G.O. looked down at his watch for the tenth time in three minutes, then back up to Thunder and Mir, who were sitting on the couch watching a movie together. He knew he really ought to tell them to stop, to separate again before Seungho got back some time in the hour... but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. They'd already been apart for three months, unable to even talk most of the time because of Thunder's schedule, and for Seungho to want to keep them closed off from each other for longer than that was almost heart-breaking in a way, especially considering their current situation. So G.O. only figured that giving them as much time as possible to catch up and be close before their babo leader ruined it all was perfectly fair.

Besides, he figured, as he watched Mir wiggle his face in closer to Thunder's chest—almost enough so that he couldn't even see the TV anymore—they looked kind of... cute together, like one of those fictional couples from the dramas he saw every once in a while. Thunder was sitting mostly upright, but his back was cornered into the couch to allow Mir the proper angle to snuggle up to him and wrap his arms around him. And the popcorn bowl, which at one point G.O. would have liked to take a bite out of (now he knew better than to try though), was placed in the vicinity of Thunder's lower stomach, where Mir could easily reach in and grab a few pieces to nibble on, before he raised his hand up—without looking away from the screen—and fed the rest to his visual bandmate, who happily chewed away and ran his fingers over the baby belly resting against his side. Yeah, they were pretty sappy, and way too affectionate for G.O.'s tastes, but at least they were laughing and cuddling, rather than crying and yelling.

His eyes cast another quick look down to his watch, and the butterflies increased tenfold. Seungho was bound to be home any minute, and yet their two maknaes were still in the same room, whispering to each other, and not at all doing what Seungho had ordered of them.

He sighed and clapped his hands; there would be other times, he supposed.

"Alright, you two," he said, pushing up out of his chair. Mir looked up at him curiously, while Thunder just continued on watching the movie. "Seungho's going to be back soon, and I don't want us getting caught for this. Cheolyong, you can stay out here and finish the movie if you want, and Cheondoong, you have to go to our room if he does. Either way, just figure out what you want now so we can go our separate ways and act like this didn't happen."

Thunder turned to whisper something in Mir's ear, who smiled and nodded his head before leaning back to allow their visual to move. "Mireu's staying," he announced, standing up. "But can I please borrow your phone for now, hyung? We want to keep talking to each other."

G.O. shook his head, though his facial expression showed that he wanted to do otherwise. "Seungho is already pissed off enough about our phones—I don't want to know what he'd do if he caught you a third time."

Thunder gave a forced laugh in reply, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh well—see you, Mireu," he waved to their real maknae as he walked away, and quietly closed the bedroom door behind him once he was inside.

Mir sighed and went back to watching the movie, though he didn't seem nearly as content to do so as he'd been before... and the popcorn bowl was soon dropped to the floor, put there to be forgotten now that he had no one to share with (because apparently G.O. didn't count). He squirmed about to get comfy again a few minutes later, and mumbled out a slew of complaints about how the baby kept kicking him in all the wrong spots—more specifically his bladder—before he eventually found the perfect position for him and his enlarged tummy, and lay that way until he fell asleep during the credits.

G.O. had been keeping a close eye on him the whole time, calculating his new peeves, habits, and the various levels of seriousness he now seemed to possess. Before, he'd always just been the happy-go-lucky Bang Mir everyone loved, and only occasionally had to forgo that wonderful smile in order to get his point across; but now, well, G.O. had to say that he seemed so much more grown-up, and acted more like a responsible umma-to-be than he'd thought he would.

He stood up again and walked around to the couch, pulling one of their spare blankets down from the back so he could cover his pregnant bandmate up in something warm before he caught a cold. Then he moved his hand down to brush the maknae's messy bangs out of his face, revealing a relaxed, peaceful expression; and that was all G.O. or the other hyungs could ever hope for.

"You really are a handful, maknae," he sighed, before the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "But we still love you—you're a part of our family... and your baby will be too."

His hand dropped back to his side, and he straightened up. He really hated to think of what hardships the five of them were sure to face in the upcoming months leading up to the baby's birth. They were going to have to deal with angry company executives, snotty producers and MCs, rude idols, unruly fans... not to mention the fact that all of their schedules would have to be adjusted to accommodate for Mir's pregnancy, and his upcoming due date. They'd have to keep him rested and ready around that time, so he wouldn't be too stressed out when the baby was finally ready; and the other four certainly couldn't be out filming or doing photoshoots when he was at the hospital in what would probably be worst pain of his life. What kind of hyungs would they be to just abandon him like that?

Thunder would want to be there for him one way or the other, even if they did have a schedule to attend to. He'd want to help, to show that he was truly invested, to prove to himself more than anyone else that he was better than his own father was—because he was the only one who didn't seem to believe so, despite everyone's insistence that he was. And not only that, but his personality just didn't allow for him to act so cold towards another human being, especially not when that human was a child... and one of his own flesh and blood too. No, he would cherish and spoil him or her until he had nothing left to give, and even then he'd still find a way to do so.

The door by the entrance-way opened, and G.O. heard a pair of shoes drop to the floor with a placid thud. Then the sound of slippers scraping the wood echoed in, followed by a groan, before Seungho finally made his presence in the dorm known. He walked into the living room with his fingers pressed to his temples, trying to ward off the incoming migraine he was getting, and his back sagged from the lack of energy flowing through his veins in that very moment. However, when he saw G.O. standing there by the couch, with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised, he straightened up a little... only to give up and huff when his spine cracked harshly. "What... do you want... Byunghee?" he grumbled, peeking over at the snoozing Mir; he immediately grew jealous. "Where's Cheondoong...?"

"He's in our room, why?" G.O. replied, looking a little too smug for Seungho's liking.

"And they stayed... separated this... whole time?" he asked in a dubious tone, his words slurring; G.O. merely shrugged.

"As well as I could keep them—Cheolyong came out to use the bathroom a couple times earlier, and they exchanged a few words then. But other than that, nothing."

Seungho stumbled minutely as he moved closer to his dongsaengs, and G.O could instantly smell the alcohol; so much for a work-related meeting, he chuckled, placing his hand on the leader's shoulder to keep him from teetering any more dangerously. "Yah, are you okay, Seungho?" he then asked, unable to hide his grin when Seungho squeezed his eyes shut and heaved in a sizable amount of air; he sounded about ready to throw-up.

"As good I can be... right now..." Seungho shrugged, before he let himself fall forward into G.O.'s arms. He was easily caught too, just as he'd hoped he would be, and he grabbed on tight to keep them from moving or parting. He just wanted to talk, and doing so when drunk was the easiest (on his mouth, at least—the rest of his body, not so much) way to do so. "What have we done..." he mumbled into G.O.'s shoulder, not even caring that he was drooling all over a clean cotton polo. "How could we just... miss something like this?"

"We didn't—Cheondoong and Cheolyong did this behind our backs."

"Yeah... but we should have seen... how close they've become... we should have warned them... or something..." Seungho burped and clung closer to G.O., afraid that he'd puke out everything he'd just eaten and drank if he let go. "We could have... stopped them..."

G.O. rolled his eyes. "Stopping them wouldn't have saved them, you know. They would have found another time to be together, they would have found another time to be irresponsible. One way or another, Cheolyong was more than likely bound to end up pregnant... we're just lucky this happened now, and not back when we first started."

Seungho hiccupped, allowing his full weight to land on his singer, who quickly spread his feet out in order to keep them from falling down in a painful heap. Then he swept his arm out to grab onto the leader's waist, so he could pick him up and carry him into his room. "Come on," he encouraged, and Seungho held onto his neck as tightly as he could. "You need sleep just as much as Cheolyong does," he stepped forward carefully, slowly, until he picked up a sturdy pattern and made straight for Seungho's bed.

He laid the leader down and grabbed his blankets, pulling them up to his neck once his slippers and shirt were tossed forgotten on the floor. Then he went out to the bathroom and found some aspirin hiding at the back of the counter, which he took, along with a cup of water, back to Seungho to have him consume. "Here, you don't want a hangover," he said, and Seungho gladly swallowed the pills down, before he burrowed into his blankets, and eagerly prayed for sleep.

G.O. figured he'd have to deal with this a lot more than usual in the next few months, since Seungho so openly blamed himself for what their maknaes had done. Not only that, but as the leader, he was under more pressure than anyone to make sure nothing like unexpected pregnancies, or inner-group relationships happened. But now that both things were there, in MBLAQ, he also had the added burden of making sure everything stayed stable enough for them—especially Mir—so they could remain as a group, free from most of the bad press, and be there to help take care of the baby when none of them were prepared to do so. And knowing Seungho and his fondness for drinking, G.O. knew that would be his number one solution to pushing the stress away, and relaxing again.

When he stepped back into the living room, closing Seungho's door just enough so that he couldn't hear anything outside of where he lay, he found Thunder kneeled down next to the couch, slowly rubbing a hand over Mir's stomach in what appeared to be a search for the baby's over-active appendages. When nothing made contact with him however, he sat back and sighed, pushing his lips out in a pout he knew made all the girls scream. "She's not kicking, hyung," he whined to G.O., who all but burst out laughing at his childish display; this kind of behavior was normally reserved for Mir (and occasionally Joon). "How do I get her to kick me?"

"She's probably resting right now, like her lazy umma," G.O. replied, nodding his head towards Mir, who stirred in his sleep... almost as if he'd just heard what his singing hyung had said. "Maybe you should try again later, when he wakes up."

"Okay," Thunder turned back to their maknae and played with his hair, twirling clumps of the wavy strands around his finger before letting them bounce back into place. He really thought Mir was a beautiful boy, and believed he looked good no matter what he'd done to his appearance: his hair, his makeup (or lack thereof sometimes), his abs, his arms, his stomach—he was almost jealous sometimes, of the way Mir could grow up in such a hands-on and tough-working place as a farm, and still come out looking as modelesque as he did.

Yeah sure, a lot of people talked about him too, saying that he was so fragile and pretty, and that he was almost like a girl—depending on how he'd styled his hair and make-up that day—but he didn't think he was anywhere near as wonderful as Mir was. His skin was fair and doll-like, while Mir's was a nice, rich tan color from all those years of working outside; he had a double eyelid, and the brown of his irises wasn't all that spectacular, but Mir had two big, shiny chocolate eyes that could make anyone drown in their cuteness; and their lips, well, he knew his lips were bigger and poutier than Mir's, but he much preferred the way the maknae's were shaped... and they were supple too, something he—yet again—hadn't expected out of a country boy.

But maybe that was why he'd been so attracted to him when he'd first got to know him—because he was just so different from everyone else. His personality was completely real, and hyper, and heartwarming, and Thunder wondered all the time why not a lot of girls or boys liked him. And his body, though not ideal for most of their fans (unlike Joon, who was perfect to just about all of them), was nice in its own way, showing off the barely noticeable, extra layer of fat he carried around from all those years of hearty meals and sneaked snacks back at his parents' house. And Thunder actually found that cute, because he obviously wasn't afraid to eat and have a flatter stomach, rather than some overdone six-pack that got all the girls to scream.

He hadn't started off feeling that way though; no, he'd found Mir insufferable at their first meeting, what with him walking up and hugging and kissing him like they'd known each other since pre-school. And he was loud, and obnoxious, and continuously moving, even when they were supposed to be taking a break. And once they'd moved on from their training days, and gone on to be a part of MBLAQ, well, he grew even angrier and annoyed with the young rapper. He'd gotten in without so much as an audition, thanks to his brother in-law, while the rest of them had had to work extra hard to even be considered.

And his behavior... he'd been worse than before, jumping around all excited about finally becoming famous—just like he'd always dreamed. He'd jumped on Thunder the day he'd arrived at the dorm (since he'd joined in the group at the last second) telling him everything he'd missed since they'd last seen each other, and what their other three bandmates were like.

But that was also around the time Thunder started to feel something different for the real maknae, because having to put up with him day after day—during training, meals, bedtime, and the like—became a sort of game, and one he liked playing too. He'd loved to watch Mir, and gauge his reactions to certain things before he'd go running off to one of his hyungs like a toddler to its mother. He'd loved counting how many hugs, how many sloppy kisses, he'd get in a day, and how many more he always got than the other hyungs. He'd loved listening to Mir's rants in interviews and shows, about just how great his "Doongie-hyung" was, especially when their eyes would meet in the middle of one, and he suddenly seemed to only be talking to the one person he wanted to tell his praises to.

Yes, that was most definitely when Thunder had realized he liked Mir as more than just a friend and groupmate—that was when he wanted him to be his, and think of no one else but him for as long as possible.

And Mir had seemed to notice this too, since he'd begun to hang on him, kiss him, hug him, even more than before, mumbling and giggling about just how much he loved him... and so much more than the other three. Then one evening, when Joon and Seungho had gone out to see a movie, and G.O. had gone shopping for ingredients for the next morning's breakfast, he'd plopped down beside the visual—who'd been busy texting Dara at the time—and sat there staring at him until he was acknowledged. But Thunder had only been able to ask a simple "what?", his brown eyes wandering his maknae's face, before there were another pair of lips against his own, moving in just a way that eased him... even though his mind told him to pull away.

The kiss had lasted for only a few short moments, and when Mir finally sat back, he smiled, stood up, and bounded back into his room to go do... whatever he'd been doing before he'd taken the air out of Thunder's lungs, and sent his heart beating a thousand times a second. His fingers had come up to touch his lips, testing the sensation that still lingered there... yep, Mir had truly kissed him. But that hadn't been just any kiss—not like the ones he gave to everyone else—this one had been special, one shared only between the two of them, and one that held more feeling and affection than Thunder thought a kiss was capable of.

Needless to say though, he was still really glad that Mir, and that kiss, had been the first for him.

He puffed out a long breath of air, and sat back from the couch. Everything just seemed so... out of place, like their group was falling apart over something as humanly normal as a pregnancy. Seungho was already out getting drunk; G.O. was having to wrangle them all in to keep them from fighting; Mir was acting all grown-up and serious, so unlike his usual behavior; and he... well, he was freaking out inside, anticipating and dreading the day he finally became an appa. He knew he wanted to be one—he was going to be getting a daughter after all, and because he'd grown up with two older sisters, he found the idea all the more exciting—but he was also afraid. What if he did something wrong? What if he hurt her? What if he ended up just like his own father?

No... No, he'd never do that kind of thing. He'd never abandon the family he had for another one, never just leave them behind to die or survive alone. He just couldn't bear to see the look on the baby's face when she saw him leave her for good, wondering just where he was going and when she'd talk to him again.

He shook his head, bending forward until his forehead touched his crossed legs; just thinking about it was hurting him—there was no way he'd ever be able to actually do such an evil deed.

A hand suddenly landed on his head, interrupting his rather negative thoughts (thank goodness), and when he peeked out from beneath his blonde bangs, he found Mir smiling down at him from where he lay on the couch. "Hey," he murmured, yawning. "What are you doing out here?"

"I came to see you again," Thunder replied, straightening up. "Seungho-hyung came back drunk, so G.O.-hyung put him to bed."

"Oh," Mir rubbed his eyes. "So we can spend the whole night together then?"

Thunder nodded, moving a few inches closer so he could kiss the maknae's nose. "Yep, just you and me... How does that sound?"

Mir leaned down and kissed him back—on the lips this time—before he lay back and allowed Thunder to crawl up beside him on the couch. "Like one of the best nights ever," he then replied, resting his head on Thunder's leg. "But what about G.O.-hyung? He's still here, isn't he?"

Thunder shrugged. "I doubt he's going to be bothering us anytime soon. He's on our side in this, remember?"

"Yeah, I guess," Mir conceded, though his tone sounded skeptical. "What if he changes his mind though?" he soon added, only helping to prove that he wasn't, in fact, convinced. "What if he picks Seungho-hyung over us?"

"Yah, calm down, maknae," Thunder pat at his hair to try and get him to relax again; he'd become so serious all of a sudden, and as cute as he was when he was trying to be grown-up and responsible, Thunder actually found his behavior more concerning than amusing. "We're going to be okay, even if G.O.-hyung does change his mind. He and Seungho-hyung are completely supportive of us."

Mir scoffed, feeling the gentle fingers on his scalp working their way down to his neck; he shivered in delight at the contact, and let them continue to wander downwards, until they were pressed to his tummy for the umpteenth time that day.

That was when his pessimistic thoughts dispersed, and nothing but safety, security, and calmness took their place. "Seungho-hyung seems to be taking this a little too extremely though, don't you think? He even wants to keep us separated... like that's going to do anything to stop me from having this baby."

"You have to understand that he's just as surprised and unprepared as the rest of us right now," Thunder explained, flexing his fingers happily when the flesh around them pressed out to greet him. "The only difference is that he's the hyung—he's supposed to make sure we do the right thing, take the necessary precautions in certain situations, and think first and foremost of our careers before we go out doing things that may harm our image. And in you and I failing to do all three of those, he feels that he's failed too. So now he thinks he has to fix this on his own, because he thinks he was the one to start this whole mess."

"What does that have to do with keeping us apart though?" Mir asked, shaking his head. "I mean, I'm already pregnant—there isn't much more you and I can do alone that would cause bigger consequences than what we're facing now."

"He probably just needs time to think," sighed Thunder. "He has more pressure on him than you, me, or G.O.-hyung combined. When we're all finally... settled into this new lifestyle, I'm sure he's going to lighten up. Then we won't have to sneak around like this just to see each other."

Mir snickered, pushing up onto his hands so he could give Thunder a mischievous grin; a wink was added a moment later. "As I recall, hyung, you quite enjoyed doing that before... You know, when we used to—"

"That was only twice, Mireu," Thunder gave him another kiss. "And what makes you think I liked doing such dirty things behind our hyungs' backs... or in the same room as them... or in their bed..."

"Mm, because you went through with doing them," Mir said, poking a playful finger to his hyung's puffed-out cheek. "You dirty boy—if only the fans could see just how bad you really are... Though I'm sure they'd just go crazier than usual, and want you even more than before."

"Stop, I'm not that bad," Thunder protested, grimacing at the thought of his fans wanting him to do crude things in front of them... or, more crude than the kissing games they liked to play anyways. "I was intimate with my boyfriend, and in the only scenarios available—that doesn't make me some crazy ert or something."

Mir grinned and lay back down, wrapping his arms around Thunder's thighs. "Yeah, sure..." he teased, and a vengeful tug to his ear made him giggle.

Thunder went quiet from there though, and when Mir finally looked up to see him again, there was a dark blush adorning his face, and his big brown eyes squinted in what appeared to be nervousness. "What?" Mir asked, moving to sit up again, only to be kept in place by an insistent hand. "Hyung?" he tried one last time, nearly sighing in relief when the corners of Thunder's mouth finally curved upwards.

"I... I really like you, Bang Cheolyong," he murmured, reddening even more, "and I really want the six of us to be a nice family together."

Mir just sighed and relaxed back into a more comfortable position, his eyes closing. "Babo, Doongie-hyung, I love you too—all five of you."