Begin Again

Chapter 06

On his way home, Zhan stopped at the grocery store. He bought a small cake and a balloon that read "Congratulations!". 

When his husband arrived home that night a little past six Zhan surprised him with the cake and the balloon.  

"Congratulations! You're going to be a father, babe!" Zhan yelled as Xuan stepped into the apartment.  Xuan stopped abruptly.  Zhan didn't notice and instead just threw himself on Xuan and hugged him tightly.  He kissed his cheeks and then his lips.  Xuan was still frozen. "Babe?"

Xuan snapped out of it and hugged his husband back.  "That's such great news."

Zhan pulled him towards the dining room table where they sat down and enjoyed their delicious dinner. Xuan wasn't talking much, but it was okay because Zhan kept talking and talking about starting up the nursery in the guest room.  

"We should go see Meng Ziyi this weekend! What do you think, babe?"

"About that... I'm going to work Saturday.  I won't be able to go with you."

"Saturday again?" Zhan put his chopsticks down. "But you said you wouldn't work Saturdays anymore. You promised." 

"I know, but things have been chaotic at work.  You know how it is."          

"Well... No I don't know how it is.  I've never worked...so... don..."

"Don't start," Xuan snapped slamming the chopsticks on the table. Zhan's eyes began to turn red, so Xuan quickly added. "It's for the baby.  Don't be like that. Don't you want to give the baby the best life?" He quickly got up and caressed Zhan's face.  Zhan leaned into Xuan's hand and calmed down. "Come on let's clean this up and head to bed." Zhan submissively followed his husband, still a little shaken. 

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Over the next few months many things happened. Zhan met up with Yibo at the library to work on their management plan. He would always leave by 5 so that he could get home in time to prepare dinner for his husband. 

Like clockwork his husband would come a few minutes past 6 and they'd have dinner together, watch some tv and have sex. They began to talk about baby names for him or her. Since the day that they found out they were expecting a baby Xuan hadn't had another outburst.  Everything seemed to have gone back to normal. 

Classes were going well and Zhan was getting perfect scores on his assignments. The management project that he was working on with Yibo was also going extremely well. Every week they had to turn in what they had managed to complete and the professor always said positive things about their project.

Zhan also began to work on the nursery. Little by little the different things he ordered for the nursery were coming in. All he needed was some free time to start assembling everything. The nursery was now filled with many projects that needed to be done. Xuan had promised that during Christmas break he'd build it all.

In November, Meng Ziyi had an ultrasound appointment in which Zhan and Xuan were excited to go to because they'd find out the baby's gender.

When the morning of the ultrasound came Zhan reminded his husband not to forget the appointment as he gave him his lunch for work and kissed him goodbye. His husband nodded and left to work.

When Xuan left, Zhan took off his apron and began to get ready for the day. He had no classes and luckily neither did Yibo. They were going to meet in the library to work on their project. It gave him 4 hours of work before he had to be at the clinic.

He took the bus and when he got there Yibo was waiting for him at the entrance of the library. He was sitting on his motorcycle waiting for him to arrive. Zhan took a minute to admire the teenage boy before him. Yibo looked as if he had stepped out of a magazine ad, but he quickly snapped out of it when Yibo turned to look at him.