There was a problem.

A big problem.

And if it didn't get solved soon, Mei suspected she'd explode and take the whole damn street with her.

"Something's wrong with this apple," Mei growled, poking at the cut apple slices she held in a baggie. The set-up made her feel like a kid on a field trip, but she had wanted apples. Specifically sliced Granny Smith apples. And Pigsy insisted that if she was going to go shopping with him and Tang that afternoon, then she was carrying them in a baggie, because there was no way she was getting apple juice on her clothes and complaining about the stickiness.

Mei had been about to argue that she wouldn't complain about something so ridiculous, but then remembered that the day before she'd been grumbling about how the sun was too bright and it was pissing her off.

So. Maybe he had a point.

Pigsy gave her a Look. "There's nothing wrong with it. It's not even bruised."

"No, no, it's. Mrgh!" Mei groaned, tossing the half-eaten apple slice back in the bag with a bit of force. "Something's wrong."

"What do you mean wrong?" Pigsy's tone was frustrated, but there was an undercurrent of concern. Any time someone in their family felt 'wrong,' it was cause for concern already.

But add in the fact that she was pregnant, and well.

"Is it the apple?" Tang asked carefully. "What specifically is wrong with it?"

"It… it doesn't…. Ugh, it tastes fine, but something's…"

"Missing?" Pigsy offered, raising a brow. By now he was figuring out the problem. Judging by the look Tang was giving him, he wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, missing! It's not - it's not enough, yanno?! I know I said I wanted a Granny Smith, but I want something more."

"'More' as in…? A flavor, a sensation, a texture…? We're in the market, we can get it for you."

Mei paused, frowning as she concentrated a bit. It was a little hard to describe what she wanted her mouth to feel, what she wanted to taste. She had thought it was the apple, earlier, but it wasn't scratching that itch for her. Not nearly enough. "I want…" she began slowly. "The apple… but spicy… and chewy, and savory… and I want chewy and then apple…" She forced a laugh, looking between the two older men. "Weird, huh? Think you can do that?"

To her surprise, Pigsy heaved a sigh and looked past her, giving Tang a flat look. Tang smiled a bit unnervingly, adjusting his glasses so the light caught the lenses, and took the baggie of apple slices. "Leave it to me."

He glanced around the stalls for a moment before his gaze landed on one in particular. "Aha," he muttered, then vanished into the crowd.

Pigsy followed after him, calling out "Hey, hold on, not without me you're not! I've seen what you can eat–"

And then Mei was by herself.

And hungry.

Well, whatever. She puffed her cheeks out blowing out a raspberry. "Sure, sure, don't tell me what you're doing to my snack," she muttered under her breath. "Just go vanish, sure, why not, I'm only–"

"Pregnant!" Two choked, somewhat over-dramatic gasps reached Mei's ears. And then she heard a familiar voice: "It's true!"

Followed by a second: "I thought it was just a trick!"

Ohhh, not right now, not when I'm hungry, Mei thought with an internal growl. She slowly turned her head to the left. Sure enough, Yin and Jin stood nearby, eyes wide and jaws slightly slack as they stared at her. No, at her abdomen.

Now Mei really did growl, baring her teeth and lifting a protective hand to her stomach. "Whatever you two are planning-" she began.

To her surprise, the twins actually looked horrified by that. "What?! No, no plan!" Jin gasped, holding up his hands in supplication.

"Not this time, anyway."

"We just wanted to see for ourselves if you…" Jin's voice trailed off awkwardly, and he moved his hands over his own stomach in mimicry of a bump. "That was the word on the street, but we thought the Spiders were lying to us so they could get all the cool fights for themselves."

"'Word on the street?'" Mei echoed, frown deepening.

"Yeah. The Spiders sent a message out that there was officially a ceasefire because the Monkie Kid's best friend was expecting," Yin explained.

"Because every time we fight him, you get involved at some point, so it'd be impossible to leave you out of it…"

"...unless we just didn't attack at all."

Ah, the Spiders. That made sense, considering Huntsman had overheard the announcement to Sandy. And of course he would have told the Queen right away… and somehow, she could easily see at least them not wanting to harm an infant, or expecting mother. She didn't know if insect or arachnid demons functioned the same as normal insects and spiders, but weren't some fiercely protective of–

Wait. Hold on. "... a bunch of demons know I'm pregnant?" Mei repeated slowly. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Oh, sure, it explained why it had been so quiet in the past few months, but… But she hadn't even considered that possibility!

The twins nodded in unison, oblivious to her discomfort. Now that they'd confirmed the story for themselves, they didn't seem to have any interest in their usual posturing. Instead, their stance was relaxed and casual, as if they'd simply run into her while on their own grocery run, their expressions unguarded and… curious. Almost friendly, if she was being honest.

It was strange in its own right.

"Like we said, the word went out that we were to have a ceasefire until you had the baby, recovered, and could leave them with someone."

"Why, though?" Mei couldn't help but ask. "I mean, pragmatically-speaking, wouldn't this be the best time to attack, since I can't risk helping? Or use me as bait or something?"

The two demons gasped in horror and indignation, drawing back. Jin actually put a hand over his heart. "Are you insane?" he cried, lowering his hand and stomping one foot. "We wouldn't do that to a pregnant woman!"

"Attacking an expecting mother and the baby is a coward's plan!" Yin backed his brother up. "And not just any cowards; it's something only the lowest scum would do!"

"Honestly…" Jin folded his arms with an affronted glare. "Give us some credit; we're demons, we're not monsters."

"Okay, okay…" Mei spoke up before they could get even more upset and end up further upsetting her by extension. "Sorry. But, uh, thanks? For letting me know?" She wondered if MK knew about this. She'd have to tell him right away.

The tense expressions on the brothers' faces eased, and they relaxed again. Yin actually gave her a courteous nod. "Well. You clearly are having a kid, so we're just gonna go."

"Yeah, we should pro-ba-bly return those rabbits, since we're not gonna use them."

Mei blinked. "Rabbits?"

"Don't worry about it - anyway, we'll tell everyone else that the story's true, so nobody better bug you all–"

"-let us know when the man yue is!" Jin tugged Yin's arm as he started back into the crowd. "We'll send a present! Okay, seriously, Brother, we gotta give back those rabbits…"

The pair disappeared into the sea of people, leaving Mei staring after them. Huh, she thought, seemingly unable to think of much else at that time. …huh. She hadn't been expecting this.

It was… weird. Nice, she considered after a moment, to hear that nobody wanted to potentially harm her in her condition. And it was a genuine weight off her mind, one less thing to worry about.

But somehow she'd just never really considered it as a possibility. So there's lines none of them will cross, she thought, good to know.

Darn it, but she should have asked exactly what the cut-off age was… What did Red Son's book say about babysitters? Neither of them had really read that part, they were too busy focusing on the actual nine months and then the–

"Here we are!" Mei's attention was taken away by Tang's voice as the latter approached her, Pigsy right behind him. He wasn't holding her baggie of apple slices anymore, instead carrying a plastic bag of dumplings. One of them he held out to her. "Try this."

"What'd you do to it?" she asked, even as she took it from his hand.

"We bought savory chicken dumplings, dusted some chili powder on the apples, put a slice inside each bun, and resealed it." Tang's tone was as nonchalant as if he'd just said We bought peach buns.

"Huh. Let's see…" Mei took a tentative bite, making sure to get a bit of apple as well. She chewed once, twice…

…her mouth watered and she swore her taste buds exploded. Her earlier worries were forgotten in an instant.

"Mmph! Yeah, that's it! That's what I wanted!" Mei cried triumphantly, taking another huge bite. The dumpling was soft, and when she bit into the apple inside it was crunchy and firm. The savory chicken mixed perfectly with the tartness and sweetness of her apple slice, and the chili dusted over it added just the right amount of kick she'd been wanting. Texture and flavor-wise, it was perfect. "Thank you so much!"

The three began walking again, Pigsy shaking his head. "Menaces, both of you," he muttered.


MK pounded on the door, his free hand holding a shiny red gift bag. "Red Son!" he yelled out, as if Red couldn't hear his knock. "You home?! I brought something!"

"I didn't order any-"

"No, I mean I brought something for the baby!" MK's already-bright smile grew wider as he said that. It still felt unreal, in the best way.

A baby. His two best friends were having an actual baby… This was going to be great, he was gonna be the best uncle in the world–

"I'm gonna have a nephew! Or a niece! Or both!"

His own earlier words came back to him, and he couldn't help looking down at his gift bag, frowning. Hm. Maybe he should've brought two, just to be safe–

The door opened, snapping him back to the present. Red Son opened his mouth to speak, but MK thrust the red bag out towards him before he could. "Ta-daaa! I wasn't sure if you had any toys yet, so I got you this." He started to tap one of his feet, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling too hard. "Go on, open it."

Red Son opened the gift bag and peered inside. All he saw was the white, fuzzy fabric of a fat-looking plush. He frowned. "It's… a rice ball."

MK made a noise between a huff and a laugh. "No!" he said, taking the toy fully out of the bag and turning it to face Red. "It's a cow."

And yeah, now that he was getting a proper look, it was a cow. A rotund, very overstuffed cow plush with comically-tiny eyes, ears, and little black hooves sticking out from its front. Its ears were black with pink felt interiors, nubby pink horns were almost missed due to just how short they were, and its front…upper?...hooves were held in front of itself as if it were asking a polite question. When he looked even closer, he could see the white fur on its cheeks was actually a very pale pink, to suggest blushing.

"...it's…"

"Adorable, right? I saw it at the arcade in one of the crane games and I had to win it! Took me like twenty tries, but I got it! I figured it'd be perfect, considering…" He laughed again.

Despite himself, Red smiled as well. "Well…" he started, looking back at the plush cow. It was… ridiculous, in his opinion. Almost spherical, features too small, the blush straddling the line between silly and charming… But still. "That's. Thoughtful of you."

"Do you have a place to put it yet?" MK pushed past him before he could stop him or invite him in, looking around as he headed for the sitting room. "Have you guys started their room yet? What's…" He suddenly stopped.

Boxes were… Well, not everywhere, but there were boxes. Three small ones the size of individual shoe boxes sat on the coffee table, two flat garment boxes sat on the couch, there was a decently-sized gift basket sitting on the end table next to said couch, and in front of them was a larger box that Red Son had clearly been in the process of opening when MK had stopped by.

"At least you only brought this," Red said, holding up the stuffed cow. "I've been opening and putting these away for an hour."

"What, uh… Who sent all these?"

"The gift basket's full of fruit–"

"Ah. Monkey King."

"The three boxes over there were full of herbal tea and soup mixes."

"Sandy."

"Mei's parents sent the garment boxes; there's a dragon onesie and bib set and a cow one."

"Aw, that's cute. And the big one?"

"Mother and Father sent it."

Red Son's voice was almost casual, but MK heard an undercurrent of tightness. He glanced over at the other man, noting the way he held his shoulders, the slightly-tighter grip on the cow plush. "...what do you think it is?"

"I'm not sure. Haven't opened it."

"...You want me to help out? We'll open it together and whatever's inside, I'll help you put it away."

He half expected Red Son to argue. To refuse, to throw some snarky comment at him. But he didn't. Instead, he nodded once, set the cow plush on the couch (very carefully, MK couldn't help notice, gently arranging it to lean back against the cushions as if he were handling a baby and not a stuffed toy), and moved to the box. MK joined him, kneeling on the opposite side.

"I already got the tape undone. So I just need to actually open it."

"No problem." MK grabbed the box's flaps, and paused. "What do you think's in here?"

"I have my suspicions, but my parents have surprised me before…" Red muttered in lieu of a real answer. His hands rested on the flaps of the box, but didn't move.

MK waited for a few moments before he spoke up, gently. "On three?"

Red Son nodded.

"Okay. One." Both mens' hands gripped tighter. "Two." They braced themselves. "Three."

The box was opened.

The first thing either of them noticed was a note on top. Red Son took it, quickly reading it over.

"Red Son,

Your father found several of your belongings from when you were small. They are all in excellent condition, and whatever wear or tear we did find, we took initiative to repair. We hope you will consider gifting these to the baby; if not, we hope they provide some sort of sentimental value.

Mother"

Red Son still said nothing as he put the letter on the table. He and MK looked inside again; the box was full of toys, a few small shoes, and blankets. The blankets were folded immaculately in one corner and stacked up, allowing everything else to fill in the rest of the box's space. The blanket on the very top was one he recognized - a deceptively-simple blanket with purple trim that felt softer and always smelled different from the rest of the blanket.

"This was from when I was a baby."

"Ah."

Red reached inside for one of the toys. His hand found a well-worn, well-loved, but still presentable bull doll. The fur was a lot thinner than it had been when it was first made, and the dark purple had faded to a pale lavender, but the eyes and mouth had been replaced, he could tell. And wasn't it also a bit thinner and floppier when he was smaller? It must have received new stuffing as well.

"I remember who this is… I thought he was put away permanently."

MK was quiet. Then: "You still want me to help out?"

"...yeah."

"You want a minute?"

"...yeah."


By the time Mei returned, everything in the boxes had been put away. Fruit and tea were in the kitchen, clothes were folded and put on a shelf for later, and cardboard boxes were broken down and dropped by the door for recycling.

All but one large box that sat in the corner of a mostly-empty room, along with several half-finished bits of furniture. In that room, on a small shelf, a fat cow plush and a well-worn bull doll sat side by side.