With all of their money combined, they had just enough for two tickets on a straight flight to Massachusetts. 

It was early morning, barely 2am, and their plane wouldn't leave until 6. They had time to kill and nowhere to go so they waited at the airport. 

Situated at their departing gate, Chanyeol wrapped an arm around Baekhyun and pulled him close. The older allowed stray tears to fall when he caught a glimpse of the airport's holiday decorations.

"Chanyeol, it's Christmas. And we're spending it in an airport." They should have been with their families, ready to open presents and eat festive cookies, ready to laugh and share the precious joy that only the holidays could produce. So how did they end up alone in an airport on Christmas? 

Baekhyun and Chanyeol knew they would have to get used to not having their families. Which meant they would have to come to terms with the fact that they would be raising their baby alone. But without the help and support of their families, what kind of a future could they promise their daughter? They were nothing but poor college kids abandoned by their own parents, her grandparents. They had absolutely nothing to give her. After she was born, they would still be in the same predicament.

"One thing led to another and now we're here." Chanyeol supplied. Baekhyun wondered how he stayed so calm. Chanyeol hadn't once cried or yelled or expressed any sort of negative emotion since they found out Baekhyun was pregnant. How did he keep it all in?

Baekhyun nodded. "I guess I don't blame our parents for being mad, though. We made the mistake and now we have to take responsibility for the rest of our lives."

"It is what it is. We have each other, Baek. That's all that matters."

Baekhyun mustered up a tiny genuine smile. He didn't think he could make it without Chanyeol's support and voice of reason. He was glad he didn't have to. 

Closer to boarding time, Chanyeol offered to buy some breakfast for a rather hungry Baekhyun. The older accepted the offer and was given a freshly made breakfast sandwich in return. It looked mouth wateringly delicious so he dived in immediately, only realizing that Chanyeol didn't have any food for himself when he was halfway through the sandwich. Of course, he asked the younger why he had failed to buy anything for himself.

"I'm not hungry." Chanyeol brushed it off easily, as if that were the only reason. But Baekhyun knew the real reason was that they didn't have enough money for much of anything, let alone food. They had spent it all on the plane tickets. 

It made Baekhyun upset to think of Chanyeol turning down meals until they could get more money. Would money always be an issue for them?

"They'll have food on the plane. Don't worry about me. I'm more concerned about you eating."

Baekhyun wasn't having any of that. He offered Chanyeol a large bite of his sandwich and wouldn't take no for an answer. 

"You'll look after me and I'll look after you. Okay?" Baekhyun stated, satisfied when Chanyeol had eaten something. 

"Okay." Chanyeol smiled the smile that Baekhyun loved. 

It would be tough. Baekhyun was sure that the years to come would be full of tears and frustrations but he knew that everything would be alright, eventually. 

**

Baekhyun reached around to help Chanyeol tie his tie. The taller man chuckled when Baekhyun's baby bump pressed into his back.

Chanyeol watched the movement of Baekhyun's delicate hands in the mirror. Also examining his own formal ensemble in the process.

"Is it too much?" Chanyeol wondered.

"No. You need to make a good impression. You need this job."

Chanyeol sighed because he was under a whole lot of pressure. Ever since they returned from Korea, he had been desperately looking for a job. Majoring in law as an undergraduate was extremely time consuming and all the other jobs he wanted to apply for conflicted with his studies. His job options had been severely limited and he eventually settled on pursuing a part time job as a waiter.

Of course he wanted more out of life than working as a waiter, even if it was at a fancy restaurant, but he and Baekhyun needed money for the baby. So really, it was his only option.

"Good luck. You'll do great." Baekhyun said as he gave Chanyeol a good luck kiss before sending him away to his job interview. 

Just as Chanyeol left their dorm room, Jongin entered curiously, wolf whistling at his friend once he caught a glimpse of his fancy attire.

"Looking good, Chanyeol." The dark haired man stated before turning to Baekhyun. "A few of us are going out to see a movie. Wanna come?"

Baekhyun sighed because he really did want to go but knew he had to refuse. He shook his head in response because he had more important things to do.

"Thanks for the offer but I have to pass." He sat down at his desk, immediately opening his laptop. Jongin didn't leave as expected. Instead, he stood over Baekhyun's shoulder curiously. 

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for cheap apartments." He muttered. He and Chanyeol had 4 months to find an apartment and produce enough money to rent it.

"Don't they have family type/apartment style dorms you can stay at?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, it's a first come first serve basis. The dorms are full and we have no choice but to rent an apartment."

"With what money?" Jongin asked and received a very painful punch on his arm.

"That's why we're looking for jobs, idiot. We have no money."

Jongin rubbed his sore arm and groaned. "If you have no money and your parents disowned you, how do you pay for school?"

"We both have full scholarships." Baekhyun answered in annoyance. He wouldn't exactly call Jongin his closest friend and it was no wonder the younger didn't know all about his and Chanyeol's situation. But that didn't mean Baekhyun had the patience to answer a bunch of tedious questions. Even if Jongin was Kyungsoo's boyfriend. 

Speaking of Kyungsoo, he came to Baekhyun's rescue not long after, pulling Jongin away from a frustrated Baekhyun. 

"He has enough on his plate. Leave him alone." Kyungsoo hissed and shooed Jongin away. 

Soon Baekhyun and Kyungsoo were left alone and the latter spoke, "Are you sure you can't take a break and come to the movies? Joonmyun's paying."

Baekhyun smiled sadly and shook his head. "Go on. I'm waiting up for Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo nodded before leaving Baekhyun alone. He hated to see his 18 year old friend no longer act 18 years old. It was almost too painful to witness.

As of late, Chanyeol and Baekhyun only ever had time for school, anything related to the baby, finding an apartment, or finding a job. They were missing out on the college life everyone always bragged about while their teenage years were slipping away from them. That was just the way it was. Life didn't always go as planned and Chanyeol and Baekhyun had accepted that.

For a moment, Baekhyun decided to take a break from apartment hunting to look for more available jobs. He had applied for a job at a nearby restaurant earlier but hadn't gotten it. He opted to apply for a job at the campus bookstore instead. 

He opened up the online application and read it. One of the questions asked why he wanted the job. 

"That's easy." Baekhyun said to himself. He was 5 months pregnant and needed the job more than anything in order to support his baby. He wrote a small paragraph in response, making sure to add in the fact that his parents disowned him. He had stooped down to looking for pity ever since he had gotten desperate for a job.

He sent the application in and checked on his other applications that were still pending. He hadn't been rejected nor accepted and he was sick of waiting. 

To pass the time and stay busy, he continued to look for more apartments. The cheapest apartments ranged from $550-$800. In order to pay the rent and pay for baby supplies, they couldn't survive on Chanyeol's paycheck alone. That put even more pressure on Baekhyun to find a job as soon as he could.

The teenager sighed in defeat because things weren't falling into place like he'd hoped. He knew that if he got a job, he wouldn't be able to work for a while after having the baby. That meant he would only be useful for a few months' paychecks that would disappear in a heartbeat. To make matters worse, he wasn't comfortable sending their baby to daycare at a really young age. That meant not only would he not be able to work after giving birth, he wouldn't be able to work until their child was at least old enough to walk. In that situation, how could he and Chanyeol possibly find a way to make ends meet?

Baekhyun groaned and decided to call it a night. His head hurt from thinking so far ahead. At that point in time, he had to take things one step at a time. The first step was getting a job before allowing himself to stress over finances.

To clear his mind while he anxiously waited for Chanyeol to return, Baekhyun laid on Chanyeol's bed and watched the small television in their room. His mind was pleasantly clear for a while until his giant of a boyfriend returned. 

Once he did return, he was all smiles and a positive attitude. Naturally, the positivity rubbed off on Baekhyun.

"Did you get the job?" Baekhyun asked excitedly. 

Chanyeol's smile was answer enough. Usually, it took a couple weeks to make a decision on who to hire but Chanyeol said they loved him so much and admired his determination for his family that they gave him the job immediately after the interview. 

"How much are they paying you?" Baekhyun didn't want to sound too eager but money was basically their lifeline.

"A little above minimum wage. $7.50 an hour. Plus whatever tips I get."

"How many hours will you work a week?"

"25."

Baekhyun sat on the bed and took out his phone. He opened the calculator app and did the math. Chanyeol would make $750 a month. It would be enough money for rent but even if they got the least expensive apartment, it would only be $200 left over for other things. That amount wouldn't be enough for both of their phone bills, groceries, and baby items. The only other option was that Baekhyun had to find a job as soon as possible so they could save up.

Baekhyun made sure to voice his concerns about money and job hunting to his boyfriend.

"You'll find a job too." Chanyeol said confidently. Baekhyun wished he felt as confident as Chanyeol sounded.

**

It turned out that Chanyeol was right and Baekhyun did find a job. Although it was great news in and of itself, the timing turned out to be unfortunate because it was 2 months before his due date. That meant he would only be able to work for a short amount of time before they became parents. Looking on the bright side, though, for 2 whole months he would be able to make $750 a month to add to Chanyeol's $750. That meant they would be able to afford groceries and other things for a short amount of time.

The downside of having a new job was that Baekhyun was really beginning to feel the effects of being 7 months pregnant. Working, in addition to being pregnant, in addition to being a college student was more than a little exhausting. 

In the days following his employment, Baekhyun found that he was too tired to do much of anything aside from work and homework while Chanyeol was the exact same way. Their friends watched sadly as Baekhyun and Chanyeol literally worked their asses off to earn money for their family and then studied until the wee hours of morning to get good enough grades to maintain their scholarships. 

"Is there anything I can do?" Yifan asked one afternoon when Chanyeol almost fell asleep at their lunch table.

"What could you do?" Chanyeol mumbled while he stuffed food into his mouth with heavy eyes.

"We can lend you some money, dude. You and Baekhyun don't have to kill yourselves just to make enough."

"We're not taking charity." Chanyeol snapped. If their families didn't want to help, fine, but he wasn't going to take money from his friends. They didn't want to seem desperate. 

"I know it's a pride thing, Chanyeol. I understand. But I can help. I hate to see you like this."

"You're right it is a pride thing but you're wrong because you don't understand. I have to be able to take care of my family. I have to take care of Baekhyun and my daughter. It's my job. Until you know that you're going to be a dad, you wouldn't know what I'm going through."

Yifan sighed. "Chanyeol-"

Chanyeol cut him off immediately. " I can take care of my family without your help." With that, Chanyeol made his way to his next cla