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Their love blossomed in their teenage years. Zhongli was a year older than Xiao and they met stumbling upon each other in the school library just like a typical romance novel cliche. From the very first moment, something sparked between them that made them keep meeting each other in the library; their encounters were so constant that it wasn't too long before one day, at the same time, they asked each other out on a date. That day they laughed so hard that they were kicked out of the library because of the fuss they were making. And, well, how could they not laugh? They had the same idea and said it the same day to each other.
From that moment on, they knew they were made for each other.
Xiao was a small and very athletic person, so in the beginning, it would never have crossed Zhongli's mind that Xiao was a transgender person. In fact, Xiao was very happy when he admitted it because finally someone was looking at him as he really was. The unconditional support only further strengthened their love and Xiao managed to leave his abusive home sooner than he had planned being welcomed into Zhongli's family with open arms.
They probably married too quickly at the age of nineteen and twenty respectively. Zhongli's parents helped them buy a house and they settled in an affluent neighborhood while pursuing their studies at the college. They made a network of friendships between the college and the neighborhood so their social life was at its peak.
On the other hand, their life as a couple continued to blossom and grow stronger, not to mention the flame between them in their sex life.
They were a young couple in their mid-twenties, Zhongli had just finished college and got a stable job with which they could subsist and finish paying off the house and car loan; Xiao on the other hand, was in his last year of college and had a small job in a clothing store with minimum wage. They were living on just enough. That is why the plans to grow the family were not for the near future, they could not raise a baby when they still did not have a stable economy but they did want to have at least three children in the future.
However, during one of their passionate nights, Zhongli had a problem with the condom. It took him too long to realize it and much of the contents ended up spilling inside.
Xiao paled from just feeling the extra heat inside him.
“Zhongli…” he stammered. “I felt something…” he said, dizzy from his own haze of pleasure.
Zhongli looked at him puzzled. He could feel it too. “Me too…”
As they parted, there remained the evidence of the disaster their passion had caused.
Xiao didn't take birth control because he was afraid of the side effects. All he could do was hope and pray that fertilization had not occurred. He was so scared for the next few weeks that he took a pregnancy test; fortunately, it came back negative and a week later he got his period, lucky that his irregular menstrual cycle decided to show up to put him at ease.
It was one of the scariest moments they had ever experienced, but with the denial of a pregnancy, their lives returned to normal.
Xiao's graduation was a couple of months away, so they both decided to attend a party that one of their friends was throwing to relax. The next few months would be tough so they had to make the most of their free time.
It was past noon and Xiao was looking at himself in the mirror in the outfit he had chosen for the party. He looked good, as usual, but his belly was slightly fuller by a few inches. He pouted as he touched his flat belly hardened by his abs.
“Am I fat?” He asked Zhongli.
Zhongli looked at him and laughed, approaching Xiao and hugged him from behind. “Not at all. You still look just as slim and beautiful as ever.”
“I'm more plumped up.”
“Maybe.” he relented. “These last few months have been very stressful for you, maybe you've been overeating because of the stress? But you can't tell at all, you shouldn't worry about that. You're still so beautiful.” he said as he left a small kiss on Xiao's bare neck.
That made sense. “I have to go on a diet soon or it'll get worse.” he moaned.
“Don't obsess about it, love.” Zhongli kissed Xiao's cheek. “Are you ready to go out?”
With Xiao's affirmation, they left the room. Zhongli stopped by the kitchen to bring his 'ticket' for the party; the party had a homemade food theme where all guests should bring something made by their own hands to eat. Hu Tao's parties were always characterized by quirky themes but they had to admit that the result was always a lot of fun and enjoyable to spend time with friends.
Zhongli had better cooking skills than Xiao, he spent a whole day preparing his specialty; he prepared a larger portion so that Xiao didn't have to cook his own ticket. It wasn't that he didn't like to cook, but all his food felt very plain and empty, almost tasteless, no matter how much he spiced it up.
Xiao got into the car first while waiting for Zhongli to finish packing the food. He had a strange feeling in his body, after seeing his slightly wider belly he felt a little bad that he had gained extra weight; he had been following the same personal training sessions, but his food intake had perhaps increased. It was ironic that after encountering that minuscule problem, he would attend a party where the big purpose was to eat. Screw it! Zhongli told him that he still looked just as good as ever, so why should he have to worry about trifles? He was going to enjoy himself to the fullest during the party, he was going to eat like never before.
Zhongli climbed into the car in the driver's seat and kissed Xiao on the lips, smiling mischievously. “What happened? You look so energetic.”
“I make fun of myself.” he said with a smile. He kissed his husband back before replying again. “I was thinking nonsense, having gained a little bit of weight doesn't have to be so bad right? Besides, I want to eat today.”
“You want to eat?” Zhongli looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “But you're always so cautious about what you eat. You hardly like anything I haven't prepared.”
“I'm hungry today. There will be plenty of food, so why not take advantage of it?” Xiao laughed. “I'll go on a diet later, but I don't promise to follow it to the letter.”
Zhongli laughed as his smitten eyes met Xiao's. “You're adorable, my love.” Xiao rolled his eyes, his cheeks red. “I love you.”
“I love you too, silly.”
Xiao ate more than he thought he would during the party. Oh, but how could it have been any different? All of his friends cooked stupendously well, every bite a delicious treat. But, they were no better than Zhongli's food; he knew his husband's specialty very well and yet eating it during the party was the most heavenly taste he had ever tasted compared to the others. He wanted to eat more, but he couldn't finish it all by himself so he ended up overeating the food brought by the others.
Near the end of the party, he was more than satisfied and lingered sipping cocktails while chatting with the guests. He was never someone who was very social, but the confidence in his circle of friends was so great that he could unwind in total comfort. He also never used to drink alcohol, but having a large menu of various cocktails, how could he avoid it?
By the end of the event, he was a little dizzy and hot but not drunk. He said goodbye to the hostess along with Zhongli and they returned to the car to go home. Zhongli hadn't had anything to drink because he had to drive back home, Xiao had to drink for him and didn't avoid teasing him about it.
“You had a lot of fun today.” Zhongli said as he started the car. “You're a little flushed, are you feeling okay?” The man smiled with a bit of concern.
“Definitely.” Xiao replied with a smile. “I had too much fun.” His smile widened even more. “I'm even in the mood.”
“In the mood?”
“Yeah, you know.”
“Oh.” Zhongli turned complicit in a heartbeat. “Don't tell me that now, I have to drive with concentration.” He teased.
“Then you'd better hurry.”
They didn't live too far from Hu Tao's house. They arrived around half past nine in the evening. As soon as Zhongli finished washing the dishes they had used, Xiao caught him in a deep kiss and clumsy steps to get to the bedroom.
Clothes were left lying on the stairs and by the time they reached their room, both were already half-naked. With nimble hands Zhongli finished removing Xiao's sports bra and lovingly smoothed his breasts. They felt softer and bigger in size than normal. Not ignorant of this, Zhongli decided to tease:
“Wow, you're growing up.”
Xiao blushed excessively. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, them.” He squeezed Xiao's breasts a little harder, playing with the most sensitive areas. “They're bigger.”
Oh, now that he saw his breasts in Zhongli's hands, they did look bigger. Normally, they would barely cover part of the man's hands with how flat they were, now they were able to fill half of them. They had really grown!
“Is your period close?” he asked gently, massaging and making Xiao walk towards the bed.
Xiao moaned and shrugged his shoulders. His period hadn't come in a couple of months, but that wasn't something abnormal in his life; his menstrual cycle had always been this irregular. But if his breasts were a little bigger it must be because it would be coming down soon, which was good news.
“Ngh, Zhongli…” he complained. “Stop touching.”
The caresses and foreplay were intensifying until they advanced to the next stage.
Maybe it was the heat of the alcohol, drowsiness, or just because they hadn't had sex in a while, but Xiao found himself a little uncomfortable in the middle of penetration. Because of his discomfort, they made slow, sticky love, kissing all the while in a comfortable position. The old bed creaked as the room became witness once again to their love.
They had fallen in love when they were so young and they were still just as much, if not more, in love than they were then.
Once they came down from the heights of their pleasures, Zhongli took care of the cleaning. They were both left in clean underwear. He had to use the greatest of his strength to control himself after he finished and found Xiao wearing his shirt; it was so big on him and he looked exceedingly adorable and sexy.
Xiao was looking a little pale, a fact he couldn't ignore and his concern escalated several notches.
“Are you okay?” Zhongli asked taking his place on the bed next to Xiao.
“Are you asking about what happened before?” he sighed. “I'm fine.” He assured. “I told you it was uncomfortable because we hadn't done it in a while.” He smiled.
“We literally just did it last week Xiao.”
“That's long enough to consider that a lot has passed.” He pouted a little. “But if it wasn't that, it could have been the alcohol or the fact that I keep feeling too full from all the food I ate.”
“If you weren't feeling well, we should have stopped. You didn't have to overstrain yourself.” Zhongli sighed. “You look a little pale.”
“I didn't overstrain myself, I wanted to.” Xiao left a gentle caress on Zhongli's face before hiding into his chest in the form of a hug. “Besides, I really like seeing you having pleasure. It's much better when I'm the one causing it, I didn't want to stop.”
Zhongli laughed more relieved at his love's words. “But I like more to make sure you are feeling it too. If you were too uncomfortable we should have stopped.”
“Do you have any idea how much I love doing it for you? You have to let me, you can't take this away from me, silly.” he sighed softly. “Really, I'm fine. Let's go to sleep.”
Yielding to Xiao's whimsical requests, Zhongli stopped asking and settled down to sleep cuddled up to his husband.
At some point during the night, Xiao separated from Zhongli and slept closer to the edge of the bed. At midnight, Xiao awoke with a severe cramp in his belly. It was an intense pain that shot from his belly to his lower back in waves of pause and return.
At first he thought it was an upset stomach, after all, he had eaten too much at the party. He tossed and turned in bed several times trying to find a comfortable position to relieve himself, but the pain always ended up coming back. He lay on his back again and the pain intensified to the level of bringing out whimpers and rattling his breathing.
Come on, he had never been this weak to pain but this was another level. Time was only making it worse. He had never felt anything of this magnitude.
Cramping, Xiao sat up in bed. He groaned in pain and clutched his belly with one hand. With the other, he moved Zhongli to wake him up.
“Zhongli.” He called. “Zhongli…” he called again in a more pained voice.
Zhongli woke up and moved lazily on the bed. Xiao's pained moans blotted out the haze of sleep.
“Love, what's wrong?” he asked worriedly, holding Xiao's shoulders. The young man was trembling excessively, hunching over from the pain.
“It hurts... my stomach.” He stammered. He gasped shakily and let out another whine again. The pain was becoming more and more unbearable. “You have to take me to the hospital, now.” He whined.
“Okay, okay, easy.” Zhongli jumped up from the bed. “Breathe love, I'll take over now.”
“Hurry up!” Xiao shouted and lay down on the bed in a fetal position while holding his stomach.
Ah, it really was too bad to have eaten too much and this is his punishment.
Zhongli got dressed first, messily, and then put Xiao's pants on. He didn't even have time to put on his shoes, so he lifted Xiao in his arms and went straight to the car. He didn't want to imagine the worst scenario but his nerves were on edge listening to the love of his life feel so much pain.
He drove as fast as possible to the nearest hospital. Upon arrival, he pulled Xiao out of the passenger seat and rushed to the emergency room. Given the severity of Xiao's pain, he was treated immediately. Zhongli had to stay and wait for news.
He was so frightened by Xiao's condition that he sought support in the group chat they had with their friends.
«Xiao is in the hospital. Very severe pain in the stomach» he messaged.
Those who were awake immediately responded with messages of concern and theories about what might have happened, mainly relating it to the party food.
«Has he been treated yet? I hope it's nothing serious»
«Oh no, did he have a bad meal? He ate too much today :(» Hu Tao messaged.
«He drank today and he doesn't usually do that. The alcohol might have gone bad for him. I can't believe it betrayed me» Venti messaged.
As soon as he told a little more about how he had already been treated in the emergency room and was awaiting news, his friends began to debate whose fault Xiao's discomfort had been; someone had to have prepared a meal wrong and they were ranting in the chat room. Zhongli sighed and locked his phone to try to relax as he continued to wait for news from the doctor.
The nurses laid Xiao down on a gurney and the doctor began to ask him questions about what he had done before the pains started. Barely Xiao was able to answer, the pain had him on the verge of tears and his throat constricted.
“I attended a party with friends, it was about food. I ate too much.” He tried to explain. “I ate until I felt satisfied…” he let out a whimper of pain.
“Okay.” the doctor said.
Xiao was very hesitant to say anything else, but if that had anything to do with what he was feeling, it was better for the doctor to know. “I also had sex... Soft, not hard” he groaned. “Vaginal. I'm transgender.” he clarified being aware that there was no way to tell at a glance.
“Okay.” the doctor's expression did not change but Xiao felt very embarrassed to admit in front of strangers that he had sex. “We'll take a blood test to check for infection while we do the physical exam.”
Xiao nodded and shrieked consent several times so that once and for all the doctor would find a way to stop the pain. The nurse drew blood and sent it to the lab while the doctor palpated in his belly. Xiao's belly was hard and showed greater pain in the lower belly area accompanied by pain in the lower back. A little suspicion appeared in the doctor's mind.
“Okay Xiao, we will do a gynecological examination to rule out other suspicions.”
Xiao nodded several times and settled in as best he could while the doctor gave the nurse directions to get everything ready for the gynecological exam. His pants and underwear were removed, he spread his legs and let the doctor inspect.
He didn't really think the problem was coming from there because the pain was higher up.
“Oh, I see the head.” the doctor said.
The... what?
The nurse who had gone to the lab came back with the results, confirming something the doctor had already checked with her own eyes.
“Doctor, the test indicates that the gentleman is pregnant…”
Pregnant!? That couldn't be possible!
“Yes, I've figured it out.” the doctor replied. “He's in labor, you can see the baby's head. Prepare the delivery room.”
The nurse nodded and stepped back again as Xiao tried to process what was happening.
“How many weeks pregnant are you?” the doctor asked.
“I don't know!” He shrieked and hunched over from what he now knew, a contraction. “I didn't know I was pregnant!”
The doctor sighed. “Okay, first we need to calm down. Let's concentrate on getting this baby out before we ask all the obvious questions we have” Xiao nodded. “Are you accompanied?”
“My husband…”
The doctor nodded and gave the indication to go get the husband.
Xiao still couldn't believe it and the pain only increased.
Zhongli was still waiting. He was anxious that he had not received any news. He jumped up when he heard his name being called through Xiao's name. He approached the nurse and asked with his voice trembling:
“How is he?”
“Your husband is in labor. We moved him to the delivery room. The baby will be born soon.”
He went blank for less than a second. He didn't have time to process the news, he was only concerned about Xiao's condition. The nurse helped him get ready and took him to the famous delivery room. His throat was tight, ignoring as much as possible what was really going on.
He found Xiao on a large gurney in hospital clothes. Everything was prepared and the young man was with legs wide open as the doctor asked him to push and to control his breathing. Come on, he never had lessons on how to cope with childbirth, they were being a bit hard on him by demanding so much from him! He felt horrible to see his love suffering so much.
Xiao's eyes strayed in his direction. He was begging him with his eyes to come closer. Oh, he hadn't realized that from the shock he had stayed in the same place. He quickly walked over to his husband and hugged him. Xiao clung tightly to his body and held back a scream as he pushed once more.
“That's it Xiao, just a little more.” the doctor encouraged hiding between his legs.
“You're doing well honey.” Zhongli kissed his head as he gave him gentle caresses. “You're doing great.”
Thanks to Zhongli's presence, Xiao tried harder to pull this baby out of his body. He pushed a little harder, pushed until he turned red but finally the baby's head came out and consequently, the rest of the body.
The cry of the newborn burst through the room.
Zhongli was the first to look at the baby as Xiao caught his breath. He never let go of his husband but his eyes marveled at the new life that came unexpectedly.
“It's a girl.” the doctor said. “The placenta came out too, which is perfect.” the nurse took the baby girl and wrapped her in clothes. “We'll take her to check her condition while we finish up here.”
Ah, Xiao would have to wait to have his turn to meet the reason for his pain.
He was very tired, they had left him confined in a personal room and Zhongli was accompanying him. An hour and a half had passed, and they still had no news of the baby. To have been a surprise, Xiao was very worried about her health. He didn't have any prenatal care, how did he know if the baby was healthy? Shit, he even drank alcohol...
He didn't know he was pregnant. He had taken a pregnancy test and it came back negative, he even got his period. He had no symptoms and, heck, his belly didn't even grow a little! How was he supposed to know? Maybe he got pregnant after that incident?
“I got really scared.” Zhongli said next to him. He had climbed onto the gurney to hug him and hold him close to his chest under protection. “I can't believe it…”
Xiao snorted. “Well, it looks like that little one stayed well hidden inside me without giving even a sign.”
“Did you get to feel movements?” he asked. “Do you think she's premature?”
“I don't know.” Xiao curled up. “I didn't see her, I can't feel this is real... Did I really give birth?”
His questioning was interrupted with the arrival of the doctor. Not only did the doctor arrive, the little surprise came in her arms tucked up and calm; possibly sleeping.
Xiao shivered at the sight of her.
“Hello again.” The doctor greeted, approaching Xiao. She carefully handed the baby to him. Xiao clutched her awkwardly, looking down at her and then back up at the doctor. “It's a completely healthy full term baby, she has ten fingers and ten toes.” She smiled as she gave them the information on the baby's size and weight.
Full term? She was nine months in his belly with no signs? The baby moved in his arms. Shit, it was too real. And she was so big! Did she really come out of him? Out of his flat belly?
“Excuse me…” he said sheepishly. “How could I possibly have been pregnant? I... I had no symptoms, I didn't even have a belly, how did she hide?”
“It was probably due to the baby's position.” the doctor explained. “It could also be that your belly didn't grow because it's firmer than normal.”
Ah, Xiao supposed that made sense. He asked a couple more questions, mainly about the baby's health, but everything was in order despite the lack of prenatal care. With doubts resolved, the doctor left the couple alone.
Both Xiao and Zhongli let out a deep sigh as reality dawned on their shoulders.
They had a baby. A real baby. That wasn't in their plans, at least not for years to come. Xiao looked at Zhongli with anxiety rising sharply.
“Zhongli…” He whined in anguish. “We have nothing for her. We have no clothes, we have no diapers... God! We don't even have a crib!”
Zhongli blinked in puzzlement at Xiao's concerns, but then let out a hearty laugh.
“I'm serious, what are you laughing at?” He pouted.
“I really love you so much.” he replied and looked at him with the same smitten eyes as always. “We literally just had a baby out of nowhere and all you can think about is the things we're going to need to take care of her.” He smiled. “You're such a good person.”
Xiao blushed and looked down at the baby. “Well... I've already given birth to her. What else do I have to worry about besides how to take care of her?” He looked at the little bracelet the baby had that said 'Xiao's baby'. He felt his stomach tickle and looked at Zhongli out of the corner of his eye. “She's our daughter…”
“Yes, she's our daughter…” carefully Zhongli placed his hand on his husband's chin and turned him toward him, leaving a short but soulful kiss. “She's beautiful, just like you.”
He pursed his lips. “What do you say? She looks just like you. If there were no witnesses to what happened today, she perfectly would have passed for only yours.”
Zhongli laughed. “I love you so much.” He left another kiss on Xiao's lips and then looked down at the little girl, bringing his hand down to caress her little head. “I love her too.”
Xiao returned his gaze to the baby and smiled warmly. “Me too.” He sighed and accompanied Zhongli's caresses on the little head. “But you could have waited a couple of years, huh? Or at least given signs.”
The baby opened her little eyes and they both gasped. She began to move in the direction of Xiao's chest.
“Oh.” Zhongli arched an eyebrow. “It looks like she's hungry.”
“What?” Xiao swallowed hard. “You mean...?”
“I can see why your breasts grew.” He joked.
“Zhongli…” he growled.
Despite his embarrassment and shyness, he couldn't deny the obvious. Shit, he would have liked to at least have had more than half an hour's mental preparation to assimilate that he would have to nurse a baby. Zhongli helped him rearrange his clothes to pull his breasts out and offer one of them to the baby.
“Wait.” Xiao said. “How sure are we that milk will come out?”
“We have to check.” Zhongli grinned mischievously.
“What do yo–? Zhongli!” he shrieked.
Zhongli's hand carefully cupped the offered breast and squeezed gently. From the nipple came a small trickle of milk.
“There it is.” Xiao was flushed to the ears. “If you'd let me touch you more today, we'd have found out earlier.”
“That would have only added a couple of hours to the realization that we were pregnant.” Zhongli nodded and kissed Xiao's cheek.
“Give it a try, she's waiting for you.”
Xiao sighed and pulled the baby closer. She attached her mouth to the nipple quite efficiently, sucking gently. Xiao thought it would be an overwhelming sensation, but it was quite the opposite. This was his baby, feeding her and having her so close made him want to protect her from everyone.
“You look beautiful.”
“This is... wonderful,” he admitted. “It's not uncomfortable. It doesn't hurt... it's…” Xiao smiled. “I still can't believe it.” He sighed. “Did something that big really come out of me? The only thing that came in and out of me was you, well, you're big but not that big…” Zhongli cleared his throat. “What?”
“That's a bit of a comparison…” he laughed. “You're so funny.”
Xiao rolled his eyes. “I'm just telling the truth,” he said. “Oh, you know... we don't have a name for her either.”
“That's true.”
“But... I can't think of anything right now.”
“That's normal, you're tired. You gave birth.” Xiao sighed. “Rest first, in the morning we can think of everything else.”
A vibration from his phone caught Zhongli's attention. It was a message in the group chat asking about Xiao's health. Oh, he had forgotten.
The baby let go of Xiao's chest, asleep, so Xiao went back to fixing his clothes.
A mischievous thought crossed Zhongli's mind.
“I want to take a picture of you two.” He said.
“A picture? Now?”
“Yes. I want a memory of this moment.”
“I don't think you're going to forget it any time soon.”
“Can you?” Zhongli looked at him with longing eyes.
“Okay.” He agreed. “But afterwards, I want to sleep.”
Xiao posed awkwardly and smiled nervously holding the sleeping baby. Zhongli took many pictures, too many, and not just in that position. Then he took pictures of the baby. When he was satisfied, he took the baby in his arms and left the whole gurney for Xiao to sleep. Oh, it was heavenly, nothing hurt anymore and sleep hit him fast.
Zhongli snuggled his daughter to his chest with one hand as he typed in the group chat.
«Hi, Xiao is fine» he messaged. Without waiting for a reply, he wrote another message. «The baby is also fine» and attached the photo as evidence.
Then, he turned off the phone when an excessive vibration came on.
He looked at his daughter again. She was so small, so beautiful, and she was theirs. There were a lot of problems to work out but for now they were going to enjoy the new surprise chapter in their lives.