The beginning of the third trimester also meant the beginning of severe tension in the Choi household.

The expecting person complains of physical discomforts every minute of the day; excruciating backaches, swollen legs and feet and a migraine that reports for duty punctually every afternoon. Yet Kyuhyun insists on not taking any painkillers in the fear of harming his unborn child.

Kyuhyun’s mood is always sour and the expression on his face permanently sullen. His temper is short and his patience for everything and anything is non-existent. Siwon considers himself a very tolerant man and even from time to time his nerves are badly grated.

The other thing that is really bothering Siwon is coming home everyday to find his pregnant lover sleeping off his various aches and pains. He wouldn’t admit it outright but he misses the boisterous and full of life Kyuhyun who has been welcoming him home everyday for the past couple of months. Without realizing it Kyuhyun has become such an important fixture in his life by now, it will be unimaginable to live without him now.

Siwon tiptoed into their bedroom and sat down gingerly on their bed next to a snoozing Kyuhyun. He observed the unpleasant pallor on the sleeping man’s face, and the slight tug of a frown between his brows.

Poor baby. Siwon thought sadly as he reached out to push a tuff of hair stuck to his slightly moist forehead. Son, you must appreciate the difficulties your umma went through to carry you.

“Won ~” Kyuhyun’s weak murmur woke him up and in a flash a soft smile formed on his face for him.

“How are you feeling today, baby?” He asks a pale cheek.

“The same.” Kyuhyun replied thickly as he made to sit up. Siwon reached out to help him up.

“You feel warm.” Siwon frowns anxiously.

“Slight fever. It will go down soon.” Kyuhyun replied dismissively.

“Let’s get you to the hospital for a drip at least?” Siwon insists worriedly.

“No. No more medication for my baby.” Kyuhyun snaps defensively. Then he saw the myriad of emotions, all negative, fleeting past Siwon’s face and he softens down. “Please get me a glass of juice, Wonnie?”

“Okay babe. Anything else you want before dinner?” Siwon stood up.

“Can I have an apple too, please.” Kyuhyun replied, afraid to share with Siwon that he did not have any lunch and is feeling peckish now.

Siwon nodded mutely and left the room.
 

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Heechul asks out of concern and curiosity when he saw the big man picking at his lunch with the ‘world’s coming to an end’ expression on his rundown face.

“….” Siwon murmurs unintelligently.
“And have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? You look like crap!”

Siwon bristles momentarily. “Thanks.” He replied drily.

“Well, you do.” Heechul mutters indignantly, unhappy that Siwon is not willing to banter with him. “Something happened at home? Kyuhyun’s ok? Baby’s ok?”

Siwon sighed at the mentions of his troubles. He dropped the spoon in his hand letting it clutter loudly on the table top. Then he glared at it as if it is the culprit of all his grief.

“Everything’s changed.”

‘What’s changed?”

“The whole atmosphere in the house changed. Kyuhyun is always complaining about aches and pains and he won’t take painkillers so he has to deal with them by sleeping a lot. And he used to brim with so much life. But he’s so surly now, nothing is ever right for him anymore.”

Heechul stares at the man breaking down before him. He placed a hand on his broad shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

“Having a baby should be all cheer and joy and fun and happiness ~” Siwon gripes.

“And so you don’t like it that it is different from what you imagined it to be?”

“Wh-what?! No! Of course not! It’s just –“ Siwon turned defensive as he eyed Heechul defiantly.

“Stop arguing. I can see what’s happening to you. And really, you can’t be totally to blame for breaking down. Kyuhyun is such a pillar of strength in your life all this while and suddenly he’s not meeting the standards you set for him. And you are so used to being the center of his universe, and suddenly you are replaced by the baby, no wonder you are thrown off kilter.”

“You make me sound like a jealous elder child.” Siwon grumbles.

‘Which you are.” Heechul chides. “Every sane man in a normal relationship is. Now just quit wallowing and be the man you promised who will love and cherish Kyuhyun till death do you part.”

Siwon sighed again. “Everything is so gloomy at home right now.”

“You two need some cheering up! Some subtle reminders to get back on track and be happy that you are having a baby!”

Siwon blinked in confusion. “You guys need a party!!!” Heechul cheers loudly. “And we need an excuse for the party….hmmmm….”

“Party?”

“Baby shower!” Heechul beamed with pride at his wit. “We’ll throw a baby shower for your son!”

“Baby shower?”

“Stop repeating everything I say! Even if they are words of wisdom, they are mine!” Heechul snaps impatiently. “Leave everything to me!”
 

“Wonnie! Welcome home!” Kyuhyun’s loud welcome surprised Siwon so much when he opens his door that he stopped in his tracks momentarily. Then he blinked and slowly a grin formed. It’s a pleasant surprise indeed.

“Baby!” Siwon raced to his side. “How are you feeling today?” Kneeling down next to the recliner and taking the pair of soft hands in his, the sleek length of the fingers.

“I finished the baby room! And I can’t wait to show it to you!” Kyuhyun said excitedly. Infected by his excitement, Siwon’s mood lifted immensely.

“Ok, show me!” He laughs.

“Help me up.” Kyuhyun smiled as his husband help him onto his feet and they went into the empty room designated as the new baby room.

“Oh…” That’s all Siwon managed to say when the door opens and he walks into a blue world.

Cream pastel blue walls dotted with white fluffy cotton candy clouds, a rainbow and some cartoon birds in bright colors. The furniture is all pure white, the carpet is a lighter blue than the walls and the white curtains covered by a scatter of tiny yellow flower prints are lacy and billowy.

“This is a really cute room, babe!” Siwon told a beaming Kyuhyun.

“We’ll move the recliner in here after I given birth. And see that wall there? I intend to fill it up with framed pictures of us as a family.” Kyuhyun relates animatedly.

Siwon draws the man closer to him and squeeze him gently. “You did great!”

Kyuhyun giggled. “It took me a long time, but I finally finished it!” He cheers.

The lively Kyuhyun prevails through dinner and well into the evening till he went to bed still in a very good mood. Even Siwon was temporarily taken in by the joyous mood and fell asleep happier than he ever been for a while.

“Won ~ Wonnie ~ wake up…please….” Kyuhyun whimpered as he taps his husband urgently. “Won ~ please….” On the verge of tears, he chewed his lower lip to stop the cries of pain trying to escape.

Siwon regain consciousness in an instant, his mouth dry and his heart palpitating fast. For a second he has no idea what woke him and then he heard Kyuhyun’s whimpering.

“Baby? What’s wrong?!” He threw on the lights fast and turned to see what’s happening.

“My leg…..hurts….cramps….” Kyuhyun cries gripping his left thigh. Siwon followed the length of the leg and gasped at the grotesque angles the toes are twisted into by the cramps. ‘Wonnie….hurts….”

Siwon dove into action, taking the twisted toes into his hands and massaging them gently to loosen the stiffness. Kyuhyun continued to whimper.

“Sssh….baby…..don’t cry…..it’s going to be alright….” Siwon mutters soothingly.
Kyuhyun’s cries finally reduced to dry sobs as the pain died down. He rewards his husband with a smile even though his eyes still held traces of unfallen tears. Siwon smiled back, his soaked forehead lovingly.

“Do you want a drink?” He asks.

“Can I have some warm milk please?”

“Coming right up!” Siwon got up to leave the room.

“And a cookie too?” Kyuhyun adds hurriedly. Siwon smiled broadly.

“Macadamia nut and chocolate chip?” He asks playfully and Kyuhyun nodded eagerly at the mention of his current favorite flavor.

Siwon left the room and came back shortly with two glasses of warm milk and two palm-sized cookies on a plate. He sets the tray down on the bed next to Kyuhyun and sat down too.

“Don’t mind if I join you, monsieur?” He asks teasingly.

Kyuhyun’s eyes twinkle with glee as his husband hands him the milk and broke the cookie into half for him to dunk it into the glass conveniently.

“Aren’t you going to start on yours?” Kyuhyun asks. Siwon had gotten quite lost watching his beloved nibble on his cookie.

“Oh? Oh, yes!” He laughs and broke his own cookie into two, passing one half to Kyuhyun whom he noticed is eyeing it ravenously.

“So, baby, Chullie is talking about holding a baby shower for our baby next month.” Siwon brings up the subject casually.

Kyuhyun looked up curiously. “Baby shower?”

“He said to leave it to him to plan it. All we have to do is turn up with the baby.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave everything to him? It’s our baby afterall, we should do the work.”

“Don’t worry about it. He loves to plan parties and I’ve to admit, he is one heck of a planner. He will outdo us if we plan it ourselves and he will never let us forget how incompetent we were.”

Kyuhyun smiled at Siwon’s apt description of their flamboyant friend.

 

“I thought you said to leave everything to you?” Siwon stares accusingly at an equally pissed off Heechul.

“Yes, I did. But it’s only fair that you contribute to the finer details. It’s your party after all.”

Siwon glared some more than he concedes. “Ok, you can call Kyuhyun and discuss the details with him.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” Heechul smiles wickedly.
 

“Yes mom, we are having a baby shower at a resort.” Siwon explains over the phone. “We booked rooms in the resort for all the guests, 3 days 2 nights. The party will be held on its garden grounds.”

Heechul’s idea of the party expanded into a short vacation for all the attendees. 3 days 2 nights outside the city, all extended families invited.

“Oh.” Siwon utters unsurely when his mother informs him that she is inviting his uncles, aunts and cousins. He cannot imagine the stress Kyuhyun will undergo when he has to meet new family members for the first time in his condition. But there really is no way to tell your mother ‘no’ without upsetting her. “Great, mom! I haven’t met them for a while now!”

And that night when he decides to come clean with Kyuhyun, he was pleasantly surprised when Kyuhyun told him that he is looking forward to seeing relatives he has never met before.

“You’re okay with that?” Siwon had to ask again.

“Yes.” Kyuhyun laughs at his nervousness. “They are your family. That means they are mine too! And our kid could do with lots of relatives. I been through a life with almost no one to call my own, I don’t want our child to go through that too.”

Siwon squeezed the hand he is holding and smiled up at the man carrying his child. The man never ceased to amaze him. “Looks like I better start acting like a dad too!” Siwon mutters drily.

“You will get the hang of it soon.” Kyuhyun teased impishly.
 

With the amount of guests they have invited, it’s no wonder they took up half of the occupancy of the resort. When Siwon helped Kyuhyun out of the car, they were frankly embarrassed by the red carpet treatment. Thanks to Heechul of course, staff were lining the entrance to give them a rousing welcome.

“He has to make everything loud, doesn’t he?” Kyuhyun grumbles good-naturedly when they finally made it into the life.

“Can't imagine letting him plan the next baby shower.” Siwon rubs his temples with a grimace.

But all awkwardness fade when they saw their room. Spacious, decorated with cream colors and a pair of ceiling to floor glass doors that led out to a balcony with a panorama view of the greenery that surrounds the resort.

Kyuhyun walks onto the balcony and Siwon follows with a look of awe still on his face. Kyuhyun took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of the forest. “It’s so quiet, so peaceful here!” Kyuhyun exclaimed happily.

Heechul waltzed into their room half an hour later with Hyukjae and Donghae in tow.

“So? How do you like it so far? Huh? Huh?” Heechul is clearly very excited.

“It’s beautiful!” Kyuhyun replied with genuine gratitude.

“Good! Good!” Heechul beamed proudly. He pulls a roll of paper out of his coat pocket and it at the confused couple. “And here is the itinerary. Make sure you follow them closely!”

Siwon took it and open it up. The paper is covered with tiny prints. They start reading it and it soon became a blur.

“Huh?” Siwon utters helplessly.

Heechul sighed dramatically. “You, my dear, is to take naps, go for spas sessions and order room service as many times as you want.” He points to Kyuhyun. “While your husband becomes my slave.”

“Slave? Why?!!!” Siwon exclaimed loudly.

“As per these two.” Heechul points at Hyukjae and Donghae who are grinning widely despite the situation.

“But I am the father! I need to relax too!” Siwon protested.

“Not a chance! It’s your kid's party we are planning. We have a lot to do and you have to help.”

“I ~” Kyuhyun was just about to offer his help.

“Nope. You rest and enjoy and have a great time on your husband’s tab.” Heechul stops him immediately. “As for the rest of you minions, follow me!”

As it turns out, Heechul did arranged for Siwon’s mom to keep Kyuhyun company in her son’s absence and soon Kyuhyun is enjoying himself without pinning too much for his husband’s company.