"Are you okay, Daddy?" Joonhwan asked from his spot next to his father at the dining room table. They were coloring and painting on blank sheets of construction paper for Changkyun's father's birthday that was coming up very soon. Joonhwan had already made a few cards for his grandpa and was now working on one for his grandma so she didn't feel left out. Changkyun had joined him and sat down with his son to do a card of his own to remind his father that he loved him and that even when he was as old as he was, birthdays can still be exciting and mean something. They'd been at it for half an hour and while that wasn't a long time, it truly felt like an eternity to Changkyun. 

Teeny had dropped seemingly overnight and it was really affecting how comfortable Changkyun could get in any given situation. Everything was uncomfortable, especially walking. And while he wasn't walking currently, he was sitting and that was just as bad. His daughter was so low that he felt like he was sitting on her poor little head. He had to spread his legs impossibly wide to find any semblance of comfort and even then comfort was far gone since he was feeling practice contractions. He had been breathing through one when Joonhwan noticed his discomfort, most likely because Changkyun had been gripping onto his son's favorite marker and Joonhwan had needed it, unable to pry it from his father's hand. Speaking of whom, he should answer him. 

"Yes, Joon Bug. My back just hurts and it's hard to sit down for a long time," he adjusted in his chair, difficult to do when his body was so heavy and he was so close to the dining room table. It was a struggle and he was glad Jooheon wasn't there to laugh at him, because he definitely would, "Your sister is getting ready to be here and sometimes it's uncomfortable," it was always uncomfortable but telling his son that wouldn't help anyone. 

"Oh no, tell Teeny to stop," Joonhwan frowned, little lips in a pout as he set his marker down, swiftly turning in his seat so he could hug onto Changkyun's huge bump, lips a few inches away from his sweater-clad stomach, "Stop!" he nearly yelled, startling both Changkyun and the baby. She gave a harsh kick to Changkyun's ribs and he flinched, a pained groan leaving his lips and a grimace to match, "Don't hurt Daddy!" she kicked again and Changkyun had to remind his son of the same lesson they'd been teaching him for months now before he continued any further. 

"Joonhwan," Changkyun warned with a firm tone, "You have to lower your voice when talking to Teeny, she doesn't like it when you're loud," he used his hand to brush his son's hair off his forehead, Joonhwan visibly relaxing in his hold with a content smile. That same adorable, chubby-cheeked smile had Changkyun's heart singing in adoration, imitating his own so disconcertingly, "Do you remember what I told you would happen if you speak loudly when Teeny gets here?" 

"She'll cry if Joonie is too loud," Joonhwan pouted, slumping against Changkyun's side after answering. He only meant well and Changkyun knew that, but if he didn't learn now then they were going to have a very upset baby at all times of the day, a very frustrated Joonhwan, and a very stressed Changkyun and Jooheon. Interacting with his sister was supposed to be enjoyable, not noisy and tiresome. The last thing they needed was for Joonhwan to associate his sister with discipline. The arrival of his sister was supposed to be exciting, he was supposed to be looking forward to her. So far, he was still very excited about his sister and Changkyun would like to keep it that way. 

"That's right, so we have to practice using our inside voices for when she gets here, okay?" Changkyun ducked his head and placed a kiss on Joonhwan's forehead, "I know you can do it, it's just hard to remember sometimes, right?"

"It is hard to remember," Joonhwan pouted, using his finger to poke at Changkyun's belly, urging his sister to shift some more, "I'm sorry for being loud, Daddy. Joon Bug just forget sometimes." 

"Oh don't apologize, Joon Bug, there's nothing to be sorry for," he wrapped his arms around Joonhwan's small torso and hugged him close, "Just try to remember okay? It's okay if you forget, but you have to practice being quiet so Teeny won't cry when you talk to her. She'll like a soft and quiet voice to talk to her," they didn't have much time left to practice, in fact, Changkyun would guess he had days before he'd have to go into labor. That didn't promise any practice time but they would have to make do with what they had. Changkyun would guess Teeny was going to be crying a lot her first few weeks of life, "I know you can do that." 

"Okay, Daddy," Joonhwan hummed sweetly, popping his head out of Changkyun's chest to purse his lips, asking for a kiss from his father and who was Changkyun to deny his request? He leaned forward and kissed his son before the young boy hopped back into his own seat, grabbing the previous marker he'd had in his hand to continue his drawing of what seemed to be a parrot on the card for his grandmother. Or was it a tree? It was hard to differentiate. 

Changkyun attempted to continue his own card but found it was hard to do so when Teeny landed a hard kick to his ribs, making him grunt and lean his back flat against his chair. His daughter was feeling some type of way this morning and while it was amazing that she could move freely and on her own, Changkyun just wanted some peace for longer than a few minutes at a time. He was already exhausted from a night full of moving babies and having been woken up at six in the morning since Joonhwan believed it was time to wake the whole house for the day ahead of them. He was near his limit but it wasn't like he could do anything about it; he couldn't control his children. He loved it anyway because his family meant everything to him. 

"What's all this?" Jooheon asked as he walked into the kitchen where his husband and son sat. 

As though the mess of paper, markers, and glitter wasn't enough, Changkyun went ahead and revealed his intentions anyway, "We thought it would be nice to make Grandpa some birthday cards for next week, huh?" he asked Joonhwan to involve him in the conversation. He was bound to share his two cents soon enough anyway, loving to be involved in 'grown adult' conversation. 

"But, but Joonie is making grandma a card too," Joonhwan frowned comically, resembling Changkyun as he corrected his father. Changkyun had to laugh and ran his hand over Joonhwan's hair, happily correcting himself for his son's sake. The little boy was happy to hear so and his frown turned to a bright smile as he continued his card. 

"That's very kind of you," Jooheon praised as he walked towards Changkyun, hand resting on the back of the dining room chair so he could lean down and place a gentle kiss on Changkyun's soft cheek. It had the younger smiling blissfully, "How are you feeling?" 

Jooheon had been doing some yard work, tending to their garden that had been more or less neglected in the past month. It was typically Changkyun keeping it neat and weed-free, but his exhaustion had been taking over and it was hard to switch from getting up and down from his knees when he was so round and huge. His daily habit had unintentionally flitted to the back of his mind and that left Jooheon to eventually pluck the large collection of weeds after noticing how overgrown it had become. They'd kept collecting the vegetables they had grown themselves, but they'd over looked the care part. Jooheon chose to rectify the situation this morning and had kept out of the house until now, returning to his family, "Did you finish the gardening?" 

"I did," Jooheon assured, not appreciating the lack of an answer from Changkyun, "How are you feeling?" he repeated himself, wanting urgently to know. It was important to ask your very pregnant husband how he was feeling, especially when he was a few weeks from giving birth. 

Changkyun sighed and turned his head, Jooheon immediately complying and using his hand to scratch at his scalp. The action made Changkyun even sleepier than he already was, "Sleepy, like I could fall over at any moment. Why ask?" 

"Cause you look just that way. Sleepy. I think you should go take a nap," Jooheon suggested warmly. 

"But I'm drawing," Changkyun reminded as he picked his marker back up and added a few more details to his card. A few more balloons and a few more pieces of confetti, "My dad would appreciate a finished card." 

"Your card is almost done and I could always take over and you finish later. I need to make my own card anyway," he grabbed a sheet of purple paper and started to fold it in half, "Please? Joonhwan doesn't dread my company. He won't mind. In fact, I'd think he'd appreciate some time with his Appa." 

Changkyun sighed deeply and looked to his son who was too occupied to really pay attention. It was true he wouldn't mind, and a nap sounded all too tempting. It was easy to give in and nod, "Alright, but don't let me sleep too long. An hour at most," he warned, not wanting to lose too much time with his son. It wouldn't be long before Joonhwan would have to divide his parent's attention in half now that he had a sister heading their way. 

"Promise," Jooheon smiled as he helped Changkyun out of his chair, taking his spot and immediately grabbing for the blue glitter glue, "Now go. Sleep, take a rest," he urged, landing a nice swat to Changkyun's for good measure. Changkyun was too sleepy to react properly and instead humphed, turning over his shoulder and heading towards their bedroom with muted excitement in his step. 

"See you soon," Changkyun assured as he waddled away. 

Jooheon smiled fondly as he watched his husband leave, missing him already. But he couldn't ponder on that, he had a son to think about and he wanted to take a look at what he was drawing, "That's such a nice butterfly," Jooheon praised as he studied Joonhwan's meticulous drawing. He was adding color currently. 

Instead of the giggle of appreciation Jooheon was expecting in response, Joonhwan instead pouted and harrumphed just as Changkyun had earlier. He was so much like his Daddy it was insane, "It's a parrot, Appa!" Joonhwan spoke a little too loudly with an eye roll and while Jooheon would have reprimanded him for speaking in such a tone and volume, he couldn't this time since he was in the wrong and had most likely embarrassed his son. It made more sense now, but it still looked so much like a butterfly. 

"Sorry, Joonie," Jooheon apologized before starting his own card, “It’s a very lovely parrot indeed.” 

-------

Sleep didn't come easy to Changkyun, in fact, he didn't sleep at all. He was so uncomfortable it was hilarious and he was cramping horribly, no matter how many pillows he placed between his legs for support. That was pregnancy for you but Changkyun felt this was more than just your run of the mill discomfort. Every contraction he felt he timed carefully and was surprised to find that they were fairly consistent yet spaced out significantly. Jooheon had broken his promise and had not woken Changkyun after one hour, which he was grateful for. It had given him time to confirm his suspicions so he could tell Jooheon with confidence that he was in labor. 

After two hours of laying there in pain and frustration, Changkyun finally propped himself up with great difficulty and made his way back out of the room. He didn't have to search for his family for very long, finding them in the sitting room and playing with Joonhwan's many toys. It looked a mess, like they had torn every toy from the chest and strewn them over the carpet but Changkyun wasn't concerned with that at the moment. He was more concerned about what he was sure was happening. 

He sat on the couch in the sitting room slowly, careful not to plop down and hurt his back or startle his baby. It was when he was firmly placed down that Jooheon turned around with a furrowed brow in confusion, swiftly melting into a fond smile upon seeing his husband, "How was your nap?" he asked as he turned back to Joonhwan who was trying to attack his father's zebra with his lion. Growls and roars pursued and it was rather loud, yet another example of their fears when his sister was to arrive. Very soon. 

Changkyun chuckled to himself, a hand going to smooth over his huge bump, "Restless. Couldn't even relax," Jooheon gave an empathetic frown, looking adorable in Changkyun's eyes. He chuckled again, delicately and sweetly, "Come here," he waved over, insistent. 

Jooheon waited until Joonhwan was occupied with himself, creating his own narrative and storyline without the need of Jooheon at his side. Once distracted, Jooheon lifted himself from the ground and set next to his husband, placing a sweet kiss on his cheek, "What's up? Do you need me to do anything for you?" Jooheon was such a naive sweetheart and Changkyun was about to blow his mind. 

Changkyun placed a soft hand on his thigh and leaned over so he could whisper, not wanting to alert Joonhwan to the situation when he was so carefree and happy, "Honey, I'm in labor." 

Jooheon tore his head away so fast to get a gander at his husband's face, searching for any trace of a joke or that he was pulling his leg, only there wasn't any of that. There was only sincerity, "Are you sure?" Changkyun nodded assuredly, "How sure are you?" 

Changkyun rolled his eyes and gladly answered, "About 95% sure. They're still too far apart to start worrying but I'm so sure," he moved to grab Jooheon's hand so he could place it on his bump. Teeny wasn't moving but it was a comfort thing for Changkyun, and he needed some of that right now, "We should probably tell your parents so they can come over when things really get going. A surprise call when I'm close to leaving for the hospital won't be as pleasant to process," he moved to grab his phone that was tucked in his sweatpants pocket. 

"Tell me whenever you're ready to leave and we can head out. Don't be afraid to ask for help," Jooheon assured, sincerity in his voice, dripping with concern mixed with confidence in his husband. Changkyun was lucky to have a husband like Jooheon who was so attentive and could stay so calm in a stressful situation. He landed a hand on his thigh and gave a reassuring squeeze, breaking Jooheon from his concentration and breaking a smile on his features. 

"She's on her way," Jooheon suddenly stated, as though the fact was finally embedded in his head, "She'll be here soon," out of the pure joy he was feeling, Jooheon grabbed both of Changkyun's cheeks in his hands, soft yet firm as he pulled his husband's face close to his and kissed him on the mouth. It was nice and long and had butterflies fluttering in both of their bellies because wow, they both loved each other greatly. 

"Joonie want a kiss, too!" Joonhwan shouted once he'd caught sight of his parents kissing. He jumped up and scrambled over to his parents, crashing into Jooheon's lap, causing a groan from his father in slight pain. 

"Come here, Joon Bug," Changkyun urged with outstretched arms. Joonhwan was swift to comply and switched fathers, happily climbing into his Daddy's lap for a kiss, "Thank you for being gentle," Changkyun praised, rewarding his son with a few kisses all over his face. Happy giggles filled the room with noise and it set both Jooheon's and Chang