With the decision and promise made, Wang Bao’s treatment started. Wang Lei was no longer attending Wang Ba’s hospital visits or driving them since he was angry at Wang Bao and Nakai, believing they shouldn’t have gone through with the pregnancy since the risk was so high. Even though Wang Lei was mad, he kept it to himself, letting his Brother make his own decisions. Wang Bao had the first transfusion one week after the go ahead was made and he felt no different after. Since this procedure was still rare and had never been performed on pregnant people, it was hard to gauge how many transfusions would be needed.

 

By the time Wang Bao was receiving his second transfusion, two weeks later, his belly had already grown to have a small bump. Although Wang Bao still couldn’t feel any difference, he had noticed he wasn’t in much pain when compared to his first pregnancy. The back and stomach pain was still present every few days but he was able to continue on with his day, rather than being keeled over breathless with pain. After Wang Bao’s second transfusion, Wang Lei received a call from Wang Xei so he went over to see his little Brother.

 

“Xei is telling us to return to the palace, his lover is due within the week.”

 

Wang Bao wasn’t wanting to attend the birth but he knew it would end badly for him if he stayed home. Within two days, everyone was packed and ready to head back to Man country, neither one excited to return except for Hera and Karo. Hera was only happy to be in a plane since she could look out the window while Karo was excited since he had been told Rara would be in the country as well. Once landed and taken to the palace, Wang Xei put on a dinner for his Brothers and their families while finally introducing his lover to everyone.

 

Wang Xei had been so secretive about who he had become so smitten with, that no one knew who the person was and what they looked like. The dinner was ready at the exact time they arrived and they were escorted to the dining room by both Old LIu and Mr Liu. As they all filed into the large room, they saw Wang Xei sitting at the head of the table with a tall man sitting beside him, a slight frown on his face. From the far away view Wang Bao had as he walked into the room, it was obvious that Wang Xei’s lover was beautiful. With a shaved head, the man’s face was neither feminime nor masculine but a perfect balance between the two.This was only made more true, once Wang Bao took his seat beside the mystery man. Wang Xei was leaning close to the beautiful man saying something with a smirk when he noticed everyone was sitting down at the table.

 

“Oh, you’re all here. The food will be brought out soon.”

 

Without saying anything else, Wang Xei returned his attention to his lover, continuing whatever he was saying. Wang Lei was already in a bad mood thanks to Wang Bao’s pregnancy but now that he was back in the very place he thought he was free from, his anger was beginning to boil over. Once the food was placed down in front of them, Wang Lei slammed his hand onto the wooden table, glaring at Wang Xei who was right beside him.

 

“I’ve travelled too long for you to just ignore us! Introduce your lover quickly or I’m heading back home.”

 

Wang Xei slowly turned his head to glare at Wang Lei while his lover cleared his throat quietly, when he spoke his voice was soft yet firm.

 

“I’m sorry. I should’ve introduced myself before everyone left, my name is Tomi.”

 

Wang Lei already knew the man’s name as well as old address and job since he had to make sure Wang Xei was bringing in good company as King. When he heard Tomi introduce himself instead of waiting for Wang Xei, he gave the man opposite him a soft nod before eating. Karo patted Wang Lei’s thigh before speaking softly.

 

“Where’s Rara?”

 

Wang Xei heard Karo’s small question and peeked over at the boy with a sly smile.

 

“That little prince will arrive tomorrow.”

 

Karo quickly returned his gaze to his plate while everyone started eating, although the table was filled with people, the dinner was awkwardly silent with the feeling that everyone didn’t want to be around one another, Wang Xei and Tomi included. The only one who showed any excitement was Hera. Her chubby hand held her spoon tightly while slapping her bowl of lumpy pureed food, singing loudly as she did. Wang Bao tried to get her to stop since she was splashing food all over herself but her grip was too firm for Wang Bao to break. Nakai took over since Wang Bao was getting nowhere and swiftly tickled Hera’s sides before swiping the spoon away from her. Once Hera noticed her hands were empty, she shouted.

 

“Papa~ Daddy bad~”

 

Hera looked up at Wang Bao while pointing her sausage finger at Nakai and Wang Bao bent down, asking her with a smile..

 

“Is he?”

 

Hera tried to fling her body towards Wang Bao since she didn’t like Nakai at the moment. Unfortunately her high chair was stopping her from reaching her destination and she half cried and growled while hitting her chair. Wang Bao swiftly grabbed his napkin and wiped Hera’s dirty face and hands before leaning closer to her, rubbing her plump cheeks.

 

“It’s okay, Papa is right next to you.”

 

“No~ Up, Papa Up.”

 

Nakai took over again since Wang Bao wasn’t able to hold Hera, once Nakai had Hera out of her chair she calmed down before reaching out to Wang Bao, her face red with frustration. From the other end of the table, Wang Xei and Tomi had been watching silently before Tomi asked Wang Bao a question.

 

“Why won’t you hold her?”

 

Wang Bao hesitated before looking at Tomi, talking while diverting his gaze.

 

“When she leans against my stomach, it causes me stomach and back pain, usually I can hold her on my lap but at the moment, it’s difficult.”

 

Tomi looked down at Wang Bao’s stomach before looking back at his face, nodding softly before turning back to his plate. Wang Bao looked down at Tomi’s stomach as well, his baby bump wasn’t very noticeable, especially with him wearing an oversized blazer. It was hard to believe that Tomi was nine months pregnant and would be giving birth within the week. Tomi could feel Wang Bao’s lingering gaze and turned his head back to stare at Wang Bao, his voice never changing from the soft yet stern tone.

 

“Is there something you want to ask me?”

 

“....How do you tolerate my Brother? Does he not annoy you?”

 

Wang Xei cracked a smile as he looked at Wang Bao while Tomi’s plain expression never changed.

 

“Of course Xei annoys me, I don’t mind though.”

 

Wang Bao never thought he would see the day where someone could tolerate Wang Xei and he mentally applauded Tomi for being so brave and understanding. After Tomi answered, the dinner carried on in silence before everyone went to their separate rooms. Wang Bao laid with Hera on his bed while Nakai showered, Hera was finally in a good mood since she could lay on Wang Bao’s chest. When Nakai came back into the room with only a pair of underwear on, Wang Bao complained tiredly.

 

“He barely spoke to us during dinner, we could’ve just had dinner separately and it would have been the same.”

 

“I think he missed you and Lei more than he let on. He seems pretty excited to be a parent too, he couldn’t stop rubbing Tomi’s bump.”

 

Wang Bao scrunched his face since he didn’t recall any of this happening during the meal and he questioned whether Nakai had sat at the same table as him, or had been replaced by a clone. Nakai saw Wang Bao’s expression as he slid into the bed and he carried on explaining while pulling Wang Bao and Hera closer to him.

 

“Wang Xei likes to annoy people, did you not notice the light in his eyes when Lei scolded him for ignoring everyone. The more he annoys you, the more he loves you I bet.”

 

Wang Bao thought back to their alone time in the cabin and finally understood what Nakai was saying. Even though it all made sense now, it didn’t stop Wang Bao from frowning. 

 

. . . . . . . .

 

The next day, Wang Xei popped round to Wang Lei’s bedroom and wandered around the living area, the family of three were eating breakfast while Wang Xei minded his own business before he looked over at Karo.

 

“Sea Queen and Rara land in one hour, if you want, I’ll take you to the airport to see them, I’ll even take the two of you out for lunch and a play around the city.”

 

Karo’s eyes lit up at Wang Xei’s offer but he quickly shook his head when Wang Lei’s face turned black. Before Wang Lei could disagree, Nera spoke up and looked at Karo.

 

“Go on with Uncle Rat, we’ll see you and Rara later.”

 

Karo broke into a smile when he heard what Nera had said but didn’t run off as he looked back towards Wang Lei, waiting for his approval as well. Wang Lei gave a forced smile and nodded before Karo sprinted off towards Wang Xei and they left. When Nera was left alone with Wang Lei, he stood up to walk behind Wang Lei, his large hands moving to Wang Lei’s shoulders so he could start massaging the tense area. 

 

“You’ve been tense for a while now, are you ready to talk about it or do you want to self loathe for a little longer?”

 

“I’m not self loathing!”

 

Wang Lei stood up, shoving Nera’s hands away in the process. Nera simply cocked his eyebrow before pushing Wang Lei back into his chair then continued with his massage.

 

“This is why you should meditate, you wouldn’t hold onto things or take them on if you did.”

 

“I’ve told you this before Nera, I don’t need th-Oww~”

 

Wang Lei grimaced in pain as Nera pushed on one of his many knots that littered his shoulder blades, Nera kept pushing before massaging the tense area again, Wang Lei grunted in pain until the knot was gone. He thought Nera would stop after that but he only moved onto another one. Wang Lei shouted in pain for almost an hour until his back was completely relaxed, with no tense muscles. Afterwards Nera gave the top of Wang Lei’s head a kiss before helping him up.

 

“Why are you so angry? You’re usually not like this.”

 

“....Do you ever regret having a vasectomy? If we had never found Karo, would you have been fine with having no kids?”

 

Nera’s face fell and he sighed before pinching Wang Lei’s cheeks as if he was a child.

 

“That’s why you’ve been so difficult lately? I went through with that surgery because I wanted to not risk hurting you in the future. Besides, you never brought up kids so I figured that you didn’t want them, I was fine with or without them.”

 

Wang Lei slapped Nera’s hands away from his cheeks before leaning back against the table, his face no longer filled with bitterness.

 

“When I was at the hospital and listened to how Bao could literally die from this pregnancy, it made me want to kill Nakai again. But when I heard Bao wanted to go through with having twins, I almost lost it. Bao asked me if we had ever thought about having kids of our own and I wanted to scream at him, it’s as if he thinks of the pregnancies as no big deal or some small thing that can’t harm him.”

 

Nera listened to Wang Lei ramble before lifting the man’s chin so they could see eye to eye.

 

“I know you love Bao but it’s time you stop babying him, he is a grown man and has his own family now, let him make decisions for himself.”

 

Wang Lei was about to start rambling again but Nera had had enough and he threw Wang Lei over his shoulder, stating seriously.

 

“That’s it, meditation time!”

 

. . . . . . . . .

 

Nakai was taking Aggie and Hera for a walk around the palace grounds while Wang Bao laid around his room in the morning, he was enjoying his peace and quiet when he heard a knock on the door. When he pulled the door open, he was surprised to see Tomi. Wang Bao stood in the doorway staring at Tomi blankly until Tomi waved his hand in front of his face.

 

“Can I come in?”

 

“Oh, of course, sorry.”

 

Wang Bao awkwardly stepped out of the way while Tomi walked around him, heading for the sofa straight away. When Wang Bao had shut the door, he wandered around the room for a few seconds before noticing Tomi was looking at him weirdly, in the end he sat on the sofa as well and pushed the bowl of snacks towards his guest. Tomi side eyed Wang Bao before he started eating, once he had finished a handful of snacks he turned towards Wang Bao and spoke cautiously.

 

“When you found out you were pregnant, did it make you feel less of a man?”

 

“Uhh….Nakai had been telling me for a while that it would happen so I guess I was more surprised that he wasn’t lying to me.”

 

Tomi didn’t look pleased with his answer since his face fell into a slight frown. Wang Bao wanted to say something to comfort Tomi but before he could open his mouth, the man beside him started speaking. His words were shocking for Wang Bao.

 

“I don’t have a penis, I have female genitalia….. To some people I’m not actually a real man, when I found out I was pregnant I lost my mind since it was almost proving everyone right...That I’m not a real man...Do you know what that feels like?”

 

Although Tomi was hurt by whatever life he had lived before meeting Wang Xei, his body and expression were calm as if he no longer felt attacked by such things. Wang Bao blinked blankly at Tomi before shaking his head.

 

“Not in the way you’re saying, I have had the issue of people waiting for me to become my Mother. I have her face and until recently her temperament too. When I first met Nakai’s parents they were so unkind to me because they believed I was going to turn into a monster….Like my Mother.”

 

“How did you get over those expectations?”

 

Wang Bao met Tomi’s gaze and he felt an ocean of fear coming from them. All he could do was answer truthfully.

 

“I had help...It takes time too and a lot of work.”

 

Tomi looked at the ground before nodding slowly. There was a moment of calm silence between them before Tomi stood up and walked to the door.

 

“Thanks. Oh, about Xei, He’s happy that you and Lei have come back. You didn’t hear it from me but he’s been worrying about the two of you never coming back and going against his order. That’s why he called everyone here two weeks early.”

 

“Two weeks?!”

 

Tomi broke into a sly smile before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him without saying anything else.

 

. . . . . . . .

 

During those two weeks Wang Bao’s belly grew bigger than expected and he had to admit that he was pregnant to Wang Xei, though Tomi had already told him since he guessed it when they first met. After Tomi had come to Wang Bao for advice on the first day, Wang Bao found he was beginning to become close with the man. Since Tomi would get tired easily, he would usually sit around in the old garden that was outside Wang Bao’s previous room. Wang Bao would often join him since he enjoyed the view and liked being away from the rest of the palace. Most days the two men would sit silently together, enjoying whatever activity they had chosen to do that day paired with lots of food.

 

Occasionally they would share a few minutes of light conversation before falling into a peaceful silence again, Wang Bao found Tomi was quite reserved as a person and grew curious as to how such a person could willingly want to be with Wang Xei. After two weeks of seeing Wang Bao’s odd facial expressions, Tomi saw Wang Bao’s face screw up into a confused frown again and his interest was piqued too much to not ask.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Are you sure you like my Brother? He’s not very likeable really.”

 

Tomi laughed lightly under his breath while shaking his head.

 

“Xei is quite interesting to me, although he listens too much to his instinct, he’s quite similar to a puppy.”

 

Wang Bao’s face froze at the description and didn't say anything.when he saw Tomi stiffen, his eyes narrowing slightly before relaxing after a little while.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

Wang Bao leaned over to get a better look at Tomi since his face had begun to flush and beads of sweat ran down the side of his face. Tomi grunted out a yes while giving a short nod but it wasn’t believable. Wang Bao knelt down in front of Tomi and placed a hand over his.

 

“Is it the baby.”

 

There wasn’t any answer from Tomi for a few seconds before he looked away, as if ashamed. When he finally opened his mouth to talk, his voice was quiet.

 

“I think I’m going into labour….I’ve been having bad cramps since this morning.”

 

“What?!”

 

Wang Bao shouted before shooting up to his feet, his face frozen from shock.