“What about Jaekyung?" Jaehyun suggested with deep thought, humming as it rolled off his tongue. It was a good name, one he could see himself saying for the rest of his life. An unconscious smile made its way onto his lips because surely that was the one Jaemin was going to like for their baby. He was sure of it.  

"No," Jaemin stated determinedly, not even looking away from his phone screen, "And don't pout at me," he quickly added, again, without looking his way. He didn't need to look to know what Jaehyun was doing at that moment because this wasn't the first time the issue had come up. In fact, it was the third time that day he'd told him no after only suggesting names that started with ‘Jae’. 

"I wasn't," Jaehyun defended himself, wiping off the pout that was definitely sporting "I just think you should consider some of the names I offer on the table," Jaehyun huffed, unconscious pout returning back to his lips with a force, "They're not that bad."  

"I've already told you what I think about the names you pick," Jaemin rolled his eyes, annoyed and finally pulling his phone away from his face, "It's not that I think they're bad, just no names that start with ‘Jae’. We can't all have names that start with ‘Jae’. It's plain silly," it sounded absolutely ridiculous and he didn't see how Jaehyun didn't see the problem. Maybe he was going for ridiculous in their family. 

"It's not silly, we're just keeping a common theme," Jaehyun defended, huffing as he crossed his arms and sunk back into the couch cushions. They had been sitting there and catching up on a drama they both enjoyed and to fill the silence during a commercial break Jaemin had picked up his phone and Jaehyun had thought it would be a good time to talk about baby names, "I think it would be wonderful if our first baby had a name like ours," he'd thought of it before they even knew they were pregnant. He’d only just kept it a secret until recently, “And every baby after our first.”

Children had always been on the table and had been a topic of discussion for years, and only recently had they started trying for a baby. It hadn't taken long for them to get pregnant and when they found out after a long episode of unexplained fatigue and nausea and a trip to the doctor's, all they felt was excitement and it was a quick progression to preparing the entire house for their upcoming baby. Names hadn't been brought up until about twenty-two weeks into Jaemin's pregnancy and Jaehyun had suggested that first name, Jaesoo. It was pretty and Jaemin was all for discussing names together and coming to a conclusion together as a pair, but naming their child a name that was similar and based on theirs had not been appealing to him. And he made that known, but Jaehyun had not let up on the idea even after being admonished, much to Jaemin's disdain. 

"Silly," Jaemin reiterated, "We don't need to do that," he added, a hand going to rest on the swell of his belly. He was properly round now and baby was pretty low, sticking out like a sore thumb on Jaemin's petite frame, even at 25 weeks. He kind of loved it, and so did Jaehyun. It was plain evidence of their baby, "I just think you could be a little more creative with names," Jaehyun pouted, body losing steam and slumping more, "And don't pout at me," Jaemin repeated as he lifted his phone again, continuing to read the article he had been focused on earlier.

"I just thought it was a nice name," Jaehyun muttered under his breath, frowning to himself. He had really liked that name and now it was off the list. He swore he would find a name that started with ‘Jae’ that Jaemin would like. It was his mission to do it and by God, he was going to have a baby whose name was going to start with ‘Jae’. 

Jaemin had heard his mumbling but chose to ignore the heaviness in his voice. Jaehyun knew his thoughts and he chose once more to ignore him. He wasn't going to feel bad for him in the slightest when he knew what the answer was going to be. There was no sympathy to spare. 

———

"Hello, Baby Jae," Jisung cooed as he felt the said baby give a strong kick under his hand. They were moving a lot and Jaemin had offered for the younger to feel, and while he was unsure and awkward about it at first, he was glad he obeyed because feeling a baby move was magical, especially one of his closest friends' baby. He was going to do this more often now that he knew what it felt like, and hopefully Jaemin was okay with that, "It's uncle Jwisungie here. It’s nice to meet you.” 

Even though Jaemin adored Jisung and loved the rare moment when he interacted with his baby, he had to roll his eyes because they'd talked about this before, "Don't call them Baby Jae," he admonished softly, "Their name is not going to start with ‘Jae’," it was a nickname that was started by, you guessed it, Jaehyun. He had called their baby that from the very beginning and Jaemin hadn't minded it at first, but now knowing his boyfriend's intentions, he didn't want it to stick around. It was a nuisance to him. 

"But they technically are Baby Jae," Chenle chimed in, smirking to himself, "They are part you and Jaehyun hyung, henceforth Baby Jae," he had a good point and there was nothing else to call them by, Jaemin had to admit defeatedly. Brat, "And you do it too so don't tell Jisung to not call them the nickname everyone uses. Don't be a hypocrite.”

Jaemin frowned, indignant, “That's different, I do it on accident. All day I hear Baby Jae this, Baby Jae that. It's only normal I slip up and call them by the name their father so persistently insists we call them," Jaemin was so adamant on letting anyone call them that name, but sadly, all of their friends had picked up on it and regularly used it. And every time Jaemin has to roll his eyes. It's ridiculous. Why don't they listen to him? Why does Jaehyun get jurisdiction over the name when he was the one pregnant? It was entirely unfair. 

"I think Jaebin is a good name," Renjun chimed in, "Jaehyun hyung mentioned it earlier and I think it's so cute,” Renjun’s nose scrunched happily. He really liked that name, “It would be fun having a little Jaebin running around.” 

Jaemin had to groan and throw his head back against the couch cushion behind him. That was the name Jaehyun seemed to be fixating on that day and while it was a cute name yes, Jaemin was not going to name their baby a name with ‘Jae’ in it. He refused, "Then you use that name for your own baby if you like it so much," Renjun and Jeno were currently trying, that was no secret, and while they hadn't had any luck quite yet, it would sneak up on them soon. Jaemin was calling it within the next month. Jaehyun was calling it within two months. 

"Then it would be like we're naming our baby after you and we don't want you to give you that satisfaction," and while it could pass as a tribute to Jeno, the pair had a list of names already and ‘Jae’ names were not included on that list, "And we have a fair amount of both Korean and Chinese names to choose from, and Jeno wants to lean more towards Chinese, and I’m okay with that,” he turned towards Jeno who sat silently at his side and watched as he smiled wider than he was before. It was the smile he fell so hard for and Renjun felt his heart flutter happily for him. He wanted their baby to have his smile; he so badly wanted to get pregnant soon. 

"I like that," Chenle chimed in, and he had a bias for Chinese names, "Please make it a Chinese name so they can join the squad," there were quite a few people in their friend group who were Chinese and having another, miniature addition would be pretty phenomenal. 

"We probably will," Jeno chirped happily, excited about the idea. He couldn't wait for his and Renjun’s own baby, and hopefully that would be soon, "But time will tell what we decide on. We might not even name them until after they’re born and we might wait on the name to choose them,” it wasn’t that silly of an idea, Jeno’s mother had done that with him. It would be a nice experience to have and a good story to tell their child when they grow up. 

Jaemin appreciated the subject change because this was becoming all too common with him. Every time he saw someone, they made comments on the baby of course, but comments Jaemin didn't approve much or care for. Names were a hot topic and he was sick of it and he wished everyone would let it go. But waiting for the right name to choose their baby did sound like a nice idea and that could be exciting. A name could come out of nowhere and if they so needed that then Jaemin was going to conform to the idea. He just wished it was a good name and that he would be hap