"Wukong!"
"Not happening, Noodle Boy."
"Ya-ting!"
"Hmmm, noooo…"
"Oh, oh, I know! Pigsy Jr!"
There was a loud choking noise from where Tang sat, quickly followed by coughing as he doubled over. "I'm fine!" he wheezed, waving off everyone's stares. "I'm fine!" After taking a few seconds to regain his composure, he straightened back up, taking off his glasses to wipe his eyes. "I don't - I don't know, MK, it's their baby, but it might be a little confusing for a bull or a dragon to be named…"
"Ohhhh, shoot, you're right," MK pouted. "Sorry, Dadsy."
Pigsy looked like he honestly wouldn't have cared either way, but he was tactful enough to not say so. Instead, he looked up and frowned. "Isn't it a little early to pick names?"
"Certainly not!" Red Son's voice cut in before anyone could respond. He slammed a thick book onto the bar, expertly opening it to a section called Week Sixteen. "According to What to Expect When Expecting A Demon Child, this is the most optimal time to discuss names! In fact, we're actually a little behind…" he muttered, going back a few pages and frowning. "We would have discussed names earlier, but we were a bit preoccupied with Mei's nausea-"
"Which is basically gone at this point, and I'm able to eat spicy foods no problem, so hah."
"...yes. Hah," Red echoed sardonically. "In any case, this is a fine time to discuss names. And we're all ears, because neither of us have found one good enough yet."
Bai He looked up from where she was doing her homework, her eyes sparkling. She'd been surprisingly excited when she'd found out Mei was expecting, immediately asking how far along she was, whether they knew if it was a boy or girl, could she baby-sit… It was a bit like dealing with MK all over again, only this time Mei wasn't being lifted off the ground and swung around.
Maybe it was just because Bai He liked babies, but the adults all quietly wondered if part of it was a desire to have siblings.
Or maybe she was just excited to no longer be the youngest in the group.
"Boy names, girl names, or unisex?" Bai He asked. "I know lots of nice names!"
"Oh, really?" Mei smiled at her, taking a bite of Saliva Chicken. She swore she almost felt a faint flutter in her belly as she swallowed, as if even the baby was happy with the spicy food.
"Yep! For a boy you can go with Feng or Shuchang, and if it's a girl you can go with Biyu, Dai Lu, or-"
"Waaaait a minute." Pigsy narrowed his eyes slightly. "Aren't those the main characters of Three-Day Cinderella?"
Bai He's mouth clamped shut, her cheeks darkening slightly. "Maybe."
"Hm. You're fourteen, you shouldn't be watching that," Tang muttered with a frown.
"No, it's okay, everyone in my class does!"
"What?"
"Hmmm… Sorry, I dunno," Mei interrupted before the situation could escalate. "Nothing is really jumping out at us yet." She smiled, turning in her seat towards Bai He, successfully hiding a wince at the movement. "If we decide to go with one of those, we'll give you the credit. 'kay, kid?"
Bai He nodded, satisfied as she went back to her homework.
Neither of them would admit it, but Mei and Red were actually glad everyone was offering up suggestions. Despite Red's insistence that they should think of names now, neither of them really… had one they liked.
Mei was never the kind of woman who picked out baby names well in advance, and Red Son hadn't idea either.
It definitely seemed like everyone else did, though. MK seemed to have a new name every day, Tang had pulled out a few books and epics for inspiration, even Sandy had ideas.
("Well, actually," he whispered to Mei over tea the day before. "That last one was Huntsy's idea. You didn't hear that from me.")
And while Pigsy pretended he didn't have any ideas, Mei couldn't help but notice the Big Book of Names half-hidden under the dish towel behind him.
Red Son grumbled about how nothing so far was good enough for their child, that they were running out of time, but no, this was fine.
They had months to go.
Names, they could put off.
Maternity clothes, they couldn't.
Mei's jeans weren't fitting anymore, and her sweat pants were starting to feel snug. With her stomach suddenly larger, they needed to add to her wardrobe.
Which was why one afternoon found them visiting the maternity shop at the mall, hovering over the tables and scrutinizing all the silly puns and cute pictures while employees smiled at them.
"Awww, how 'bout this one?" Mei pulled a shirt from the table and held it up. It was a simple white maternity shirt, with a construction barrier wrapping around the belly and the words Baby Under Construction.
Red Son's nose wrinkled in distaste. "That's…"
"You don't like it."
"No."
"Hmmm… I'm getting it anyway." Mei tossed the shirt into her shopping basket, and continued looking. "Oh, I really like this one." She held up another one; this one was fashioned to look like a chef's uniform. Across the belly were the words I'm Cooking Up A Baby.
"Mei, you and I both know-"
"-it's bad, I know." Mei grinned, adding it to the basket. "But my parents will think they're funny; they're just for the pictures, don't worry."
"I don't understand why humans started doing this," Red Son muttered, lifting another shirt and frowning at it. Warning: Touching My Belly Will Result In A Throat-Punch, this one read. "I've seen pregnant women in court with Mother, and they all just wore larger clothing. …actually, this one suits you," he added after a moment, putting the shirt he held into Mei's basket.
"Not everyone likes these. My parents do, though."
"I have a hard time picturing that."
"Trust me, so do I, but I've seen the photos. Mom had a bunch of these." She counted the shirts inside the basket. "Okay, this'll be good. Let's look at some actually cute stuff now."
'Cute stuff' was 'tunics and dresses.' Now, these were more to both their tastes. Red Son gravitated to the solid colors, the simpler designs, and loose but elegant dresses. Mei admired a few of those, but also found several t-shirt dresses with cartoon prints that she liked. She grabbed four different cute animal dresses before she could be convinced to move to another rack.
They both opted against the anti-radiation aprons. "I read somewhere that those are a scam," Mei muttered as they passed an entire row of unflattering aprons. "They've done studies, they don't even work."
Red hummed under his breath, watching as Mei subtly rubbed her side.
By the time they left the shop, they had two weeks' worth of maternity dresses and shirts, new socks and slippers, and three new pajamas.
When they arrived home, however…
"Did you tell your parents to send us maternity clothes?" Red Son asked, opening the first box. It was filled with brand-new clothes, most of which had the same silly phrases they'd been looking at earlier.
"No. You?" Mei asked, opening the second box. This one was filled with what at first looked like ordinary qipao and casual, modern hanfu. But when she pulled one of the red dresses out, she saw the extra fabric around the midsection.
"No. I told them both we were going shopping ourselves."
"...we cannot send any of this back."
"Oh, no. Absolutely not."
On the positive side, Mei didn't see them needing to go clothes-shopping for the rest of her pregnancy.
Mei grunted a bit as she settled into bed, lying on her side. Despite thinking the pains wouldn't hit until she was larger, her sides and her lower back were already starting to ache. The sides of her growing belly, in particular, would occasionally sting out of nowhere, or ache in a similar way to her breasts. Which still felt sore, incidentally.
She had brought it up to Red Son, of course. He'd made a note of it in the journal, then pulled the book out.
"As your body grows to accommodate the baby, you may experience pain in the sides of your belly as it stretches. Your lower back will also begin to ache, as your baby is starting to grow heavier, and at a rapid pace."
Well, Mei thought, grumbling as she tried to get comfortable, at least it's normal. Knowing that plenty of other people went through what she was, knowing that so far all of her symptoms were listed in the book, was a source of comfort to her. Nothing was out of the ordinary so far, and she hoped it stayed that way.
"Okay, kiddo," she grunted, finally finding a comfy spot. "Red's book says you'll be able to start hearing us soon, so: it's time for bed now, okay?" She couldn't really feel the baby, not exactly, but there were flutters deep inside that she noticed from time to time. She almost missed it if she wasn't focusing very hard, but… Yeah, she was sure it was them.
She paused for a moment, thinking. The book also said that if songs were repeated enough, the child would recognize them. She could start now, right?
Her hand gently rubbed over her stomach, then she shut her eyes and started to sing quietly. It was a song she had known as a toddler, meant to be sung fast and energetically, but her own parents had done it slower, turning it into a lullaby.
"The sun, the sun,
You bring us colorful light…
Today we grow under the sunlight,
Tomorrow we will create a colorful world…"
She heard the floor creaking slightly as Red Son entered their bedroom, then the mattress dipped. A lot more than normal.
Mei looked over her shoulder, unable to help smiling when she saw her husband. "Ohhhh, Bull Form tonight, huh?" she said, a teasing lilt to her voice.
Red's face darkened just slightly, and he sharply looked away. "I figured I could cover you better like this." He wasn't as large as his dad in this form, less than half his size, but he still towered over Mei. He had a point, too, Mei had to admit. On the occasion he did use his bull form, he effortlessly curled around her so she was surrounded by warmth. It covered much more room than the form she and everyone else was used to. "Is that alright with you?"
"Definitely. I'm stupidly sore," she complained light-heartedly. She faced forward again, exhaling in relief as she felt Red Son settle behind her and pull her to him. Heat immediately soothed her aches, no matter where they were, and she felt like melting into the bed. "That's better…" she sighed, humming as she felt one of his larger hands rest on her abdomen.
"Were you singing just now?"
"Uh-hm," she murmured, focusing on the warmth. Her eyes closed as she snuggled against him, pressing her face deeper into her pillow. After the eventful day they'd had, and with the warmth around her now, she felt she was already falling asleep. "My parents sang that one to me. I thought it'd be nice if this one had lullabies, too."
"...that'd be nice."
"Red?"
"Hm?"
"Do you have a lullaby, too?" Mei's voice was quieting, her question punctuated with a yawn. "Do you remember?"
"You're tired, Dragon Girl."
"Hmmm…"
"...do you even remember asking me a question just now?"
Mei wanted to answer, but she felt too warm and relaxed. And it was just so nice to be back in bed. She managed a tiny noise of affirmation, then sank into a dreamless sleep.
It was a deep, rumbling voice that roused her some time later.
"The moon is bright, the wind is quiet,
The tree leaves hang over the window."
Mei opened her eyes a crack. The bedroom had been well-lit when she'd first settled in, but now the lights were all off. Despite that, it wasn't dark - there was a glow coming from behind her to gently light up their surroundings, like a fire.
Red Son must have gotten up to get the lights while she was asleep.
"My little baby, go to sleep quickly,
Sleep, dreaming sweet dreams."
The voice continued, very quietly as if the owner didn't want to wake her. At first, Mei's sleep-fogged brain struggled to determine who it was, what was happening.
Then she realized the voice was coming from behind her, and above her head. There was a solid wall of warmth pressed against her, a furry and muscular arm draped gently over her, and a broad hand very softly stroking her stomach.
Red Son had a lullaby after all.
"The moon is bright, the wind is calm,
Gently moving the cradle."
His voice was soothing. The song was soothing.
With a faint hum, Mei closed her eyes again, resting her hand over the top of Red Son's own. As she fell back asleep, his voice continued to gently rumble.
"Mother's baby, close your eyes,
Sleep, sleep, dreaming sweet dreams."
