It was Jongdae who reminded him of it. The younger man had called him, a rare time when both of their schedules are free enough to have a more than five minutes of how-are-you’s and gotta-go’s phonecall.

“She looks like an alien, hyung,” was the first thing the other man said to him.

Yixing squawked in indignation. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about there, Jongdae! See if I send you other pics of her later on!”

The melodic laughter from the other end of the phone brought forth a smile of his own. “I’m just kidding, hyung. I’m sure she would be beautiful,” there was a pause before he snickered. “If she takes after her mother, of course.”

Yixing scoffed. Over thirty three years old and Jongdae was still as mischievous as ever. “Is there a point to this phone call, Jongdae?”

Jongdae snickered some more, finally stopping with some difficulty. “Ah yeah; Lauren wanted me to ask you when’s the baby shower is. I think she wants to send a present for Xiuying noona.”

Yixing froze. A baby shower? The thought never even entered his mind. Was he supposed to arrange that?

When the silence went on a sigh was heard from the other line. “You didn’t think about it, do you?”

“W-well….I didn’t know that I have to! Besides, the Chinese doesn’t have that tradition, anyway!” Yixing protested. “We only have manyue and that was supposed to be held after the baby is born!”

“I am perfectly aware of that fact, hyung. But since Xiuying noona lived most of her life abroad, we figured she’d be more accustomed to the Western custom and just thought she would have one.”

Yixing groaned and ran a tired palm over his face. “I don’t even know what to prepare for these kind of things! Like, is it supposed to be a party? Do I have to invite only women? ”

“Alright, alright, calm down. I’ll ask Lauren about it and get back to you after, okay?”

Yixing nodded rapidly, for a second forgetting that Jongdae couldn’t see him. Lauren, Jongdae’s long-time girlfriend, is a brunette, green-eyed American and will surely be familiar with this Western tradition and what it entails.

Jongdae only chuckled before the phone went off. “I’ll let you know soon, hyung.”

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

Apparently Jongdae had requited Luhan since the older man was all buzzing with excitement when he called Yixing the next day.

“So I heard from Jongdae that someone plans to hold a baby shower for his wife.”

Yixing groaned. “Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re also in it?”

“Hey, this is my chance of spoiling my goddaughter for the first time; of course I have to be in on it!”

“…..fine. So, had Jongdae told you what we’re supposed to do for this shower?”

“Leave it to me; I’ll take care of it all for you. All you need to do is give me a list of Xiuying’s friends you want to invite for the shower and I’ll handle the rest.”

“Luhan…..”

“Oh, come on! My next movie isn’t starting until next month so I have all this free time in my hands. Pleeeeease …..!”

Even without seeing him Yixing knew his older friend was pouting. “Fine. But no pink color anywhere! No pink cakes, pink balloons, pink baby clothes, pink anything!”

“What? What is a baby shower for a baby girl going to be if there’s no pink?!”

Yixing sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Xiuying had hated the color ever since we knew we’re having a girl, something about wanting our daughter to grow up different than others or something like that.”

“Ooh…preparing my goddaughter to be unique! I like that!”

“Just….don’t go too overboard, okay? I think some nice, simple gathering with our friends all together would be nice.”

Luhan scoffed. “You mean boring. Your daughter is lucky I’m his godfather; I’ll make this shower the best there ever was!”

“I mean it, Luhan, no extravagance.”

“We’ll see….now, where could I make a five-meter tall chocolate fountain and rent a fire-breathing circus performer?”

“What??”

“Never mind. I’ll talk to you later.”

Yixing stared at the phone in his hand, the dial tone loud in the air and felt his headache increased.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Where are we going, Xing?”

Yixing only smiled, patting Xiuying’s arms wrapped around his own. “Just for a walk around, you know the doctor said the exercise would be good for you.”

“Easy for you to say; you’re not the one with elephant ankles and silly walk.”

“I promise I’ll give you a foot massage when we get home.”

Xiuying hummed. “I’ll keep you to that.”

Yixing only chuckled as he sneaked a hand to rub around Xiuying’s hip, massaging the dull throb he knew was there. The contented sigh and grateful smile she shot him was reward enough and he gently persuaded her to walk around some more.

He wasn’t really lying; the doctor did said that some light exercise would be great and now that winter was almost at its end the weather wasn’t too cold for a light stroll around the block. Especially now that the baby was over eight months along, she was finally making enough heat though Xiuying’s fingers remained cold and Yixing tucked their clasped hands inside his coat pocket.

Xiuying’s belly was nice and round as she kept one hand cradling the large swell. She didn’t just walk now, she waddled with her feet spread apart and Yixing thought it was such an endearing sight but knew enough to not comment on it if he doesn’t want to get punch in the arm. Still, he couldn’t help but worry slightly; Xiuying’s belly looked so swollen that it felt like a good sneeze would be all it takes for the baby to pop out of her.

Surreptitiously he sneaked a glance at his mobile phone, checking to see if there was a message from Luhan. To his delight there was; the older man telling him that the house was ready for the baby shower.

“Should we head home now?”

Xiuying only shrugged nonchalantly, but Yixing knew enough to see that she was beginning to get tired anyway and pecked her temple.

Xiuying had a small, hesitant smile when he leaned back. “Xing? You…..you still love me, right? I know I’ve been moody and irritable and mean lately-“

Yixing cupped her cheeks and leaned their foreheads together. “Silly. Of course I still love you; you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” His hand sneaked down and rubbed the side of her belly. “Both of you.”

“You’re so cheesy,” she scoffed.

“But you love me,” he cooed and leaning closer again, stealing a kiss as he sing-songs into . “And I love you.”

Xiuying only hummed as she let him kiss her again and again.

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

Yixing had to admit that Luhan did a good job decorating the house in just the three hours they were gone. There were a tasteful banner of pale yellow and green in the living room’s wall with matching streamers hanging from the ceiling. The coffee table was pushed to the side, a large baby crib-shaped cake on top of it with platters of cupcakes and sugar cookies around it. Balloons are everywhere, weighted down with something that Yixing concluded was baby bottles filled with candies and chocolates when he took a closer look.

The look on Xiuying’s face was priceless when she stepped into the room and people jumped out from behind doors and furniture grinning and shouting and she just stood there bewildered before a huge smile broke out.

“W-what…what the…”

Luhan grinned from behind the couch, a deer’s antlers perching snugly on top of his head. “Welcome to your baby shower!”

Yixing raised an eyebrow at his friend’s head accessories. It doesn’t take a genius to see the theme of the shower, seeing that the animal’s picture was stamped everywhere from the balloons to the icing on top of the cupcakes and cookies and is that a deer’s head peeking from the crib cake?

Luhan caught his eyes and only grinned as he grabbed Xiuying’s wrist and pulled her to the couch. “Come, come, sit down and enjoy the party!”

There was quite a good amount of people that turn out. All of Xiuying’s friends were there and they huddled around her on the couch, taking turns in caressing her belly and giving advice on parenting and sharing pregnancy stories. Looking around he saw that his friends were there too and he made a circle around the room when someone tapped his shoulder and Yixing couldn’t believe his eyes when he turned around.

 “Minseok hyung! Jongdae! Tao!”

Minseok laughed as Yixing barreled into him while Jongdae clapped his shoulder and Tao looked almost ready to cry.

“What? You don’t think I would miss this, right?”

Jongdae grinned and shook his head. “Nope. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Tao’s hug was bone-crushing and Yixing couldn’t breathe but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’m sorry I can only come now, gēge, but I’m so happy for you!”

Luhan’s smile was smug. “I told you I’ll make the best baby shower.”

Yixing stepped back, staring at the four men who had been with him through ups and downs of life, whom he’d considered as the brothers he never had.

“Yup. I gotta say that for once you’re right, Luhan.”

All in all, Yixing thought the baby shower went pretty well. Luhan had prepared games and fun activities for all the guests to participate which turned out to be a huge success. Xiuying had tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks when during what Luhan declared as Diaper Olympics, Tao and Jongdae bumped each other repeatedly as they tried to make the shortest time to put a diaper on the infant-sized dolls while Yixing himself ended up dropping the powder bottle, coughing at the small cloud of powder that came. Minseok gave them all judging look as he calmly changed his own doll efficiently by the side.

Then there was the gifts-opening and Yixing hold Xiuying close as he sat beside her, admiring each opened gifts. It was obvious that his and Xiuying’s parents and her step brother were in talk over what to get when they opened three big gifts to reveal a crib, a baby car seat and a baby stroller, all in matching pretty pale green and yellow that Xiuying cooed over. 

There were also rattles and a few stuffed toys and Yixing could barely hold his eye-roll when he saw the deer-patterned diaper bag and the enormous deer plushie that Luhan had gifted them.

“So my goddaughter will always remember her favorite uncle!” The older man had said proudly, rubbing the deer antler still on his head absentmindedly.

Minseok had given them a mobile of prancing unicorn to hang above the crib, a cute bouquet made of brightly colored rolled up onesies and and a diaper cake. Yixing thanked the older man but wondered internally whether they already had too much seeing that he and Xiuying themselves had stocked the hallway’s cupboard full with diapers.

Minseok had laughed, seemingly reading what was on Yixing’s mind as he leaned over and clapped his shoulder. “Trust me Yixing, you could never have too much diapers.”

Jongdae’s gifts was a bit eyebrows-raising at first. The first one was easy enough a pacifier, a really cute one that Xiuying coo at. The second gift was something else and no one seems to know what it was. It seems like a regular pair of bright-red loafers made of comfy, felt material, but there was a much smaller pair attached on top of it.

Grabbing the shoes from Yixing with a grin, Jongdae laid it on his palm. “This is for when the baby is older. You know how children like to step on their parent’s feet to dance with them?” At Yixing’s nod Jongdae continued with a smug smile. “Well, this is called a dance shoe for both the parents and the child. See, the parent can use the larger pair while the baby can use the smaller one on top of it. This way it reduces the risk of the child falling over and it would be much more comfortable for the baby since she won’t be stepping on slippery shoe material and instead on comfy felt.”

There was a chorus of awed noises once Jongdae finished and Yixing had to swallow his chuckle at the other man’s puffed chest. Still, he has to admit that it was a wonderful gift and he leaned to give the other a hug.

“Thank you Jongdae, this is really nice of you.”

Jongdae returned the hug with a loud laugh. “Just making sure that your daughter will live up to her father’s dancing skill since an early age.” He had a mischievous grin on when Yixing pulled back and a cheeky wink. “But of course we all know she won’t be able to top the Chensing machine.”

Luhan’s guffaw was loud as he clapped Jongdae’s back repeatedly, not caring that the younger man was spluttering and coughing from the force of the clap. Minseok only rolled his eyes with a fond smile as he watched the exchange while Tao grabbed the shoes from Yixing’s hand and taking numerous pictures of it with his phone, no doubt planning to upload it later to his Instagram.

Once Luhan finally stopped and Jongdae managed to get his breathing back to normal Xiuying leaned over and pulled him for a side hug.

“Thank you again, Jongdae. This is really, really nice.”

Jongdae coughed sheepishly, a slight pink coloring his cheeks as he grinned. “I’m glad you like it. Lauren will be pleased; she was the one who suggested this gift.”

Tao burst the moment as he pulled out two gift-wrapped boxes out of the pile. “My gifts now!” He pushed the smaller of the boxes towards Yixing. “Here, open this one first.”

Yixing opened the box gingerly, eyes widening to see two snapbacks inside though one of it was much too small to fit on either him or Xiuiying. The larger snapback was black with gold edges and small flowers stitched at the side while the smaller one was white and gold with larger flowers along its side.

Tao grabbed the smaller snapback with a grin and putting it gingerly on top of Xiuying’s belly. “So that you can match and be all swag with your baby later on!”

“Do they even still say ‘swag’ these days?”

“What are you looking at me for, Luhan?” Minseok scoffed. “I’m the oldest here, what do I know about what kids nowadays are saying.”

Xiuying’s mouth quirked at the corners as she took the small snapback, running a finger along the gold edges. “I’m not sure what use does an infant need for this, but I have to say this is really great, Tao.”

“She should learn the first thing about fashion: it’s not about the comfort or the need, but it’s about looking good.” Tao nodded confidently, before putting the larger box in front of Xiuying. “Here, now you open this one.”

Xiuying blinked as she pull open the box, before breaking in laughter as she picked up the baby-carrier, the straps black with golden edges and covered in leopard-printed fabric.

Yixing narrowed his eyes. “Is that….?”

“Of course it is!” Tao beamed proudly. “You know I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing any other brand.”

Jongdae whistled, looking amused. “I didn’t even know that brand make these.”

“I may have pulled in some favors,” Tao shrugged easily, examining his fingernails. “They should, seeing as I’ve been their most loyal customer all these years.”

Xiuying was beaming as she tried to put the baby carrier on, even as her big belly was in the way and it wouldn’t strap properly on her back. “I bet I’ll be the most fashionable mom in the block with this.”

“Of course!” Tao smirked as he gave Yixing a side glance. “I have to make sure the baby have my impeccable fashion sense instead of Yixing’s boring one.”

Yixing only rolled his eyes with a scoff, reaching over an arm to curl around Xiuying’s waist. “Having fun, baby?” he whispered into her ear, nuzzling her temple.

Xiuying chuckled as she leaned back into his chest, watching in amusement as Jongdae and Tao argued over whose gifts was better while Luhan lamented the fact that neither of those gifts have any deer on them and Minseok by the sideline just rolled his eyes and continued eating his cake. 

“Yup. Best baby shower ever.”

Sorry for the long wait for this chapter guys, I've been so busy irl. I had fun writing this chapter though, especially with the baby gifts. Yes, that baby carrier Tao gave was from that brand he likes. I don't know whether they have it in real life but I figured Tao could pull in favors to make one custom-made xD

Though my favorites are Jongdae's gifts. I squealed in delight when I saw those pacifiers and shoes, they're just so cute~! :D

Here's the link if you want to see what it's like:

Pacifier here

Dancing shoes here

Until next time, keep on being awesome people~! :D <33