her sniffles when the three singers waved at the camera. Yixing himself couldn’t stop grinning, replaying the video again and again. Finally he reached around and gathered his wife into his arms, one hand between their bodies and splayed across her stomach.

“You see that, baby? So many people are happy for your arrival.”

I debated whether to use EXO's official fan name in here, but since even the mention of EXO-L still makes me LOL, I decided to just use Xingmi (Yixing's fans) instead ;)

The next update might take some time coming since I'm going on a trip with my bestfriend, which I am really excited about since I don't see him often coz' he works at another country.

Till then, stay safe, be happy and keep on being awesome~ :D <3