(TEN DAYS LATER)

Thunder rubbed his hand over Mir's stomach, admiring just how much he'd grown in only a month's time; and the baby, she was kicking harder than ever, which—unfortunately for all of them—meant that Mir's complaining sessions were even worse than before. He would whine and cry to each of hyungs, asking for them to rub his back or feet, or carry him to the bathroom every five minutes when he had to go.

G.O. and Seungho just shrugged him away in most of those cases, looking annoyed, and told him instead that he needed to get the baby's appa to help him out, since that was his job anyways... so that's precisely what Mir did; and Thunder obliged to him almost every time, but there were some nights when he was just too tired from his schedule to move even his own body, never mind Mir's.

His eyes moved around the dimmed room surrounding them, and he took in the wonderful sight of the present Dara and Durami had given them a few days before, when they'd visited to "meet" their niece for the first time. Baby stuff lined the inside of the wicker, Thunder recalled, consisting of anything from a onesie, to a pacifier, to a pile of intricately packed diapers made to look like a pink heart.

And he and Mir had been grateful, of course, to have received such a surprise, and had opened the plastic paper wrapped around the baby's new things in order to hold them in their hands, and fawn over how cute everything looked; and Dara and Durami had sat back and giggled the whole time, admiring just how happy their brother looked for once when it came to family other than them and their mother. Later on that night, the four of them had sat around talking about Thunder and embarrassing moments from his childhood, before the girls got their first feel of the baby, blew her a kiss through Mir's tummy, and hugged him and Thunder when they decided they better leave, since the more famous three had schedules to attend to in the morning.

The next night though, had been the Bang family's turn to show up, but even at Mir's protests that he and Thunder were far too tired to do anything outside of going to bed, they (against their will) had been dragged out to dinner by Hyo Jin and Hyo Sun, who were far more brutal and abusive towards their dongsaeng than Dara and Durami had been to Thunder. They over how big he was, how tired he looked, how much he was going to have to work-out to lose the baby weight once she was born, and of course, how he could have ever managed to bed someone as wonderful as Thunder... and somehow keep him in the end too. And once the two of them were drunk, well, things grew even more offensive, and soon Mir had to grab Thunder's hands and press them to his ears, just to keep their annoying voices out of his head while he tried to finish his over-sized portion of food. That was right around the moment when both Mir and Thunder mentally decided the Park family would be much better off watching over their daughter when she got older, than the Bang family; otherwise, they feared something horrible would happen to her, like her being corrupted into the very devils who sat across from them.

A shudder ran up his spine at the very thought, and he turned his face down to look upon Mir's napping figure; really, how had he ever survived growing up in that kind of household? Yeah sure, Dara and Durami from time to time, and maybe played a prank or two on him, but their family had always been about working together to get things done, and helping each other in times of need. Hyo Jin and Hyo Sun though, seemed to want just the opposite for their baby brother, and tried to make things as hard on him as possible (even when he was pregnant). Like whenever he'd needed assistance back at the restaurant, all they did was laugh at him and tell him he was a weak, spoiled brat. Granted, they'd been a couple sheets to the wind at that point, and could hardly hold themselves up as all four of them trudged back to the dorm, but Thunder knew they could be just as bad sober as they were drunk, and that really bothered him.

His head looked up when he suddenly heard the door click open, and Seungho popped his head in a few seconds later. "Yah, Doongie, come out here for a minute," he said, motioning for Thunder to follow him out into the living room. "We have something to tell you."

"Okay, hyung," Thunder nodded, carefully sliding his way out from under Mir—who whined and d for something to hold onto again, which was eventually found to be just one of his pillows—before he stood up and padded out to where his hyungs stood, their expressions being more serious than he was used to. "What? What happened?" he asked, glancing from G.O. to Seungho nervously. "Did Mireu and I do something wrong again?"

"No, no, stop worrying about that," G.O. finally answered, waving his hand dismissively. "We just wanted to... well, warn you, that Joon is coming back later on today. He already called and told us he was on his way, so you should go talk to Cheolyong and tell him to be ready for anything you're going to get thrown at you."

"So... you really think Joonie-hyung is going to...?" Thunder asked the broken question, his shoulders drooping; Seungho just sighed and ran a hair through his hair, his gaze focused on the ground even as he spoke to the visual maknae.

"We don't know, Doongie," he said, and G.O. nodded along. "That's why we want you to be prepared, just in case."

"Mm, prepared for what...?"

The three of them turned to find Mir standing in the doorway to his and Joon's bedroom, a hand rubbing his tired eyes. He looked over to Thunder a moment later though, when none of them answered, and cocked his head as if to ask the question a second time. "Well, uh..." Thunder tripped over his words as he moved over to the yawning maknae, but once he was there, his confidence level seemed to even out again. "The hyungs just hold me that Joonie-hyung is coming back today, and that you and I should—"

"Prepare?" Mir repeated, looking confused. "Prepare for what? Joonie-hyung is Joonie-hyung. Since when have we ever prepared for him to come back home?"

"Since we found out you were pregnant, maknae," Seungho explained, and Mir's mood visibly dropped; now he just looked scared. "And I know we said before that he was going to be okay about this... but to be frank, he's unpredictable. He could walk in and hug you and tell you he loves you, or he could yell and berate you and Cheondoong for what you did... But one way or another, he's going to be here. So just... you know, be ready."

Mir dropped his gaze and hugged his stomach. So Joon was really coming back... And once more, the four who were standing there in the living room were far from convinced at the idea of him being supportive of his maknaes and their daughter. But there was always the chance he would be, and there was always the chance that he would fall just as hard for her as the rest of them had... What if he didn't though? What if he chose to be a jerk and wanted to be as far from Mir as possible? Would MBLAQ break up then? Would Mir start being hated on by the people who had already accepted him, because someone more popular had put him down? And what would happen to the baby...?

"Sh, Mireu, you're crying again," Thunder stated, rubbing his thumbs over Mir's soaked cheeks. But of course he was crying; one of his favorite hyungs was about to come home and see him pregnant (and seven months at that) for the first time, and his reaction would be the key to them strengthening as a group and family, or tearing them apart forever. Besides, his hormones were all out of whack at the moment, and because some of his other id-driven needs had been neglected as of late, his body had to find another way to use them up and get them under control—somewhat—again.

"W-what if he hates me, hyung...?" Mir whimpered, feeling fresh tears fall down over Thunder's fingers. "What if he hates the b-baby...?"

"Then Joon is an idiotic jerk," Seungho answered, looking over to a grinning G.O. who was now lounging in the living room chair. "And Byunghee and I will personally beat his backside for you until you tell us to stop."

"Yep, for sure," G.O. said, before he leaned back, propped his feet up onto the coffee table, and folded his hands behind his head. "And you and Doongie can join in too, of course, if you want to."

A long exhalation of air escaped Mir, and a just hint of a smirk crossed his face as he moved over to take a seat on the couch, allowing his back and feet some much-needed rest, even though he had only been standing for a few minutes. "Thank you, hyungs," he mumbled then, casting his eyes up to G.O., Seungho, and Thunder, and giving each of them a nod of appreciation.

"No problem, maknae, this is our job," Seungho just shrugged and plopped down beside him... but not before grabbing the TV remote so they could all watch a movie together. When he went to wrap his arm around Mir and pull him closer though, Thunder immediately rushed over and dropped down in between them, forcing Seungho to sigh, wiggle his way out from under the visual, and scoot back to the other end of the couch.

Really, that whole possessiveness thing was starting to get out of hand; he'd always been close to Mir before, and even G.O., Thunder, and Joon—he was the leader after all, so he had to make sure he was there for each of his dongsaengs whenever they needed him—but ever since Thunder had learned about the baby, and the fact that she was more than his, he'd been keeping Mir at a safe distance from the other two, squeezing himself in between them instead, or grabbing Mir by the wrist to tug him away from the group and closer to him. And who would have guessed that Thunder of all people would behave in such a way? He was usually quieter than the rest of them (albeit not any less evil or playful), and he'd always hid his emotions so well... For him to lash out at them, and take such control over Mir meant that he had to be completely and utterly serious about their relationship, and the baby, and that his feelings had to be overwhelmingly strong for him to lose enough control to show them to the world.

But that was just the annoying part: Seungho wanted to stay close to Mir, and even Thunder too, and yet any move he made around them seemed to be the wrong one. Whenever he tried to offer a hand to help Mir up from a chair, or hold him close when his knees buckled under the weight and pain of the baby, or help carry him home when they went out and he grew too tired to continue, those plans were all thwarted by Thunder, and he took the reigns instead... And Mir seemed not to notice at all—which was to be expected from their childish and naive maknae—giving Thunder smiles and hugs and kisses whenever he did a good deed for him. And all the while, Seungho and G.O. just had to stand in the background and watch, one of them fuming and kicking things, while the other just sighed and walked off.

The movie was long and boring, and soon Mir fell asleep leaning against Thunder's shoulder, his hands clasped together on the round bump of his tummy. Thunder just grinned happily at the cute display, and wrapped him up in a spare blanket to keep him from getting sick. "I love you, Mireu," he whispered once he was finished, pressing his lips to Mir's ear so only he could hear (but since he was out in Dream Land somewhere, that was less than bound to happen). "And leave Joonie-hyung to us, okay? You need to stay calm for the baby..."

He sat back up and turned his head towards the TV, not even noticing the odd look Seungho had thrown him in response to him suddenly acting all heroic and mighty, even though he'd been the one most nervous (besides Mir) about having to confront Joon once he arrived back home. For goodness sake, Seungho and G.O. had already planned out what they were going to do if the dancer decided he wanted to be stupid and say—or do—something bad to Mir... But what had Thunder done, other than stand there and bite his cute lips and act all nervous? Nothing, and yet he was the one Mir ran to to hang on whenever he needed to give his thanks.

Yeah, so maybe he was jealous, and G.O. too, but they had a right to be. Everything they'd done since Mir's return home had been to protect him, and keep him and his baby safe from harm... but his mind was only on Thunder. No matter what had happened to him, no matter how much the leader and singer tried to keep him comfortable and happy, his eyes always drew right back onto Thunder, and so did his touches, his kisses, his kind words... Seungho sighed and shook his head, barely believing what he was thinking; never, not in a million years, had he ever expected to actually miss Mir's affection for him. Sure, he could go overboard on shows, during recording sessions, or even when they were taking selcas, but that was what made Mir, Mir. He really was a touchy person, and he would always do his hardest to make sure his hands were on someone else whenever he could, just to show them how much he liked them, and wanted them to stay by his side until they had to go again. And his kisses... well, they could be sloppy and wet and gross, and come in far too many numbers to be normal (or comforting), but his kisses were unique and special, and held a certain meaning behind them, no matter who they were for.

Seungho moved his hand up to run through his messy mop of brown hair, and he almost had the urge to smack himself across the face when he realized that what he was thinking about almost sounded... wrong, like his feelings for Mir passed the boundaries of friendship and brotherhood, and dove straight into intimate. But that was far from where his head was—he had feelings for another person after all—and so he instead summed it up to the idea that he missed being a father too much, and only wished that Mir would treat him as such again, since Lauren, Dayoung, and Leo were no longer there to fill that spot in his life...

Hours crawled by in silence, more so because Thunder and G.O. had passed out alongside Mir than anything else, and Seungho had to repress his urge to just shout at all of them to wake up and end his odd ponderings while he sat there with nothing better to do. But he let them go instead, knowing that Thunder and Mir had to be utterly exhausted from going to their schedules, and that G.O. had stayed up most of the night before planning a surprise for their maknaes in a few weeks' time.

He paced around the living room for a good hour, running through his head everything that had happened since Mir's return, and everything that was bound to happen in the next two months leading up to the baby's arrival. Doctors' appointments, busy schedules, baby shopping, room changing, maybe even taking a few classes to help them prepare for when Mir went into labor... There was a whole long list of things to do, and none of them were going to be easy.

From there, he moved over into his room, and took a seat at his desk, hoping to distract his jumbled thoughts by playing some of his new video games. He his computer monitor and leaned back in his chair as a stunning array of colors faded into view, eventually showing him an enlarged pause screen to his latest escapade in some fantasy subscription world one of his fans had given to him. He just shrugged and clicked "return to game" on the screen, and set his fingers on the keyboard to navigate his character and pick up things, while his right wrist flicked the camera around, and he clicked on the mouse buttons to shoot his weapons at his enemies.

Hours passed by, and soon he saw dashes of reds, oranges, yellows, and bluish-purples cross into his peripheral vision, and when he looked outside his window to the horizon beyond, he noticed that the sun was disappearing—and fast at that—so he tapped "escape" to pause the game once more, before he pushed back from his desk, stretched his arms above his head, and wandered back into the living room. Thunder and Mir were on the ground around the coffee table when he got there, playing a board game and laughing to themselves over something that had happened during Mir's last turn, while G.O. moved around in the kitchen, cooking, his voice humming along to one of their songs as he dropped a handful of ingredients into a steaming pot of water.

Seungho just sat down on the couch, leaning back to get a good look at everything going on around him; things seemed to have finally fallen back into place, and now, they were just MBLAQ again, not four idols running about trying to solve what was going to happen to two of their irresponsible members. And sure, maybe Joon would change all of that when he returned home—sending them spiraling back into turmoil—but at least Seungho knew that the five of them could survive like this, and that their lives could feel almost... normal again, even when a pregnant Mir (and a possessive Thunder) was around to stir things up for them.

"Seungho-hyung," Mir suddenly called to him, and he tore from his thoughts to look down at the maknae, who was grinning from ear-to-ear like a fool. "Doongie-hyung and I were talking before, while you were in your room, and we wanted to ask you something."

Seungho gulped, and his mind began racing a hundred miles a minute to figure out what his maknaes could ever want to ask him. "U-uh, yeah—go ahead," he told them all the same, before he moved down beside Mir and cast each of them an anxious glance. "What do you want to know?"

"We want to know why you're always so... weird around G.O.-hyung," Mir stated, rubbing a hand over his tummy. "You know, why you always give in to what he says, even though you're the hyung, and why you two touch each other more than the rest of us."

Seungho paused to think about that claim, and his brow creased the more his mind recalled all of the times he and G.O. had hugged, had rolled around on the ground in each other's arms, had sat too close on the couch, had shared food, and beds, and chairs. And then there were the times when he had far too easily given in to what G.O. wanted, and took him out to dinner (and paid), carried him home on his back when he got drunk, gave in to his scolds when he picked on Mir one too many times. Did all of those things really add up to being weird? He just thought he was being playful—like he was with the rest of them—and since G.O. was his sole voice of reason in a home of chaos, he knew that he had to listen once in a while, just to keep himself from going too far and harming one of his other dongsaengs. How was that weird? And how would Mir and Thunder think to come up and ask him about such a thing? He and G.O. were bandmates, friends, brothers, so of course they would act like they did around each other. What else could it be...?

"Do you like him, hyung?" Thunder asked, leaning in close to him to gauge his reaction, since his previous one had been to do nothing but tense up and dig deep into his mind for an answer. "Do you want him to be more than a friend?"

Seungho looked from one maknae to the other, and let the words slowly sink into him, constricting his lungs, making him nauseous, twisting his heart and stomach so hard that he had to grip at his chest the more he processed the idea. Did he want G.O. to be his? Did he want him to be by his side forever, and take care of him, and love him like he would do in return? Did he want to hold G.O. closer than usual, and kiss him, and touch him in places no one else was allowed? Did he want G.O. to be more special to him than anyone else?

"H-he... We..." he stuttered, shaking his head. "Well, I... Byunghee, he—"

He was cut off by the sound of the main door opening, and he, Thunder, and Mir all froze to turn their heads towards the newcomer who was standing partway behind the divider wall, his back to them. His hair was mussed and windblown, and was dyed a couple shades lighter than when they had last seen him, and from he way his shoulders sagged as he lazily kicked his shoes away and grabbed a pair of slippers instead, indicated that he was tired (and probably moody), and, for once, had let his appearance go some so he could preserve any energy he had remaining to greet his bandmates upon his return, and then drag his heavy body to bed for a good week's sleep.

He whirled around when he was finished grabbing his things to hoist them up onto his body somewhere, and grinned when he found Seungho, Thunder, and Mir all standing around in the living room to welcome him back home. "Hey," he said to them, dropping his things again once he was beside his bedroom door, before he rushed back to give each of them a hug. "I missed you guys."

His arms wrapped around Thunder, and he pulled him close enough to force a gasp of surprise (and sudden loss of air) from him. "We missed you too, Joonie-hyung," Thunder then went on to confess to him, and he pulled back laughing. "You were gone for so long..."

"Yeah, I know, but work is work," he shrugged, stepping up to Seungho to give him a lung-crushing embrace as well. "But at least the five of us are back here now, so we can be a proper group again."

He moved on from Seungho, and turned to face Mir; a nervous laugh was all he got in return though, and a small wave... He frowned; since when had Mir been so distant about skinship, and towards him of all people? Whenever they were on stage, or in an interview, or recording for one of their TV shows, Mir was sure to be hanging on him, kissing his face, jumping onto his back, asking him a slew of odd questions, and hugging him so hard Joon sometimes believed he would explode. But now... now he was just standing there, acting all shy and quiet, and showing no signs whatsoever of wanting to be closer to the dancer.

"Yah, Cheolyongie..." he murmured, and Mir glanced up at him looking more scared than before. "What happened to you? Why are you being so cold to me?"

"Well, Joon," Seungho answered him in replacement to their nervous maknae, his tone serious, but kind all the same, "we have some news for you to hear about Cheolyong... and Doongie too."

"What? What kind of news?" Joon asked, his worried eyes passing from one dongsaeng to the other as Seungho clapped a hand to his shoulder to encourage him to calm down again. "What happened?"

"Doongie-hyung and I are dating, hyung," Mir suddenly cut in, his voice low and uncharacteristically serious. "And seven months ago, he... he got me pregnant..."