Kihyun was currently stretched out on a sun lounger in his back garden, the book he'd been intending to read forgotten and abandoned on the table beside him. He'd brought it out with good intentions. He hadn't read a new book in a while and he'd thought a Saturday morning was the ideal time to start one. It meant if it caught his attention he'd have the rest of the weekend to finish it. And he'd thought the garden was the ideal place to read. The sun was out, the weather was warm and it was free of distractions. But then Hyunwoo had decided the weekend was the perfect time to start assembling the planters he'd designed for the vegetable patch Kihyun kept pestering him for and it turned out Hyunwoo was one big distraction.

He'd brought the radio out with him and that was a large part of it. The music itself was distracting enough but Hyunwoo singing along was what had really captured Kihyun's attention. He'd found himself looking up, captivated by Hyunwoo's voice as always. And what he'd been met with was the sight of Hyunwoo kneeling in the grass, his tool box open beside him, a look of concentration on his face even as he sang. Kihyun had always found Hyunwoo particularly attractive when he was concentrated and focussed and he'd gently placed his book down, deciding that watching for a while wouldn't hurt. He had all day to read of he wanted to, it could wait.

Only a while had turned into most of the morning. Watching the planters Hyunwoo had designed come together had been surprisingly satisfying. And watching Hyunwoo when he was hard at work was always enjoyable. The day was heating up but Kihyun was sitting in the shade so that wasn't bothering him like it usually would, now that he was pregnant. He was in his third trimester now and it didn’t take much to have him overheating. And with nothing lined up for him to do that afternoon either he felt pretty relaxed. If he could spend the rest of the day like this that would be perfect he thought to himself closing his eyes. Hyunwoo was softly singing again and he could hear a slight breeze whispering through the leaves of the trees he was sitting under. It was enough to put a person to sleep.

And he nearly was asleep when he was brought back to reality by the sound of Hyunwoo calling his name. With a frown, and with some reluctance, he opened is eyes and turned to look at his boyfriend. "Yes?" he asked, annoyed by the fact Hyunwoo had ended his nap before it had started and unable to hide it.

Hyunwoo, who’d made it across the garden and was now standing a few feet away from him, didn’t look offended. In fact if anything he looked amused. “I’m going inside to get something to drink, I was just wondering if you wanted anything.”

Oh, well… maybe being interrupted before he could fall asleep wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Now that Hyunwoo mentioned it he was kind of thirsty. “Some iced water, maybe?” he suggested, a hand going to his bump as he struggled to sit up a little straighter.

Hyunwoo, smile widening, was immediately at his side, taking his arm and helping him sit upright. “Better?” He asked.

“Better.” Kihyun confirmed, hand still resting on his belly. Their little girl had clearly been disturbed by him changing position and was jabbing what Kihyun was assuming was an elbow into his pelvis. She was lying sideways, quite low down, her head to the right of his bump and her legs higher than her head and to the left. She was getting pretty big now and the bigger she got the wider Kihyun felt. When he’d first found out he was pregnant he’d imagined what he would look like when he was visibly and heavily pregnant. And in his imagination his bump had been the standard one you saw pregnant people with in commercials and advertisements, the kind that had your friends telling you it looked like you were hiding a basketball under your shirt. But unfortunately this hadn’t become Kihyun’s reality. Kihyun’s reality was that he now felt and looked like a blob.

“Do you want anything else?” Hyunwoo asked before Kihyun could start feeling too sorry for himself. “Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.”

Kihyun bit his lip as he gave the question some thought. “I could probably eat something,” he said at last. As soon as the morning sickness had faded his appetite had come back tenfold. It was very rare these days for him not to be at least a little hungry. “I don’t think I’m quite ready for lunch yet though. It’s still early.”

“I can bring you something to snack on until then.” Hyunwoo offered. “Some ice cream maybe, or some fruit. We bought that watermelon yesterday.”

Again, Kihyun took some time to think things over. It was definitely the right weather for ice cream but sometimes eating ice cream made him feel kind of heavy, and he felt heavy enough as it was right now he mused, shifting in his seat as their little girl did some shifting of her own. And to be honest he didn’t think his daughter liked ice cream. If he ate too much of it he always ended up with indigestion and he was sure that was her way of telling him she wasn’t a fan. Watermelon was a good alternative, it was cool and refreshing and lighter than ice cream. But he wasn’t really feeling it. If Hyunwoo had asked him this time last week he’d have answered watermelon without hesitation, it had been a real craving for a while. But that craving had petered out, he hadn’t thought about watermelon for days. Fruit though, fruit was probably a good choice. It was sweet, a common characteristic of most of his pregnancy cravings, but healthier than almost everything else that had sprung to mind when Hyunwoo had said the word ‘snack’. “Can you be bring me a bowl of frozen blueberries?” He asked at last, mind made up.

“Of course.” Hyunwoo said, and he leant forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Anything for my angel. I’ll be right back.”

As always happened when Hyunwoo called him his angel, Kihyun felt his cheeks redden. He thought about scolding him for being so cheesy, it’s what he would usually do, but Hyunwoo was already on his feet and heading for the backdoor. And since there was no one around to witness his embarrassment Kihyun supposed he could let him off just this once. So instead of telling him off he called out a thank you and settled back to wait. He’d been perfectly content before but now he was really craving those blueberries, their daughter was too if the way she was squirming was any indication. The sooner Hyunwoo brought them out the better.

 

_______ ________

 

By the time Hyunwoo returned, glass of water in one hand and bowl of frozen blueberries in the other, their little girl had calmed down. She was no longer wriggling and squirming and Kihyun was grateful. Feeling her move was always reassuring but as she got bigger and her movements got stronger it could sometimes get pretty uncomfortable. “You’re the best.” He told Hyunwoo as he placed his things on the table.

“All I did was pour some blueberries into a bowl.” Hyunwoo said with a wry smile.

“Yes, but you didn’t have to.” Kihyun pointed out, popping one of those said blueberries into his mouth. It was cold and as he bit into it a rush of sweetness hit his tongue and he found himself giving a small hum of satisfaction.

“Good?” Hyunwoo asked.

“So good.” Kihyun confirmed. “Do you want some?” He asked, holding out the bowl.

Hyunwoo gave a small shake of his head. “No, I’m okay.” He assured him. “I’m not hungry. And even if I was I wouldn’t be happy about taking your food. I wouldn’t just be denying you I’d be denying our little princess too.”

“I think she’d be fine with you taking one blueberry.” Kihyun argued. Hyunwoo had a habit of including their daughter in their conversations and whenever he did it Kihyun always found it incredibly endearing.

But Hyunwoo was quick to disagree. “I don’t know. I think I’ve probably upset her already.”

“How?” Kihyun asked, confused. He had no idea what he could be talking about. Hyunwoo had let the front door slam behind them when they’d been bringing the shopping in from the car the day before and that had indeed upset her. Their little girl had given what Kihyun was sure was an involuntary jump of surprise. The movement had been so strong and so unexpected he’d dropped the car keys he’d been about to hang up. But Hyunwoo hadn’t slammed any doors or made any other sudden noises that day, at least not that Kihyun could think of.

“Well I didn’t say hello to her, did I? When I came over to see if you wanted anything.” Hyunwoo explained, and he got down on the floor beside Kihyun, clearly intent on correcting his mistake.

“You’re ridiculous.” Kihyun said as Hyunwoo placed a hand on his bump. “How would she even know you were over here?”

“She probably heard me.” Hyunwoo told him. “And then was left wondering why I didn’t say anything to her when I went straight inside.”

Kihyun was fairly confident that their little girl was incapable of wondering, her brain wasn't quite that developed yet, but Hyunwoo looked so serious. And he was sure that if he said anything to that effect he wasn’t going to listen anyway. “Oh well, I guess you owe her an apology then.” He said.

“I guess I do.” Hyunwoo agreed. And then he was breaking eye contact with Kihyun and focussing his attention on his middle instead. “Hey Princess,” he said and he leant forward and pressed a kiss to his boyfriend’s rounded belly, “I’m sorry I didn’t say hello.” He continued, his lips still right next to the spot he’d just kissed. “Mummy was hungry you see and I wanted to fix it.”

And their little girl, who had been so still and calm when Hyunwoo had been inside, gave what Kihyun was sure was a full bodily stretch, her head pushing against one side of his belly and feet pushing against the other. “Well she definitely knows you’re here now.” He said with a slight grimace, and arm going to cradle his bump.

“I guess so.” Hyunwoo said, looking up at him, smile wide and infectious. “She’s so active these days,” he said, pressing his hand more firmly to the spot their baby liked to kick the most, “Are you happy to see me Princess?” he asked and when their little girl answered his question with a firm kick a gave a laugh that was so bright and so pure that Kihyun immediately forgot about any discomfort he might be feeling.

"She always is.” He told him. He was one hundred per cent sure that she could already recognise Hyunwoo’s voice. He didn’t even have to get that close for her to start squirming, they could be curled up on the couch watching tv and Hyunwoo would turn to him and ask a question and that was it, she’d be off. It was like she knew who her dad was already and she wasn’t even born yet. It was the most amazing thing. “Say something else. I bet she’ll do it again.” He said, eyes trained on his belly. Feeling her kick from the inside was one thing but seeing it from the outside was a different kind of fascinating. The first time he’d noticed it had been a week or so ago. It had been barely perceptible then but her movements were becoming more obvious by the day and he didn’t think seeing them as well as feeling them would ever get old.

“Are you being nice to your Mummy today?” Hyunwoo asked.

And yes, there she went again, kicking Kihyun’s side hard enough that he could see his belly twitch even through the taught fabric of his t-shirt.

“Was that a yes, or a no?”

“I think it was a yes.” Kihyun told him, smiling as their daughter answered this question not with a kick, but with another stretch. “She’s been fairly well behaved today. I do wish she’d turn around and stop pummelling the same spot over and over though. She’s tiny but she’s strong.” She’d been lying in the same position for weeks. At every appointment his midwife would tell him that she was sure she would turn head down in her own time, most babies did but Kihyun wasn’t so sure. He’d spoken to his friend Hyungwon about it. His second baby had had a habit of lying transverse too but apparently she’d been pretty active, switched between transverse and head down for a while before making up her mind. Kihyun’s daughter though had stayed stubbornly in place since his twenty week scan at least and had shown no signs of wanting to move. She was clearly comfortable where she was, even if Kihyun wasn’t comfortable with her being there.

“She is, isn’t she?” Hyunwoo murmured, eyes full of warmth as he gently rubbed Kihyun’s belly. “I know it must be hard for you sometimes but tiny and strong isn’t a bad thing, is it? It means she’s growing well.”

“She’s certainly growing well.” Kihyun said ruefully. “If she keeps it up I’m going to have to start going through doors sideways.”

Hyunwoo gave him an admonishing look. “You’re not that big.”

“No, but I am that wide, or I soon will be anyway.” Kihyun insisted. “And I don't even look pregnant. I like the old lady that swallowed a fly. You know, once she’s swallowed the horse and she takes up the whole page.”

But Hyunwoo wasn’t going to give up. “I know you don’t think so, but you do look pregnant. So what if your bump isn’t all out front? It’s obvious to anyone who looks at you that there’s a baby in there.”

It was nice of him to say so but Kihyun wasn’t so sure. “Hyunwoo, if I stand sideways I bet no one can even tell I'm growing a baby, I just look I’ve been eating too much cake and not enough salad.” Which to be fair was also accurate. Cake hadn’t been lasting too long in their house lately.

Hyunwoo sighed and rubbed his hand across his belly some more, giving it a pat as he was met with another kick “Well you look beautiful to me. Every time I look at you it’s obvious that our daughter’s in there and that’s always amazing to me.”

“I guess it is kind of amazing.” Kihyun agreed. He knew he was being a little whiny and overdramatic but he couldn’t help it sometimes. Being pregnant could be pretty exhausting and his constantly fluctuating hormones probably weren’t helping. “I’m sorry, for being so negative. I guess I’m just tired.”

“That’s understandable. You like keeping Mummy awake at night, don’t you Princess?” Hyunwoo said, addressing his bump again.

“She does. She woke me up at two am last night.” Kihyun told him. “I don’t know what she was doing in there, she wasn’t even properly kicking, she kept stretching and shoving me with her elbows, it was like she was doing yoga or something.”

And Hyunwoo was laughing again, that same pure, genuine laugh that had always given Kihyun butterflies. “Maybe she was. Maybe that’s why she’s getting so strong.”

“Because she likes to work out like her Daddy?” Kihyun teased with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t say exactly like me,” Hyunwoo protested, smile widening, “I don’t think I’d be very good at yoga.”

“Maybe not, but I’d like to see you try it.” Kihyun told him, amused by the image Hyunwoo had just conjured up for him. “I could order you a yoga mat if you want. And some leggings, I bet you'd look good in leggings.”

“No, that’s okay.” Hyunwoo assured him, quick to reject the offer. “I’ll leave the yoga to our little girl. And I’ll leave you to your blueberries. If I stay here she’s just going to keep kicking,” he added, giving Kihyun’s belly another gentle pat, “and you want be able to enjoy them. Those planters aren’t going to finish building themselves either.”

“They’re not…” Kihyun said slowly, looking first at the half-finished planters and then back at his boyfriend “… but they’re not going anywhere, are they? And the sun’s getting pretty high. You’ll end up with heatstroke if you go back out there now. Why don’t you stay here in the shade with me for a while?”

“I guess I could…”

“You could and you should.” Kihyun insisted, not sure why Hyunwoo sounded so reluctant.

“But are you sure you want me to?” he asked. “She might not settle if I stay.”

And as if backing that statement up their little girl kicked Kihyun hard in the side. “So what if she doesn’t?” He said, “she’s excited to spend time with her Daddy that’s all. Why would I send you away and upset her, if I didn’t have to?”

“I thought you might want to rest a little before lunch…”

“I did want to do that.” Kihyun admitted. “But you already stopped me from taking a nap. And hey, maybe if you talk to her now it might tire out, and she’ll sleep better later.”

The smile Hyunwoo gave him in response was almost blinding. “You hear that, Princess?” Hyunwoo asked, attention back on Kihyun’s belly, “Mummy says you can play now, if you promise to let him sleep longer later.”

It seemed she had heard it because she was wriggling around again like there was no tomorrow. “I love you, you know that don’t you?” he said as Hyunwoo slid a hand under his t-shirt so he could feel their daughter move more easily.

“Was that aimed at me or at her?” Hyunwoo asked.

“At both of you.” Kihyun told him, running a hand through Hyunwoo's hair and leaning over to kiss the top his head. He loved them both so much it was ridiculous.

“I love you too.” Hyunwoo replied. “And you.” He added, kissing Kihyun’s belly for emphasis. “I love you more than anything and I haven’t even met you, isn’t that crazy?”

“She loves you too.” Kihyun assured him. Hyunwoo really was the only person she responded to so consistently. But then Kihyun was a little in love with Hyunwoo’s voice too so he completely understood her fascination with it. And while her more forceful movements made him uncomfortable at times he could endure if a little discomfort meant making the two most important people in his life happy.