“Mr Cho is resting now, you can bring him home in two hours’ time after he completes his drip.” The doctor explains to an agitated looking Siwon.

“He’s fine? The baby’s fine?” Siwon could not forget how Kyuhyun lost the baby the first time. If it happens again neither men will be able to handle the trauma.

“He is, for now.” The doctor replied gravely. “Pregnancy drives blood pressure up so it is advisable to not agitate the expectant person. There is no telling how much stress he can take.”

Siwon realised that he is shaking from the loss of adrenaline. “Th-thank you, doctor. We’ll be more careful.”

Kyuhyun is resting with his eyes closed. The rush of blood had ceded and all that’s left is a deathly pallor. Siwon sat down as quietly as he could but the smaller man’s eyes peel open upon sensing his presence.

“Ba-baby.” Siwon’s voice shook. He felt guilty, sorry, worried, and angry all at the same time and he isn’t sure which emotion should take precedence first.

Kyuhyun blinked wearily but remained silent as he watched his husband fidgeted.

“I-I want to say I am sorry…..I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you….” Siwon swallowed nervously. For some reason his hands are shaking even harder now.

“You are right, I don’t own you. I should have shown you the respect you deserve.”

Kyuhyun continued to stare at him in silence and that just makes Siwon even more frantic.

“And I am the worst beast on earth for saying you are not my top priority. Of course you are….it’s just…just…..I…..” Siwon stuttered all winded.

At last Kyuhyun spoke up. “Wonnie…..I’m sorry too.” Siwon looked up in total surprise.  “I did not realise that I was making things twice as hard for you. I guess I am a spoilt brat like my hyungs said I was.” Kyuhyun’s smile is wry.

Siwon reached out to clasp his hand and he did not pull away. A long stretch of comfortable silence follows as they savour each other’s warmth. Siwon was almost sure Kyuhyun has fallen asleep when he spoke up again.

“I will tender my resignation tomorrow.”

Siwon’s brows shot up in record time. He searched Kyuhyun’s face for reluctance or misery but all he found is composure.

“I was selfish to insist on working in my condition. You are right, our baby should be my top priority right now. Since we have decided to have him or her, I should happily accept where I am now and be grateful that I have you ~”

Siwon’s heart constricts and expands, and continues to swell till it felt like it is going to burst. His face contorts and twists as he tries to hold back his tears.

“I love you so much, baby…” He finally managed to utter with a loud sniff, his eyes filled with tenderness. “But you don’t have to resign. Not yet. You want to clear your work, you should continue as planned.”

“You sure, Wonnie?!” Kyuhyun’s face lit up like a child who was given a huge lollipop.

“But.”

“But?”

“You will let me mollycoddle you any way I want.” Siwon smirked.

Kyuhyun gave a mock sigh then resumed grinning at his Siwon who is smiling gently now, gazing lovingly at his beautiful lover.

“Thank you, Wonnie.” Kyuhyun said as he beckons Siwon closer for a kiss.

@

Second trimester of the pregnancy came. The morning sickness has almost disappeared and the cravings began. Kyuhyun’s sense of smell was heightened so badly that slight body odour will send him barfing.

“Oh God, tone down the aftershave, Siwon!” Heechul exclaimed with annoyance as he held his nose with a look of disgust. “Was cologne on sale or something?”

Siwon rolled his eyes at the flamboyant man. “Kyuhyun can’t stand the slightest hint of body odour. I have to wear like a third of a bottle of aftershave everyday to mask any strange smell so he will not barf.”

“Wow, I heard about their sense of smell becoming acute during pregnancy but I never imagine it would be that acute!” Heechul said in wonder than began laughing. “That’s a good turn of events, now you can’t wiggle out of bathing!”

That in turn earned him a glare.

“Has the cravings began too?” Heechul asks efficiently ignoring the glare.

Siwon nodded tediously. “I was up at two this morning driving around looking for a 24 hour diner selling hot dogs.”

Heechul screeched with laughter. “He’s into hot dogs huh?”

“I stocked our fridge with all his favourite food and he said all of them make him sick just by sight. Even his favourite brand of gelato irks him now.”

“Woah…”

“You have no idea how many types of ice cream we’d tried to find the one that won’t make him nauseous.”

Siwon grimaced. “What’s wrong?” Heechul asks curiously.

“I’m starting to agree with Kyu’s brothers. I think I spoilt him rotten. You have no idea how whiny he gets if he doesn’t get what he wants pronto.”

“Hey, give the boy a break. He’s carrying your kid, he’s doing all the hard labour. He deserves to be treated like a queen.” Heechul advised wisely. Siwon nodded mutely.

@

“Good morning, beautiful.” Siwon greeted the lovely creature in his bed the moment he opens his eyes in the morning.

“I’m not beautiful.” Kyuhyun replied with a pout. “I’m ugly.”

“No, you’re not. You are glowing!” Siwon chuckled. “Must be the hormones, they make your skin glow.”

Kyuhyun smiled as Siwon closed in for an Eskimo kiss, giggling as Siwon rubs their noses together playfully.

“So what do you want to do today, baby?” Siwon asks once he settles back down beside the sleepy looking man.

Kyuhyun yawned. “I don’t know…..I want to sleep in….”

“Let’s go shopping for new clothes. Don’t you want to wear loose clothing by now?” Siwon asks curiously as he the slight bump on Kyuhyun’s belly.

“Ahuh.” Kyuhyun replied absently, already on the edge of falling asleep again.

Siwon smiles as he dips lower to kiss the soft cheek of his lover. “Get some sleep then while I prepare breakfast.”

Kyuhyun is already fast asleep before he felt the kiss. Being pregnant has definitely bestowed upon him the ability to fall asleep in an instant; now if only he could stop having the desire to sleep all the time!

Siwon climbed off the bed as lightly as he could and tiptoed out of the room.

Kyuhyun’s impromptu sleeping episodes, fortunately (unfortunately?) lasted from minutes to half an hour. By the time Siwon is laying out the breakfast table, he is awake and bounding into the kitchen eager as a hungry puppy.

Siwon smiled. Today’s going to be a good day for us. He mused happily.

Kyuhyun ate heartily. Siwon breathed a sigh of relief as he enjoyed his own breakfast, laughing over some silly news in the papers.

Yes, today’s definitely a good day.

After breakfast, they head out to the baby clinic for their regular checkup. The good mood Kyuhyun is in continues.

“Today we’ll do an ultrasound scan.” The doctor announced with an excited smile.

Huh? Both Siwon and Kyuhyun exchanged confused looks.

“Is it necessary, doctor?” Siwon frowned nervously at the seemingly complicated sounding procedure.

“Is it going to hurt?” Kyuhyun asks suddenly afraid of foreign objects plodding into him.

The doctor laughed. “No, it’s not going to hurt at all. We’ll roll a scanner over your tummy to see your baby inside.”

Siwon’s eyes widen as he looked at the doctor, a goofy grin forming on his face.

“You do want to see your baby, right?’ The doctor smiled at the excited looking Kyuhyun.

“We can do that? We can see our baby?” Kyuhyun asks.

“Most definitely! Now, let’s get you ready.”

They held hands tightly feeling both anticipation and apprehension as the doctor lifts Kyuhyun’s shirt and apply cool gel liberally over his whole abdomen area. Complete silence in the room as they stare at the doctor fiddling with the various knobs on the machine to sharpen the image. Kyuhyun giggled uncontrollably as the scanner glides gently under his sternum.

“Say hi to your baby.” The doctor grinned as she points to the lightly moving image on the screen. No one spoke but there were some furious blinking as they tried to comprehend the image. 

“This is the head.” The doctor points at a large grayish spot. “And that’s his hands, and this is his feet.”

Siwon and Kyuhyun’s faces lit up as they finally recognise the foreign shapes as their baby.

“And this is his heart beating strong and steady.”

“Baby ~” Kyuhyun gasped with a happy sigh before turning to exchange a meaningful look with the equally bewildered Siwon.

“My baby is a boy?’ Kyuhyun asks eagerly and the doctor nodded. “Won…..we have going to have a baby boy!”

“Yes, baby! We are!” Siwon smiled back equally eager.

The doctor took a snapshot of the scanned image and gifted it to the pair of eager parents. “Your first snapshot of your baby.” She said smiling, affected by the joy reflected by this unusual pair of parents.

Leaving the baby clinic feeling happier than they entered it, Siwon held Kyuhyun a little tighter, and Kyuhyun feeling a little more responsible. The fact that they are having a baby finally felt real.

The Saturday crowd is out in full force as they braved it to get to the shops. Siwon was engrossed in window shopping, determined to find his lover the best looking maternity fashion he could find, so much so he did not notice that Kyuhyun is pressing more and more into him, his grip on his arm getting tighter as they venture deeper into the crowds.

“Baby, let’s g-” Siwon had stopped to scrutinize a shop window and was about to suggest that they go in and have a closer look. Turning around to look at Kyuhyun, he realised that the smaller man has curled himself into a smaller ball and is clinging to his arm for dear life. And he’s trembling.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Siwon asks anxiously, holding the shaking man up by the shoulders. “Why are you shivering so badly? Are you ill?”

“I-I-” Kyuhyun couldn’t stop shaking. His lips are turning an alarmingly shade of purple. “I- I can’t bre-breathe…..” He managed to squeak.

Siwon panicked as he looked around desperately for what he doesn’t quite know…help? Shade? Something?

“Stay with me, baby.” Siwon urged as he helped Kyuhyun into the café next door and sits him down in the nearest available chair, nodding a hasty apology to the people who are already occupying the table and giving them funny looks.

Kyuhyun kept gasping like a fish out of water, bending double in agony as his breathing turn shallower with his heart beating harder. His grip on Siwon’s hand remained tight and sweaty. Siwon looked on helplessly, his back as a form of comfort which he realised is pretty useless.

“Baby, breathe in deeply.” Siwon mutters encouragingly. “Breathe in. Out…”

Kyuhyun struggles to calm down, nearly in tears from panicking instead. But eventually his heart stopped racing and he could take in more oxygen. Pale and sweaty, his lips had taken on a pale grey hue.

“Anxiety attack?” Siwon asks wiping Kyuhyun’s sweaty brows.

“I’m sorry…” Kyuhyun bleats as he nodded.

Siwon his hair and the back of his neck softly. “What happened just now, babe?” He asks as gently as he could manage in his current state of flustered fear.

“I felt suffocated as we got deeper into the crowd. I was afraid that someone will bump into me and hurt our baby……” Kyuhyun said almost in tears.

“Awww, baby….” Siwon moved closer for Kyuhyun to rest against his shoulder. They stayed totally still for a few moments, allowing Kyuhyun to compose himself.

“I’m okay now.” Kyuhyun sniffs a little petulantly as he pushed away. “Can we just go home, Wonnie?” He asks softly.

“Sure, babe.” Siwon replied immediately, straightening up quickly to help his frail-looking wife up from the seat. Drawing him into his arms, they stepped out back into the crowd to make the difficult journey home.