Hyunjin was right, it was taking a while.

“You’re really not messing with us?” Jisung asked for what had to be the sixth or seventh time. He was standing by the bookcase in the corner, a pile of books in his arms. Chan had already searched the bookcase but Jisung obviously thought he hadn’t done a thorough enough job and was now searching it himself. “This duck thing does exist doesn’t it? You’re not just sitting there, laughing at us, because we’re all looking for something that is never going to be found …”

“Of course not.” Hyunjin insisted, the offended look he was wearing being far too exaggerated to be genuine. “Just because you would find that kind of thing funny, that doesn’t mean I would. I’m not that childish.” 

Changbin however, was quick to disagree. “You and Jisung have exactly the same sense of humour.” He told him as he started putting the cushions he’d stripped from one of the armchairs back where they belonged. “So yes, you would. You’d definitely think it was hilarious. And if this really is some kind of prank, and I’ve wasted three hours of my life looking for something that doesn’t exist…”

“It’s been half an hour.” Seungmin amended from the armchair opposite, finding their frustration as amusing as a now smirking Hyunjin did. “And just because none of you can find it, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It just means you’re really bad at finding things.”

“We’re not all completely hopeless.” Minho contributed, appearing from behind the couch. Seungmin hadn’t even realised he’d been there, never mind listening in. “If Jisung and Changbin can’t find something, that’s one thing, if none of the rest of us can find it either that’s another. So if it is a prank it’s a good one, but also, if it is, I’d  appreciate it if you admitted in now Hwang Hyunjin, while I still think it’s funny.”

And Jeongin, who had given up on the game, less than five minutes in, looked up at Hyunjin, real concern in his eyes. “They’re just being petty Hyung, aren’t they? They’re just mad because you’ve hidden it too well and they can’t find it. There really is a prize, with hot chocolate and marshmallows and cookies…”

“Of course there is baby.” Hyunjin said kindly, “And even if Chan doesn’t win I’ll make you up your own gift set, with hot chocolate and anything else you want. You deserve a present, for keeping me company.”

Jeongin had indeed been keeping Hyunjin company for the majority of the game but Seungmin wasn’t entirely sure Hyunjin was the one that was receiving the favour. Jeongin had left the kitchen with a look of determination in his eyes, clearly set on finding the hidden duck and winning the Christmas gift set Hyunjin had assembled, but the look of determination had soon faded. After searching on and under the coffee table Jeongin had given up looking and had spent a good minute or so just sitting on the floor, a faraway look in his eyes. Seungmin had thought this a little strange. And he’d thought about asking him if he was okay, but Hyunjin, ever observant, had beat him to it. He’d called Jeongin’s name and when he’d had their maknae’s attention he’d whined that he was bored, sitting on his own, and had demanded he come sit with him and keep him company. And Jeongin had barely put up a fight. He’d protested that he couldn’t win if he didn’t play but when Hyunjin had pointed out that Chan was still playing and that he’d already told Jeongin he could have the prize if he found the duck first, Jeongin had gotten up from the floor with a sigh and had come to sit beside Hyunjin on the couch. And since then Hyunjin had been happily watching the others get more and more frustrated as they continued hunting for the comforter he’d hidden, arm linked through Jeongin’s, while Jeongin fiddled absently with the hem of Hyunjin’s Christmas jumper, the faraway look creeping back onto his face. This was the first time he’d said a word since they’d both sat down and Seungmin found that odd too. Jeongin would usually be the first one to start teasing the others for complaining but he hadn’t joined in with his or Hyunjin’s teasing once.

“Really?” he was saying now, sounding genuinely surprised.

“Really.” Hyunjin assured him.

And looking much happier now Jeongin mumbled a ‘thank you Hyung’ and went back to leaning against Hyunjin, head dropping to his shoulder as he turned his attention back to inspecting the hem of his jumper.

“That’s blatant favouritism.” Was Jisung’s response to this.

Hyunjin’s answer was a noncommittal hum. It wasn’t as if he could argue Seungmin thought as he watched Hyunjin shift so he could wrap an arm around Jeongin and pull him in closer to his side. No matter how old Jeongin got he would forever be the maknae, and that meant he was always going to be everyone’s favourite. And while Jisung would probably try and argue it, that went for him too. They all had a soft spot for Jeongin and if Jisung was in Hyunjin’s place right now Seungmin was sure he would have offered to do the same thing.

___ ___

In the end Hyunjin didn’t have to follow through on his promise to make Jeongin his own Christmas gift set because it was Chan that brought the game to an end with a triumphant shout of ‘Found it!’ He’d then emerged from the hallway, fluffy duck comforter in his hand. He’d gone on to present this to Jeongin, the widest of smiles on his face as he did so. And Jeongin, who had been snuggled up with Hyunjin, seemingly deep in thought, a crease between his eyebrows, had quickly brightened up. He’d extricated himself from the hug he’d been wrapped up in and had jumped up from the couch and thrown his arms around his boyfriend, mumbling “You’re the best” into the crook of his neck as Chan wrapped his arms around him in return, pulling him closer.

And Minho had  quirked an eyebrow and had informed Jeongin that Chan had just won him a sachet of hot chocolate and a mug, not a Ferrari. To which Hyunjin had angrily retorted “There’s more than a sachet. And there are fluffy socks too!”

Before Minho, or anyone else could point out that there was no way the value of the gift set Hyunjin had put together could possibly match the value of a sports car, Seungmin had swept in and brought up the subject of dinner. It was next on Hyunjin’s schedule, wasn’t it? So now that the game was over they should all sit down and agree on what to order.

This hadn’t taken long. Jeongin had immediately sat back down next to Hyunjin, pulling Chan down to sit on his other side and Minho had taken the spot left on the couch next to Chan. Then Changbin and Jisung had shared a look and had each made a dash to claim the armchair opposite Seungmin, the last empty seat in the room. Jisung was the quicker of the two and had thrown himself into the chair with enough force that he emitted a small, involuntary ‘oof’ as he hit the cushions, and a smiling Felix had tugged a grumbling and pouting Changbin down to sit beside him on the floor.

After Jisung had finished complaining that their armchair had knocked the wind out of him and Changbin had stopped whining about how he’d ended up sitting on the floor when he was one of the oldest, Seungmin had again asked what everyone wanted to order. This had been followed by some heated debate which wasn’t surprising, it happened whenever the topic of conversation turned to food, but after some back and forth pizza had been the final choice. Hyunjin had informed everyone that he had been thinking about pepperoni and peanut butter since his conversation with Jisung in the kitchen earlier and nothing anyone else had suggested sounded good to him. When Jisung had tried to protest, telling them he’d had pizza just yesterday and had suggested to Hyunjin that he should think harder about the other options people had mentioned, Hyunjin had sent him such a hostile look that he’d snapped his mouth shut mid-sentence. “Are you saying I should deny my baby pizza when she wants it?” Hyunjin had asked him, still glaring, a hand going to rest on his bump “just because you had some yesterday?”

Unsurprisingly Jisung had assured him this was not what he was saying, he’d just been making a suggestion that was all. And pizza had been ordered.

They were all still sitting in the same places now, the pizza and sides that they’d spread out on the coffee table slowly disappearing, ‘Home Alone’ playing on the tv. When the food had arrived, Seungmin and Chan had been the two that had offered to get up and grab it. And Changbin had seized this opportunity, attempting to take over first Seungmin’s armchair and then Chan’s spot on the couch. Unfortunately for him he’d failed at doing both. Seungmin had learned later that Hyunjin had told him very firmly that the armchair, being the next closest seat to his own, was Seungmin’s. And Seungmin had witnessed for himself what had happened when he’d tried to sit down next to Jeongin. He and Chan had walked back into the room just in time to see Jeongin turn and stretch his legs out across the empty spot beside him, so Changbin couldn’t sit down. Changbin had protested, told him Chan wouldn’t mind sitting on the floor, he did it all the time when they were all together. Then he’d made the bold claim that he, Changbin, was Jeongin’s favourite hyung. Didn’t Jeongin want to sit with him?

Jeongin had scowled and told him that no, he didn’t want to sit with him, he was not his favourite hyung, he was too loud and his jumper was hideous, it was making his eyes hurt. There was a real bite to his words and Changbin’s brow had furrowed, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think up an appropriate response. And Felix had once again had to pull his sulking friend down to sit with him on the floor. “Well you’re my favourite hyung, and I really like your jumper. it’s so Christmassy, I love it.” Felix had told him brightly, and this had thankfully distracted Changbin from starting an argument with their youngest.  

And Chan, who had seemed to be about to step in and tell Jeongin to watch his tone, had watched as Changbin shuffled closer to Felix, so Felix could take a closer look at the print on his Christmas jumper, and had clearly decided that if Changbin wasn’t letting Jeongin’s attitude get to him then he there was no need to say anything. And Seungmin thought it was a good call. Jeongin didn’t like being told he was in the wrong on a good day, and he really didn’t seem to be having a good day. It was probably best to leave it.

But everyone seemed happy enough now, at least. Chan and Minho were completely absorbed in ‘Home Alone’, Jisung was somehow managing to play a game on his phone and watch the film at the same time, and Changbin and Felix were still on the floor, having a quiet conversation about… well Seungmin wasn’t sure what it was about, they were at the opposite side of the table and picking up what they were saying was a struggle, the only words he had managed to decipher so far were ‘aquarium’, ‘firefighter’ and ‘sheep’ and he couldn’t think of a single instance when he’d used those three words in the same conversation himself. Whatever they were talking about though, they were clearly finding it hilarious because they’d both given an involuntary snort of laughter at least once and had had to apologise to a glaring Minho.

Hyunjin and Jeongin seemed pretty content too, although it had taken the latter slightly longer to get there than everyone else. When the food had been laid out on the table, Jeongin had given it a cursory glance before scrunching up his nose and scooting closer to Hyunjin. Having Jeongin clinging to his arm had made it a little hard for Hyunjin to grab his own food and spotting his predicament, Seungmin had filled his plate for him. He’d also grabbed the peanut butter and a spoon from the kitchen and handed that to him. Since Jeongin had looked at the pizza with so much disdain Seungmin had expected him to do more than just wrinkle his nose at Hyunjin dropping a hefty dollop of peanut butter on his plate to use as a pizza dip, but he hadn’t said a word, he hadn’t even grimaced, he’d just watched curiously as Hyunjin dipped his slice of pepperoni pizza into the peanut butter and took a bite.

Hyunjin, after giving a hum of satisfaction, had looked up from his plate and caught Jeongin’s eye. “Do you want some pizza?” he’d asked, realising that Jeongin was the only one not eating. “If you don’t want to get up, Minnie can grab you some.”

“Can he?” Seungmin had asked, raising an eyebrow.

“If you can get a plate for me you can get a plate for Jeongin too.” Hyunjin had told him sternly. “Think of it as a thank you. He’s been keeping me company all day so you don’t have to.”

But before Seungmin could point out that keeping him company wasn’t a chore Jeongin spoke up.

“It’s okay, I don’t feel like eating pizza today.” He’d told him.

“Oh,” Hyunjin had exclaimed, sounding surprised. “You should have said so. We could have ordered something else.”

Thankfully Jisung had been caught up in a debate with Minho at the time, about the merits of garlic and herb dip versus barbecue, so he didn’t hear this statement. If he had it would only have resulted in another ‘that’s not fair, it’s favouritism’ moment.

“I don’t really feel like eating anything.” Jeongin had admitted quietly. But then his eyes had flickered to the jar of peanut butter that was still sitting on the couch beside Hyunjin.

Seungmin hadn’t been the only one to catch this, Hyunjin had too and the look of worry that had been forming on his face faded. “Do you want to try some?” he’d asked, picking up the jar. “It’s really good.”

Jeongin had nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.

Hyunjin, ignoring the awkwardness that was now radiating from Jeongin in waves, simply scooped up a spoonful of peanut butter and held it out to him. “Honestly, it’s the best peanut butter I’ve ever tasted. I think you’ll really like it. I’ll keep jar right where it is, in case you want some more. How does that sound?”

“Good.” Jeongin had murmured quietly, taking the spoon from him. Then he’d popped the peanut butter coated spoon in his mouth and flopped back against the couch cushions.

An that was all Jeongin had eaten so far, two spoonfuls of peanut butter. Chan had tried to coax him into eating first some garlic bread and then some potato wedges but Jeongin had shaken his head at both.

But yes, even without Jeongin’s input the food had mostly gone. ‘Home Alone’ was nearing its end too, Seungmin had seen it enough times to know this, but he knew that if he started clearing the table now Hyunjin was still going to complain. So he sat back and waited for the film to reach its close and then as the credits started rolling he got to his feet. “Anyone want to help put this away?” he asked as he closed an empty pizza box and picked it up.

“I’ll help.” Unsurprisingly, this offer came from their leader.

Jeongin, who had switched from resting against Hyunjin to resting against Chan, made a small noise of protest and gripped onto the sleeve of his boyfriend’s sweater as he made to get up.

“I’ll be right back.” Chan told him, running his free hand through Jeongin’s hair and planting a kiss on his forehead, “I promise.”

“Come on Innie,” Hyunjin said, taking Jeongin’s hand to get his attention. “let him help. The quicker the table is cleared the sooner we can have some hot chocolate.”

“I guess.” Jeongin grumbled, letting go of Chan so he could stand up.

“It would be even quicker if someone else helped too.” Seungmin added, levelling a look at the trio grouped together at the other end of the coffee table.

“Hyung will do it.” Jisung informed them, patting Changbin’s head.

“Yongbok will do it.” Changbin countered, nudging Felix with his shoulder.

“Yongbok will not” Felix told him haughtily, “not unless you’re doing it too.”

And with a sigh Changbin got to his feet and held his hand out for Felix, “Fine, come on, we’ll do it together.”

---- -----

With four people working on it, it hadn’t taken long to clear the table, and then as promised it was time for hot chocolate.

Seungmin had asked Hyunjin what he wanted first and had been told ‘oh you know, the usual’, which had been fine, Hyunjin’s usual had been the same all week, regular hot chocolate, marshmallows, cream and a candy cane on the side. When Seungmin had asked him the night before if he maybe wanted to try something else Hyunjin had rolled his eyes at him and told him no, it was nearly Christmas and the only way to drink hot chocolate at Christmas was with a candy cane.

And then Seungmin had turned to Jeongin and asked him what he wanted.

“I don’t know.” Jeongin had mumbled.

“We’ve got just regular milk chocolate, or orange, or mint, some other flavours too.” Seungmin had informed him, Hyunjin’s order might have been the same for the last week or so but ever since the weather had started to get colder he’d been a little obsessed with the stuff, maybe because he could no longer stand the taste of coffee. And he’d always been a er for pretty packaging, meaning that every time they went shopping they ended up picking up something else, so there was now an entire cupboard in their kitchen, dedicated to all things hot chocolate. “We have pretty much everything you can think of actually,” he’d admitted, “marshmallows, cream, sprinkles, all the syrups. There’s a gingerbread one that’s pretty good.”

And Jeongin’s eyes had narrowed. “I said I don’t know.” He’d snapped. “And what does ‘all the syrups’ even mean? And ‘some other flavours’… what flavours? How am I supposed to choose based on that?”

And for a moment Seungmin hadn’t known what to say. He would ordinarily have snapped right back, but it had been the most Jeongin had said to him all day and that fact alone had shocked him into silence. “Um…” he’d said at last, taking in the quiet in the room and feeling relieved he wasn’t the only one that had been rendered speechless, “… if you want to know what’s there, you could always come and take a look?” he’d offered.  

“If I have to come and look for myself then why did you bother asking what I wanted in the first place?”

“Jeongin…” Chan said warningly but all Jeongin did was huff and cross his arms.

And once again it was Hyunjin that had to step in and deescalate. “Be nice.” He said gently. “If you don’t want to get up, and you can’t decide then why don’t you just have what I’m having? Then if you change your mind and want something else later we’ll make some more.”

“I guess we can do that.” Jeongin agreed and he settled himself against Hyunjin yet again and mumbled a ‘sorry’.

Since Jeongin had directed the apology at his knees, Seungmin wasn’t entirely sure who it was for but he gave an ‘it’s okay’ in response anyway before telling the others to just come through if they wanted something and heading to the kitchen. And Chan was the only one to get up and follow.

….. ……

And as it turned out Chan hadn’t followed him because he wanted to put in a hot chocolate order. He’d followed him to apologise.

“Jeongin already said sorry.” Seungmin reminded him as he lined up some mugs in the counter. “But even if he hadn’t, you shouldn’t have to apologise on his behalf. He’s an adult.”

“I know that, but I wanted to.” Chan insisted. “He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that, and I’m sorry that he did. And I wanted to say thank you too, for not reacting badly when he did. He  didn’t mean what he said, he’s just… he’s just having an off day today.”

“Because he didn’t sleep last night?” Seungmin prompted, remembering the conversation they‘d had earlier when Jeongin had snapped Chan’s head off for offering to take his jacket.

“Yeah, yeah that’s why. He’s just tired.” Chan confirmed with a wan smile.

And Seungmin was sure that that was at least partly the truth. Jeongin did look tired, there was no denying it. But as the day had gone on, he’d become more and more convinced that wasn’t the only thing behind Jeongin’s change in behaviour. “Are you sure that’s all it is?” He asked. “He’s not eaten a lot today either has he? I hope he’s not getting sick. He’s really been clinging to Hyunjin and the last thing we…”

“He’s not getting sick.” Chan told him, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence. “I promise, he’s not. We wouldn’t have come if he was.”

And Seungmin felt bad for thinking otherwise. Of course they wouldn’t have. If either one of them had thought Jeongin was coming down with something they’d have made their apologies and stayed home. But if Jeongin really wasn’t sick… well that only made his recent behaviour seem even more odd. But then again being tired and stressed did strange things to people.

“Sorry, I know you wouldn’t risk coming here if you thought one of you was sick.“ He assured Chan, still feeling kind of guilty for suggesting it. “And I guess Jeongin has been working really hard lately. It makes sense that he’s exhausted.”

“Yeah, yeah it makes sense.“ Chan echoed, sounding relieved now that Seungmin was agreeing with him.

“Hyunjin is tired today too.” Seungmin continued, as he started preparing the hot chocolate they’d come in for, adding the milk and the hot chocolate powder to the overly fancy machine that now lived on their kitchen counter and turning it on. If it had been down to him he’d be perfectly happy making it up in a saucepan but as soon as hot chocolate had become an official craving Hyunjin had insisted that they had to buy a ‘proper hot chocolate maker’, and had been so excited at the prospect of them owning one that Seungmin hadn’t been able to deny him. But then again, when had he ever been able to deny his boyfriend anything?   “Squish had him awake most of the night.” He continued, trying to focus on the conversation at hand. He could think about how cute Hyunjin could be when he wanted something later, right now Chan was here as a guest and deserved his attention.

“She’s getting pretty big now isn’t she?” his friend noted with a smile. “Hopefully she’ll be nicer to him tonight and let him sleep. It must be frustrating for him when he can’t.”

“I hope so too, he doesn’t get as snappy as Jeongin seems to be today but he does get get a little whiny when he’s tired. But he doesn’t mind it as much as you’d think .” Seungmin told him. “He says he prefers being kicked awake at night to feeling tired and sick all the time and not even having a bump to show for it. Squish really wasn’t kind to him in his first trimester. We’re both glad that’s behind us now.”

“Yeah, that must have been rough.” Chan said quietly. Then there was a beat of silence before he was speaking again. “Did it really last that long? Was the whole first trimester a struggle for him?”

Seungmin tilted his head and gave the question some thought. “No,” he said at last, “not the whole first trimester. The very beginning was probably the worst, there were days where Hyunjin could barely keep anything down. At one point he went a whole week eating nothing but rice, and even then it wasn’t a lot, he just couldn’t stomach anything else. Had me worried out of my mind, how can anyone survive on just rice? But it slowly got better and now he’ll eat pretty much anything.” Including peanut butter on pizza Seungmin couldn’t help thinking with a grimace as he returned his attention to the hot chocolate machine on the counter. He was pleased to see it was almost done. The quicker Hyunjin got his hot chocolate the quicker they could start on the board games and begin wrapping things up. Having everyone around was nice but Seungmin knew for a fact that Hyunjin was going to start flagging soon. After last night there was no way he wasn’t going to need a nap, something Seungmin was sure he wasn’t going to admit to until their friends had gone home.

“I didn’t know it got that bad for him.” Chan murmured, sounding thoughtful. “I mean, I knew he experienced a bit of morning sickness, we had to reschedule some morning recording sessions remember? But it was only a few. I thought he got over it pretty fast. ”

Seungmin did remember. When they’d found out Hyunjin was pregnant they’d been incredibly busy. A new album had been on the horizon and their schedule had been full of meetings and recording sessions. And as much as Hyunjin hadn’t wanted to cause more trouble than he was already about to, his pregnancy was going to mean drastic changes to their comeback plans, pulling it forwards, shortening promotion times… there had been a handful of occasions where he just hadn’t been able to help it. “You know, it was me that asked our manager speak to you and reschedule those, not Hyunjin.” Seungmin told Chan, realising that their manager had probably never told him that. “Hyunjin didn’t speak to me for days after I did. And even when he did start talking to me again he kept insisting he would have been fine. Which was nonsense, on the days we had to cancel he was so sick we had to practically set up camp in the bathroom. But you know what he’s like, he’s so stubborn. And I guess once it got to the point where the nausea wasn’t so constant he just got better at hiding it. He didn’t want to make a fuss and he didn’t want to worry everyone.” Hyunjin had gotten pretty good at faking a smile while he was working, one he dropped whenever the day was over and he was back at home with just Seungmin. “Don’t let that scare you too much though.” He added quickly, remembering that not too long ago an overly excited Hyunjin had told him that Jeongin was seriously considering talking to his boyfriend about having a baby of their own. “Every pregnancy is different.“ If Chan and Jeongin really were considering trying for a baby soon then the last thing he wanted to do was put them off.

“That’s true.” Chan conceded, sounding thoughtful. “But it’s not just morning sickness is it? There’s the exhaustion, the bloating, the mood swings…”

“Hmm…” Seungmin said as the hot chocolate machine beeped and he picked it up by the handle, “… yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hyunjin sleep as deeply or for as long as he did in those first few weeks. He still tires easily now but it’s nothing compared to back then.” He continued, and hot chocolate poured he started adding the extras Hyunjin had asked for. “Bloating wasn’t too much of an issue though, I think his skin bothered him more. It got pretty oily and he hated that. And I know people go on about volatile hormones but he didn’t really suffer from mood swings either.” Or maybe he had but since Hyunjin was never one to shy away from showing his emotions anyway, Seungmin hadn’t noticed.

And it was Chan’s turn to hum as he thought over what Seungmin had said. “I guess every pregnancy really is different.” He said after a moment or two. “Mood swings are definitely what Jeongin’s been struggling with the most, if you don’t’ count the fatigue. But then again going from ecstatic, to furious, to inconsolable twenty times a day is enough to leave anyone feeling exhausted so maybe the mood swings really are his biggest problem.”

And Seungmin, who had just opened the fridge to get the cream froze. “Wait… Jeongin?” he asked slowly, as he tried to process what he’d just heard, and he turned to look at Chan, hand still on the fridge door.

“Yes… Jeongin.” Chan confirmed, looking confused, as if he hadn’t expected to be questioned.

“Jeongin… Jeongin is tired and he’s moody… because he’s pregnant?” Seungmin had been sure that there was something up with their maknae, but he really had thought it was just overwork. Yes, Hyunjin had told him about Jeongin getting broody and that he was planning to talk to Chan about it, but Chan was the type of person to have his life planned out years in advance, and if a baby wasn’t already in those plans Seungmin had figured it would have taken him months just to come to a decision on when in the foreseeable future that a baby would best fit.  Not once had it crossed his mind that they would start trying right away.

“Wait… you didn’t know?” Chan was asking him now.

“No… no, I didn’t know.”

And Chan now looked flustered, face reddening and a hand going to rub at the back of his neck. “Really? From the way you were talking, saying not to let things scare us… and Jeongin has been, well with Hyunjin and Hyunjin has been so patient with him today and… I just assumed Jeongin had said something to Hyunjin and he said something to you… but he didn’t? Jeongin hasn’t said anything to either of you?”

“He hasn’t.” Seungmin confirmed, still trying to get his head around Chan’s revelation. “Well he might have said something to Hyunjin…” He conceded, Hyunjin had been doting on him excessively it was true, but then again it was difficult not to come to the conclusion that there was something up with Jeongin so maybe he hadn’t said anything at all and Hyunjin was just looking out for him because he hadn’t been acting himself. Either way Seungmin didn’t think it really mattered “… but if he did then Hyunjin has kept it quiet.”

“If Jeongin hasn’t said anything to him yet and he finds out I’ve told you…” Chan said, words trailing off, eyes widening in alarm.

“Well I’m not planning to tell him.” Seungmin assured him before he could really start panicking. “Are you?”

“No… no, I’m not.” Chan told him. “We haven’t told anyone yet, that’s all. Not even our families. We just wanted to keep it to ourselves for a while, you know? We’d been trying but… well it happened a lot quicker than we thought it would. When Jeongin took the test and it came back positive, neither of us could quite believe it. We still can’t, not really. And we just wanted to enjoy that for a while without worrying about sharing it with everyone else. Does that make sense?”

And Seungmin couldn’t help a smile. Squish hadn’t been planned but that made perfect sense to him. Hyunjin’s positive test result had come as shock, but once that shock had faded and they’d both realised they were on the same page, come to the conclusion that while it was a surprise they were both a little in love with the idea of their baby already, the amazement had hit them both hard. And it had been the kind of amazement that they’d both have been happy to revel in for a while if they hadn’t had the rest of the group and their comeback to worry about. “I get it,” he assured him, “it’s a magical time. And once you tell everyone you’re going to have so many well wishers and so many people asking you questions, it’ll be a lot. I understand why you’d want to put that off for a while.”

“Yeah, it’s not that we’re trying to hide it as such,” Chan agreed, still sounding shy, “we just want to get used to the idea of it ourselves first, before we tell everyone. Which is something we’re planning to do after new year probably. We’re heading down to Busan after Christmas, to visit Innie’s parents, so we’re going to tell them then, in person. And after that we’re going to start letting other people know. My parents… you guys… anyone else who needs to know…”

“Hyunjin is going to be so excited,” Seungmin told him, grabbing the cream and turning back to the hot chocolate he’d abandoned, “if Jeongin hasn’t told him already I mean. When Jeongin told him he was simply thinking about having a baby he didn’t shut up about it for days. Was really excited by the thought Squish might get to have a friend close to her own age.” Seungmin had tried to tell him to be realistic, just because Jeongin and Chan were talking about babies that didn’t mean they’d be having them anytime soon he’d reasoned but it looked like Hyunjin’s excitement hadn’t been misplaced after all.

“That’s one of the first things Jeongin and I talked about actually, once we found out,” Chan admitted, finally starting to smile, his panicked embarrassment fading, “how nice it will be to have people so close to us that we can talk to about pregnancy and baby things. There aren’t too many people in our friendship circle who are parents yet, and none that are as close to us as you and Hyunjin are. And they won’t be far apart in age at all, Squish is due March, is that right?”

“That’s right, the second of March.” Seungmin confirmed. It sounded very far off but at the same time ridiculously close. Which it was really, ten weeks was nothing at all in the grand scheme of things. It was a little scary. But now wasn’t the time to bring that up, this wasn’t about him and Hyunjin, it was about Jeongin and Chan. “What about Jeongin?” he asked, putting Hyunjin’s rapidly approaching due date to the back of his mind. “When is he due?”

“The beginning of August.” Chan told him, smile widening. “Jeongin’s already had a conversation with the baby, told them they need to arrive on time, has forbidden them from arriving on Changbin’s birthday.”

“Yeah, that would be a nightmare.” Seungmin agreed without hesitation. “You’d never hear the end of it if they did.”

“Exactly. And we really don’t need two Changbin’s.” Chan added, no longer sounding so nervous. “One is more than enough.”

“Definitely.” Seungmin said firmly, handing Chan one of the mugs from the counter and picking up the other. “But in all seriousness though Hyung…” he told him, “… congratulations. You two are going to make the best parents.”

And there it was, Chan’s cheeks were flushing pink again as he mumbled a “Thanks Minnie, that means a lot.”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” Seungmin replied, “Now let’s take these into the living room before one or both of them come looking for us.” He said, nodding to the mug in his hand. “It’s going to be hard to convince Jeongin you haven’t said anything if he walks in here and sees you looking all red and overwhelmed.” Chan was always so easy to read and the last thing he wanted was for Jeongin to realise he’d spilled their news and get mad at him for it. He could also do without being scolded for handing Hyunjin a lukewarm mug of hot chocolate so it was about time they headed back and joined the others.

------ ------

Once the hot chocolate had been delivered Hyunjin had insisted that they play monopoly, had told Seungmin to stop fussing, sworn that he didn’t need to take a nap, promised he’d be fine, but they were now half an hour into the game and he’d already failed to keep his promise. And he wasn’t the only one that had failed to stay awake. Jeongin was tucked into his side, head resting on his chest and his arm thrown across his bump, a handful of Hyunjin’s Christmas sweater still gripped loosely in his hand. Chan clearly hadn’t been making excuses when he’d told them his boyfriend was tired, he hadn’t even lasted as long as Hyunjin. They hadn’t been playing for long when Jisung and Minho had gotten into a heated debate over whether certain rules were actually rules or just common decency. When it had become clear that this might last for a while Jeongin had given a world weary sigh and Hyunjin had tapped his shoulder and gestured for him to come closer, encouraging him to cuddle up beside him and Jeongin had done so without word or argument. They’d watched Jisung and Minho argue, Hyunjin running a hand absently through the younger’s hair, and it had taken no time at all for Jeongin’s eyelids to get heavy and then close, his breathing evening out as he gave in to sleep. Hyunjin’s hand had stilled, fingers still laced through Jeongin’s hair and he’d looked up, sharing a look with Seungmin, one that said ‘isn’t he the cutest?’ and Seungmin had smiled back, knowing that there was no way Hyunjin wasn’t soon going to follow their maknae into dreamland.

And sure enough, five minutes after Jeongin had fallen asleep, Jisung and Minho had finally agreed to disagree, and play had moved around to the table to Felix. Felix had rolled the dice and taken his turn, landing on some property Changbin owned and he’d instantly realised that by paying him rent he’d be halving his money and had launched into negotiations, trying to convince the older that a trade would work out better for him in the long run. Hyunjin had rolled his eyes at them and settled down to watch. He’d fallen asleep before they’d come to an agreement.

“Looks like I’m the winner.” Minho had informed them happily. He was the first one to notice that both Hyunjin and Jeongin were now out of the game, after Seungmin who’d been watching and waiting for Hyunjin to fall asleep since they’d set up the board, and Chan who had had eyes on Jeongin all day.

Changbin, who had been trying to factor a request for aegyo into his negotiations with Felix, had turned to look at him, clearly getting ready to argue but Minho had put finger to his lips and then he’d nodded at the couch.

And Changbin had turned to look and instantly deflated. “Oh…” he’d said at the same time as Felix noticed what was going on, uttering the quietest exclamation of ‘cute!’ that Seungmin had ever heard.

“Someone should take a picture.” Jisung had suggested.

Chan was the one that had followed the suggestion, pulling his phone from his pocket and snapping a picture.

And then Jisung and Minho had started arguing over whether they could really call Minho’s win a win if they hadn’t even finished the game.

Thankfully the argument had been hushed and quiet and it hadn’t stopped them from helping clear the table. And now the room was even quieter. Minho, Jisung, Felix and Changbin had all said their goodbyes and now Seungmin was standing over Hyunjin and Jeongin, Chan at his side.

“Should we wake them?” Chan asked, looking conflicted. “We should, right? I know they’re tired but napping on the couch doesn’t exactly count as good quality sleep does it? And they can’t be comfortable, all cramped up in the corner like that.”

Seungmin knew what Chan was trying to say. Napping on the couch wasn’t quite the same as sleeping in a bed. But Hyunjin struggled to get comfortable wherever he slept these days, bed included, if Seungmin woke him now and asked him to move there was no guarantee he’d be able to go back to sleep anytime soon and after last night’s tossing and turning he needed all the sleep he could get. “Well they look pretty comfortable to me.” He declared. “And do you really think Jeongin is going to thank you if you wake him?”

“No, probably not.” Chan conceded with a sigh. “We can’t stay all night though, I’ll have to take Jeongin home at some point.”

“Well yes, you will.” Seungmin agreed. “But we can leave them a little longer at least. Why don’t we clear the kitchen and if they’re still sleeping when we’re done we can decide what to do about it then?”

Chan nodded, seemingly happier now that they had some sort of plan. “Yeah, yeah let’s do that.”

“Let’s.” Seungmin echoed. He was going to have to ask Chan for that picture he decided, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from the cuteness in front of him and heading for the kitchen. Hyunjin was going to want to see it too. And if Jeongin hadn’t said something about his pregnancy to him already, then Seungmin was looking forward to the day that he did. Once Hyunjin knew about it,  then he was going to point out to him that it was technically the first picture of Jeongin’s baby and their Squish in one place. It was the kind of thing he’d really appreciate and Seungmin couldn’t wait to see the smile on his face when he told him.