⚠️TW: purposeful misgendering
Slick hands.
Racing hearts.
Buzzing minds.
All the makings of a nervous couple as they wait for the attorney to come into the office.
They've been here only a few minutes so nothing has been discussed yet. It's the atmosphere of why they're there that's pushing their nerves to thrum.
On the desk sits an identification card for the building. A picture of the attorney is on the front. Under the photo reads the name 'Yeonjun Choi'.
Yoongi grabs Harper's hand as they hear him walk back into the room. He closes the door behind himself and walks to the desk.
"I'm sorry for the delay." Yeonjun says, taking his seat. "I tried to print these papers this morning but the printer wasn't working."
"It's alright. Things happen." Yoongi assures him.
"Thank you for understanding." He smiles sheepishly. "I, uh... My supervisor emailed me about the situation and I took notes and have that paperwork here. But I'd like to get a full understanding of the situation so I know exactly what we're working with and what the best route is to take."
Yoongi senses the anxiousness in his body. Though he looks professional, he also looks a bit scared.
It reminds Yoongi of himself fresh out of med school.
The degree hanging behind Yepnjun's desk is proof that he's educated and capable. It's probably the professional experience that he hasn't quite gotten yet.
"How old are you?" Yoongi asks softly.
"I'm 25."
"You went in to college fresh out of high school?"
"Yes, sir."
"Why?"
The question takes Yeonjun aback. He's never been asked that. Nobody's ever really asked him any specifics about his profession.
They've only ever told him that he's too young to be a good lawyer. He's been rejected from many jobs, even with recommendation letters from his professors and the Dean of his school, just because of his lack of experience.
Almost everywhere has denied him because of either his age or experience level.
It's something that he never understood and is sure that he'll never understand.
"Because I always knew what I wanted to do." Yeonjun responds to Yoongi. "I knew that I wanted to go law school and I knew that I wanted to be a lawyer."
"How long have you been here?"
"Eight months."
"How many cases have you had?"
Yeonjun stops getting the paperwork ready and bites the the skin of his lip.
"Just three. I'm on 'intern duty'."
"What does that mean?" Harper asks with furrowed brows.
"They won't give me any cases they don't think capable of handling. So.. not very many at all."
"But you graduated just the same as they did." Harper points out.
"Yeah..." Yeonjun swallows. "But it's fine. If you want a different attorney, I can email my boss and tell him."
He reaches for his laptop and types the password in. This wasn't something that he didn't expect. He goes through this often.
"No." Harper and Yoongi both stop him.
They look at each other and then back to him.
"It's fine. You're an attorney too." Yoongi tells him. "The processes are all the same, just different methods of execution."
"Besides, you need the experience anyway." Harper says with a small smile.
Yeonjun looks between them, waiting to see if they'll recant. When they don't, he stops typing the email to his boss. He doesn't delete the draft but exits out of the webpage.
"So where do we start?" Harper asks him.
"I need to know everything about your relationship with Mr. Collins and the role that he plays in your son's life. The more I know, the better understanding I'll have."
Yoongi squeezes Harper's hand as he feels her tense up a bit. He rubs the back of her hand with his thumb to comfort her.
This case with Jahlil will be the last time that Harper will have to relive her trauma. After this, she never has to speak of it again. She never has to deal with it again.
Just one final time to keep her son safe and this is it.
######
Hailey and Taehyung watch as Onyx crawls around their house. He explores the living room, under the coffee table, into the pantry.
He's followed by the eyes of Sid as he stands behind the gate to keep him in the back of the house.
Sid whines as he watches the baby, shifting his eyes from Hailey to Onyx.
"I know, Sid. I'm sorry. Onyx is a little scared of dogs right now. I know you won't hurt him but his mommy and daddy said no." She walks over and gives him pets down his back.
"Maybe when Harper comes to pick him up, we can see if she'll let him sniff him. Just to get familiar with his scent."
"He's already familiar with his scent. It was all over the living room last time. He wants to play but Onyx might be scared and I don't want to freak him out."
"I don't think he's too freaked out." Tae says as he nods in Onyx's direction.
He's crawling toward the baby gate. Hailey sits on the floor and Onyx crawls into her lap. He looks at the dog as he sucks on his pacifier.
Sid starts wagging his tail excitedly and sticking his nose through the diamonds of the gate. Onyx finds that funny and does a baby chuckle.
He grabs Hailey's hand and spits his pacifier out. He puts her thumb in his mouth and Hailey cringes. She looks down at him and he's focused on the dog while he gnaws on her thumb.
Taehyung laughs at the expression on her face as he sits next to her.
"I've only seen him do this with Yoongi and Harper. Maybe it's a rite of passage or something."
"He's drooling on me."
"Yoongi told me that he peed on him last night so I guess be glad he hasn't peed on you?"
"Touché." Hailey says as she picks him up. "You're the cutest baby in the world, you know that?"
Onyx coos as he looks at her.
"And your mommy really spit you out, didn't she?"
"Her genes really are incredible." Taehyung notes. "Right down to the side-eye."
Hailey laughs and Onyx smiles at her.
"It kind of makes me wonder... if Yoongi and Harper ever have a baby together, who they'll look more like. Because Yoongi looks a lot like his father so I don't know."
"That's a good question." Taehyung says. "I really don't know. We know the Min genes are definitely prominent. But clearly Harper just asexually reproduces kids because what the hell?"
Hailey and Taehyung laugh causing Onyx to giggle.
"He's such a happy baby."
"Everything that he does is so joyous. I'm so happy he's feeling better. That colic phase was hard for Harper, I can't imagine how hard that it was for him."
Hailey sets Onyx back in her lap and he crawls out of it. He crawls back into the living room to explore and finds his blocks on the play mat.
Taehyung follows him into the living room while Hailey gives Sid some extra attention and reassurance.
Tae sits on the floor with Onyx and watches as he grabs for the blocks. He picks up a blue block and tosses it away. Then a green one, then a yellow one. He picks up a red one and frowns before dropping it back down.
He starts to fuss as he grabs at blocks until he picks the pastel shade of pink from the pile. Onyx puts it into his mouth, drooling as he feels it with his tongue.
Taehyung's eyebrows twitch as he looks at all of the blocks. He holds a red one up for him and Onyx smacks at it with his hand. He does the same for the rest the green block that's held up and the blue.
When Taehyung holds up the yellow block, Onyx loses interest in whatever game is being played. He crawls away with a little frown on his face.
"Hmph." Taehyung huffs as he looks at the yellow block. "Interesting. Onyx, you want some jello?"
Onyx doesn't pay him any mind at all as he sits on the floor. He bangs the block on the carpet as he looks around the room.
Taehyung walks over and holds his arms out. Onyx raises his to be picked up and lays his head on the man's shoulder.
"Babaaaa..." Onyx coos.
"Are you sleepy or hungry? Your mommy said that you ate before you came here."
"Dadaaa."
"Dada?" Taehyung repeats. "Dada iisss..." he checks the time on his phone. "Probably back at work now. We can call him later."
"Dada."
"He's working. Him and mommy had to go somewhere then she had to take him to work. She'll come to get you soon. You want your pacifier back?"
Taehyung holds it up for him and he looks away from it.
"No? Okay. You want to play with the bees and butterflies?" He asks as he lays on the play mat.
He and Onyx look up and Tae points out the sun, the flowers, the bee and the butterfly. Onyx watches and smiles as he grabs his little feet.
"There should be a moon charm on here, too. When the sun goes to sleep after watching us all day, the moon comes out to watch us. They take turns making sure the earth is okay. In the winter, like it is now, it gets cold and the sun takes a vacation. She goes a little farther away than normal. In the summer, she comes back and we all celebrate because it's warm again."
Onyx rolls over onto his stomach and lays his head on the mat. His eyes close and he opens them right after to fuss. He rubs his eyes as he starts to cry.
Taehyung looks over, confused as to why he's suddenly in a mood.
Hailey washes her hands and comes into the living room. She picks Onyx up and wipes his tears.
"Is Uncle Tae talking you to sleep?"
Onyx lays his head against her chest and closes his eyes. She gives him his pacifier and he hums. Hailey sits on the couch with him and he stays lying on his stomach while on her chest.
She pats his butt while he dozes off and Tae blinks at her.
"I asked him if he was sleepy."
"Was he supposed to respond with a 'yes'?"
"....no."
"Okay then." She raises her eyebrows and Tae rolls his eyes as he chuckles.
"He rolled onto his stomach but then cried about it immediately after."
"You know he's a picky baby."
"True. He doesn't like any of the blocks except that pastel pink one. And I think he had the tan one in his hand when his parents dropped him off."
"Maybe those are the only ones that he can get a chew on." Hailey reasons.
"Or the other ones are too bright." Taehyung suggests.
"They're blocks, Tae. How could they be too-?" Hailey stops talking and looks down at Onyx.
"I don't know if I should say anything to them. He rolls over asymmetrically, too."
"And everything else that they have to accommodate..." Hailey says as she thinks.
"No parent really likes to hear things like that. But if it helps them understand his development or how he processes, that could take a lot of the frustration out of parenting as he gets older."
"But he's stringing things together." Hailey says. "He seems like he's on the right track."
"Yes, but the humming?"
"Maybe that's just how he gets himself to sleep. He's not grunting. But the other things... those could be markers."
"He could show some of the signs and not others. It's a spectrum not a specific set of things that every single person with it will have."
"Exactly." Hailey agrees. "And it would be better to catch it so they can educate themselves and find what works best for him. They're already great at doing that."
"So I should tell them? As a pediatric medical professional and their friend... Yoongi's best friend."
"I think so. I think we should talk to them first, just to have a discussion about it and see what they think of the situation."
"They've got a lot going on right now as it is though. With that guy and his mom, the promotion. Yoongi's going to sell his house. His parents are going to sell their house. That's a lot all at once." Taehyung suddenly thinks of everything that they're already dealing with.
"I'll wait until it's a good time or a better time then to talk to Yoongi. I'll wait until there's less things for them to think and worry about." He decides.
Hailey listens to Taehyung as she rubs Onyx's back. He smells like lavender and Harper. His little fists hold the neckline of her shirt.
"He sleeps like he works just as much as his dad." She comments.
"Back when he was doing overtime too. Snoring and all. He's so funny." Tae smiles as he looks at him.
"Oh. I got a letter from Legacy in the mail the other day." Hailey says without looking at him.
"Legacy?" Taehyung's smile slowly fades as the atmosphere of the conversation changes. "What'd they say?"
"I have 60 days to decide whether or not I want to extend another five years."
Tae sits on the couch next to his girlfriend and opens his arms for her. She sits in his lap as she holds Onyx.
"What are you thinking?" He asks, pushing her hair from her shoulder.
"I don't know." She responds quietly. "I don't want kids at all. But that's it. That's the last of my possible... if I ever did. But if I don't, then I'm paying thousands of dollars to preserve something I'll never use. That feels like such a waste. And then women have kids, you know? They can produce and make babies and if I can't then-."
"Having babies does not define your womanhood." Taehyung interjects. "Having babies does not define any woman's womanhood. Not even cisgender women. There are women that are born female who don't want to have kids either or just can't have them. Whether that be because of infertility, hormone issues. Like PCOS, endometriosis, all that stuff. A good chunk of women need to take hormone pills to maintain viable pregnancies or they use other options like IVF or surrogacy. Having a baby does not define women. You guys aren't incubators and your sole purpose on earth isn't procreation."
Hailey rubs Onyx's little hand as she looks at his chunky cheeks.
"I love kids but having the responsibility of one? That's not for babysitter duty? Yeesh, I don't know." He says and Hailey cracks a smile.
She looks over at him with teary eyes. "I don't know what to do."
"We can tell Legacy to get rid of the samples at any point in time. If it's too much of a decision right now, let's just pay for another five years. And if you change your mind in the middle, then we'll just call and fill out the paperwork to have them removed."
"You won't be upset with me? What if you change your mind about having kids?"
"Then there's always the option of a surrogate or adoption." Taehyung informs. "But I doubt that'll happen. Everything is up to you, Hailey. I'm here to make you happy. My joy is fed from yours. Like a love succubus."
"You're so corny."
"I love you." Taehyung tells her suddenly.
"I love you." She replies.
He kisses her temple and she puts her head on his shoulder. Taehyung looks down at Onyx to find him fast asleep.
Harper will be there soon to pick him up. They've head fun with him for the couple of hours that they had him. They laughed, they played. Now he's taking a nap. A well deserved nap, he might add.
"I'm gonna go make sure we got all of his stuff in his diaper bag. That way Harper can hurry and get him back home." Hailey stands from the couch and hands Onyx to her boyfriend.
He holds the baby and lays him on his chest. He squirms a bit but doesn't wake up.
As he waits for Harper to get there, Taehyung's mind begins to wonder.
He knows that Hailey is mentally in a tough spot right now. She's experiencing a lot of turmoil, emotionally and mentally. She's second guessing herself on a lot of things. She's questioning herself on a lot of things.
Despite nothing detrimental having happened, Hailey feels extremely unsettled. She doesn't know what she should do. She doesn't know what to think.
She's in a very vulnerable place and is doing very little to acknowledge it.
######
How can someone be so perfect?
Perfect eyes, perfect jawline, perfect nose, perfect smile. Pretty, perfect teeth. Flawless skin, immaculate hair.
But such shitty taste and personality?
Kyra fights the urge to roll her eyes at Yoongi as he talks at the front of the room. No matter where she goes, she can't avoid him in this place.
It's like we truly are meant for each other. Why can't he just stay away from me? He's trying to be so subtle. He's trying to fight it so bad. Convincing himself that he was better off alone clearly did nothing for him.
Now what? He's being seen with a receptionist? He's a surgeon for fuck's sake. Anyone in their right mind would question why he's with somebody out of his bracket.
And in every way, at that.
Education, lifestyle, money.
He's truly gone crazy. The loneliness has finally made him snap. He refuses to do the work for someone he actually deserves and would rather settle instead.
A pity.
He hasn't been on a proper date in so long, it's almost like he's forgotten the type that he's capable of pulling.
Ridiculous, honestly.
What a shame.
"Okay so just to wrap up, the surgery is taking place on Thursday at six in the morning. Dr. Han will be the surgeon, the assistants attending are Vinnie, Cobalt and Grimes. The techs are De La Rosa and Linman. Nurses Erica will be following up and Kyra will storing notes. Any questions? Comments? Concerns?"
Yoongi looks around at everybody as he asks the questions. Nobody says anything but they all shake their heads.
"Good. Good luck in the O.R. and I'll see you guys Thursday after the surgery."
As he's turning the projector off, Kyra notices that his neck is bare, desert of the signature compass usually hanging from it.
It's always been her favorite piece of jewelry on him. How it rests so daintily on his collarbones, she loves it.
"Pick your chin up, Ky." Vinnie teases, tapping the underside of her face. "You'll get drool all over the place. That's a biohazard."
Kyra closes her mouth and snaps her head to him. "Why do you always have something annoying to say?"
"Why are you always staring at that man like he's fresh meat or something? What are you, a cannibal?" Vinnie looks her up and down as he gathers his things up.
"No." She snaps. She rolls her eyes and looks back to Yoongi. "I was just wondering where his necklace went since he never goes a day without it."
She speaks loud enough for Yoongi to hear. He glances at her because of her sudden rise in volume. He double takes when he sees her already staring at him.
"What?" He asks, confused about why she's looking at him, knowing that he heard her speaking but not realizing that it was to him.
"I said where'd your necklace go? You never go a day without it."
Yoongi scoffs, huffing air through his nose as he looks away from her. He doesn't know why she's speaking to him about anything not professional. The only reason why she's even in here is because she's in charge of the paperwork.
Hyde wasn't playing about putting her on desk duty. He meant that.
"I gave it to my girlfriend." He says casually.
He grabs his laptop and thermos up and speaks without looking at her.
"Make sure you finish that paperwork that's on the receptionist's desk. I need it by the end of my shift, please." He walks out of the room as she stands up.
Vinnie purses his lips as he stands up as well. He says nothing to Kyra, not wanting to stir the pot too much. He knows that she has an eye for Director Min. The way that she was staring at him, it was obvious.
But alas, she's been thwarted. Because, apparently, Director Min is in a relationship.
An 'I trust you enough to let you wear this piece of jewelry that's been passed down through generations' type of relationship.
Kyra knows what that necklace means to him. She was curious of it and asked on their first date. She thought he'd say that he just likes compasses, but no.
There was an entire endearing story behind it. She loves the idea that he would someday give the piece of jewelry to his wife.
Everything about it was so cute.
Until just a minute ago, when it wasn't anymore.
Kyra walks out of the office and follows in step of Yoongi. A fellow surgeon stops him to chat for a minute and Kyra glares as she sits in her seat at the receptionist's desk.
"What you getting into after work tonight?" Vinnie asks as he rounds the desk.
He puts himself right in her line of view, forcing her to look at him.
"Why?"
Vinnie shrugs as he leans on the desk. "Maybe we can go out for food. Get a quick bite at the bar, some drinks."
Kyra scoffs before smiling sarcastically. "And what do I get out of that?"
"Something that's actually fruitful, hopefully."
She raises her eyebrow, surprised at how bold that he is. She's never really payed too much attention to Vinnie. It's not that he isn't attractive. He's actually a very good looking man.
Smooth brown skin, beautiful brown eyes. A low fade with moisturized waves spinning on his head.
He's very well educated and makes a good amount of money. He wouldn't be completely useless to her.
"Sure." She smiles genuinely. "Let's go for drinks tonight. Not like I'll be doing anything important tomorrow anyway."
Being that I'm on desk duty. She rolls her eyes to herself.
She can't believe the fallout over such a little incident. Such a minor mistake that didn't even actually affect anyone and she needed to be written up. It makes her blood boil at the thought.
The way that Yoongi raised his voice at her, the way that he looked at her with so much disgust in his eyes. So much.... distaste.
It hurt.
Vinnie smiles, returning Kyra's. He writes his number on a slip of paper for her and she picks it up.
Kyra hears a whistle close to her on the left and looks at Dr. Hyde as walks across the floor. Her heart jumps in her chest as she suddenly remembers something.
"Okay, I'll text you and see you later." She tells Vinnie quickly.
"See you. I gotta go do med rounds." He walks off down the hall.
"Dr. Hyde." Kyra calls the director's name when Vinnie is far enough away.
He stops whistling and looks to see who called name. Kyra waves him over but glances to Yoongi talking to make sure he isn't looking in her direction at the sudden shout.
"Yes, Nurse Kyra? I going to come to check on you after my meeting to see how far along you are with that paperwork."
"I'm halfway through it. But I have a question." Her eyes dart to Yoongi and stare as he pushes his dark tresses back from his forehead.
He smiles as he talks, showing his gummy smile and perfectly white teeth. He chuckles a little bit, laughing with the woman in front of him.
Yoongi nods and she sees his mouth form the word 'yeah'. He shifts to the side as he talks to her, cutting off Kyra's sight of what he's saying.
"If it's about the investigation, I can't tell you anything and you know that." Hyde responds to her. "I don't even know anything yet."
"It's not." She waves that off, not particularly worried about it right now. "There's a rule against employees being involved with each other, right?" Kyra inquires.
"Yes and no." He answers. "It's a strict one, actually, leading up to and including termination depending on the details of the situation. That's an employee policy." Hyde organizes the folders on the desk.
They disorganization of them is bothering him. He doesn't know how she's able to function in such chaos, let alone work.
"You have been working here more than enough time to know that." He continues. "It's in the employee handbook that every single new hire gets. It's also reiterated during the onboarding process. There's no reason why anybody that works in this building shouldn't know that."
"Right." Kyra says. "I was just asking. Just making sure."
"If there is any type of relationship forming, your director or HR needs to be informed so that the proper procedures can be taken. Whether that be a transfer or something else."
"A transfer?" Kyra asks with a curious raise of an eyebrow.
"Yes." Hyde confirms. "But this is a conversation that you need to have with your director." Hyde tells her. "Which I am not."
As Hyde walks away, she puts her hands in the pockets of her scrubs and takes a seat at the desk.
Thinking about Hyde's words, she knows the procedure that has to be taken. But she won't be able to go right to the director.
How can she when he's apart of the problem?
Kyra sits at the desk and drums her fingers against it. With a heavy sigh, she unlocks the desktop and opens up her email.
She debates heavily with herself as she types out the email to the H.R. department. She mentions that she would like to stay anonymous in her submission for fear of retaliation.
She reads the email over twice, checking for any errors or mistakes before hitting send.
As the whoosh sound is heard, she looks up at Yoongi.
She can't take it back now. All that she can do is wait and give him a chance to fix what he's done before it gets too out of hand.
If he doesn't...
Who knows if I'll be able to be protect him anymore.
######
In a room of darkness, a baby lies his its back. Sucking on his pacifier as he holds his feet, he stares up.
There isn't really anything to see. All around him, there's not much of anything. Just him and an empty room.
Becoming cognizant of this, he looks around as he sits himself up. His spits his pacifier out of his mouth as he gets on all fours. He crawls a couple feet before looking around again.
It's odd that it's just him and this mass of empty silence.
He doesn't smell his mother close by. He doesn't see her figure anywhere. There's no distant humming from her to let him know of her location.
Even if there was, he can't see where he's going.
As he starts to realize that he truly is alone, a light flicks on. His quivering lip steadies and he looks around once more.
The place, his mind is sure is familiar. The smell is familiar.
And the lights... the lights are so familiar.
As the noise filters in, the sound of people chattering is heard. The high pitched beeping that never stops.... The scratchy rolling noise that he can feel in his head... The lights that are too loud...
He leans his head to the side trying to cover it against his shoulder. The corners of his mouth turn down as the noise rises.
He fusses as he reaches out for his mother. Trying to cover his ears with her body, waiting for her to make the noise go away.
Waiting for her to make it better, to take him away from what hurts.
Reaching out, he isn't able to grasp at anything. He's not able to feel her skin, unable to smell the scent of her in proximity. Her voice is missing.
Where's the voice?
The one that tells him that he will be okay? The one that soothes him while his back is rubbed? The one that reminds him that he is safe?
Where is it?
WHERE IS IT?!
The infant puts his head back and begins to cry. At the top of his lungs, he screams for help. Hot tears run down the round of his cheeks.
Everything is out of place. Everything is different. Everything is too loud.
The louder that he cries, the brighter that the lights seem to get. Closing his eyes, he continues to scream.
Louder....
Louder....
Louder....
The sound of his own cries add static to the already growing noise that he hears. His cries become high pitched as he has no other outlet to express his frustration.
He doesn't feel well, can't they see?
Can't they hear?
Where is she?
He needs her. Can she not hear?
Silhouettes of people move around him. Blurry and featureless, they're strangers in the room. They turn their heads to look in his direction as he screams. They can see that he needs help. They can see that something is wrong.
But nobody moves to help.
They stop to stare, like he's a display in a museum. An oddity in a circus.
But nobody moves to help him.
Nobody helps him get to the woman with the cloud scent and soft skin.
Nobody helps him find the man with the funny expressions and nice voice.
Rubbing his eyes and trying to get away, he knows of nothing else to do but continue to scream for help.
Through the depths of the noise, comes a voice. A familiar voice.
Only for a second does he stop crying, only to scream louder in hopes that he'll be found.
"Onyx?!"
There! A second voice flooding into the chaos.
Through the loud lights and pitched noises, the grating feeling of the strange stares and the static filling his head, comes the woman with the cloud scent.
With tears in her eyes and a rapid moving chest, she runs over to him. He reaches his arms up as she picks him up.
His body curls into hers, trying to breathe in every bit of her. His head rubs against her chest, trying to burrow himself away.
The woman covers his open ear with her hand as he turns his head against her chest. Her arm covers his eyes as she engulfs him in her protection.
He feels the thumping against her chest and puts his ear over it. It's a lot faster than normal. It doesn't usually sound like this.
This, too, is unsettling for the little one.
"Harper?!"
There it is! That first voice again!
The other one. The new one. The soothing one.
The infant's eyes move around, looking for the man that he can only hear.
He sees him walking toward them through the lights. The man is unaffected by them. They don't hurt his mind. The stares don't grate against his tough skin.
It's like he doesn't feel that at all.
As he walks closer, the strange silhouettes fade, blowing away with the wind of him passing by.
"Is he okay?" He asks, wiping the cheeks of the baby being held.
As his porcelain fingers smooth across the baby's brown skin, the noise seems to dissipate.
The bright white lights become a mellow shade of brown.
The incessant chatter becomes a calming lullaby, playing from a spinning mobile of the sun and the moon.
The silhouettes of strange faces become familiar shapes of stuffed animals.
A blue elephant, a purple whale, a green turtle.
And then, all of a sudden, they're in the nursery. Snug in his crib, with a falsely labeled cat, he's fast asleep again.
"Do you think that he dreams?" Yoongi asks as he and Harper look into the crib.
"He does, I think. The way that his face turns up gives him away. Or when he-. Look, he's doing it now."
A small gummy smile forms on the infant's face. His fists open as his fingers relax. Jewel curls closer, bouncing body heat from him.
"I read on the mommy app that babies dream about things they hear or see during the day. They dream like us except in less complex ways."
"So they can't Google their dreams to see what they meant? No secret messages?" Yoongi jokes.
"Who knows?" Harper shrugs. "It's not like they can talk to us to communicate what they think. Or draw it out or write it down. And by the time he will be able to, he'll have forgotten."
"You ever think about incredible infants are?" He says, looking down at Onyx. "They're born as beings that don't know a single thing. And during one year of life, their first year doing anything on this planet, they're using fine motor skills. They're crawling, babbling, walking. So many new things."
Onyx hadn't even learned to roll over when Yoongi first started watching him. Now he's crawling, babbling, eating mushy solids.
What's next? What development will Yoongi get to experience with him next?
"He's incredible." Harper says quietly, resting her head on Yoongi's chest.
"He is."
"I don't want him to have to experience any part of the life that I did before he was born. I want him to stay safe. I want to keep his innocence. He shouldn't be veered away or pulled from it. The idea of that is..." Harper shakes her head.
"Everything will be okay. We spoke to the attorney today. We talked to him about everything. He knows everything. There are plenty of ways that we can go about this. We're not going to even give him the chance to take him. Coming out with everything we've got, he's not going to get his hands on him."
Yoongi kisses her forehead and she sighs.
"I hope so."
"Come on. Let's get to bed. Tomorrow's an early day for you. You're pretty popular now, huh?" Yoongi teases. "You've got breakfasts to go to, dress fittings, wedding invitations, spa days, bachelorette parties."
Harper holds his hand as they walk to her bedroom.
"I wouldn't say that. I've only been getting to do all of these things because of you. They're your friends first."
"That's where I'm gonna stop you." Yoongi holds a finger. "I couldn't get Hailey and Delilah to stop being friends with you if I paid them. Hailey would take my money and still talk to you. And Delilah would tell me shove it."
Harper laughs at his words as they get into bed. She feels like Delilah is definitely the type to get offended about people offering her money or to pay for things. Outside of her husband, that is.
She expects for him to pay for things. In fact, her 'allowance' just consists of something similar to a black card that's in her husband's name. It's not like he'll miss any of the money.
And Hailey? Hailey would look at him like he was an idiot. But as the saying goes 'if you're going to be stupid, you'd better be tough'.
He'd never see that money again and Harper would still have all of her friends.
It feels good to know that she has such a supportive group of people around her. It's good to know that they will be just as loyal to her as she will be to them.
Finally, some reciprocity in all aspects of her life.
There was a time that she could only dream of days like this.
Of nights like this.
After every storm the sun shines again.
Unfortunately, storms aren't once in a lifetime.
And sometimes they're entirely unpredictable.
######
10:47 A.M.
"This feels less like breakfast and more like brunch." Hailey says as she holds the steering wheel.
"Well, it was supposed to be breakfast but they pushed the time back." Harper replies as she puts her chapstick on.
"My dad said that he had a doctor's appointment that ran over and that's why."
"They're close by, at least, so we should head inside and get a table before it gets too packed."
Hailey looks at herself, fixing her hair before before flipping the visor back up. She takes a deep breath in and looks over at Harper.
She watches as the woman grabs her purse and her phone. She checks the notifications and texts Yoongi back while she opens the door.
"Ready?" Harper looks over to Hailey.
"Yeah."
I guess.
The two women get out of the car and walk through the parking lot. With each crunch of the snow below Hailey's boots, she feels a sense of dread thread into her.
Truthfully, she doesn't know what to expect out of this meeting. The fact that they've asked to meet with her at all says a lot given how their last conversation went.
She barely said anything at all and yet there was still yelling, cursing and the raises of voices. She sat there and took it until Taehyung arrived to intervene.
He had several choice words for both Hailey's father and her sister. Many of which left her father furious and her sister speechless.
Taehyung didn't care, though. He wasn't going to allow them to continue to degrade and berate her any further. He simply wasn't having it.
But he knew.
Taehyung's knew of all the things that would be said. He knew of the verbal abuse that could be inflicted on her because of her family. He knows exactly why they are so vile towards her as well.
Harper knows none of this.
As they walk into the restraint and are seated a table for four, Hailey feels as if she's dragged Harper into the lion's den.
When she talked to Taehyung about the situation, it seemed like a good idea at the time to ask Harper to go. Tae and Delilah are at work and Hailey didn't want to pull Yoongi from his day off.
She didn't want to pull Harper from her day off either but she felt that in a sense, this would be killing two birds with one stone. She trusts Harper dearly and knows that she may feel a little left out not understanding the relationship strain that she has with her family.
Especially since it's probably going to be a topic of conversation between she and Yoongi when she gets to the Taylor household.
"Harper, there's something that I should tell you." Hailey says as they're handed their menus.
The waiter is missing the utensils for the table and says he'll be right back with them and then will take their drink orders
"What is it?" Harper asks as she looks through the menu.
She's not particularly hungry but Yoongi let her skip out on eating breakfast with him and Onyx so she'd have an appetite for this. So she has to eat.
Hailey looks at her before she opens her mouth.
"I'm..." She stops talking as she looks off to the side of Harper.
Two familiar figures walk into the restaurant, standing at the podium as they speak to the host.
"You're what?" Harper looks up at her, waiting for her to finish.
"...pretty sure that's my dad and my sister."
Harper turns around to look as Hailey slides out of the booth.
"I'm going to sit next to you." Hailey tells her.
"I was just about to tell you to come sit over here." Harper replies.
Hailey sits in the seat next to her and takes a deep breath.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be okay. I just haven't seen them in a while. It feels like a lot."
"If you think it'll be too much, we should order something small then. That way, we'll be done quicker and have no reason to stay longer than that. We could always say I have to get home to Onyx, too."
Hailey smiles at Harper. "Thank you."
"Of course."
The presence of people are felt next to Hailey and she focuses on the menu for a second. Harper looks up at the pair of people next to the table before she does.
Hailey looks up at her father and sister and they both raise their eyebrows subtly.
"Oh." Her father says. "Didn't recognize you." He comments.
Her sister slides into the booth and her father slides in after her.
"You look... different." He continues.
"...thanks."
I guess.
The pair of them pick up their menus to find their drinks and what they want. Hailey's sister clears her throat and looks at her. Hailey avoids her eye contact, putting her attention back to her menu.
The woman then looks to the friend, who is already looking at her.
Harper finds the similarities in her features and Hailey's. They're so striking that it's almost a shock. They're clearly two different people though. The differences are obvious but if she hadn't known any better, she'd have thought that they were fraternal twins at the very least.
"I'm Noelle." The woman introduces herself. "Who are you?"
"Harper."
"Mm. How'd you two meet?" Noelle asks as she holds her menu up and flips the page.
The amount of care, or lack thereof, that this woman exudes is... off-putting.
"Work." Harper replies. "We have a mutual circle of friends. Well, her boyfriend is best friends with mine, who she's also friends with."
"You're still with him?" Her father looks over his glasses at her.
"Yes." Hailey replies. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Her father's words offend her for Taehyung. He will never not be a touchy subject for her. It's a very quick way to piss her off.
Her father shrugs. "I was just asking. Just wondering. He did disrespect me and your sister but I guess that has little to do with your decision to be with him."
Hailey stiffens his words. She takes a deep breath in and exhales through her nose. She's not going to argue with him. This is what he does. Incites arguments then turns them on her as if she's the one that started them to begin with.
They waiter comes over and places the silverware and napkins on the table in each spot. He takes their drink orders and gives them more time for their food orders.
"We haven't spoken in over a year." Hailey says when he's out of earshot. "Is there a reason that you contacted me to meet?"
Both her father and Noelle look at her. They didn't expect her to be so forward. And quite frankly, neither did Harper. She's never seen Hailey so serious. All of the usual humor and laughter in her face is gone.
It's replaced with a casually stoic expression as she reads through the menu.
Based on the tone of the conversation, Harper knows that they don't like Taehyung. He 'was disrespectful' to them but Harper can't imagine Taehyung being disrespectful to anyone. He even holds his tongue with Kyra, never saying anything rude to her.
So for him to have disrespected Belle and her father, there must have been something that really got under his skin.
"Just cutting right to the chase, I see." Noelle says. "Good." She closes her menu and smacks it onto the table.
Her father grabs her wrist, silently telling her to relax. She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. She puts her eyes back onto Harper who isn't paying her any attention. She studies her face, looking at her features, her nose, her jaw structure. Anything that could possibly give her away.
Hailey's father takes a deep breath and sets his menu down on the table.
"I'm going to be honest with you." He starts. "The reason we called you here is because I've been battling, you know, dealing with some sort of sickness for a while now."
"Liver disease." Noelle rephrases.
"What?" Hailey says quietly looking between them.
"Yeah. It's been a little while but it's uh, getting a little more aggressive now. We're running out of options for me now so that's why I reached out to you. Long story short, I need a liver transplant and Noelle isn't a compatible match for me."
Hailey's features harden as she stares at her father. She's in disbelief for many different reasons. Her mind is muddled and she's having a hard time truly processing the emotions that she's feeling.
But for sure, she knows that she feels hurt.
"So you're going to resurrect me because you're dying?" She asks blankly.
She puts her hands in her lap and blinks at her father. Harper is a confused but figures she'll gather the clues eventually.
"How convenient is that?" Hailey finishes.
"I told you she was gonna be like this, daddy." Noelle says. "I don't know why she's surprised. The dead always make good donors." She looks Hailey up and down.
"Noelle, be quiet. Now I told you I got this handled. Just close your mouth for a second." He turns back to Hailey.
Harper side eyes Noelle, not understanding what the hell her problem is.
"Now I know we've had some misunderstandings and disagreements in the past about a lot of your... life choices and lifestyle. But this needs to be done. I can't live without it and I'm not gonna make it another year without this treatment. You owe me this much."
Her father's face is set in a hard stare and Harper sees the resemblance in their features. Their expressions seem to be the most similar.
"I have to go to the bathroom." Hailey says as she puts the menu on the table.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Harper asks.
"No, it's okay. I'll be quick." Hailey assures.
As she gets up, she fights her tears back. The last thing that she wants to do is cry in front of them. But she can't hold it in any longer.
How dare they drop such a ball on her? How dare they deem her obligated to do anything? After so long of no-contact by their hateful will and this is how they show up to her again?
She can't believe it.
Harper pokes her lips out and stares at the menu in front of her. She's frustrated by everything. She has so many thoughts about what just happened.
One of them is why they chose to tell her this after not speaking for so long. The immediate next thought is the fact that the sole reason they contacted her is because her father needs something from her.
Not for anything other than the fact that he needs something. Not to mention that she's the last resort because the donor line is too long for him to wait.
He was going to wait on the list rather than speak to his daughter if it wasn't going to literally kill him.
How much could you possibly hate your child to do something like this? What could they have possibly done to you?
The only love on this earth that should be completely unconditional is that of a parent to child.
Yet the love isn't there even in a situation as dire as this.
"Excuse me for a minute." Hailey's father says. "I'm gonna go outside and get some air real quick. I'm not feeling too good today."
He grabs his cane and stands. Harper watches as he walks out of the door and goes to sit in his car.
"So." Noelle says to get Harper's attention. "Are you one of them?" She gestures her head in the direction that Hailey went. "Or are you real?"
"Excuse me?" Harper asks with a tilt of her head, confused by what she means.
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you don't know?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Harper says honestly.
She doesn't know but the way that Noelle is talking about whatever it is annoys her. She waited for Hailey to get up from the table and the comment feels condescending.
"Wow. He's supposed to be your 'friend' and didn't even tell you what he is."
The misgendering is what makes things begin to click for Harper and she frowns. Noelle's words make her skin crawl and she's disgusted by even hearing them.
"Or are you just pretending to play dumb because you're one too?" The woman continues.
Harper is taken aback by how someone could be so rude and so boldly disrespectful at the same time. How someone could be so willfully ignorant and disgusting all at once.
Now she understands why Yoongi told her to leave when her blood starts to boil. There wasn't an if. He never said 'if'. He said 'when'.
Now she understands why Taehyung cursed them out. She understands why Hailey hasn't talked to her family in so long. She understands why Delilah and Luca can't stand them either.
Harper's heart races in her chest as she realizes exactly what's going on. She licks her lips and swallows thickly. She scoffs in amusement as she looks at Noelle.
"You know, for someone who's so dedicated to being ignorant, it really blows my mind that you're incapable of pointing out the people you want to hate so bad. I'll take it as a very heavy compliment that you think I'm perfect enough to be a doll. I was just thinking about how similar you and Hailey look. But she's beautiful, inside and out. You, on the other hand... no amount of money could fix that ugly spirit you have to live with everyday."
Harper snatches her purse up and leaves $15 on the table for their drinks and a tip.
"Let Danny know that there's an appointment tomorrow morning that he needs to make it to."
Harper glares at the woman. "I don't know anybody named Danny. But I hope your father doesn't keel over before you find him."
She walks from the table, trying to keep herself calm.
Hailey is walking from the bathroom and stops when she sees the stoic woman coming towards. Harper grabs Hailey's wrist and turns her back around.
"We're leaving."
"What's going on?" Hailey asks, panicked as she looks toward the table where they were sitting.
"Nothing. Your father wasn't feeling well and got sick so he went to the car."
"Oh..." Hailey rubs her hands on her pants as they step out of the restaurant.
They walk to the car and get inside without another word. The drive to Harper's apartment is quiet, filled with music more than anything. The tension isn't between them yet they both hold tension on their body language.
When they get into the parking lot, Hailey parks and looks at Harper.
"Did Noelle say anything to you? About me?" She sounds nervous.
Harper smiles softly at her. She pushes Hailey's hair from her shoulder, fixing the layers for her.
"You're a doll."
The smile on Harper's face floods Hailey with enough relief to swallow her whole. Her eyes begin to tear up and she cries as she's pulled into a hug.
"I was going to tell you but I didn't know how and then we were there and I just couldn't."
"You're not obligated to tell anybody about anything. You are a woman and that's that. You have no obligation to inform them of a goddamn thing. It's nobody's business. It doesn't matter. Whoever that boy that she spoke of is, he's been laid to rest. I've never met him."
That makes Hailey cry harder as she hugs Harper.
"You're allowed to cry. You're allowed to vent. You're allowed to be hurt." Harper tells her quietly. "But you pick your head back up immediately after. Don't let anybody take the happiness you've worked hard for away from you, okay?" Her voice cracks as she speaks to her.
"You are a strong woman and you deserve your happiness. You deserve love. Not just from others but from yourself too. After everything you've been through, you owe yourself that much, okay? You deserve your happiness, Hailey."
Hailey wipes the tears from Harper's cheeks as she sniffles. She nods in response.
"You too, Harper."
"I know." Harper says, keeping her sob back.
"You know." Hailey says as her lip quivers.
They squeeze each other in the hug for a few seconds longer before letting go.
"We have to go to Starbucks for coffee now." Hailey says. "Give us some time to look like we didn't just cry."
"I'll get Yoongi an iced americano. Hopefully that'll distract him enough not to notice."
Hailey laughs as she puts her seatbelt back on. She shakes her head at her friends words.
Mostly because she knows that Harper isn't going to get away with that.
They take their Starbucks trip and make it back to the apartment. Yoongi is given his iced americano but double takes at the sight of Harper's pink eyes.
"What's wrong?" He looks between her and Hailey. "What happened? Is everything okay?"
"The only reason that my father reached out to me is because he has liver disease and needs a transplant."
"Is your sister not a match?" Yoongi asks curiously.
That's the only reason that he can think of as to why they'd reach out to her for this.
"No." Hailey confirms. "She isn't."
Yoongi doesn't have to ask the question of whether or not Hailey will go through with the transplant. He knows that, if she is a match, she's going to go through with it.
She could never risk the chance of possibly saving him. One, because that's her father. And two, because she's a medical professional. She's taken an oath. She could never allow someone to die. Whether that be directly or indirectly by her hand.
This isn't something that is up for debate for her. It's just a liver transplant. They'll remove a piece of Hailey's liver and put it in her father's body. The rest of hers will regenerate and function like normal again.
"What's the timeline for that looking like?" Yoongi asks as the women take their coats and shoes off.
Harper goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her hands so that she can hold her son. He happily reaches for her from the play mat with his tan block in his hand.
"I'm not sure yet." Hailey responds. "We left because he got sick and wasn't feeling well. But I'm sure he'll call or something to follow up. We'll probably have that initial appointment for like blood draws and things like to make sure that I'm a compatible match and healthy. Then from there just prepping, I guess. Getting a surgery date scheduled and everything."
"What medical center does he go to?" Harper wonders.
"Mary's." Hailey answers. "That's where he's always gone."
"Can he switch the hospital that's doing the transplant?" Yoongi asks.
"To Juniper's?" Hailey asks, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah. I'd feel better if it were. I don't think Taehyung would disagree."
"I can ask him and see what he says. I don't know how all of that works since their medical center is the one doing all of his inpatient and disease care."
"Mmm, you're right." Yoongi sighs. "I didn't think about that for a second."
"I'll still ask though to see."
"Maa!" Onyx reaches up for Harper as she walks back into the living room.
"Hi, Bear!" She picks him up and kisses his cheeks. "You on the phone with grandpa?"
Onyx holds the phone in his hands, almost dropping it. Harper holds it for him and smiles at the camera.
"Hi, Mr. Min. I hope you guys are feeling a little better over there."
"Hey, sweetheart. Aera's fine now, actually. Now she's just disinfecting the place because she got me sick."
"I did not." Mrs. Min says. "I told you to stay out of my face because I was sneezing and you didn't. Now we won't be able to see Onyx for another several days."
"That'll be just in time for court then. We'll still be able to watch him."
"It's just a common cold." Hailey says. "Those help build immune systems."
"That doesn't mean he has to get sick." Harper scrunches her nose.
"But he's going to. It's inevitable."
"That's not true." Harper counters.
Hailey puts her hands up in mock surrender. She tried to warn her. She's just in denial and that's okay.
"You guys didn't get a chance to eat, did you?" Yoongi asks suddenly. "You left too soon."
"Yeah, no. We didn't get to eat anything."
"Do you guys have pancake mix?" Hailey asks as she walks into the kitchen to wash her hands. "I'll make breakfast."
"Are you sure?"
"Cooking helps my mind relax. So yes. I'll make Onyx teeny weeny pancakes to eat."
"Ouuu, auntie's making you pancakes." Harper pokes her son's stomach.
He giggles and puts his head on her shoulder.
"But we can't eat too much because we need to make sure our dresses fit how they're going to on the wedding day. And I do not want to be bloated on Delilah's wedding day." Hailey voices.
"You guys are too young to be talking about diets. Delilah, too. I hate hearing that. Aish." Mrs. Min voices over the phone.
"I'm going to go before she starts her ranting and raving." Mr. Min tells Harper.
"Okay. Feel better soon."
"We will."
Harper hangs the phone up and looks to Yoongi.
"I forgot all about that. I haven't dieted or anything. I just can't wait to go dress shopping. I'm so excited."
"You should know that Delilah is going to have the most extra things at her weddings. Between her and Luca, the maintenance is indeed high."
"I'm not surprised at all. That restaurant of his is incredible. And she helped design it so, at this point, I expect a lot out of those two."
Harper holds her son up, smiling at him before kissing his nose.
"I love you so much sweet boy. Did you have fun with Dada today?"
"Dada." Onyx repeats.
"Yeah, Dada." Harper confirms.
She turns so that he can see Yoongi and points to him.
"Did you have fun with Dada?"
Yoongi smiles at Onyx and the baby grins.
"Dada."
"Now you have to say 'mama' too or she's going to side eye me for the rest of the day." Yoongi tells him.
Onyx stares at him, confused by all of the words that he just said. He doesn't understand very many, if any at all.
"Mama." Yoongi simplifies.
"Mmmm." Onyx hums.
"That's the 'm' sound. That's good. Just finish it now. 'Ma-ma'."
Onyx watches Yoongi intently, finding his annunciation funny.
"Mamaaaa." Onyx says out loud before giggling.
"Good job, Bear." Harper kisses his cheeks.
Hailey watches her friends with a soft smile on her face. She loves them so much.
She hasn't known Harper for very long but she's such an easy person to love. From their very first conversation in the employee lounge, Hailey knew that they would be good friends. She knew that she would like her because Yoongi did.
Yoongi is more observant than he is outspoken. He does more than he says. He knows more than he'll ever open his mouth to speak on. He tends to read people in a way that Hailey thinks has to be other-worldly.
He never speaks on that either. Some people he just needs more time to gauge.
So if Yoongi took an immediate liking to Harper, even despite her son keeping him up at all hours of the night, then there must have been something wonderful about her.
Hailey's still learning all of the beautiful things that come with Harper. Every time they hang out, she learns something new. She learns something that makes her all the more admirable.
She and Yoongi really are the perfect pair, if she says so herself. Though she's sure that the rest of their friends would agree as well.
"I'm gonna help Hailey with breakfast." Yoongi says. "You relax and play blocks with him before he starts throwing them again."
"He was throwing them?" Harper raises her eyebrows.
"Yeah." Yoongi chuckles. "I was watching a video on my phone and wasn't paying attention. He threw an orange block at the carpet and yelled to get my attention."
"You getting scolded by a six month old is kind of funny if you think about it." Harper tilts her head.
"It is. But he's yelled at you way more than he's yelled at me sooo." Yoongi pokes his lips out. "I'm still in the green."
"You are the worst." Harper says as they both start to laugh.
"Mmhmm." Yoongi hums as he walks into the kitchen.
Harper sits on the carpet with Onyx and grabs the blocks. She only grabs the ones that she knows he'll play with, though.
She stacks them on top of one another and he tries to grab the top one. He knocks them down in the process and Harper gasps as she smiles.
She stacks them in different variations and he smacks them down each time, finding humor in his mother's reactions.
"She's such a good mother." Hailey says as she mixes the batter.
"She is. She's so organized and put together for everything that she does with him. It's incredible. She has backups for everything that could possibly involve him." Yoongi gushes over his girlfriend's parenting skills.
"You're really good with him too, though." Hailey compliments. "For someone just taking up parenting. It's not as if you were there and could prep for his arrival. He literally just popped up next door. But you know what?"
She puts her hand on her hip as she thinks.
"That's kinda... comparative in a way."
"What do you mean?" Yoongi wonders.
"Had you been his biological father, you'd have the time to prep for his birth but nobody can really prep for parenting. Every kid is different, you know. I see it all the time with twins that come into the office. Same face, completely different kids. Sometimes different parenting styles are needed. What works for one may not work for the other."
Yoongi kind of understands what she's talking about, getting what he thinks of the gist of it.
"But what I'm saying is that, either way, biological or not, you're thrown into the pit and just have to figure it out. Parenting is kinetic learning. You gotta do it to really get it down."
Yoongi nods, finally understanding her full point.
"You know what's funny?" He asks as he grabs the griddle.
He plugs it in and adjusts the temperature on it.
"When I was first got into med school, I used to stay up and think about how my life would look in the future. And I always thought I'd be this picture perfect father. That I'd know everything and do all the research for anything."
Hailey chuckles as she hears that. It's something that she can definitely imagine him doing. Reading tons of books to figure things out. Being a stickler about things from what he read.
"But each day I spend with Onyx, I realize that I know little to nothing." Yoongi finishes. "I mean, I know the basics of infant development, of course. You read that baby needs vaccinations and they obviously don't like being poked. But you don't read that you'll dislike the nurse that poked him for a couple hours after the fact."
Hailey laughs out loud and puts her head down.
Hearing this from him firsthand, she wishes she would have seen what his face looked like when Kaiti was giving Onyx his shots.
She can just imagine the frown on his face that he would have failed to hide. The subtle glare that he probably gave. The way that he would have wanted to hold Onyx for the rest of the appointment to keep him from Nurse Kaiti.
Appointment long over and he'd still be holding him.
"They also don't tell you that you'll get peed on by another human and not be upset at all. He was half asleep when he peed on me and I wasn't even mad. I found it cute that he was knocked out when I got back in the room."
"Aweee." Hailey pouts.
"And he sleeps with his mouth open like somebody's grandpa. Oh- and he snores like my dad." Yoongi adds.
"Yeah, he does snore like he works six jobs." Hailey agrees. "He sleeps like he's worked 24 hour shifts, too."
"If I nap with him in the bed next to me, I'll wake up on the edge of the bed. And you know where he is?"
"Where?"
"Laying with his back right against mine. That doesn't even make any sense. He's little. Like, so tiny. What does he need all that room for?"
"It's cool that you do that." Hailey tells him.
"Get bullied out of the bed by a baby?" Yoongi side eyes her.
"No." She laughs. "That parents move away from their child while sleeping. Even if you're sleep, you're being protective. Protecting him from yourself, basically. Accounting for where he is, while you're sleeping, and maneuvering away to keep him safe. That's incredible."
He hadn't thought about it like that. He just knew that he was moving over. He'd assumed that it was because his body felt Onyx closer. But hearing the depth of how that works, it puts it into perspective for him.
"Even crazier because it's more of a maternal instinct for this to be done than paternal." Hailey says.
"What do you mean? Mothers are more likely to move than fathers."
"Mhm." Hailey nods. "Fathers move too. But not as often or consistently as mothers. It's something like a parental instinct, to not harm our offspring. It's more likely that a father will either stay asleep or wake up and move entirely out of the space. The latter takes conscious effort, though."
Yoongi puts his hand over the griddle to make sure that it's warming properly. He looks over to Harper and Onyx as they play with blocks.
Onyx knocks them over and Harper gasps and claps for him. He giggles and kicks his legs in excitement. Jewel lays next to them watching the pair laugh and have fun.
"Oh-." Hailey says suddenly. "Did you also know that you and Harper's mind are syncing up in a way with Onyx's while you're co-sleeping."
"That sounds creepy." Yoongi voices.
"Oh, it is." Hailey agrees.
"But cool creepy." Yoongi adds.
"Agreed. But that's actually what makes you intrinsically aware of how close he is to you while you sleep. Or if he's about to cry or something and you wake up before it happens. Babies are so cool." Hailey says, pouring the batter onto the griddle in circles.
"Yeah... they definitely are." Yoongi hears Onyx's squealing giggle in his ears.
He grins at the sound of his son's joy.
######
Hours later into the day, Hailey and Harper are parking in a spot in front of the bridal shop. They're both excited and Harper is a little nervous.
She isn't really sure exactly why. But she knows that a lot of it because of the fact that this will be her first wedding experience of any kind. She has no idea what actually happens at wedding. She doesn't even know of anyone whose attended one either.
"Are you nervous?" Hailey nudges Harper's arm as they walk down the path to the door.
"Yeah... little bit."
"Me too." Hailey admits.
"Why are you nervous?"
The words force Hailey to think of Taehyung. They force her to acknowledge the one hurdle preventing them from being married.
Taehyung wants to marry Hailey. He wants, more than anything, to propose and marry the love of his life.
But Hailey isn't ready for that just yet. Not when there's still some legal things that need to be sorted out. Not while there's still so much to be done, so much to be discussed.
"Just jitters, I guess." Hailey replies.
"Same, honestly. I don't know anything about weddings."
The pair walk into the building and Hailey leads the way. They're assisted by a woman who walks them back to where Delilah is waiting.
"Yay, you're here!" She gets up and holds her arms out. "I'm so excited. Harper, I had them pull dresses that match the color scheme for you already. They're different styles and I want to make sure you pick one that you really love."
"It's your wedding, Delilah." Harper says as she hugs her.
"But it's still a day that I'm sharing with all of my favorite people. And I want all of my favorite people to have just as good of a day as I'll have. Now let's go pick your dress and get you measured so make sure that it's perfect for you. Hailey, you're just getting a final fitting today, right?"
"Right. And I'm on a bit of a diet to make sure that I can still fit everything as intended."
"I swear that I'm going to get a burger from Eddie's Diner as soon as the wedding's over. I'm going to stop there before going to the reception." Delilah pats her stomach.
Harper laughs at Delilah's longing face. She really been craving a cheeseburger with some bacon on it. But she's been holding off for the sake of looking snatched at the wedding.
"Good evening, ladies. How are you today?"
"We're as good as we can get, I guess." Delilah responds to the stylist. "How are you?"
"I'm well. Thank you for asking. I've got the dresses that you requested pulled and in the large dressing room for you." The stylist guides them back to the room and opens the door for them.
Delilah steps in first. Harper and Hailey follow after.
"Oh, wait. Do you mind that we're in here?" Hailey asks. "I can go in my dressing room, if you want. I've got a dress to try on anyway."
"I can wait in the viewing area if you'd prefer." Delilah offers. "I want to see Hailey in her dress too anyway. Oh-. Speaking of that. Tamara, can you please get Hailey's dress as well?"
"Of course. It's in the stylists' office. Should I bring it here?"
"I don't mind if you guys stay. It's not like I'm getting naked and I'll probably need some help anyway." Harper looks at the dresses.
She doesn't want to ruin any fabric or ruin anything about them if she can help it.
"Then yes." Hailey responds to the stylist. "Bring it right in here."
"Okay. I'll be back in just a moment."
"Thank you."
"No problem."
Harper looks over at the dresses on the mannequins that were pulled for her. She's in awe of how simple yet beautiful something could be.
"I thought all the bridesmaids had to wear the same thing to weddings." Harper asks, looking at the different styles in front of her.
"Well, the theme is elegance. And I want all of the bridesmaids to embody that with their own dresses and accessories and style. So all of your dresses are different. They'll be fitted just for you, styled just to you. Your own beauty in elegance."
"You've had your wedding planned out for years, haven't you?" Harper asks, realizing the detail in everything.
"Since I was about sixteen, seventeen. I really solidified all the plans when I let Luca. That sounds so cliche but I swear this man has been the same since I met him. He told me we'd get married and all of this stuff. All of the things that anybody else would've written off as pipe dreams. That we were going to be successful and well known and settled for life. My parents called bullshit, of course, but I never did."
Harper smiles at Delilah as she talks.
"It feels like such a long time coming. I'm going to be 33 in April. I've been with Luca for a third of my whole life."
"You're 32?!" Harper's jaw drops.
Hailey snickers as she sits down. She's sure she looked the exact same when she found out.
"Why are you looking at me like that? 30 isn't an old at all. That's not even half of my life. Why are you people like this?"
"I'm not calling you old at all. I know 30 isn't old. You just don't like 30 at all. Oh my god. You're older than Yoongi. What's the secret? Tell me now so I know."
"Harper, there is no secret. You were already born with it. What are you talking about?" Delilah pokes her skin.
"This means that I'm the youngest out of everybody, aren't I?" Harper stands there and blinks. "Hailey, how old are you?"
"26."
"Ugh. What?" Harper groans and leans against the wall dramatically.
"Why do you sound sad about that?" Delilah laughs.
"How old is Taehyung?" Harper asks out loud.
"27."
"This is criminal."
"She's complaining about being 23." Delilah looks to Hailey. "Do you hear that?"
"Yeah. I don't want to hear anything when she's 30."
"She's still going to complain because she'll still be the youngest." Delilah points out.
"I don't think it'll bother me until we're in our 60s and 70s. Because why are you complaining about being young. Harper, what's wrong with you?" Hailey flicks her.
"You guys can retire before me."
Delilah and Hailey both roll their eyes.
"Do you know how boring it's going to be having to go to work by myself?" Harper expresses her concern.
"Is that seriously what you're worried about? You don't think you'll make more friends there by then?" Delilah asks.
"No." Hailey and Harper both screw their faces up as they say it.
"Good. That was a test. You pass."
They all laugh about it until the stylist comes back in with Hailey's dress. She waits in the viewing room for them.
Hailey puts her dress on and Harper picks one that she likes best. They stand in the mirror together and Delilah clasps her hands together.
"You look so beautiful, both of you. I'm going to cry." She fans her face.
"Oh, please don't. Because then Luca will know somehow and press me about why you cried today." Hailey groans.
Delilah blinks quickly, pushing her tears back.
"I know, I know. I'm trying to hold it in. I don't think this is the waterproof eyeliner."
"You're worried about your makeup and I'm worried about your UFC built husband. Your priorities are very off, Delilah."
"You know that he loves you. He's not going to press you too bad."
"Girl that's-. That's not comforting." Hailey tries not to laugh.
"You'll be fine. Let me get pictures. I want to have these moments forever. It's Harper's first dress try on and the start to our first wedding together. Say cheese."
Despite their initial wariness for the picture, Hailey and Harper say 'cheese' anyway.
Delilah snaps the pictures and several more after that.
Hailey and Harper walk out to the viewing room and get the full sight of themselves in their dresses. It sends a chill down both of their spines.
"You look beautiful, Hailey." Harper compliments.
"Thank you. You do, too."
Taking a deep breath in, the women feel a sense of catharsis in this moment. They don't know exactly what's triggered it...
But they cannot deny its presence within them.
A|N
#There are a few different things going on in our characters' lives at the moment. I'm excited for you all to see how these things play out. But, of course, nothing is without a little chaos here :)