'Till I Met You

My maternal instincts are starting to kick in. Unfortunately nobody wants to be the recipient of my coddling but Tao. This man-child is alternately cute and vexing. Definitely, he has earned his place in the security team. His martial arts skill by far the most honed and advanced in the team. What he lacks is maturity.

Chanyeol on the other hand is loaded down with responsibilities. He has a team to lead, me to protect and our future family to raise. I'm starting to worry about my husband. I have to smile at that word. HUSBAND. To free him up from constantly hovering over me, I promised I would stay only within the walls of the fortress and to never go anywhere without one of the team. I picked Tao.

I tried my hand at cooking. I wasn't bad but neither was I imaginative. Everything was driven by recipes. Which got me bored easily. Plus I hated standing while chopping.

"Tao-yah! Can you open this jar for me?"

Tao pulled his head out from the pantry and obediently opened a jar of pickles for me. He immediately went back to rummaging in the pantry. I swear he is part chipmunk. He probably eats and stores food in his cheeks while he is in there.

"Tao-yah! Can you grab the Nutella while you are in there?" Sure enough he came out with his mouth stuffed with Peppero sticks before handing me the Nutella jar.

"Tao-yah! If you want to eat, bring it over here and sit beside me." He looked over to where I am seated and dived back into the pantry. Moments later he came out with a bagel between his teeth, and his arms loaded with bags of chips, boxes of cookies and a large bottle of cola. He set those down on the counter before digging in the fridge and coming out holding some kimbap and egg rolls.

"Here, try this. I promise you this is good." I offered him a small pickle smothered in Nutella. Tao looked at it skeptically but then shrugged his shoulders and popped it in his mouth. He ate the pickle without complaints. D.O. came in the kitchen later and watched in amazement as Tao and I pretty much ate enough food for 4 people.

I was suddenly feeling sleepy. I pushed Tao's fringe away from his eyes, pinched his cheeks and waddled out. I have no idea why but I like pinching Tao's cheeks. He is such a cutie-pie! Boy, pregnancy sure does strange things to a woman. I mentioned it to Chanyeol during dinner. The rest of the team overheard and were merciless in teasing Tao. Poor dear blushed so badly he looked like he was going to die. Loyal though he followed me around for the next few months like a baby duck follows its mother.

I've taken to going in the sunken garden in the middle of the fortress every morning. It's the only time I ever get any fresh air or sunlight. Unlike the last time I was in the garden though, I am never alone. Kai and Lay are usually up on the sniper's perch. Tao and Chanyeol are usually beside me either walking or having breakfast with me. Chen and Xiumun are usually prowling the perimeter restlessly. Baekhyun will usually be irritating Chanyeol or me but his gun will be strapped to his hip. D.O. and Suho would usually be practicing knife attacks and defense on the side. If Sehun is around he would be driving the ATV around the outside borders of the perimeter. Lately however he has been waking up late. Ellie has been waking up late too. Chanyeol is usually throwing daggers at the maknae when he eventually comes around.

"Noona, does this look good?" Tao was pointing at a page in the magazine he was browsing. I looked over and agreed that the navy blue wool cashmere coat looks good. It's Gucci after all. "Would you buy it for me?" I smiled and pinched his reddened cheeks and replied "Sure as soon as Yixing runs the jet, we'll fly to Paris and go shopping. Go ask Chanyeol." Happily he turned to Chanyeol who without looking up just pointed a gun at his head.

"Noona....." Tao was pouting and looked at me like a lost puppy. I chuckled under my breath. "Okay, Tao. Hold on." I tried to stand up from my chair but was flailing due to my enlarged abdomen. Chanyeol stood up and helpfully assisted me to stand up. "Jagi, we need to buy stuff for the baby. Like maybe a crib?" I asked carefully.

"Buy one online, or if you want I can make one. I can do it as a project on my downtime." Chanyeol replied.

"Jagi, I also want to buy some clothes for our little princess. We need layettes and other stuff too."

"Princess? We are having a girl? When did you find out? .....Yixing!!!!" Chanyeol turned around happily looking for Yixing up on the sniper's perch.

"Channie!!! Focus here. I. WANT. TO. GO. SHOPPING. IN. PARIS!!" I shouted then immediately flopped back down on the chair. I felt out of breath and slightly dizzy after my tirade. Chanyeol rushed over in a panic. From the corner of my eye I can see Tao sidling slowly sideways like an overgrown crab. And Yixing was rappelling fast down from his perch. "Yixing!" Chanyeol shouted.

"I'm fine, I just got dizzy for a second." I tried to assure him.

"Yixing! She's dizzy! Get the chopper. We need to go to the nearest hospital, my girls are in trouble! Sehun! Where the fuck are you? Get the car now!' Oh boy. My husband is in panic mode again. Yixing arrived beside him by this time and started to take out a syringe from a small case strapped to his hip. I nodded at him as our eyes met. "Lana?" Yixing inquired of me. "It's okay. I understand." I told Lay. "What? What? Give her something! She's dizzy." Chanyeol was practically screaming at Yixing. And with those words Yixing spun around and plunged the needle straight at Chanyeol's butt.

Chanyeol's eye widened as he looked in horror at Yixing, then me. His eyes glazed over then he pitched backward and fell like a sack of potatoes right on top of Tao who rushed back to try and catch him.

Baekhyun strolled over and snapped a picture of Tao wheezing as he tried to move my poor passed out Chanyeol.

Notes

I'm describing Tao as he was when he was still the maknae of EXO-M. His latest MV sure gives a different vibe of Zi Tao nowadays.