A/N: Hello there! How's everyone? I won't say much here. Just see the end for more notes. Thank you for reading as always and enjoy!

Word count: 3,516 words

-------------------------------

Jieqiong had given up counting the nights they spent together because one became two, two became three, and three, which she swore to herself is the most, became three weeks. The last night they’d spent at her suite was two days ago and now, well, she’s finally checked out of it to make things official.

Her toothbrush sits on the mug inside the medicine cabinet in Nayoung’s bathroom. Her clothes (everything she’s brought from home) are in a spot reserved for her in Nayoung’s closet. Her pipa’s leaning against the wall in Nayoung’s living room now. And her favorite Squirtle doll lies in the middle of Nayoung’s bed.

Nayoung’s. Nayoung. Everything revolves around her now like she could be the sun.

Jieqiong likes to think it’s not a bad thing, moving in with Nayoung. Yebin says it isn’t. Her friend always gives her a happy smile and a look that spells out “I’m proud of you” every time they part after work, when she tells her she’s heading over to meet Nayoung somewhere so they can go home together. Wow, that really does sound good.

Each day usually start with Nayoung waking her up, the older girl looking sweaty with her hair in a messy ponytail (because she’s come back from her morning jog with Kyungwon), but breath-taking nonetheless, and then telling her to get up because breakfast is ready. She does the dishes after they eat while Nayoung hits the shower. When they’re both done getting ready, they’d leave for work together and promise to meet in the evening, sometimes for lunch too. It’s warm and domestic. Like what home is supposed to be.

Their nights are filled with stories of stars and constellations, myths whispered to her ear by the older girl as they lie on a spread-out blanket on the rooftop of Nayoung’s apartment building, surrounded by all of the junk furniture and the canvasses under the large plastic sheet left by some painter who once lived there. It’s whimsical and romantic and Jieqiong always ends up going to bed feeling full.

Tonight, however, they stay indoors. Jieqiong has a half dozen music sheets laid out on the coffee table and Nayoung has e-mails and articles to read through on her laptop.

Since her fingers are already starting to sting from practicing, Jieqiong sets her pipa down and decides to take a break. She’s been invited to play at one of her former teacher’s concerts for the coming weekend so she’s practicing longer than the usual hour and a half each day.

“Nayoung?” She calls softly out of habit, not really meaning to get her attention.

“Yes?” But Nayoung responds almost instantly, looks over to her from her spot on the floor.

The older girl frowns as she sees her massaging her hands. She puts her laptop on the table, scoots over to her and takes her hands in hers.

Long fingers slide back and forth over Jieqiong’s hands, applying just the right amount of pressure to help relieve the ache.

“You’re not practicing too hard, are you? I mean, you don’t have to. I’m sure you’ll do well on Saturday.” She says, offers her a smile.

“I’m not. This is still the bare minimum.” Jieqiong replies, eyes looking into Nayoung’s. She notices the tired look on her face and can’t help but ask. “Well, what about you? I hope you’re not overworking yourself.”

Lately, Jieqiong’s been seeing more and more of that bottle of Excedrin on top of the nightstand. She knows Nayoung’s getting a lot of those migraines and she can only think of one trigger – stress and fatigue from work. It probably isn’t any different today. Jieqiong knows Nayoung has had another one of those too long and too difficult days. Her heart squirms uneasily at the thought.

Nayoung chuckles lightly, shakes her head. “No. I’m not. I’m not.”

But then her eyes take on a serious look and she turns to the side. “But I am kind of concerned about the housework-”

“I’ll clean up later, I swear!” Jieqiong says too quickly. The last thing she wants is to be an inconvenience when Nayoung already has a lot on her plate.

But the older girl only chuckles again, even pokes Jieqiong’s cheek for good measure. “I’m kidding, Jieqiong. It’s fine. Most of the mess is mine anyway.” She looks into Jieqiong’s eyes again, with that usual warm gaze but it’s too intense that the she has to look away, afraid that she might combust.

Instead, Jieqiong trains her eyes to the stacked boxes on one side of the living room. A quick peek at those yesterday informs her it’s mostly art materials - palettes, a bunch of paint brushes, and paint. Probably some things Nayoung occasionally uses for work, when she has exhibits and demos to prepare for. Although, a couple other boxes did seem to be full of mail and unopened packages.

Nayoung heaves a sigh and then draws closer to her, takes her face in both of her hands so that she has to look at her.

“It’s a joke, Jieqiong. You don’t have to worry about those, I swear.” Her eyes soften and her voice follows. “Do you want to call it a night?”

Jieqiong feels her heart beat steadily in her chest.

“Actually, I want to practice some more.” Jieqiong says, despite the temptation of their soft bed and the promise of being wrapped in Nayoung’s arms. “You can go ahead and sleep now if you want to.”

Nayoung quickly shakes her head but lets her go. “Nah. I’ll stay up with you.”

Jieqiong beams at her, touched at the gesture. Nayoung gives her a smirk and with that, she knows she isn’t going to let her have this moment so easily. Jieqiong was clearly pushing.

“Because I still have some work to do.” So Nayoung pulls.

At this, Jieqiong pouts and the older girl chuckles at her. What a tease.

&&

The next day, she wakes up to the smell of pancakes wafting in from the kitchen. She kicks off the blankets and skips out of the room. She finds Nayoung busy by the stove and takes this opportunity to wrap her arms around the older girl’s waist from behind in a back hug.

“Is that what I think it is?” She asks, nuzzles her face into the back of Nayoung’s neck.

She can’t see Nayoung’s face but she thinks she can feel her smile. “Yeah. I figured you’ll finally stop talking about it once you have it.”

“Or you just can't say no to me.” She says when she pulls back slightly, gently shakes the older from side to side.

Nayoung groans, maybe even rolls her eyes at her confidence. “Ugh. Just set the table already.”

She lets go of her, but the smile never leaves her face as she gets plates and utensils for them both. Nayoung finishes the pancakes and they settle on the kitchen counter to eat.

Jieqiong bites back a smile as she feels Nayoung’s eyes on her, watching her as she’s about to take her first bite. She thinks about pranking her, faking her reaction just to mess with her but the moment the food touches her palate, only the truth spills out and the proud look on Nayoung’s face must mean that the reaction she gives is what she’d expected to get.

“These are good!” Jieqiong exclaims truthfully. “Wow, I really can get used to eating your food every day.”

The smile falls right off Nayoung's face like fried eggs slipping off a non-stick pan. She has to blink twice and reach for her glass of water with shaking hands. Jieqiong sees all of it.

“Is something wrong?” She asks, feels worried all of a sudden.

Nayoung becomes silent for a bit as if contemplating what to say until she responds with “Ah, no.”

She shakes her head fast, gives Jieqiong a small smile to dispel her worried look. “I just… remembered something I have to do at work.”

They fall into an abrupt silence with only the sound of cutlery to be heard. Jieqiong thinks hard, tries to figure out what could the work thing be for Nayoung’s mood to change so fast. Could it be the same reason why she keeps on taking pills for her headache? Is it too much work or is it because something isn’t working out right like it’s supposed to? Is it really a work thing or is it one of her workmates?

It suddenly dawns on Jieqiong that even if she knows what it really is about, there isn’t really anything she can do to help Nayoung. And maybe that explains the unsettling feeling in her stomach.

“Say ah!” She doesn’t know how it happens but she’s already holding out a piece of the pancake on her fork to Nayoung who looks up, curiously. “C’mon, ahhh!!!”

“I don’t really-” Nayoung starts.

“Hmph.” She frowns at her, creasing her forehead and scrunching her nose. The look of resignation on Nayoung’s face is immediate. Eventually, she leans towards her and opens to accept the food.

“There we go.” Jieqiong says with a triumphant look on her face. “That’s for good luck, you know? You’ll do well at work today so don’t worry about anything, Nayoungie.”

Nayoung plops her elbow on the table and rests her face on her palm as she looks at her. “I don’t deserve you. Really, I don’t.”

Jieqiong’s grin grows wider. “So, don’t ever let me go?” Push.

Nayoung lets out another chuckle. “Eat up. We’re going to be late for work.” Pull.

&&

Her uncle’s feeling rather generous and lets her and the other interns take half the day off so Jieqiong decides to ask Yebin about some things over coffee and dessert (with Eunwoo and Kyungwon bickering playfully in the background of the dog café they’re in).

“Has Nayoung always been a workaholic?”

Yebin looks at her as she sips her iced coffee loudly before she replies. “I wouldn’t call her a workaholic. I mean, she works hard but she knows when to take a break and unwind. Why are you asking?”
 

“It just seems like she’s stressing about something lately. She always says it’s something about work when I ask.” Jieqiong says, pursing her lips in thought.

“I’m not sure about Nayoung unnie’s work load but with Minky, it seems like things are rather chill at the museum after the space camp?” Yebin mutters.

“If it’s something that concerns me, she’d tell me, right?” She asks, tries to keep it casual.

“Of course. You live together now! You’re practically married!” Yebin assures her.

Jieqiong nods slowly, thinking things through. She takes a deep breath before speaking again.

“I don’t want to seem pushy but I want to let her know that she can tell me anything. She always lets me talk about what’s bothering me so it’ll only be fair if she does the same to me, right? I mean, there really isn’t anything much I can do to help if it’s work-related but… you know… I’d like it if she talks to me about it. Of course, only if she wants to and only when she’s ready.”

Nayoung takes good care of her, there’s no doubt about that. But Jieqiong worries that she isn’t doing anything for her, that she’s just taking and taking and not giving. Nayoung always goes out of her way to make her smile, to make her feel that she’s not alone. She’d like to make her feel the same way.

Yebin smiles at that. “Aww, look at you. You’re all grown up now, Juju. I’m so proud of you.”

She realizes it’s true. That you see the world in a different light when you’re in love. You become less selfish. You become more sensitive. She thinks if she can, she’d rather be the one hurt than to let Nayoung get hurt. It’s weird, this loving someone thing. But then Jieqiong realizes she shouldn’t even be entertaining these thoughts right now.

She frowns at Yebin, playfully. “Hey! What does that make me?”

“Character development is a good thing. You used to be a bit of a heartless with the people you date.” Yebin shrugs, takes a sip off her drink again.

“What are we talking about?” Kyungwon asks, coming back from playing with the puppies. She settles on a chair opposite Yebin and looks at Jieqiong with curious eyes.

“How you should consider taking Eunwoo out on a real date.” Yebin immediately says, saving her.

“What?” Kyungwon looks confused.

“Yeah. Fishing cafes are great, I guess. Eunwoo did seem to enjoy going there but, Kyungwon unnie, let’s get real, it doesn’t give off the vibe that you’re on a date.” Jieqiong immediately jumps. “Right, Nunu?” She even calls to the girl.

She and Yebin then both watch in amusement as Kyungwon’s face flushes deep red.

“Right!” Eunwoo, surrounded by some shiba inu pups which somehow resembles her, pipes up from the other end of the room. A look of confusion crosses her face. “What was I saying right to?” She calls back.

“Kyungwon unnie’s buying more cheesecake for us!” Yebin replies, winks at Kyungwon while Eunwoo celebrates in the background.

“I should take you two to church and let you burn there, you spawn of Satan.” Kyungwon says darkly as she pulls her wallet out from her bag.

&&

Nayoung texts her that she’d be coming home later than usual (something about holding her part of the bargain with Seungcheol too long and she just can’t delay it any longer?). Which leaves her to be home alone on a Friday night.

She briefly thinks that maybe she should’ve made plans with Xiaoxiao and Xiening but then decides that it’s better for her to stay home and rest. After all, she has to perform at the recital tomorrow and she wants to be well rested for that. Having just finished changing the strings of her pipa and considering that she’s had enough practice, she opts to walk around the apartment instead for something to do.

Her feet lead her to the threshold and her eyes scan the framed pictures there. Looking at it, she realizes that she’s always in a hurry to get inside the apartment. Whether it was because she and Nayoung are in a hurry to get to the bedroom or she just has to use the bathroom quickly, she never had the time to look at the pictures here properly.

One particular photo gets her to stop. It’s of Nayoung and a girl, younger by the looks of it (her height reached up to Nayoung’s chest at best). In the picture, Nayoung is dressed up in her high school uniform and has her long brown hair down while the girl is covered up in a black coat and has her hair tied up in a neat bun. Nayoung also has an arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulders and holds up a silver trophy in one hand. The writings on the trophy are too small for Jieqiong to read so she can’t say what the trophy is for.

Jieqiong knew that Nayoung didn’t have any siblings. She told her she didn’t. So maybe the girl is her cousin? They do sort of look alike, having the same fluffy cheeks and similar droopy eyes, although the girl’s are a bit bigger. But then again, maybe the resemblance could be coincidental and she’s just a younger friend?

Jieqiong looks up to more pictures, half of which is of Nayoung and Chungha while the other half is Minkyung, Kyungwon, and Nayoung. All of them from way back to their college days and middle school days (for Nayoung and Chungha). She walks deeper inside the apartment and sees even more quirks she hadn’t noticed before.

It hits her like cold water to the face. There are still so many things that she doesn’t know about Nayoung when it feels like Nayoung already knows her inside out. She knows what she’s thinking of before she even does. She knows what she wants before she even says it out loud. Jieqiong starts to feel bad a little.

She really has been insensitive to Nayoung’s needs, hasn’t she? Was she too caught up in the idea of having someone like Nayoung that she overlooked the part that Nayoung is as human as she is, in need of care and affection?

Guilt overcomes Jieqiong and she lies awake in bed until past midnight. So much for being well-rested. She hears the jingle of the keys and footsteps padding through the floor. The bedroom door creaks as it opens gently and Nayoung’s head appears through the gap. Kyulkyung feels her heart skip a beat at the look Nayoung gives her.

“You waited up?” She asks, worried.

“No. Well, at least not intentionally. I just couldn’t sleep.” Jieqiong says honestly as she sits up.

Nayoung walks towards her, sits on the bed too, just a few feet away from her. “Sorry for making you wait. Seungcheol wouldn’t let me go sooner.”

“How was it?” Jieqiong asks, genuinely curious.

“Horrible for me. I keep on getting creeps talking to me. It went well for Seungcheol, I guess. I never really imagined that Jeonghan and his boyfriend will agree to a three-way date with him.” Nayoung replies. “What about you? How was staying at home?”

“It was boring without you but I got some time to think so it’s fine.” Jieqiong mumbles, shyly.

Nayoung chuckles lightly, scoots closer to her. “What were you thinking about?”

“You.” It comes out so easily and so quickly, it reminds her of that time in her hotel room on their first night together. And just like that time, she doesn’t regret it. Nayoung always makes her feel safe. Maybe it’s time she makes her feel the same.

“I was thinking about you. And how I’m not doing enough for you when you’re already bending over backwards for me.” She says, feeling braver.

Nayoung eyes soften and a sigh escapes her lips. “Jieqiong-”

“No, listen.” She cuts her off. “I know what you’re going to say. That I don’t need to worry about things like that. That you want to do those things for me. But, Nayoungie, I want to do things for you too, you know. Not to make things fair but because I want to. I want to take care of you too.”

Nayoung is so much more of a grown up than her. Jieqiong doesn’t know why it wasn’t as obvious to her as it is now. Having to live alone and working to earn money to pay for everything is not something Jieqiong can understand fully because she gets everything she could ever want or need (in the material sense) from her rich parents. But Nayoung does all of that. And it must be really difficult. She could just feel her heart break at that thought.

“I guess what I’m saying is… I’m here for you, Nayoung. I know there are things you aren’t ready to tell me. And I’m not pressuring you to tell me. But I want you to know that I’ll be here. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen.”

Nayoung smiles weakly at her and her heart breaks even more. It’s true that she can’t do much for Nayoung other than be there for her and she’s sorry about that but she still has to let her know.

“If ever you decide to tell me your secrets, I can keep them safe. If ever you decide to tell me about your burdens, I can help you carry them. I want to be whatever you need me to be, please give me the chance to do that.”

Nayoung doesn’t say anything for a while, just looks into her eyes. When it’s as if she’s had enough, she closes the distance between them and captures her lips in a kiss.

“I’m sorry.” Nayoung whispers into the small space between them when they pull apart for air.

“You don’t have to be. If anything, I’m sorry I didn’t realize these things sooner.” Jieqiong replies.

“No, I’m sorry.” Nayoung says.

Jieqiong finally notices that her eyes are wet and it’s clear that Nayoung’s apologizing for something else, something she doesn’t seem to understand.

“I don’t deserve you, Jieqiong. I really don’t.” She whispers, soft and broken.

“So don’t ever let me go?” Please don’t ever let me go.

Nayoung smiles that helpless smile again. “I care about you very much, Jieqiong. I don’t want you to hurt. I just… I just I want you to be happy. Please be happy.”

“I am, Nayoung. I’m happy because of you.” She says, pulling her close again.

“I’m happy because of you too.” Nayoung finally admits and Jieqiong smiles. The urge to hold Nayoung in her arms is too strong so she doesn’t fight it.

They lie down on the bed side by side, wrapped in each other’s embrace and let sleep take over them as if it’s relief.

--------------------------

A/N: I'm not all that satisfied with this one. Tbh, I feel like the flows a little rocky. Anyway, the title's taken from my favorite DAY6 track as the central theme for the entire chapter was inspired by the song's lyrics. Give it a listen if you have time. Oh, and I realized I never really brought up where I got the title 'Give You the Universe' from. It's actually from the Korean title of BOL4's debut song Galaxy 우주를 줄게 which can be translated to English as "I'll give you the universe". I just omitted the "I'll" part to put it in the present tense. So, that's that. Hit me up with your thoughts on this chapter. Again, thanks for reading!