275 days (1/1)

275 days   1st day  The first time Taehyun thinks his boyfriend is not that much of a douchebag after all it's when Mino organizes the most romantic dinner for their 2nd anniversary. Mino is not cheesy nor very romantic most of the time, still he reserved a table for two in the most expensive restaurant downtown and Taehyun is impressed. They order champagne, bring back old memories of their first meeting and eat each other with their eyes instead of eating dinner.  After dinner they choose the less popular movie in the less popular movie theater, sit in the last row and not really pay attention to the screen as they exchange kisses and light touches that force both of them to cut short their date and rush back home. Once there, Taehyun lets Mino push him against every wall as they stumble on their feet trying to reach their bedroom in between passionate kisses, then watches as his fiancé takes care of everything for him until they're both naked, sweaty and tangled up in each other.  The sun is almost rising when Mino gets off him and collapses by his side, gently caressing the soft skin around his navel almost unconsciously until he falls asleep, tired but satisfied.  Taehyun smiles in the dark and rubs his thighs together as he feels the usual wetness in between. His skin is still hot in every spot Mino has touched him throughout the night and he feels happy. He falls asleep thinking about the best anniversary he's ever had.    --    28th day   The first time Taehyun loses control over his body, he thinks it's all because of one drink too many at Mino's birthday party.  He hugs the toilet like it's his best friend and almost passes out while throwing up his soul. He feels weak and sweaty and sends curses to the whole universe while wiping his mouth with a towel.  He doesn't understand why his belly decided to wake him up at 5am just to make him lose some weight. He usually gets hangovers at more proper times, like after twelve hours of sleep.  He stays there for a while, standing up every now and then and immediately going back down when he feels nauseated again. Mino enters the bathroom half an hour later and finds him in symbiosis with their toilet. “Ah! Who's the weak one now, uh? Always picking on me for my hangovers, look at you,” he laughs it off but still sits beside Taehyun and helps him by keeping a hold of his hair and gently soothes his back with one hand.  Taehyun just grunts and slaps Mino's thigh, but the man just laughs a bit more and kisses his head yeah I love you too.   --    42th day   The first time Taehyun hears the word 'pregnant' he thinks his doctor has gone mad. After two more weeks of daily hangovers, day and night, Mino has practically forced him to see an expert because this is not normal and I am worried Taehyun. Taehyun would never admit it, but he is a bit worried himself. A quick ride to the nearest hospital, a whole check-up and they're sent to a gynecologist. As if this wasn't weird enough, their gynecologist also starts talking bullshits. “Six weeks what?”  Mino has been asking the same question for the last 5 minutes and Taehyun wants to slap him in the face though he's secretly hoping the doctor will change his answer this time. It's not happening. “Mister Nam, you are six week pregnant, there's no doubt about it. The test confirms it and the nausea you described is of course one of the first symptoms of a pregnancy.” The doctor looks amused and Taehyun decides he wants to slap him in the face as well. “Of course? If you didn't notice, doctor, I am a male,” is the answer Taehyun almost growls, feeling deeply hurt in his pride for being considered a woman, and a pregnant one also. “And by the way why hasn't this happened before?” he adds, since he's been in a relationship with Mino for two years now and this is certainly not the first time they get physical with each other. The gynecologist looks even more amused while explaining, “Yours is not the first case of male pregnancy. Some individuals are born with both male and female organs or features, but in the first case most of the time they never find about it, unless situations like a male pregnancy happen. And just like women, you're not always fertile. There are some periods in which you are and others in which you are not, it's just a case you never happened to have a sexual intercourse during one of your fertile periods until now.” Taehyun is staring at him with an open mouth and wide eyes, waiting for the hidden cameras to appear from around the corner, and that's when Mino feels the need to clarify the obvious. He approaches the doctor and starts murmuring in a conspiratorial kind of way, saying, “Excuse me doctor but uhm... Taehyun has a penis.” The doctor laughs. “Of course.” “No, what I mean is... he doesn't have the other thing, you know? The... the woman thing...” “I know he doesn't have a vagina, if this is what you mean Mister Song.” Mino bites his lower lip at the 'v' word, adds, “I mean we... we have anal sex.” Taehyun lays on the examination table but still manages to kick Mino in the ass at that. His boyfriend sure knows how to make a fool of himself. The doctor raises an eyebrow, “Of course. What is that you want to know Mister Song?” Taehyun is already sending him the death glare but Mino is too confused and too curious to give up.  He shifts his weight from one foot to another, tries to sound random, says, “How could my... liquid, reach his uterus... from there?” It sounds so weird he's confused by his own words. Maybe they expected the man to look shocked and say ooh right, that's not possible.  It doesn't go like that. The gynecologist starts to explain the whole process with a wide smile and a you know the breathing apparatus and how it partially mixes up with the digestive system?, then proceeds to explain how the same thing applies to Taehyun's anus.  Taehyun understands only half of it and when he looks at Mino he knows for certain he's getting none of it. At the end of the long explanation the doctor looks particularly happy and adds a cheerful, “One could say Mister Nam is the living proof of human evolution!” And Mino has to take Taehyun out of the studio before he bites the doctor's head off.    --     76th day   The first time Taehyun experiences a mood shift due to his pregnancy, he doesn't realize it. He's cuddled up on the sofa with Mino, eating snacks and watching a movie during a lazy weekend. Taehyun has his head on the older man's chest, while Mino lays a bit back against the pillows.  He has this habit of stroking Taehyun's hair unconsciously whenever the younger one lays near him. Taehyun secretly loves it and takes one more chip while the movie is ending. Mino smiles at the way Taehyun is almost purring under his gentle touch and decides he hasn't had enough of it yet, “Let's watch another one, what you think?” Taehyun nods, eyes closed, a smile on his lips. Says, “Let's watch The Notebook!” Mino makes a face, puffs and shakes his head, “You always want to watch that! I'm tired of that movie, let's watch something of my choice for once.” Taehyun would usually just shrug and let go, not really wanting to spend energies in arguing about such a silly thing, but this time he feels an unreasonable rage building up within him and can't help but suddenly stand up from his beloved position on Mino's chest.  He looks unbelievably angry and deeply hurt while saying, “Are you saying I never let you choose anything? Are you saying I am that spoiled? How can you say something so mean to me?!” Mino looks almost shocked as he freezes in his spot and looks up at his boyfriend, “What? I'm not saying that, I'm-” he stops as he realizes the younger man has gone from mad to broken in a matter of seconds and is now almost sobbing in front of him. “Y-you hate me, isn't it?” Taehyun sobs and collapses on the sofa, his hands hiding his face while he cries. “No one in the world would love a spoiled brat like me!” Mino panics a little, not knowing what to do with a fragile Taehyun – Taehyun almost never shows that side of himself – but in the end he goes for an hug and gently pulls Taehyun to his chest, stroking his hair and kissing his head.  “Ssh, it's okay...” he tries to rationalize what just happened and suddenly he notices the Mommies&Babies magazine Taehyun left on the table.  “The pregnancy...” he smiles to himself and hugs the other man closer, until Taehyun stops crying and just hides his face in the crook of Mino's neck like he always does. They stay like that until everything's okay again.    --     112th day   The first time Taehyun realizes his belly is growing, it's one morning in June while he's late for work. He's putting some random clothes on in front of the mirror, not really caring about his style since he's in a rush, when he notices the weird curve of his belly and stops to stare at it in awe. It's not really a big thing, but since he's so skinny the growing belly is pretty visible.  He forgets about the t-shirt he was putting on and that already half-covers his chest and puts both hands on his puffed belly, gently soothing the pale skin. It feels weird. He doesn't know if in a good or bad way, he thinks as he furrows his eyebrows and keeps staring at it through the mirror. Mino enters the room trying to fix his necktie, “Taehyun, you're gonna be late- what are you doing” he stops in his tracks and looks at his fiancé rubbing his belly.  A smile slowly appears on the lips of the older man while he gets behind Taehyun and starts caressing his puffed belly. “It's growing,” he whispers in his hair, kissing his head. He's happy and Taehyun can feel it. He bites his lower lip and nods. “Do you think we're gonna be good parents?” he asks, voice full of concern. Mino intertwines their fingers on Taehyun's exposed belly and kisses his ear. “You're gonna make a great father. I hope I'm gonna be half as good as you,” he laughs. Taehyun scoffs, holds Mino's hand tight and smiles, “You're the best with children, everyone knows that.” Mino just shrugs. “This time it's different. This is our child, I'm gonna be a father and it's a tough job,” he laughs again. “And you're the best at tough jobs.” That's when Taehyun remembers he's late for his current tough job and though he would stay in Mino's arms all day, he has to let go.      In the afternoon Taehyun lays on the usual white table as he goes through the medical examination.  He's developing a phobia for hospitals, doctors and the color white in general, so he holds Mino's hand tight as the doctor spreads a cold gel on his belly and proceeds with the ultrasound.  Mino smiles at him, whispers you're beautiful and caresses his hair with his free hand. He knows how hard it is for Taehyun to go through a pregnancy after spending half of his life trying to prove the world that, though his appearance can be misleading, he's still a manly man. He remembers the first weeks after they found out, Taehyun crying in their bed at night when he thought Mino was already asleep, the struggle to accept his body and this new situation. Mino knows he's probably still not over it, and maybe never will, and what he can do is making him feel as loved as possible because to him, he's still the same Taehyun, maybe even more precious and special now that he carries their baby inside of him. When the doctor breaks the silence asking if they want to know the sex of their baby, a single exchange of looks is enough for both to understand they want to know. The doctor smiles, moves the sensor on Taehyun's belly a bit longer to be fully certain before saying, “It's a girl” They're both taken aback and hold their breaths. It's not like they expected a boy, but knowing they'll be raising a little girl is perhaps even more surprising. Taehyun squeezes Mino's hand to gain his attention, looks up to him with watery eyes, asks, “Are you happy?” with a trembling voice full of worry. Mino leans down to brush some hair away from his eyes, kisses both his forehead and the tip of his nose and smiles, “I'm the happiest man in the world, I couldn't be happier.” But he's proved wrong a moment after, when the doctor let them listen to the baby's heartbeat for the first time and something in Mino's chest threatens to explode. It's the most beautiful sound he's ever heard in his whole life and in that moment he's really the happiest man in the world.   --   145th day  The first time Taehyun wakes up in the middle of the night craving for strawberries and chocolate he doesn't really think about the reason behind his weird desire. He just wants strawberries and chocolate, and he wants them now. He gets up, a hand on his round belly that is now bigger and starts to feel heavy for his slender body, goes downstairs just to find out there's no trace of strawberries nor of chocolate in their whole kitchen. He pouts, goes back to bed and wakes up his tired fiancé. “Mino... hey Big Tank,” he murmurs using that silly nickname they made up one drunk night while Mino was reminiscing his memories in the army.  The older man grunts and turns around to face Taehyun, only one eye half-open and his forearm on his forehead.  “Taehyunie?” “I'm hungry,” Taehyun pouts again, knowing Mino can't resist when he acts all cute. “Can you get me some food?” Mino rubs a hand on his sleepy face and looks at the clock: 3am. He looks back at Taehyun and those puppy eyes have the best on him. He hardly gets up, fixing his pajama pants (the only piece of clothing he has on) and passing a hand through his messy hair. “I'll go downstairs and make you something. What would you like?” he asks, his voice deeper from the sleep. Taehyun shakes his head and keeps his cute acting up. “I want strawberries and chocolate...” he puts up his best puppy face. “But we don't have any at home.” Mino is puzzled, raises an eyebrow, takes a step back and looks at his young fiancé. “I don't think I'm getting what you-- You want me to go out and buy them?” he slowly realizes, eyes widening, disbelief in his every facial feature. Taehyun is on his knees on the bed, hands joined in a silent prayer. “Please, Tanky, please? I have this big watermelon here that doesn't let me do anything apart from feeling sleepy and hungry all the time,” he points at his belly, lips curved and eyebrows furrowed like a baby. Some flirty winking, pouty lips, more winking and Song Mino falls head to toes once again. “Fine,” he rolls his eyes, takes some random trousers, a shirt and a jacket, slips his feet in a pair of shoes, cellphone and car keys in one of his pockets.  He leaves a sloppy kiss on Taehyun's lips, whispers I'll be right back, smiles at him and he's out of the door. Taehyun claps happily and sits against the bed headboard, waiting for his beloved strawberries. But after five minutes, they're not strawberries anymore. They're now chips and fried chicken. A rapid call on Mino's phone, some more phone-pouting and sweet words, kisses smacked on the receiver, and a couple of you know I love you right? later Mino is heading back to buy fried chicken and chips, eating the now useless strawberries in the meantime. This goes on for a good hour, fried chicken turning into ice-cream turning into pizza turning into hamburgers turning into strawberries and ice-cream at some point. Mino knows the path by heart for he spent the last hour driving up and down the same road and either eating or throwing everything that Taehyun didn't want anymore, smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee too many to keep himself awake, smacking back kisses on the receiver, falling head to toes ten times for a certain pouty voice and asking what does the princess want this time when they've come to the nth request (Taehyun thinks he is the princess and plays the broken diva role, while actually Mino was referring to their little girl, who's certainly the evil mind behind all those weird craving). It's almost 5am when he finally gets back home, two bags full of whatever has come to Taehyun's mind.  He goes upstairs, enters their room with a proud smile on his face for finally completing the hardest task of his life, and he's welcomed with a sleeping Taehyun laying on messy bedsheets, a hand still holding the phone while the other lays still on his round belly, not-so-big yet but outstanding for sure. The older man lets the bags slip from his hands, sink onto the floor, and can't do anything except smiling softly at that sight, putting the sleeping figure of Taehyun under the blankets, kissing his forehead and taking off his own clothes before joining him under the sheets and pulling him in a tight backhug.  He inhales the sweet scent of the younger man and kisses his ear with a love so big he himself can't even begin to understand it. “Goodnight prince and princess.”    –     168th day  The first time Taehyun feels the baby moving is also the first time he fully realizes a life is slowly growing inside of him and that kinda leaves him puzzled and scared for life. It all starts one night in August.  Mino gets home after another tiring day at work. He's working overtime lately and though it was his choice in the first place, he's starting to feel the consequences on his body. He gets upstairs, can hear the TV is on in their bedroom. He smiles as he opens the door and finds Taehyun chewing on some gummy bears while watching some TV show he must really like judging from his focused face. He's wearing an old pajama and the shirt is of course too small to cover his growing belly, that is left bare for more than half. The belly-button is starting to come out and that, as well as many other little details, reminds Mino of how near the Great Event really is. He clears his throat and the rough sound of his voice wakes Taehyun from his numbness. He throws the gummy bears aside and sits more straight against the headboard, says, “Hey,” smiling a little at the sight of his fiancé. Mino leaves the jacket on a chair and makes some steps towards the bed, placing one knee on the edge and then crawling near Taehyun. He takes the younger man in his arms and kisses his lips softly. “Hey. How have you been today?” Taehyun pouts, shoving some more gummy bears into his mouth, “Booored,” he mumbles while he angrily chews on the poor bears.  Mino's laugh echoes through the room. “Bored? Is that all? Sounds great,” he laughs a bit more, happy to see that Taehyun doesn't look as tired as usual. The more the pregnancy progresses, the more he feels tired and sleepy all the time.  Taehyun snorts, nodding at the TV. “How should I feel? I just eat and watch TV all day,” he rolls his eyes at his own self. “I wish I could still go to work,” he adds in a whisper, lowering his gaze to the blankets. Mino gently strokes his hair and looks out of the window, sighing a little. Taehyun has stopped working a couple of weeks before, since his current state doesn't allow him to do his job properly. He started coming home more and more tired everyday, and it worried Mino so much to the point where they had to sit down and talk the matter out. They agreed that maybe taking maternity leave was the best choice at that point. It had been kinda awkward to explain the situation to Taehyun's boss, but the belly was already showing so he had to believe him