Relaxing after a long day, you eased yourself down onto the couch, placing a pillow behind your head, one of your hands grabbed the remote from the coffee table just in front of the couch. Resting your other hand across your stomach, you pressed the on button on the remote causing the television to spring to life with a click. Once the images flashed across the screen, you pressed the guide button and began to surf across the channels to find a suitable show for the night. 

Stumbling across a show that you haven’t watched in awhile, you choose the channel and relaxed against the cushions on the couch. Placing the remote next to your hip, you pulled over a blanket that draped across the back of the couch and laid it over your body. The soft glow of the lamp on the end table kept you company while your mind followed the story line with ease.

Inching closer to midnight with every passing second, your front door slowly opened to the twisting of the handle. A silhouette stepped inside the humble home, closing the door quietly, the soft light of the lamp welcomed the stranger home, his hand found the strap of his bag that rested over his shoulder, easing his bag onto the bench that housed some shoes underneath. Slipping off his shoes, he placed them right next to yours before peeling his light jacket away from his graphic t shirt. 

Once he was all settled in, his socked feet padded across the tile to wood floor transition. Moving into the kitchen, he opened a few cabinets just to see what kind of snacks were left. Scanning through the pantry and the cabinets nothing seemed to sound good for him to eat. Opening the refrigerator, the light from inside hit his face, adjusting his eyes, he scanned the contents inside before choosing the left over dinner that you had made for him a few hours ago.

Peeling the lid off of the container, closing the refrigerator then moved over to the microwave, opening the door, he slid the food inside, closing the door afterwards, Yongguk’s fingers pressed against the numbers to heat the food for the desired length.

With the request given, the microwave hummed as it heated up the food, counting down until he could eat his dinner. Turning around, he leaned against the counter-top, his hands sliding into the front pockets of his jeans as his eyes found the television playing in the living room. Watching a different movie unfold across the screen, his eyes slowly wandered around as his mind turned to you, wondering where you could be. Finding it odd that you left the television and a lamp on, the beeping of the microwave snapped his attention back to the food that had finished heating.

Turning around, he carefully removed the food from the microwave, grabbing some utensils, he stirred around the heated food, happy to see steam rise above the food. The scent of the cooked food caused his stomach to grumble in hunger, lifting up a bite to his lips, he carefully blew on it not wanting to burn his tongue before he slipped the food into his mouth.

Satisfied as to how warm the food was, he shuffled around the island, placing his food down on top of the island, he pulled out one of the bar stools underneath the overhang of the counter-top. Easing himself down onto the stool, a tired sigh slipped from his lips, blinking his eyes, he let his eyes stay closed for a moment longer before opening them back up just to slip another bite of food into his mouth.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he unlocked the screen and looked over the multiple notifications just to see if you texted him “good night” like usual. Checking his messages, he clicked on your name and refreshed the conversation just to be sure he didn’t miss a text from you. Taking in another bite of food, he set down his phone on the counter-top next to his food. Turning his head slightly to the left, he looked down and saw a simple white envelope, his name written in your beautiful handwriting.

Yongguk stopped chewing for a moment, moving his hand closest to the note, he gingerly picked up the note and brought it in front of him. Pushing his food away, he resumed chewing as he looked towards the bedroom, not seeing the door closed, he wondered if you had gone out somewhere for the night. Feeling around the envelope, he it over and slid his fingers under the flap that was lightly tacked down with a star sticker at the bottom. Working his fingers, he pulled out two slips of paper, his eyes focusing on the paper that was placed first. The paper was a little thicker than usual an obscure black and white image printed over it, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion, he tilted his head slightly, letting his eyes wander over the picture trying to figure out what it depicted.

Without a clue, his fingers slid the second paper out from the picture, moving it in front of the picture, a little white note card with blue Sharpie letters standing out against the white background. Reading the letter quickly, he stopped once he saw the heart at the bottom of the note with your initials right next to it.

“We love you Daddy”

Reading the note once more, he separated the two from one another, one hand holding the picture and the other hand, the note. Flipping his eyes back and forth, his eyes fixated on the picture, suddenly hitting him that it was an ultrasound picture. Sliding the papers into one hand, Yongguk covered his mouth as a beautifully big and bright smile pulled his lips from ear to ear.

Letting the moment sink in, feeling his heart pounding against his ribs, he looked up from gazing at the picture once more. Turning around, he heard a shuffle of blankets and a soft hum that sounded like you. Placing the pictures back into the envelope, stepping away from the stool and moved over towards the couch. Peering over the back of the couch, your figure was nestled under a light blanket, the fabric lightly bunched around your hips and under your arm. Walking around the couch, Yongguk knelt down next to you, the smile on his lips from the news had returned.

Yongguk admired you, letting this image of you sleeping so peacefully, sink into his mind. Lifting up his hand, he brushed the tips of his fingers across your forehead, gently tucking a few fallen hairs behind your ear. Leaning in, he pressed his smiling lips against your forehead, the warmth of his lips collided with your warm skin. Pulling away softly, he couldn’t contain his smile, looking over your face, he carefully rested his hand over yours that laid across your stomach.

“Shall we get you and the baby to bed?” Yongguk whispered, still on cloud nine from the news. Peeling away the blanket from your form, he found the remote and turned off the television before placing it on the coffee table.

Slipping his arms under you, his lifted you up into his arms, being ever so careful. Guiding your head to his chest, you slightly moved feeling the warmth of his body as your hand lifted and gripped his shirt slightly between your fingers. Carefully maneuvering from the living room to the bedroom, he eased you down onto the bed before pulling the covers out from under you. Covering you up with the covers, he sat on the edge of your bed, his hand pressing into the mattress on the other side of you.

Watching you sleep for a little while, he couldn’t keep some sort of smile from his lips. Pressing a kiss against your cheek, he rubbed your back with his other hand.

“I’ll be right back” Yongguk whispered against your skin before standing up and heading over to the door. Resting his hand on the doorknob, he turned around and watched you sleeping peacefully, closing the door slightly behind him, he headed back to the kitchen and finished his dinner, thoughts of a baby filling his mind. Rinsing his dinner, he folded the blankets and made sure that everything was clean before heading to bed to you.

Pulling off his t shirt, a tank top clung to his muscular form as he kicked off his pants and slipped under the covers with you, with boxers outfitting his lower half. Turning off the lights, he plugged in your phone and his so they could charge for the night. Draping his arm over your side, he pulled his body against yours, his body fitting against yours perfectly. His hand brushed across your stomach as a smile curled on his lips. Wrapping his other arm around you, he kissed your head once more.

“Goodnight, Mommy” He whispered against you, moving his lips to your shoulder, he kissed your skin lightly, “Goodnight baby. I love you”

Morning light gently filled your master bedroom, the light hitting you over your eyes causing you to groan slightly before turning over, feeling someone’s arms slightly restrict your movement. Once you turned your back to the window, the strong pair of arms wrapped around you tighter and pulled your back against his strong chest, his legs gently tangling with yours. Your hands gently rested over your stomach just to feel his hands there protectively. Running the tips of your fingers over his hand, you felt the cool metal wrapped around his finger as you smiled remembering your wedding in an instant. Opening your eyes slowly, your eyes dropped down to his hands over your stomach, lacing your fingers between his, he hummed softly between his deep breathing.

Lifting your eyes slightly you noticed a pad of paper in your bed, the pages slightly bent from you sleeping on the notebook, unknowingly. Moving one of your hands from his, you carefully picked up the notebook and retracted it back to you. Blinking away the sleep from your eyes, they slowly adjusted to the writing across the page.

Names for Baby, read across the top as you smiled knowing that he found the night before. Brushing your thumb over his hand, you smiled as your eyes slightly wondered over the list, loving some more than others. Having a boy and girl section, you couldn’t contain the happiness that filled your chest.

A soft kiss against the nape of your neck caught your attention before his head rested on your shoulder.

“Morning Beautiful” Yongguk whispered happily, his thick morning voice coating over his words.

“Morning Handsome” You smiled as your eyes continued to look over the names, Yongguk turned his attention to the notebook that you found. Rubbing your stomach gently, he tapped the syllables, good morning baby, against your stomach.

“When did you have time to come up with all of this?” You questioned, flipping over page after page.

“Last night…” Yongguk whispered, his eyes looking over the names, seeing the ones he starred being the ones that he really liked. “I couldn’t sleep from being so excited, so I made a short list of names I liked for the little one.”

“A short list?” You giggled, counting the pages quietly, “Ten pages is short to you” You giggled, your head turning back over to him as he let you roll onto his back.

With his arm pressing into the mattress, he smiled, his body crossing over yours letting his eyes peer into yours.

“I wanted to make sure our baby has the best name” Yongguk pressed a gentle kiss on the tip of your nose.

“Our baby will, I have no doubt” You smiled, placing the notebook down, you lifted your hand up and cupped his cheek.

Birds morning song happily filled the silence between the two of you, happily letting time slip through your fingers as your eyes got lost in his and his in yours. Rubbing his hand up your side slightly, biting his lip lightly, his eyes brightening with an idea.

“Can I get the baby or you anything?” Yongguk whispered, his voice sweet and loving as he was careful not to lay on you, not wanting to hurt the little one growing inside of you.

“We’re good for right now” You smiled softly, loving how that rolled off of your tongue.

“Let me know if you two need anything”

–

A month or two later, the symptoms of pregnancy began to show their true colors, from morning sickness to fatigue, cravings, and dizziness. Laying on your bed, you were working on some baby room plans, trying to find a way to shift Yongguk’s office to another part of the house while making it work for your soon-to-be family. Cutting out ideas from interior design magazine, you searched on your laptop to compare prices. Placing a pillow under you, you had yourself propped up and snacked on a few crackers to keep your hunger at bay. Sipping some water from time to time, you had just finished the major furniture you wanted in the baby’s room before something overcame you.

Looking over at your cracker between your fingers, you slowly put it down as your stomach churned, feeling odd, you sat up and placed your hands on your stomach. Taking deep breaths through your nose and letting them out through your mouth, you tried to soothe yourself before your instincts kicked in. Slipping off of the bed, you ran to the bathroom and slammed the door. Leaning over the sink, you waited for the dreaded moment of vomiting, yet it never came.

Standing upright, your eyes caught your figure in the reflection of the mirror, looking yourself over you your lips and saw the fatigue wearing on your features, your hands slightly swollen and your chest growing slightly larger. Turning sideways, you saw the little bump of the baby poke out of your stomach. Running your hand down over your bump, you smiled and it softly.

Giving your body a few moments to calm down from the sickness, you began to walk out of the bathroom before another wave of morning sickness hit you. Running back over to the sink and awaited the dreaded feeling.

After a few more minutes of no repercussions, you stood upright slowly and leaned against the counter. Figuring it would come back, once you tried to leave the room, sighing you lifted a towel from the towel rack and folded it in your arms. Grabbing a hair tie, just in case, you eased yourself down next to the tub, placing a towel under you to keep yourself up off of the cool tile. Gathering your hair into a ponytail, you ran your fingers through your hair as you sat there on the cool floor for a little while.

With a few other close calls, your energy was quickly drained as you folded your arms up on the edge of the tub and rested your head on top. Closing your eyes, you fell into a light sleep, no dreams came to your mind as what you had figured was a few minutes, a soft knock was heard on the bathroom door waking you up from your light sleep.

“What are you doing in here, babe?” Yongguk opened the door, his face full of worry.

“The little one got sick of the crackers and water” You rubbed your stomach softly, a smile pulling on your lips as you took a deep breath your eyes lowering to your hand over your stomach.

Padding over to you, he carefully eased himself down next to you, his arm wrapping around you while his hand gently rubbed your upper arm. Kissing your cheek he slowly leaned down and kissed your stomach lightly, his hand resting over top once he finished the kiss.

“We talked about this… You have to be nice to Mommy, remember? ” Yongguk whispered seriously to the little bump, causing you to smile your fingers running slowly through his hair.

Feeling your symptoms slowly start to fade, you hummed as Yongguk sat upright, removing his hand from your stomach. Once he moved his hand, you didn’t feel so good, the hot flashes came and caused you to feel lightheaded. Leaning your head back a little, Yongguk watched you carefully as he guided your head to his shoulder.

“Just rest sweetie, I won’t go anywhere” He whispered before pressing a kiss on your forehead. Nodding your head, he felt your slightly chilled skin from leaning against the cool tub.

Smoothly, he ed his flannel button up, slipping it off his shoulders, he laid it over you while trying to stay as still as possible for you. Your stomach churned as you lightly moved in his arms trying to find a comfortable position. The long fingers of his brushed against the back of your hand as you linked one of your fingers with his, pulling his hand over, you slowly rested his hand and yours over your stomach.

Without any question, he brushed his thumb over your stomach, resting his head against yours as the feeling of his touch on your stomach slowly eased the discomfort. Sleep heavy eyes closed soon after as you were in a deeper sleep than before. Yongguk watching over his family the best he could.

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten and the future worth living for.”

– Author Unknown