(SIX DAYS LATER)

Mir ran a hand over his tummy, and leaned back on the couch until he was laying across the armrest. He was bored, but tired and sore all at the same time, and since nothing good was on TV, he really had nothing other to do than stare up at the stark white ceiling and think... not that that was much fun either.

But there was one thing on his mind that he really wanted to contemplate, before his imagination got the best of him, and made him blow things way out of proportion: why was Thunder avoiding him? Ever since he'd climbed into Seungho's car to go to see his OB/GYN, the visual had cut off communication completely, not even bothering to look at him most of the time when they passed in the dorm, or he nervously asked what was wrong. Had he said something wrong to make him upset? Had he done something maybe?

He threw an arm over his eyes and groaned, feeling a pregnancy headache coming on the longer he pushed his brain to decide on a reason as to why his boyfriend was suddenly acting so uninterested in him. Was he getting to be too fat and ugly? Yeah, he probably was—even his appa had told him that before he'd come back to the dorm again, and he'd only been five months at the time; he could only imagine how he looked now.

But there was something else that triggered his worry... that one tiny suspicion hidden deep in his mind that made him question whether or not Thunder was giving up on him and the baby. Really, he wanted to believe otherwise, since he knew Thunder had been completely and utterly invested in them just the week before... but people can change, and as he and the others all knew, Thunder was the most unpredictable person ever. Nothing he ever did was set in stone; his routines would change every day, and he never stuck to the same thing for more than a week; his mannerisms, his was of speaking, thinking, varied at nearly every second of the day, and no one could really get a good grasp on what kind of person he really was because of that... which, to Mir, said that there was a good chance that he was about to learn how to raise a baby on his own.

Tears formed at the corners of his brown eyes, and he breathed in deep to keep from stressing out too much and harming the baby. Had Thunder really just decided to abandon him and their daughter? Had he just given up, and moved on as if nothing had ever happened? But how would they be able to live that way, in the same dorm? Would Mir have to tell the baby that her father didn't want to be there for her? Would he have to lie to her and tell her he didn't even know who her father was? No, that would only make him a more horrible umma than he already was... because back when he'd first learned he was pregnant with her, he'd been miserable. He'd wanted nothing more than to grab a blunt object, and whack his stomach as hard as possible until blood soaked his legs... But he'd known better than to do something so gruesome, so heartless, because Thunder and his other hyungs would never forgive him if he did... That, and there was always a small part of him that wanted to keep her, hold her, spoil her, and treat her better than he'd done to Lauren, Dayoung, and Leo, just to prove that he could be a more noteworthy parent than what he'd been portrayed as on TV.

But now, now he was ready; he wanted to raise her, and take care of her, and protect her from anyone who tried to stand in her way. He really wanted to be an umma, so he could show his good parenting and DNA off to the world... Was he ready to do that alone though? Sure, Seungho and G.O. were sure to back him up, and help whenever he needed some... but Thunder was the whole reason he'd fought so hard to stay perfect for the baby, to stay in the dorm and MBLAQ, to behave and act civil enough so that he wouldn't have to face what he was at the moment. He'd thought Thunder had truly liked him, and would want to be there for him every step of the way... But things seemed to be pointing in another direction for them as of late, and the idea of him having to be a single parent only seemed more and more likely as the minutes ticked by.

He pushed up from his spot on the couch—being careful not to move too rough or quick, or he might harm the baby—before he waddled off to his and Joon's bedroom, and began to toss his clothes into his bag. His tears had long gone uncontrolled at that point, and they were drowning his face, smudging his make-up, as he worked on making sure everything was packed and stuffed far enough into his suitcase for the thing to be able to close when the time came. How could Thunder do such a thing to him—to their own child? How could he just abandon them, and yet stay in the same space as them, almost as a way of taunting the maknae? He was only the appa after all, so he really had no true reason to stay tied down to them if he wanted to go. He could just stand there, completely free of their relationship, their baby, their consequences and past, and move on to someone better and cuter than his only dongsaeng in the MBLAQ group...

Mir didn't want that though; he wanted Thunder to like him, love him even... And he wanted all of them to be a family—even the other hyungs—so the baby could receive as much love as possible as she grew up...

A strangled scream of frustration escaped his lips, and his fists furiously pounded on his overstuffed suitcase as a ventilation to all of the pent-up feelings coursing through him and his hormonal body. Why did things have to be so hard? Why couldn't his life just be simple again? Why were there all of these rules, all of these guidelines and restrictions and stupid manuals to being an idol? And why in the world did he have to fall for Thunder? Why did he have to find someone so deceptively beautiful and kind, and have his heart, his family, utterly broken by him? Why had he chosen to be intimate with him?

Why had he not been smarter...?

"You babo!" he shouted, suddenly counteracting his previous goal by chucking his clothing around the room in anger. "Why are you so stupid? Why would you believe him? What kind of person would fall for a jerk like him?"

"Who?"

He turned around quickly, his chest heaving from exertion as he stared at the person who'd caught him acting out; Thunder just gazed around him though, examining the mess he'd made only seconds before.

"Doongie-hyung..." he murmured, not quite sure whether to be happy that the visual had actually spoken to him again, or angry that the one person who'd messed up his entire life was standing there while he was still in the middle of fuming over him. "You're back..."

Thunder finally drew his eyes up to look at the maknae, but his demeanor was nowhere near as accepting and sweet as it had been before; he actually looked kind of... hurt, and weary. "Hyung let me go early, because you were here alone..." he finally responded, taking a careful step forward. "What were you saying though, just now? You said that someone was a jerk to you?"

Mir blushed and looked down to his feet (or tried to anyways), not really wanting to tell Thunder that he was, in fact, referring to him. But how else was he going to feel guilty about what he'd done to Mir and their daughter? How else was he going to understand just how hard things were for the maknae at that moment? How else was he going to know how much of a heartless, cruel person he was for not wanting to be there for them? "Y-you, Doongie-hyung... You're the jerk..."

Thunder looked confused, and his face scrunched up cutely when his thoughts began to wander. When had he ever been a jerk to Mir... or even to anyone? All he'd done was support him, and tell him how ready he was to take care of the baby... but Mir had gone and given up, beginning to neglect her because he could not accept the fact that they had messed up, and now had to face the consequences of their actions. "I was a jerk?" he suddenly asked, his tone somewhat accusatory. "How was I a jerk to you?"

"Babo! You've been ignoring me all week!" Mir protested, his face red and his cheeks soaked in fresh tears. "And I know what that means... You're trying to leave me and the baby!"

Thunder was even more taken aback by the new accusation thrown at him, and he took a few angry steps forward in response until he grabbed ahold of Mir's arm, and kept him in place so they could properly sort out what had just been said. "Mireu, you were neglecting her! That's why I was ignoring you! I thought you were giving up, and I could not stand to watch that! But please believe me when I say that I never had any intention of leaving either of you—and I never will!"

Mir just stood there, dumbfounded, his previous annoyance gone. Thunder had thought he was... neglecting her? Why would he do that? Why would he want to hurt his own daughter, his own flesh and blood, like that? "You thought that I was giving up...?" he whispered, not really knowing how to properly react to such a hurtful statement. "You thought that I was just going to... stop caring, and let her die...?"

"No, not that far," Thunder said, shaking his head; suddenly things were quiet between them, but the tense mood was just as thick as before. "I know you love her, but I also know that you want to just be the old Mireu again... So when you said that you'd forgotten about your appointment last week, I got upset, and I figured that you were starting to back out... But I love her... I never would have been able to look on as you steadily let her suffer... So I stopped looking at you, and speaking to you, to keep my heart from breaking..."

Mir frowned, feeling a new wave of tears fall from his eyes; he was hurt that Thunder would think that of him, especially after he'd already said numerous times that he was going to try harder, that he was going to be better than before... How would giving up, and letting the baby suffer, aid him in proving that? "You..." he began, though the rest of the words seemed to catch in his throat when he made to carry on.

"How could you do that, Mireu?" Thunder asked, his hand moving up to brush some of the maknae's hair out of his face. "How could you make me worry like that? How could you just let her go, and be more concerned about you and your career here?"

"Doongie-hyung... I... Really, I forgot about that appointment..." he protested, when his brain suddenly caught up to what Thunder was trying to get at. "Remember, I already told you I want to be a good umma, and that I want the six of us to be together... Why would I do such a thing to her when all I want is the complete opposite...? And our schedules... we have more to be busied and worried about than ever before... and with my hormones like they are too... I did, I forgot... But I promise to try harder not to again... I want to make sure she's perfect for us when she's born..."

There was a brief lapse in sound and movement, but then Thunder was moving forward and wrapping Mir up in his arms, kissing all over his pretty forehead and scalp. "This was all a big misunderstanding..." he breathed, and Mir nodded into his chest, hands gripping the back of the his shirt to keep him from moving away. "Thank goodness..."

"I really am sorry if I worried you, hyung..." Mir whispered, but a hand snaking up to cup the back of his head urged him to speak up, and he repeated his previous statement loud enough so that the words seemed to echo around the room, enveloping them in a warm blanket of comfort. "Please, forgive me..."

"I do, Mireu," Thunder assured, giving him another sweet kiss on his temple. "Can you forgive me too?"

Mir nodded, before a smile began to form on his lips. "Of course," he said. "And... I love you, Doongie-hyung..."

Thunder just chuckled and pulled them apart so they could properly look into each other's eyes. "I love you too, Mireu," he replied, placing his hand on Mir's rounded stomach. "And the baby as well," he added a moment later, grinning happily.

They stayed there for a long while, not wanting to move and ruin the calm, sweet moment between them. Seungho and G.O. finally arriving back though, drew them from their alone time, and all four of them sat down at the table to eat their take-out dinner Seungho had graciously paid for.

"So... you two seem to be on good terms again," he said, watching as Thunder scooped out a sizable bowl of food for Mir, a larger smile than usual adorning his face. "Did something happen when you got back here, Doongie?"

"Yeah, but Mireu and I just talked," Thunder replied, easily picking up on the suspicious look their leader gave him, and the underlying meaning behind his question. "We know better now, than to do what you're thinking, hyung," he then added, and Seungho smiled and nodded in response; that was precisely what he'd wanted to hear from them.

"Well, that's good then," G.O. finally cut in, before he scooped up a pile of rice, "as long as everyone's happy, and the baby is okay."

Seungho laughed and slapped him on the back, just as he went to eat his giant mound of rice; he choked, and watched as dozens of white grains spread out along the table, in their food, on Thunder's and Mir's faces, and all over his own body as well. That just spurred Seungho to laugh harder, while the other two groaned and made looks of disgust as they wiped the rice from their skin.

"No, all of this food is ruined now," Thunder complained a moment later, when G.O. had gotten the chance to breathe properly again. "Hyung, why did you have to do that to us?"

"Ask... Seungho..." G.O. panted, and three sets of angry eyes turned to their leader, who only snorted and began cackling all over again.

"Sorry, sorry," he gasped, holding onto his stomach; no one but him seemed to be amused though, so he soon had to sober up and clear his throat in order to get the awkward silence (that he sensed anyways) to clear from their dining area. "Sorry..." he repeated, bowing his head to G.O., who only cocked his head, and raised his eyebrows in questioning. "I just thought you sounded kind of sappy before... so I laughed..."

"Omo, Seungho-hyung, since when is G.O.-hyung the leader?" Mir suddenly giggled, poking Seungho in the shoulder; a hard glare was thrown his way not but a second later, and had he not been pregnant, he and his chair would have been tipped over onto the ground already.

"Shut up, maknae," Seungho just grumbled as he went back to eating, causing the other three to exchange an amused look before bursting into their own chorus of laughter. "Okay, okay, so I let Byunghee boss me around just once..." he deadpanned, glancing around the table. "So what? Just stop laughing and go back to eating your food..."

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I would think you have a crush on me or something, since you just let me do that to you," G.O. teased, giving the leader a suggestive look, and a pair of puckered lips.

"Yah, gross," Seungho groused, turning his head the other way. "And just remember that that was a one-time thing—for all of you—because I am still the leader of MBLAQ, and that's never going to change."

"Yeah, whatever you say, hyung," Mir snickered, nudging Thunder in the shin to gain his attention before kissing him on the lips; he could clearly hear Seungho fume from behind him, but he only smiled in reply before pulling away and his lips. Thunder just sat there dazed for a few seconds afterwards, but he looked more than happy about what had just happened, and wrapped his arm around Mir's shoulders to pull him close as they began eating again.

Seungho just shook his leg under the table in annoyance, and gripped his chopsticks so tight they snapped in his hand... which again, made his dongseangs laugh. He just sighed and stood up to grab a new pair; he was in for a long evening.