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Sitting on the ground, surrounded by scraps of wrapping paper, Jun huffed, seeing the two unwrapped Christmas gifts in front of him. He didn’t remember gift wrapping being this hard. Minghao made it look so easy.
Normally, he and Minghao would be done wrapping gifts; he and Minghao were good at that: buying gifts early, wrapping them, putting them under the tree, and being done with gifts a week or two early. It set a nice mood to their house in light of the holiday season. Plus they enjoyed seeing their kids eyeing the gifts and discussing what was inside.
But these gifts were custom made by a friend of theirs, and they had just gotten it done the day before, so Jun had to sneak away from putting their kids to bed to quickly wrap them.
He sighed, grabbing the roll of wrapping paper once again. He laid out the shiny gold wrapping paper and put the rectangle box on top.
As Jun started to enclose the box inside the wrapping paper, his focus narrowed.
Corner covered. Tape. Side Covered. Tape. Oh wait… it fell off. More tape. Okay. Flat side covered. Tape. Other side… wait… WHAT?
Jun looked at his work and saw that one side of the present had too much wrapping paper. Jun groaned before he carefully pulled it off, cut it, and then attempted to tape it, only to find that it was now too short.
“Aish!” Jun exclaimed, pulling all of the wrapping paper again in an attempt to try to wrap the present again.
It was already his third time! At this point it was just a waste of time and wrapping paper, and he should probably wait for Minghao to do it.
Just then, the door suddenly opened. Jun was ready to hide the presents, but was relieved to see that it was only Minghao.
“Are the kids asleep?” Jun asked.
“Yep,” Minghao said, sitting down next to Jun, “After you left to wrap the presents, I read them a story. They fell asleep pretty quickly after that. Seungcheol and Jeonghan’s holiday party must have tired them out really well.”
“That, and they’re probably crashing from all of the sugar they had. They had a lot of the cookies Mingyu brought. Plus, I caught Seokmin sneaking them, and all of the kids frankly, some extra candy.”
“Of course he was,” Minghao said, playfully his eyes, “How’s wrapping going, babe?”
“Not good,” Jun replied, “I can’t figure out why the wrapping paper and the sides won’t match up.”
Minghao softly laughed.
“Here, let me help you.”
Minghao grabbed the scissors and tape from Jun’s side and started to measure the wrapping paper. Jun watched as Minghao carefully folded the wrapping paper along the sides, measuring it, and cutting it precisely before putting the tape on. He put the finished one aside and did the same for the other gift. In a matter of time, there were two newly wrapped presents sitting in front of them.
“See? That wasn’t so hard,” Minghao said, putting the last piece of tape on the box, “Luckily I was here to help. When you wrap Christmas gifts, there’s usually more tape on that box than wrapping paper.”
“Hey!” Jun exclaimed. “Give me a little bit of credit. At least I try.”
Minghao playfully smiled before leaning onto Jun’s shoulder.
“I’ll give you points for that.”
Jun beamed. He took the moment to wrap his arm around Minghao’s waist, resting it on Minghao’s stomach, where their baby was sleeping.
“How’s you and baby lately?”
Minghao put his hand on top of Jun’s.
“We’re doing fine. We’re getting closer to the second trimester, so the morning sickness isn’t as bad, which is always good. I’m not a fan of puking everything out all the time.”
“That’s always good to hear.”
Jun started rubbing his stomach more. He furrowed his eyebrows, and Minghao understood why, because he was shocked too when he first felt it. At just ten weeks, Minghao already had a baby bump. Granted it was a small one, but Jun of all people would be the first one to notice.
“You already have a bump?” Jun asked
“Yeah,” Minghao replied, “It surprised me too, since it wasn’t like that for Bojing and Chengli.”
“I remember. Bojing wasn’t until week sixteen. Chengli wasn’t until week thirteen. The number is just getting lower and lower.”
“It really is. I wasn’t expecting it either; one day I just woke up and it was there. I was hoping the kids wouldn’t notice it. I didn’t want them questioning before we gave them their Christmas gifts.”
“And luckily they didn’t. It would ruin the whole surprise,” Jun said, “Do you feel any movement yet?”
“If baby’s tossing and turning in there, I can’t feel it. They’re too small for now. Sometimes I think I feel something, but it’s all just in my head.”
“You’re too excited,” Jun teased, “I know how much you love feeling the baby kicking.”
Minghao smiled before looking down at his bump, rubbing his hand with Jun’s.
“I’m so excited to tell the kids.”
“Me too. I bet they’re going to love it, Chengli especially. She’s been asking for a sister.”
“Yeah, I know,” Jun said, chuckling after, “For her sake, I hope the baby’s a girl.”
Minghao let out a soft laugh before he sleepily smiled, making himself more comfortable. Jun looked down at him with a fond smile.
“Let’s get to sleep. I have a feeling the kids are going to wake us up early tomorrow.”
Minghao nodded before Jun helped him up from the floor. After the two changed into their pajamas and went through their nightly routine, they laid in bed and pulled the blanket over them. Jun turned off the lamp before laying down next to Minghao.
Jun wrapped his arm around Minghao’s waist, pulling him closer and resting his hand on Minghao’s new bump.
“I love you both so much.”
“We love you too.”
And with that, Jun closed his eyes, and he slowly drifted off into sleep.
___
“Are they awake? Should we wake them up?” A small, high-pitched voice asked.
“I don’t know! What do you think I am? Some sort of… daddy and papa mind reader?” Another high-pitched but boy-ish voice asked.
“Are you?”
She then gasped.
“Can you read minds, Bojing? That’s so cool!” She squealed.
“Shhh, Chengli! You’re too loud!” Bojing immediately scolded.
Minghao softly chuckled, hearing the conversation between his two kids. He slowly turned to Jun, who was slowly waking up. Once his eyes were opened, he sleepily smiled.
“Good morning,” Jun greeted.
“Good morning,” Minghao replied, “And Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas indeed,” Jun agreed, accompanied with a kiss on the forehead.
“Our kids are at the door, debating whether to wake us up or not. Should we let them?” Minghao asked.
Before Jun could reply, the door opened and hit the wall. They ran in and tried to shake their parents awake.
“Daddy! Papa! Wake up!!” Their four-year-old daughter, Chengli, exclaimed. “It’s Christmas! It’s time to open presents!”
“Yeah!” Their six-year-old son, Bojing, agreed. “Let’s go downstairs!!”
When Minghao and Jun didn’t move, they proceeded to climb on the bed and jump on the both of them.
“Daddy! Papa! Hurry!” Chengli said.
Feeling more of the weight on Minghao’s side of the bed, Jun shot up. He looked over and saw the two climbing on top of Minghao, who was shielding himself with the blanket, trying to tickle him.
“Hey, get off of papa,” he said, almost too sternly, “You’ll hurt him.”
And the baby.
“But papa’s sleeping. We need to wake him up,” Bojing explained.
“Don’t worry; Papa’s up, now get off of the bed.”
Despite their whining to make sure their papa was up, the two obediently got off of Minghao and stood by the bed.
“Can we go open presents now? Please daddy?” Chengli asked.
Jun sighed.
“Yes. Go brush your teeth and wash your face. Bojing, help your sister. Papa and I will make food, then we’ll open presents. Okay?”
Okay!” They both exclaimed as they ran to the bathroom, giggling.
Once the door closed, Minghao peeked out from under the blanket.
“Snapping at the kids now, Junnie? I didn’t think you would be that protective of us,” Minghao teased.
“They were jumping on you, Hao. I don’t wanna take any risks, you know?” Jun replied.
Minghao giggled.
“I know. You’re like this for every pregnancy, and it’s good that you are. You care extra for us, and I appreciate that,” he replied with a smile, “Let’s go make breakfast. I’m sure the kids are aching to open their gifts.”
“Judging by how they barged into our room, they definitely are.”
Minghao giggled again before he stood up from the bed. They changed before they went to their bathroom, quickly brushed their teeth and washed their face. Before walking out, they grabbed the gifts they wrapped last night. They walked out, hiding the gifts behind the couch, before heading to the kitchen. While they cooked, Minghao caught sight of Bojing and Chengli shaking their gifts and guessing what was inside of them.
After eating breakfast, they headed to the living room. Once they were settled, they started opening gifts.
Bojing was pleased to see the new dragon figurines he wanted, and so was Chengli with the Frozen toys she asked for. As Minghao opened his gift, he was happy to see some new clothes he could wear during his pregnancy. Jun was just as happy to see that Minghao had gifted him the hotdog griller he talked about wanting (jokingly, but Minghao didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to buy it).
When all the gifts were opened, Minghao looked at Jun, who nodded as he took out his phone to take a video. Minghao then reached behind the couch and grabbed the last two presents.
“Bojing, Chengli, daddy and I have one more present for you two,” Minghao told the two.
“Yes! Give me give me!” Bojing exclaimed, grabbing his as Chengli did the same.
Jun sat down on the floor and continued to record as Minghao settled on the couch. The two quickly ripped off the wrapping paper and found the box under it. They opened the box and pulled out the content inside.
Bojing pulled out a shirt that said “big brother” while Chengli pulled out a shirt that said “big sister.” They looked up at their parents, confused.
“Big sister?” Chengli asked.
Once it fully processed for Bojing, he gasped before looking up at his parents, his jaw dropping to the ground.
“We’re getting a new baby?” Bojing asked.
Minghao smiled and nodded.
“Are you for real?” He asked again.
“Yes, Bojing,” Jun said with a smile, “We’re really having a baby.”
Once the news processed for Chengli, she smiled before she threw her hands up in the air, dropping her shirt, and cheered.
“A baby? Yay! We’re getting a new baby!” She cheered. “Where is it? When are we getting the baby?”
“Not for awhile,” Jun replied, “The baby’s sleeping inside papa’s tummy right now. The baby has to grow for a little bit before they get to be here with us.”
“Is it a sister?” Chengli asked.
She then gasped.
“Am I getting a sister for Christmas? Did Santa give me a sister?”
“We don’t know yet, sweetheart, if the baby is a boy or a girl, but I'm sure Santa read your letter and is working very hard on making sure the baby's a girl.”
Chengli pouted, disappointed at the answer. Minghao saw, and with sigh, he got off of the couch and sat down on the floor next to Chengli.
"When Santa tells me and daddy, we’ll tell you, okay? And even if you do end up with a baby brother, I'm sure it'll be just as fun as having a baby sister.”
Chengli eventually sighed and nodded.
“Okay.”
She then looked at Minghao’s stomach. She sat closer, taking a closer look at it
“So... the baby’s in there?” Chengli asked, poking his stomach.
Jun nodded. Intrigued, she sat even to Minghao. She put her small hand on top of Minghao's bump, rubbing it.
She then leaned her face onto his stomach as Minghao laughed.
“Babyyyy are you in there??” Chengli called out. “If you can hear me, I already love you soooo muchhh!!! I promise I’m going to be the bestest big sister ever.”
“The baby can’t hear you, Chengli,” Bojing said, rolling his eyes, “It’s too small.”
“Hey hey hey, we don’t know that. The baby could hear us, and we just don’t know it,” Minghao quickly countered, “Let your sister talk to the baby. You can too if you want, Bojing.”
“No I’m fine. I’ll talk to the baby when it’s out of your tummy.”
“Okay...” Minghao trailed off in a sing-song tone, “Just know your baby brother or sister would like to hear you talk to them.”
Jun smiled at the conversation as he stopped recording. He put his phone back into his pocket before walking over to stand next to Minghao.
“Can we go outside? I want to build a snowman,” Bojing said.
“I want to go too!” Chengli exclaimed, already standing up.
“We can go,” Jun replied, “Let papa and I help you two with your coats and snow pants.”
The two cheered before they ran to the door, already grabbing their coats, boots, and snowpants. Once Jun and Minghao helped them get on their winter gear, they put on their own coats before following their kids outside.
They stood on the side of their yard, smiling as they watched their kids roll the balls of snow to make a snowman.
As Jun watched, he wrapped his arm around Minghao’s waist, resting his hand on Minghao’s bump.
“Our family’s growing, and I’m excited.”
“I am too,” Minghao agreed.
Minghao continued to watch their kids. They had abandoned the snowman for the time being and were now throwing themselves into the snow, giggling with each time they landed in the snow. Minghao didn’t know if it was his hormones or not, but watching the kids play in the snow, the kids he and Jun made, made him emotional. And now with their third child living and growing inside of him, he was getting the family he imagined he would have.
Minghao lovingly sighed, leaning his head on Jun’s head as he rested his hand on top of Jun’s.
“Being an only child, I’ve always wanted to start my own family.”
Minghao looked up at Jun, fondly.
I’m happy it’s with you.”
Jun smiled, returning the fond look to his husband, knowing that that was another way he said “Thank you for giving me the family I’ve always dreamed of. I love you.” He turned his gaze to Bojing and Chengli, who were now throwing snow on each other. He then looked down at his hand that was on Minghao’s bump.
“I love you too, all of you.”
Minghao fondly smiled. He placed a quick kiss on Jun’s cheek, before the two turned their attention back to their kids, and continued to watch them play as it started to snow.