“do you wanna cuddle, princess?”

the yes leaving jihyo’s lips died down at the back of , as she watched jeongyeon from across the room.

she was holding the little girl’s hands in her own, softly massaging them, a warm smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

jihyo sat at the furthest corner of the sofa, supposedly checking the news. the sound coming from tv became a white noise, muffled background music to the scene she was watching.

jeongyeon had asked her if she wanted to cuddle; she had called her princess, the night she phoned her crying, telling her how she missed a period (which happened often during university), telling her she missed two.

it was senior year university. she was sitting on the bare tiled floor of her bathroom, her phone balanced between her head and her shoulder, one hand clutching her hair and the other holding the pregnancy test that showed two faint lines.

she cried through the phone, to the sound of jeongyeon’s hitching breath, to the sound of jeongyeon telling her it’s gonna be okay, that she’s not alone.

that night, jeongyeon didn’t hang up. jihyo did when she heard knocks on the front door of her shared apartment. it was jeongyeon, holding her phone in her hand, a bag of snacks that had jihyo’s favorite chocolate bars deep down, and promises of being there for her best friend.

that night, jeongyeon asked her if she wanted to cuddle; jeongyeon called her princess.

abortion was off jihyo’s list. she decided to keep the baby, the second she knew she had a baby. and jeongyeon didn’t try to change her mind; she didn’t whip out a list of the possible risks she’s taking by keeping the fetus making home of her bump. instead, she held jihyo close, played with her hair, telling her that she was, and she will always be, there for her.

jihyo graduated university with honors, despite the mess at home, despite her (now-ex) boyfriend declaring that he was too young to have a child, that he had an entire future before him which he couldn’t sacrifice.

but she had jeongyeon the entire time.

she accompanied her to doctor appointments. she got her what she craved, even if it was honeymelon, at 2 am of a january night. jeongyeon helped her buy the baby clothes. she helped pay for the baby’s clothes.

she had the older girl’s number on speed dial. and whenever she felt guilty for burdening her (especially the time she found out her best friend was working part-time aside from her job to help her around), jeongyeon would pat her tummy, a wide grin on her face, telling her that she couldn’t be any happier doing all that for her two favorite girls in the entire world.

jeongyeon spent most of her free time with jihyo. they grocery shopped together, had dinner together, watched tv together.

some nights, jeongyeon would sing lullabies to the baby, some other nights she’d make her listen to some indie rock bands she listened to, but every single night, she made sure to kiss jihyo’s bloated belly and tell the little girl making it her home, that she’s beautiful and loved, that she’s got the most amazing mother in the world, and that they can’t wait to meet her.

it was jeongyeon holding her hand when she gave birth to hyojung .

jihyo’s roommate moved out right after graduation. jeongyeon moved in a week later; showing up with a couple of boxes and a suitcase, her backpack slinging from one shoulder.

when jihyo asked her what was she doing, jeongyeon told her that they practically lived together anyway; with her spending most of her time with jihyo, she already had most of her clothes at jihyo’s, a toothbrush of her own, and it’d be better if they shared the rent. plus, work was closer from jihyo’s apartment than from her previous one; which jihyo knew was a lie.

what was once filled with her baby, now nestled a bundle of fluttering feelings that jihyo couldn’t figure out, nor did she ever feel before. she used to blame the fuzzy feeling jeongyeon gave her on her pregnancy hormones, but there she was, watching jeongyeon play with a four-month-old hyojung, bringing to life a swarm of butterflies that filled her insides and made her heart beat faster.

they locked eyes, jeongyeon’s smile growing wider, and the blush on jihyo’s cheeks spreading down to her neck. the former carefully held the now sleeping baby closer to her chest, as she got off the floor, eyes still fixed on jihyo.

“i’ll put this little princess in bed and be right back,” jeongyeon whispered, trudging off to jihyo’s bedroom.

watching the older girl’s back disappear into the dimly lit room, jihyo felt as if jeongyeon held a piece of her heart the way she held her child, and that she carried it around with her, leaving her feeling incomplete whenever they were apart.

emerging from the room a few minutes later, jeongyeon had the same smile on her face as she walked over to the girl huddled on the couch, looking back at her with soft eyes and a tired smile.

“it’s getting late, and you look tired. should we go to bed?” jeongyeon asked, holding her hand out for jihyo to hold.

the younger girl nodded, putting her hand in jeongyeon’s, pulling herself off the couch. she turned off the tv, before following behind her best friend.

they stood by their rooms, facing each other.

“good-,” jeongyeon started, but jihyo interrupted her.

“do you wanna sleep with me tonight?”

jeongyeon’s right hand found its way to the back of her head, rubbing her nape, with a grin on her face, and a faint pink shade on her cheeks.

“anything for my princess.”