Baëkhyun’s and Minji’s life had gradually shifted in the past weeks and months—they were awaiting an addition to their family, and both couldn’t be happier about it.

Minji was already in her sixth month and a lot had changed within the course of her pregnancy. Not only she herself but also the people around her. Her human friends were excited about the pregnancy, kept talking about the baby and gifted her cute baby clothes. Her demonic friends on the other hand had started to tease the hell out of her and Baëkhyun—the last time they had visited, Baëkhyun had accidentally burned a hole through the wall with his magic when he had tried to shut Kāi up. The couple always had their hands full when the other demons were involved, but they didn’t mean any harm with their shenanigans.

Baëkhyun himself had become a lot gentler over the past months. He had already been a doting partner before, but ever since she was pregnant, he made it his personal mission to assure she was in her best health—and that included doing a plethora of things. He treated her like she was made of glass, always kept an eye on her. Minji was smothered with attention and sometimes, she didn’t know whether she should be happy or amused about Baëkhyun’s fussing. Whenever the baby was involved, he either became extremely excited or protective.

His jealousy and possessiveness had also reached a new level. Only recently, he had caught a guy talking to her in a mall—and he made the poor human take off in fear when he glared him down. Minji had about that later.

But of course, a pregnancy didn’t come without struggles, and for Minji, they entailed frequent back pain and morning sickness. She had lost count of how many times she had thrown up or felt nauseous and she hated the crushing sensation of weakness that came with it. Moreover, she disliked worrying Baëkhyun. When it had occurred for the first time, he had freaked out—until she had told him that it was normal for human women to go through this. Apparently, it was different for demons.

Unfortunately for her, the same thing happened this morning as well. As her consciousness slowly returned and she woke up, wrapped safely in Baëkhyun’s arms, nausea crept over her. She frowned, opening her eyes.

He smiled at her, gently moving his hand over her stomach. “How are you, love?” he whispered raucously. He leaned in for a kiss, but she turned her head away.

“I… I have to throw up,” she forced out and pushed him away. She hopped out of bed and sprinted into the bathroom with astounding speed, considering she had only just woken up.

Nausea overwhelmed her, and so she had no choice but to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. She felt terrible and didn’t even notice Baëkhyun’s footsteps coming up behind her. He frowned in worry and rubbed her back in a comforting manner, hoping she would feel better soon.

The more her pregnancy progressed, the more she struggled with things that had been fine before. Sometimes, her mood swings could be annoying—she would complain about the weirdest things and he had quickly learned not to start any arguments because she tended to start crying easily too. He hated when that happened—it made his heart sink like a stone in water.

“Are you okay?” he asked when she was done.

“Yeah, I am,” she mumbled and sent him a thankful glance when he helped her up. She rinsed and went on to brush her teeth while she was at it.

While she was busy, Baëkhyun stood behind her and hugged her swollen belly, putting his palms on it. He rested his chin on her shoulder, planting a teasing kiss on her earlobe.

“Do you want to stay in bed and rest some more?” he asked.

“No, I can’t do that! I have too many things I need to take care of this week,” she rambled and spoke so fast her voice cracked. “I need to buy groceries and I want to meet my friends, and after that, I have to check in with Yixing and see whether things are going well at work. Maybe he needs me to take care of something. We also haven’t bought fitting furniture for the baby’s room yet.”

The longer her rambling held on, the darker Baëkhyun’s expression became. He huffed. “Sugar, you shouldn’t stress yourself so much,” he chided her. “Let me take care of—”

“No, I want to do it myself,” she insisted. “This is important. We still need toys and plushies! Everything has to be ready when the baby arrives!”

He sighed and shook his head. “But you need to be ready too,” he replied sternly. “Your health comes first. It’s much more important than a bunch of errands.”

Minji’s face fell and her body slumped. She lowered her head and stared at the sink. “I just want everything to be perfect,” she whispered.

“It will be perfect, love,” he assured her and lightly ruffled her hair. “But I want you to take a step back. You’re already doing all the work by carrying the little rascal around for nine months. If you don’t let me do something too, I will feel useless.” He somehow managed to sound teasing yet sincere and when she raised her head to gaze at him, his eyes were vibrant blue.

A small smile found its way on her lips. “I guess you’re right.”

“Good, and now you will go back to bed and wait until I’m done with breakfast,” he ordered and took her hand to lead her back into the bedroom. However, when she sat down on the edge of the mattress, she held his hand and stubbornly gazed at him.

“Stay with me, okay? We can eat breakfast later,” she said.

“Are you in a mood to cuddle?” he chuckled and sat behind her on the bed. She leaned her back against his chest and let him embrace her from behind. They often sat like this because it allowed him to hug her belly—sometimes he felt the baby’s movements. Each of these moments was a miracle to him.

“This is nice,” she sighed contently and nuzzled her head in his neck, breathing in his familiar scent. She sensed his own bliss through their bond, warm and tingly. It made her happiness shine even brighter, and she soon closed her eyes, relaxing her body. He pulled the blanket over her, letting it pool in her lap.

A light kiss was planted on her jawline, followed by another. “I love you, sugar,” Baëkhyun murmured, prompting her to giggle at his affectionate kisses. He eventually reached and claimed her lips, kissing her passionately. Minji was on cloud nine. Her heart burst with joy and she was sure if he continued being so adoring, then she would not leave the bed today. They would stay here and cuddle until late in the evening.

When they broke the kiss after what seemed like an eternity, Minji was met with a surprise. “B-Baëkhyun, do you see that?” she gasped and stared at her belly. “It’s glowing?!”

He let out a snort. Mischief glimmered in his eyes when he rested his hand on her glowing stomach, feeling pulses of magic beneath it.

“Looks like the rascal is happy,” he grinned. “That’s his magic, not yours.”

“H-Huh?” she stuttered as her eyes grew wider and wider. “Do you really think so?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Maybe he likes hearing our voices… or maybe he just loves his mom so much.” He winked and she blushed.

“That’s adorable,” she smiled and caressed her belly. “I can’t wait for him to be born… I want to hold him and see him.”

“Me too.”

They already knew that their baby was a boy—Minji’s doctor had told her during one of her check-ups, confirming Baëkhyun’s hunch.

“What if the nurses at the hospital see my stomach glowing when I’m in labor? Wouldn’t that be a problem?” she said, half amused and half exasperated. Their son was a little troublemaker even though he wasn’t born yet. He probably came after his dad.

“I will turn it off,” Baëkhyun shrugged. “It’s easy. His clumsy magic isn’t hard to control.”

A laugh left her at the way he worded it. “You make it sound like our son is a lamp!”

“Huh, why?”

“I will turn it off,” she said, imitating his deep voice. “That’s not very nice, Hyunnie.”

“Don’t make fun of me! And when will you drop that damn nickname? I swear, it’s so embarrassing. It’s been two years, almost three!” he grumbled. She couldn’t see his face since he sat behind her, but she bet his eyes were red. He was easy to tease… Some things would never change. Not in a million years.

“It ruins my demonic pride!” he huffed.

“I chose it with care, okay?” she replied, pretending to be sad. “Please let me use it?”

“Minji,” he groaned, getting a glimpse of her pouty face when she turned her head. That was her ultimate weapon and his greatest weakness—he couldn’t say no to her when she sulked. “Alright, alright. Do what you want.”

“Does that mean I’m allowed to use it for eternity?” she asked, and her lips became even poutier. Large glossy eyes stared at him so pleadingly, he bit his lower lip and averted his gaze.

“Fine.”

The victorious smirk that took over her face immediately told him he had fallen into her trap. She giggled. “I will call you Hyunnie forever,” she chirped. “And now you can’t do anything about it! Not even complain because you gave me permission!”

Baëkhyun sighed annoyedly but couldn’t stay mad for long since he could feel her joy. It confused him that something as insignificant as a nickname would make her so happy.

They heard a distorted meow when Mochi snuck into the room and jumped on the bed, only to be hit by Baëkhyun’s angry glare. “Don’t you dare, cat,” he growled. “Go away!”

“Don’t be rude to Mochi,” she scolded. “He’s part of the family too. Come here, my baby.” She held out her arms and the glowing demon made his way over the bed, getting comfortable on her lap and wrapping his body around her stomach protectively. Minji smiled, brushing Mochi’s soft fur, receiving a happy purr in response.

“So cute,” she whispered. “You are my favorite demons.”

“I’m number one,” Baëkhyun noted.

“Of course, Hyunnie,” she grinned.

“Why do you sound sarcastic?”

“Because your sulky expression is too funny to stay serious.”

“I’m not sulking, though.”

“Absolutely not,” she laughed and breathed a soft kiss on his nose.

Another thre