｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

another smack lands on his face. “appa. up please" mark sighs dramatically before finally opening his eyes. his 3 year old son is standing beside the bed wide awake. mark glances toward the clock. three thirty-seven in the morning shines bright back ay him.“why are you awake?”

cub immediately lifts both arms. “up.” mark closes his eyes. without another word he reaches down and lifts the boy onto the mattress. the second cub’s feet touch the bed he takes off straight across mark and straight toward you. mark watches as his son practically launches himself onto your side of the bed before immediately curling up on top of you.

you let out a sleepy noise when the toddler suddenly lands on your chest. your eyes crack open. “baby?” you mumble, still half asleep. your son immediately snuggles closer and buries his face against your neck, “hi mama.” your hand automatically finds his hair. “hi.” the two of you start drifting back to sleep. mark, however, is now fully awake and trapped on the edge of the bed. he reaches over to pull the blanket higher over both of you and wrap an arm around your waist. immediately, your sons eyes opens and his gaze narrows at mark, “no.”

mark blinks, “no?” cub grabs your arm and hugs it tighter, “my mama.” mark looks at you and youre smiling into your pillow. “buddy,” mark says carefully, “i’m literally giving you the blanket. appa is also about to fall off the bed.” he scoots even closer to you, “my mama.” mark lets out a laugh, “she was mine first.” cub shakes his head, “mine. you finally start laughing. cub reaches up and pats your cheek, “sleep mama.”

mark attempts to move closer. immediately a tiny hand shoots out. you're laughing harder now.

“don’t encourage him.”

“i’m not.”

“you’re laughing .”

“because you’re getting bullied by our son.”

“i know.”

“you’re really pretty.”

“thank you.”

“do i know you?”

“unfortunately.”

that had been twenty minutes ago. now the bar was behind you, the city lit up by streetlights and passing headlights, and you had completely given up on walking. which was how sion ended up carrying you the rest of the way to your dorm. he was fully carrying you, one arm hooked under your knees and the other supporting your back as if you weighed absolutely nothing. you had spent the first five minutes giggling every time he adjusted his grip.

“stop laughing.”

“i’m not laughing.” you immediately started laughing harder. sion sighed. “this is going to be the longest walk home ever.”

“you love me.”

“you’re so drunk.”

“you still love me.”

he physically rolled his eyes, which only made you laugh harder. your head tipped back dramatically, hair dangling toward the pavement as you stared upside down at the world. “everything looks weird.”

“that’s because you’re upside down.”

“no, i think the street is upside down.”

“yeah.”

you squinted at him. “you’re making fun of me.”

“maybe.”

you tried to cross your arms, which was difficult considering you were currently being carried like a princess. sion barely reacted. every once in a while he’d shift you slightly higher against his chest without even breaking stride. the movement always made your stomach flip. “you’re strong. thank god for the gym" you stared at him after that.

then kept staring ... and kept staring. after a few seconds, sion immediately knew where this was headed. “what?” your smile somehow got bigger. “you’re really handsome.” he groaned. “here we go.”

“no, seriously.”

“yn.”

“like really handsome.”

“thank you.”

“do you have a girlfriend?” sion stared down at you for a moment before letting out a disbelieving laugh. one arm tightened beneath your knees as he adjusted you higher against his chest. “yn,” he said slowly, like he couldn’t believe this conversation was happening, “you are my girlfriend.”

you stared at him for a few seconds then your eyes suddenly widened. “no way.” sion immediately groaned and adjusted his hold on you. “yes way.” “seriously?” you asked, staring up at him. “yes, seriously.” your jaw dropped. “i’m your girlfriend?”

"you've been my girlfriend for 3 years" a shocked laugh burst out of you and you slapped a hand over your mouth. “that’s crazy. you picked me?” “i did," his tone was flat but you could see the faint smile creeping onto his face. your smile softened as you stared up at him. “you take good care of me.”

for the first time all night sion went quiet. the teasing disappeared from your voice and it was replaced by simple honesty. he glanced down and found you already starting to fade. your head was tucked against his shoulder now and your eyes drifting closed more and more with every passing second. every sentence seemed harder for you to hold onto than the last.

anton is at the counter when she bumps into his leg. he looks down. “hey.” she doesn’t answer. she slides her arms around his leg and rests her forehead against him, eyes already half-closed. you’re on the couch, watching. “she’s done.” anton lifts her easily, settling her on his hip. she yawns, cheek pressed to his shoulder.

he starts walking slow laps around the living room and kitchen. the little girls fingers curl into his hoodie. you glance at the clock, "you're going to be at this for a while." anton shrugs. “that’s okay.” fishie stirs when he pauses to adjust his hold, eyes fluttering open just enough to her surroundings. when she sees you looking at her, she gives a tiny sleepy smile. “hi mama,” she whispers.

“hi baby.”

bedtime comes and shotaro tucks him in. his nightlight is on and everything is perfect. shotaro sits on the edge of the bed. “you okay?”

bear nods.

“you need anything?”

“nope.”

shotaro smiles proudly, “look at you. so brave". bear tries not to smile, “because i’m a big kid.” shotaro nods, “because you’re a big kid.” he gives him a kiss on the forehead then stands and makes his way to the door. “…appa?” he pauses. “yeah?”

“just stay one minute.” shotaro walks back to the edge of the bed, sitting down. “okay.” you hear it all from your bedroom down the hall.

one minute turn into 5 which turns into 10. you look up from your book as shotaro walks into the room. “how’d the big kid bedtime go?”

“great.”

“how long were you in there?”

“…ten minutes.”

you snort as shotaro climbs into bed beside you. your baby bump is just starting to show now enough that he keeps absentmindedly resting a hand there whenever you’re lying together.

“he’ll be asleep in a few minutes.”

“mhm.”

you both know better. it only takes three minutes for tiny footsteps to be heard. you start laughing before the door even opens. “hi.” a tiny voice calls out. shotaro props himself up, “bear.”

“yeah?”

“what happened to sleeping in your own bed?”bear thinks for a second before shrugging, “i tried.” “for three minutes?” you question. “that’s a long time. bear climbs onto the mattress. he wedges himself directly between you and your husband.“i’m just staying one minute.”

you both start laughing. five minutes later he’s still there. curled against your side and already half asleep. shotaro reaches over and brushes his hair back, “i thought you were a big kid.”

bear yawns. “i am.”

“i thought big kids sleep in their own beds.” you remind him.

“mhm.”

“so…”

bear’s eyes are completely closed now, “maybe tomorrow.” shotaro laughs quietly, “tomorrow “tomorrow i’ll do it.” bear shifts in his sleep and presses even closer. shotaro looks down at him for a moment, then at your stomach, and then at you. the tiniest smile appears on his face. “you know,” he whispers, “i don’t think we’re ever getting this bed back.”