The gestation period for a Gauean was almost 11 months based on the Kunryun calendar, give or take a week or two.

Kyungsoo didn’t care even if he found out a few hours ago that he was five weeks pregnant with his and Chanyeol’s first child, the first baby to be born to any Gauean in over 20 years and also the first mixed-race baby born to a Gauean.

Kyungsoo wanted to leave Vuur and go on the mission as they had planned to, and being pregnant wasn’t going to stop him anytime soon. Kyungsoo was strong and he knew that enough to threaten anyone who would prevent him from leaving.

Kyungsoo was firmly insisting on leaving immediately after receiving the news, but it was Chanyeol and Sehun who somehow managed to convince Kyungsoo to postpone their departure for another day. It was so Kyungsoo could return to the surface of Vuur and see a specialist to check up and consult on his pregnancy.

Kyungsoo held his sword to the doctor’s throat, threatening to kill him and crash a meteor on his house if he broke the news about Kyungsoo’s pregnancy to others, even if to Chanyeol’s mother.

Sehun had tried to stop Kyungsoo and Chanyeol was too scared to intervene because he was not sure if Kyungsoo was just being emotional from the pregnancy or if Kyungsoo was just obeying the violent Gauean nature in him.

The doctor did several tests and an ultrasound, although Kyungsoo threatened to kill him again if the doctor dare tried to do anything sappy like make him listen to the unborn child’s heartbeat.

Kyungsoo told the doctor to talk to Chanyeol instead and not him. Chanyeol later relayed the information that their baby was healthy, viable and for them to return for another checkup next month.

Kyungsoo hadn’t yet gotten used to the idea of being pregnant and the idea of having an unplanned child. It was conflicting because he had run away from Kunryun to avoid having a baby, and that was what which is currently happening to him.

Kyungsoo felt like dying already at the idea of having to be “careful” for the next 10 months or so left in his pregnancy. Kyungsoo liked jumping out of high places, like rushing into battles and liked taking risks.

Kyungsoo didn’t like having to sit still, do nothing and basically be docile which he would have to because of the baby growing in him.

He was far from excited or looking forward to having their child. In fact, Kyungsoo just wanted it to be over with, not because he was cold or indifferent. It was because Kyungsoo was afraid of the change and what it would mean for his life thereafter.

Sehun spoiled Kyungsoo very much; since Kyungsoo was obviously his favorite nephew without question, and Chanyeol didn’t dare to say “no” to Kyungsoo either.

At Kyungsoo’s behest, they postponed leaving Vuur only for a day to visit the doctor, and left the next morning to their second base on Myolhada and prepare for their next mission.

After a few days on Myolhada, they left the desert outpost planet for a mission on a resource-rich planet that was populated by the galaxy’s most renowned philosophers, poets, and historians.

The journey would take them four Anam days aboard Umi, which gave Kyungsoo a lot of time to think about becoming a parent and having to be responsible for another person for the rest of their life.

Growing up, Kyungsoo didn’t have the best example of what a parent should be but he was determined to not end up like them. Sehun was the closest thing he had to a positive role model in his life, although Sehun was more like the cool older brother than a parental figure.

For hundreds of years, the Gaueans had detached the emotional aspect from birthing and raising children. As a Gauean, giving birth was only seen as a means to continue their dying bloodline, and not because they wanted to raise better people who would contribute to society and improve the world around them. It was first and foremost, a chore and duty and not a milestone in life to look forward to.

Kyungsoo had realized how flawed that kind of mentality was but he wasn’t convinced he’d be better, and he was afraid that he would just be a hypocrite who would contribute to adding another person into this violent bloodline.

Right now, Kyungsoo just felt lost because although everyone on Kunryun expected him to bear babies, they never taught him how to be a good and nurturing parent either, which Kyungsoo wanted to be.

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure which the case was. Whether the pregnancy symptoms were keeping him awake at night or whether he was still getting adjusted to the lack of the day/night cycle, because he found himself leaving the bunks and wandering up to the flight deck during sleeping time.

Kyungsoo sat in the pilot seat which belonged to Sehun, with his legs curled up on the seat as he looked out at the vast emptiness of space and the distant stars twinkling in the far distance.

Kyungsoo just sat there, doing nothing but thinking about everything. He should be six weeks pregnant by now, but that one week since discovering about it had felt like the longest ever he had been through.

For now, the pregnancy remained a secret between Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, Sehun and the doctor Kyungsoo threatened to kill.

Kyungsoo felt like he was probably about to get an epiphany or a sudden moment of self-realization, which was quickly interrupted by Chanyeol climbing loudly onto the flight deck calling out for him.

“Kyungsoo! Why are you out of bed? You need to rest,” Chanyeol exclaimed, putting his hand on the back of the pilot seat and looking very alarmed at Kyungsoo.

“Don’t you need to sleep too?” Kyungsoo asked in return, briefly looking up at Chanyeol standing beside him.

“I’m not the one who is pregnant,” Chanyeol reasoned.

“Lucky you,” Kyungsoo dryly mentioned, looking back out into space from the glass view.

Chanyeol sighed and sat down on the co-pilot’s seat, his usual seat, “What’s wrong, Kyungsoo? Are you scared?”

“I’m more uncomfortable than I am scared,” Kyungsoo admitted, “I’ve never been pregnant before and my body is changing in all these ways I’m not used to. I’m not sure how I’m going to fight with a protruding belly. Besides, our life is going to change so much once we have the baby. We cannot expect to live the same way we do now, and I’m not sure if I’m ready for that yet.”

“I know,” Chanyeol understood, moving a hand between the seats to rest a palm on Kyungsoo’s legs, “That’s why you have me and Sehun too. I’ve never had a child either but we’re going to do it together and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Kyungsoo expressed, “I just don’t know what will happen to us after this.”

“We’ll become parents. That’s what will happen,” Chanyeol smiled, sounding excited.  

Kyungsoo clarified, “I know that. I mean about with Kunryun and all that. You know, I’m going to be the first known Gauean with a mixed-race child. I’m not sure how they’ll react to that, which is why I don’t want anyone else to know that I’m pregnant at all. I’m sorry, Chanyeol. I know your mother would be excited but I can’t tell her yet either. ”

“I understand,” Chanyeol assured, “If that’s what you wish and how you see fit, I will be fine with it as long as you and the baby are safe.”

“I’m sorry I made you have to leave Vuur so soon too when you just got back,” Kyungsoo apologized, “I felt uncomfortable that Kunryun knows I’m there, so I had to leave where they wouldn’t know where I was. I feel better now just traveling around.”

“It’s alright. I love my home and I’m happy you’ve saved it for the next millions of years to come, but I wanted to leave on my own accord too. I was getting restless just being in one place for so long already,” Chanyeol affirmed.

“I don’t want things to change,” Kyungsoo confessed, looking to his yet to be showing belly for a brief moment before looking back up, “I’m afraid that I won’t be the same person that I am today just because I had a baby, because I know that some things will have to change for the baby. I can’t keep…running away.”

“I can’t say about the world but no matter what, I know the one thing that won’t change and that is us, and how I feel about you,” Chanyeol promised, holding onto Kyungsoo’s hand.

“I know, I know,” Kyungsoo repeated, murmuring, “I trust you, I just don’t trust myself. At the end of the day, I am still a Gauean.”

“-but you’re different,” Chanyeol tried to explain.

“Only to a certain degree,” Kyungsoo responded, sighing softly as he was slowly coming to terms with the events unfolding in real time in his life.

~~★★★★★~~

Like Kyungsoo had sworn by, he continued to undertake mission alongside Sehun and Chanyeol even through the course of his pregnancy.

Kyungsoo was more careful but he didn’t let it get in the way of his mission, and so far, Kyungsoo saw not much of a problem with it yet.

The first few months was easy because he only had to make monthly returns to Vuur for follow-ups, which could be over and done within a day, so Kyungsoo could leave as soon as he arrived. Nausea and early pregnancy symptoms that left him feeling fatigued and lethargic also went away after some time too.

There was no baby bump or physical signs yet such as putting on weight to show that he was pregnant yet, so it was easy to hide that fact from others.

After the 16th week of pregnancy was when things started to go out of the plan for Kyungsoo. At the last doctor appointment, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol were told to now have bi-monthly checkups as the pregnancy was progressing.

Sehun was re-scheduling their missions, calculating their travel times and making adjustments so as to not interfere with Kyungsoo’s appointments.

Kyungsoo already felt like a hinder when they had to turn down lucrative missions that didn’t fit into their schedule, all because he had to see a doctor to check up on the progress of his pregnancy.

Kyungsoo also started showing after the 16th week, and his belly seemed to be growing exponentially larger by the week. Kyungsoo feared it but he knew it was already very close to the point that he would become a liability in battle if he prioritized protecting his unborn child over the mission.

It wasn’t that easy now when even loose clothes still made his belly appear very well- pregnant.

After the appointment on the 20th week, they left immediately for Rasaoir, the mountainous planet where they were hired once by the president to drive out a pirate group that looted their trade ships.

The Rasaoir president was once again hiring them to drive out the remaining survivors of the pirate group, who had switched to become thieves in a prominent seaside city on the planet.

At over 20 weeks pregnant, Kyungsoo was very much showing up to a point where he couldn’t button his uniform jacket, although he could still wear it loose and hung open.

Around his chest, his clothes were getting tighter and although Kyungsoo could wear baggy shirts to hide his growing chest, he was still very embarrassed if someone noticed it.

Kyungsoo even stood up and tried to look down to his toes, and was very pleased when he was still able to do that.

While Sehun and Chanyeol were probably climbing and scaling buildings that were built into the mountainside whilst fighting off the pirate-turned-thieves, Kyungsoo was sitting beside a water fountain in the town square while reading a book on pregnancy and parenthood.

Kyungsoo was told to watch the city square in case the thieving group ran there and tried to escape or harm the townsfolk. Kyungsoo could have argued that he was getting the boring duty but he knew it was because they were concerned for him and the unborn child.

That was one of the changes that Kyungsoo feared when he first discovered he was pregnant. But now that it happened, Kyungsoo found himself oddly not resisting it.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad after all, and it was not like he would be pregnant forever, now that he was almost halfway through with it.

The townsfolk didn’t seem to mind him much too. They continued about their business while Kyungsoo was just sitting there peacefully beside the splashing fountain as he flipped through the book, with his sword by the side.

Kyungsoo had just bought the book off of a vendor in the same town. The people of Rasaoir used the Anam lingua franca as their official language so Kyungsoo could read and understood the books from the planet.

There was also a refreshing sea breeze that blew in the middle of the day from the ocean just at the edge of the town, which gave Kyungsoo a serene setting even though his teammates were grappling off thieves while dangling the edge off rocky mountainsides. He could hear them cursing and fighting over the in-ear communication system, but he was not too overly concerned yet.

Kyungsoo lowered his book to look when he thought he heard a commotion coming towards him. Kyungsoo kept still and quiet to make sure he really was hearing people shouting as a commotion was making its way to him, and not instead from the communication system of Sehun and Chanyeol in the middle of a fight.

Sure enough, there were at least two men donned in black clothing with face masks and brandishing weapons, running through the town and making their way to Kyungsoo near the fountain, whilst the townsfolk we