Baekhyun held the small pink bundle in his arms and waited for Chanyeol to unlock the door. He smiled graciously as it was held open for him and he received a kiss from his younger boyfriend who beamed.

"What are you so happy about?" Baekhyun teased when he entered their cramped apartment.

Chanyeol smiled and kissed the pink bundle in Baekhyun's arms.

"You made us parents, Baek. That's what I'm happy about."

The older teenager smiled but his smile faltered when he looked down at their 2 day old Mina.

"She's here, finally, but I don't know what to do now."

Chanyeol nodded, the smile melting off his face. What were you supposed to do right after having a newborn?

"Well she's sleeping now so I guess we put her in her crib."

Baekhyun agreed, treating the bundle in his arms as if she were the most precious thing in the world, he carried Mina into the nursery and placed her into a little crib.

So that was it. She was there. She was theirs. That was that.

"We need to talk about some things." Chanyeol rested a hand on Baekhyun's shoulder, surprising him.

He jumped slightly before turning around and nodding.

Chanyeol was concerned. Baekhyun, his 18 year old boyfriend, had just given birth. He had classes to think about, finals to think about, and Mina to think about.

"Are you alright?"

Baekhyun shook his head. How could he be alright?

When they left Mina's nursery together, walking out into the tiny living room they were barely able to afford, Baekhyun burst into tears.

Chanyeol swallowed a lump in his throat. Baekhyun had never seen him cry and that was the last thing Chanyeol ever wanted. Instead, he held Baekhyun in his arms and resisted the urge to say everything would be okay.

With only enough money that would have been sufficient if they hadn't had a baby, with the stress of school looming over their heads, with the stress of raising Mina, it was just so much to take in. Baekhyun couldn't even begin to understand how to take it in.

"I'm sorry." Baekhyun apologized as he pulled away. Without letting Chanyeol see his sad face, he hurried in their kitchen to make himself useful, to take his mind off of everything.

"Don't apologize." Chanyeol sat frozen on the couch and listened as Baekhyun moved about in the kitchen.

When he came back, Chanyeol could see just how red his eyes were. A combination of tiredness and sadness. He cradled a mug in his hands and Chanyeol smiled when he saw it was hot chocolate.

"It's April and I'm drinking hot chocolate." Baekhyun smiled a little before sitting down. He stretched his mug out in Chanyeol's direction just a little bit. "Do you want some?"

Chanyeol shook his head politely. "We still need to talk."

Baekhyun's mouth formed the word "oh" but it never reached Chanyeol's awaiting ears. It was still confirmation enough so he proceeded with what had been bugging him.

"I'm gonna be away from you and Mina a lot. I have class every day from 9 until 2 and then I have work from 3 to 8."

"I know. I have class the same time you do. I can't miss it." Baekhyun looked down sadly. Not only did that mean he wouldn't see Chanyeol very often, it meant he would have to take care of Mina by himself. It also meant he would have to take Mina to class with him.

Still, Chanyeol voiced what Baekhyun was already thinking.

"She's way too young for daycare. She needs you."

"I'll have to take her to class with me." Baekhyun wasn't looking forward to that at all. But what other choice did he have? Mina needed him and he needed to go to class. Those situations inevitably overlapped.

"Will that be a problem?"

Baekhyun shook his head. "The nurse said I can take Mina out whenever and wherever I want to. I just have to be careful not to take her to small crowded areas."

"I meant for your professors."

The silent "oh" returned.

"I don't think so. Most of my classes are big lectures for my gen ed requirements. It won't make a difference."

"For your smaller classes?"

"I think it'll be okay."

"Why didn't you email them before she was born? What if you show up with her and they ask you to leave?"

"Because I didn't want to think about what it would be like after she was here. We're 18 year old college students with no families and a 2 day old baby. I don't want to think about what's gonna happen tomorrow or the day after that."

Chanyeol watched as a single tear dropped into Baekhyun's mug.

The lump in Chanyeol's throat returned as he pleaded with his boyfriend, "Please stop crying."

"They said I'd be emotional for a little while."

"They" meaning the nurses and the doctors.

Chanyeol placed a kiss on Baekhyun's forehead. "Just get some rest." He added, somewhat regretfully, "it's just gonna be you and Mina tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know." Baekhyun murmured as he stood off the couch and disappeared into their bedroom.

Chanyeol sighed and stayed frozen on the couch for a long time. Only when he stood up to shower did his own tears come forward. He made sure the shower would drown out every noise he made before letting the wretched sobs escape his throat.

He had been so against the idea of putting Mina up for adoption. And yet, as a result of that, Baekhyun was no doubt sobbing in their bedroom while he was sobbing in their bathroom. Chanyeol was leaving Mina and Baekhyun all alone, not because he wanted to but because he had to.

He was putting the emotional stress of raising Mina on Baekhyun while he took the brunt of work on his own shoulders. Both of them were weighed down. Chanyeol wondered how much either of them could take before one of them broke. Chanyeol had a sick feeling he would be the first.

**

Baekhyun woke up at 3am to the sounds of Mina crying. Chanyeol woke up to the sounds of Baekhyun moving around.

Just a few moments after the crying started, it stopped. Along with the sudden quietness and stillness, Baekhyun returned to their bedroom with Mina in his arms.

His shirt was pushed up and Mina was situated sideways. He cradled her head against his chest and it seemed as if she were feeding. But Baekhyun wore a look of discomfort that clearly contradicted that thought.

Chanyeol helped him to get comfortable in bed without moving Mina around too much. Before long, Chanyeol was watching Baekhyun sit up in bed and nurse their daughter, although the look of discomfort had yet to disappear.

"What's wrong?"

Baekhyun sighed. "She's not drinking. She's just messing around. She won't latch properly."

On closer inspection, Chanyeol could see that Mina's mouth moved in a much different way than it was supposed to when latching. It almost seemed as if she were chewing.

"What are you supposed to do?"

"I don't know." Baekhyun sighed in frustration. He knew having a baby would be hard but he didn't imagine something as simple as feeding could be difficult. If Mina wouldn't or couldn't drink his milk then she couldn't gain weight and grow properly.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little bit." Baekhyun admitted.

As a father, Chanyeol couldn't do anything. He couldn't take Mina in his arms and tell her to drink. He couldn't show her what to do. He couldn't make Baekhyun's discomfort ease. At that moment, he was good for nothing.

"Mina, would you please cooperate?" Chanyeol questioned quietly as Baekhyun lightly touched her cheek, hoping to enable her rooting reflex. Thankfully it worked and she began to and situate properly.

Baekhyun's face relaxed when the discomfort eased and the knowledge that she was getting what she needed brought a smile to his face.

The sight before Chanyeol brought conflicting emotions. He was ecstatic to see Baekhyun and Mina bonding but was a tad jealous. When would he be able to bond with his daughter? To build that trust with her? To make sure she knew she was loved by him?

A simple vocal expression of love would have to be enough for a while. Because Chanyeol didn't have time to sit back and play with her, make her smile and giggle. There wasn't enough time in a day for him to do all he needed and wanted.

He wanted more time with her because once she grew up he knew he would miss the days when she was so small, so vulnerable, and so dependent.

"I still can't get over how beautiful she is. She looks a lot like you." Chanyeol murmured. In other words, Mina was perfect. It was her parents that still needed some work.

"She looks a lot like both of us."

When Mina turned her head away from Baekhyun's and made a cute little gurgling sound, Baekhyun handed her to Chanyeol.

"I know you won't get to spend as much time with her as I will. So you should hold her for a little bit. I'll be right back." With that, Baekhyun fixed his shirt and left the room.

Chanyeol looked down at his daughter, trying to think of what he needed to do. She just ate, right? She needed to be burped. He situated her on his shoulder, cradling her head against it as he rubbed her back.

She was so tiny, Chanyeol thought when Mina rested her head on him. It seemed as if she was smaller than his two hands, although Chanyeol knew he was exaggerating a bit. The nurses had said she was the perfect size for a newborn, 6lbs and 7oz.

No sooner had he started rubbing her back when she made a small hiccup sound. At the same moment, he felt a warm liquid run down his right shoulder.

He repositioned Mina so she was no longer lying against his chest but lying in his arms. She had remnants of Baekhyun's milk dribbling down her chin while most of it had gotten on Chanyeol's shirt.

"You're quite messy. Aren't you?" Chanyeol chuckled slightly. He didn't have anything to wipe with until Baekhyun showed up seconds later with a rag.

"I see she spit up on you." He laughed as he gave Chanyeol the rag.

He smiled as he wiped . "I guess I should've waited for a rag first."

Baekhyun nodded. "I'll take her while you change your shirt."

Baekhyun placed the rag over his shoulder before taking the newborn baby and resting her on his chest in the same position as Chanyeol had earlier.

He rubbed her back and took advantage of that moment to speak to her. "Mina, it's funny how I don't know much about you yet. Will you be well behaved when I go back to my classes? Will you be good when it's just me and you?"

Baekhyun had no idea how he would feel after having Mina. He felt happy for the most part and he loved her because she was his daughter but she was a virtual stranger to him. He didn't know her likes and dislikes, her personality, her behaviors. Nothing.

He continued to say, "You'll get to learn a lot about us too. You're stuck with us."

Chanyeol returned back to the bed with a different shirt on. If he wanted to avoid doing laundry on a regular basis, he would have to be mindful of Mina spitting up on him.

He watched Baekhyun burp her the right way with the rag as a precautionary measure. When it was all said and done, Baekhyun's shirt was still clean and Mina was a content baby.

"I like seeing you with her." Chanyeol said when he watched Baekhyun place a kiss on their daughter's forehead.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You'll make a really good mother."

"We'll see about that." Baekhyun smiled and Chanyeol was glad to see he was no longer crying. Make no mistake, Chanyeol knew there would be countless more tears shed. But he was happy that they could find moments of happiness amidst the frustration and sadness.

When Mina was struggling to keep her eyes open, Baekhyun returned her to her room before hoping to catch a couple more hours of sleep.

"When are you going back to class?" Chanyeol asked once he and Baekhyun had laid down to go back to sleep. Chanyeol draped an arm around his older boyfriend.

Baekhyun turned around in bed so he and Chanyeol were face to face. "TIn a couple days, I guess. I've missed a few classes already and I don't wanna fall behind."

"You think you can make it?"

"I think so. Even though you'll be busy, I have all the guys to help me out."

They might have lost both their families less than a year ago, but that didn't mean they were all alone. Ten outrageously funny, amazing, quirky, genuinely good guys replaced the few family members who never really cared about them when it all came down to the end.

Chanyeol had a choice. He chose Baekhyun and Mina over his parents. Baekhyun had a choice. He chose Mina and Chanyeol over his parents. Both of them had made the right choice. Whenever things got difficult, they had to remember that.

Chanyeol seemingly relaxed at the mention of their friends. Baekhyun wouldn't be all alone with Mina, not if he didn't want to be.

"You're right." Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun on the lips, resting a hand on his thigh in the process. He didn't even want to think about going a whole month without making love to his boyfriend. He knew Baekhyun would be in extreme discomfort if they did, so he had to control his urges.

In all honesty, if he'd controlled his urges to begin with they wouldn't even be in the sticky situation they couldn't break free of.

Baekhyun didn't blame Chanyeol for getting him pregnant because it took more than a single person to make a baby. It was Chanyeol who blamed himself.

After they kissed, Baekhyun buried his head in Chanyeol's chest. He made a sound no short of a whine. "I wish we could be intimate."

"We can be."

"Not in the way I want us to."

Chanyeol chuckled and Baekhyun felt his chest rumble. "If I can hold out for a month, you can too."

Baekhyun groaned and made no effort to move his head. He spoke again, his words muffled against Chanyeol's shirt. "Having Mina hurt so bad."

"I can only imagine."

Baekhyun removed himself from Chanyeol and laid back on the pillow. They were still face to face, as close as they could possibly be without kissing.

"Once she was born I forgot about the pain. But now that I think about it, I thought I was going to die while I was in labor. It was awful."

"Don't say that. You'll make me feel gu