Sungchan grunted as he pushed one of his heavier boxes up against the wall in Shotaro's apartment. Or rather, soon to be their apartment. There wasn't much room for his stuff in the space quite yet, neither having found the time to clear up and declutter Shotaro’s belongings, but it was something they were working on and something they were going to have to accomplish soon. The move-in process was progressing little by little, but at least it was getting somewhere and they were doing what they could. Sungchan had done most of the organizing when packing his belongings so there wouldn't be any unnecessary shuffling around the apartment. They would know where everything was. Today they were doing the bulk of transferring his boxes so Jungwoo could move his boyfriend into his apartment this weekend and give the man room to move his own things in. There was still a lot of moving to be done and it was all so overwhelming, but doing it all together made it incredibly better.

Sungchan was excited to be living with his boyfriend and had been looking forward to this day for weeks, but he was getting extremely tired and doing any more of this was going to exhaust him into a coma. He had been hauling boxes in and out for hours now and it felt like there was no end in sight. His goal for the rest of the day was to find places to put everything of his, and whatever didn’t fit was most likely going to be donated. Shotaro didn’t have much in his apartment since he moved from Japan, but the collection of gifts and baby things they had accumulated had stacked up quickly and it was enough to fill half of the apartment. Babies are small, but they need a lot of things, and at this point it felt like their son had more belongings than his parents combined. They would need to arrange everything in the apartment to make room for both Sungchan and the baby, who they recently settled on naming Jisung.

There had been a long conversation about moving in together before they finally committed to it. They were afraid of the uncertainties that could occur during their relationship and the stress of parenthood on top, but they had concluded that it would be very beneficial for their son and them to all live under one roof. The change was very exciting but not without its worries and fears. It was incredibly understandable, but this whole process was very affirming for Sungchan. With each box he carried and every new step he took into what was going to be his apartment, the happier and more secure he felt about his future with Shotaro. Everything felt exciting and new and he was hoping for the best in every aspect. This was one of the best decisions he had ever made and he was sure of that less than a day into moving in.

Sungchan lifted one more of the heavier boxes and stacked it on top of a sturdier one and whooped a celebratory shout, "Done!" he straightened out his increasingly sore back, placing his hands on his hips as he breathed deeply, opening up his shoulders and letting out a heavy sigh as he exhaled all of his exhaustion. Luckily, this was the last box he had to move for the day, the rest being left for tomorrow, and he was ready to sit down and relax all the muscles he had used to carry all of his belongings here. He felt satisfied with his work, already planning in his head where everything was going to go and what he was going to move with Shotaro's permission. It was his favorite part of moving: rearranging and finding where everything was supposed to be. The apartment was like a blank canvas, and he was going to make it a home with Shotaro.

Speaking of who, Sungchan turned over his shoulder to glance at a very round Shotaro who was sitting on the couch and looking content with himself. Upon freshly entering his third trimester, Sungchan, along with his doctor, had forbidden him from doing any of the heavy lifting and had been limited to completing the lighter activities like unpacking boxes and rearranging what few of their belongings he could lift without straining himself. Shotaro had looked bummed about this but he'd had a good time doing what he'd finished already. He had managed to put all of Sungchan's kitchen appliances and utensils in the cabinets and drawers, he had cleared out some space in the bathroom to put all of his belongings, cleaned and vacuumed everything before things were to be set up, and had started working on the closet they were going to share before Jisung started using Shotaro's insides as a punching bag. The pregnant man had needed to sit down for a minute to regain his breath and wait out their son's flailing, but a minute turned into half an hour, and then half an hour turned into an hour. Shotaro had done a fair bit of the necessary chores and his swollen feet were evidence enough of that. The swelling had been very common for him since early in his second trimester, and while he was used to the feeling at this point, the pins and needles sensation was elevated with all the movement he'd been doing that day. The swelling in his ankles meant he had worked hard today and Sungchan was happy to see his boyfriend resting after months of frantic panicking as they readied for an unplanned baby. Shotaro was such a hard worker and it was incredibly admirable.

“Done moving boxes at least. We still have a lot to unpack,” Shotaro reminded him, eying the mess their apartment was in and all the strewn, random objects gathered in odd places of the room. It looked like a stress-inducing mess and one that would probably give him a headache later. It was almost like a bomb had gone off amid Sungchan's possessions, "We still have so much to do, and I don't even know where to start," he had several options of where to begin lined up in his head, but he didn't know which task would be most efficient and which one would be at the utmost importance. It was already stressing him out.

"We can start somewhere small if you'd like," Sungchan suggested as he headed towards the couch and plopped next to Shotaro, careful not to jostle him around too much. The immediate relief he felt in his legs and lower back was enough to have him sighing contently to himself. It made Shotaro smile in response, happy his boyfriend was finally able to sit with him and grab a few minutes together. Seeing the older man's bright and chubby-cheeked smile had Sungchan lunging forward and stealing a kiss on the lips. Shotaro kissed back, smiling into it so happily, unable to contain himself. The two giggled under their breaths as Sungchan camped right next to Shotaro, pulling away to rest his head on his shoulder to keep him close. He rubbed his nose on his neck, enjoying how close the two were after not having the chance to just cuddle all day, "Missed you," he added for good measure, as if they hadn't spent the past few hours within feet of each other.

Shotaro rolled his eyes but humored his boyfriend anyway, "Missed you too, Sungchannie," and maybe that was partially true. He had found himself wrapped up in moments where he wished they were laying in bed together or cuddling while watching a movie, rather than up on their feet moving all of Sungchan's belongings from one apartment to the other. Having Sungchan all to himself was always his favorite, and maybe tonight they could spend a night in and do nothing together. That sounded lovely.

"Did you have a place in mind where you wanted to start?" Sungchan asked, hand now on Shotaro's thigh as he rubbed a thumb so gently and unconsciously across the surface. His thighs were still so firm with muscles toned from all the dancing he had done since he was five years old, but they were softer from his recent weight gain and Sungchan was absolutely obsessed with them. He may have loved Shotaro's pre-pregnancy body immensely, but he may have loved his pregnant body even more. He could only imagine how much he would love his postpartum body.

“I’m thinking we should probably do Jisung’s room first since he has the most stuff already. It would really open up some space for us,” Shotaro suggested, his hand straying to his round belly as he spoke about their son. As if understanding what his mother suggested, the baby kicked Shotaro’s hand and the love he felt for his son lit up a bright and happy smile, "The spare room is completely empty save for a few boxes. We could start with the crib and build around that," Sungchan's father had gifted the pair a crib that was more expensive than it needed to be, but Shotaro was very excited to see his son's first bed fully assembled and set up in his far-from-ready nursery. It would make everything feel that much more real and would motivate him even more to get it done as soon as possible. They just needed to get the right tools because for some reason, collectively they owned only flat-head screwdrivers when they needed a Phillips-head. Sungchan was sure Jungwoo had the right screwdriver lying around somewhere and he would just need to borrow it.

“Sounds good to me,” Sungchan agreed, smiling as he reached out and joined Shotaro in feeling their baby move. Jisung wasn’t an overly active baby, but when he did move it was frenzied and powerful. Shotaro never complained about his movements, even if they did feel painful and were enough to knock the wind out of him. As Jisung’s only form of communication, how could Shotaro complain and not listen to everything he had to tell both him and Sungchan? It also meant his baby was doing well and he was just letting Shotaro and Sungchan know. They both appreciated his efforts greatly, “Want to start now?

“I think I’ll make us some food first. I’m starving,” Shotaro smiled as he scooted himself to the edge of the couch, using momentum by rocking twice to heave himself up without assistance, still able to somewhat move on his own. Sungchan had made moves to aid his boyfriend but halted to watch as Shotaro used his still available independence. The pride on Shotaro’s face at his own accomplishment made Sungchan smile in adoration, relieved that he had given the older the chance to keep his dignity, “Jisung is starving too,” a soft pat to his belly timed well with the gurgle that erupted from his stomach and proved that they were both in need of food. With Shotaro facing Sungchan's way, he swore he could see a red tint glow over the older man's cheeks and the sheepish smile that rounded his face. It was too adorable for Sungchan not to swoon.

Sungchan’s ‘dutiful boyfriend’ agenda was then reanimated, disregarding his previous stance of giving Shotaro the chance to do tasks on his own. Why stick with that when he could just do everything for him? “I could make us something! I just know your feet are hurting and you can still rest if you want. You don’t need to worry about it after working so hard today.”

“Shush,” Shotaro quickly hushed his boyfriend with a finger pressed to his pursed lips, the most serious look on his face, “I want to make you a nice, homemade meal because I can. So sit for a while, you’ve done a lot today," Shotaro turned over his shoulder and headed towards his kitchenette with a purpose, feet dragging slightly in the progress. He was incredibly tired, the day's events having drained his energy even though he had been sitting for over an hour. Sungchan noticed the slight waddle to Shotaro's steps, and whether that was down to his ankles being swollen or the weight of their baby throwing off his center of gravity, whatever it was, he found it incredibly endearing, “I’m the better cook anyway," Shotaro smirked, enjoying the baffled gasp Sungchan emitted at his words. However, Sungchan couldn't argue, not when he was telling the truth.

They were in desperate need of a trip to the store, so their choice of meals was limited to what Shotaro had in his fridge and sparse pantry. Looking in his fridge, aiming for something easy since he was too exhausted to put in an insane amount of effort into cooking, Shotaro spotted the cabbage, bean sprouts, and carrots sitting on the bottom shelf and realized that he would need to use them soon before they went bad. Knowing he had an endless supply of yakisoba noodles in his pantry with a fairly new bag of onions sitting close by, Shotaro decided on pan-fried noodles for lunch, a meal he hadn't realized he wanted so badly until just now. The thought had his stomach growling again and that was enough confirmation that he made the right decision for a meal, a smile gracing his round cheeks in excitement. Shotaro was soon waddling around his kitchenette, retrieving what he would need for their meal, and prepping everything as swiftly as possible so he could cook and eat sooner. Once everything was washed and cut, he loaded everything into an oiled wok with plenty of sauce and made quick work with his hands. Shotaro cracked a few eggs into the combination, hearing Sungchan's voice in the back of his head telling him he needed to eat more protein. He had heard that phrase many times over the past few months, and the only reason it wasn't bothersome was because it was true. He was always in need of more protein and it was a great help to Jisung’s development, so Shotaro always complied. There was never a fight.

Sungchan was trying to give Shotaro some time and space to work without his constant hovering, but even though he was a few meters away and it had only been a few minutes apart, Sungchan decided that he was greatly missing Shotaro's presence. He was missing him enough to feel a pining for him and surely that was absolutely ridiculous, right? No matter, and luckily this dilemma was something he could easily fix and he was determined to do so.

Hoisting himself off the couch, with slight protest from his sore muscles, Sungchan made his way into the kitchen so the distance between him and his boyfriend was very short. While he would have been at his side immediately with hands on his hips, instinctively, Sungchan bypassed Shotaro to head towards the fridge to grab the essentials for any meal in the older man’s diet. Opening their fridge, he grabbed a comically large jar of spicy kimchi, the hottest gochujang they could find on the market, and Thai chili paste, lining all three of them on the dining table in preparation of Shotaro’s guaranteed inhalation. Jisung had an obvious inclination to spicy foods and by extension and relation, Shotaro did as well. Before getting pregnant, Shotaro hadn't always handled spicy food very well, opting for milder options when eating, but now he eats his food with the spice level at a ten and if it was anything less there would be no satisfaction. Shotaro needed his food spicy or he would just end up eating something else, which often le