Irene smiled as Wendy stirred in her sleep. 

The younger turned her head away from the morning lights that went into their room. Her face scrunched slightly in the annoyance of the disturbing brightness. Wendy gave her back to the culprit, the giant window in their bedroom covered with curtains that couldn’t shield away all the rays as they slipped through the gap.

If it were up to Irene, she would not bother closing them in the first place. She loved looking at the skies and curtains only add more work to it. Wendy, however, was not the biggest supporter of sunlight, so they compromised.

Wendy, now facing Irene, suddenly grumbled words that Irene couldn’t catch. The older arched her eyebrows, smile widening at the sleeping girl.

Wendy often sleep-talked in her slumber, which most were mumbles that didn’t mean anything. She also sometimes did funny faces that for Irene worth more to watch than a few couple minutes of extra sleep. Sleeping Wendy was almost as adorable as awake Wendy. 

“...five more minutes.”

Irene finally caught what the younger girl was murmuring when the later repeated. “Can you let me sleep for five more minutes?”

Irene chuckled, “I’m not stopping you, Seungwan-ah.”

Wendy scoffed lightly, eyes still shut, refusing to wake up. “You’re staring.”

“So?”

“I can’t sleep when you do that. Don’t you know that your stares are more blinding than the sun?”

Irene cringed at the words. She couldn’t induce Wendy’s cheesiness, especially with an empty stomach.

“I guess that’s why they say that love is blind.” Wendy continued, chuckling as Irene groaned.

“You’re horrible, Son Seungwan. That doesn’t even make any sense. “Irene took a pillow and hit Seungwan’s back with it.

Wendy playfully yelped through the attacks. She opened one of her eyes, peeking to Irene.” And here I thought that my romantic mouth was the one that won your heart back when I was courting you.”

“What romantic mouth? You were barely able to hold a conversation with me back then without stuttering,” Irene scoffed.

Wendy laughed. “I just moved back here from Canada. My Korean was horrible. And just so you know, I wasn’t flirting with you yet back then.”

Irene raised her eyebrows. “So you weren’t in love with me from the very start?”

Wendy hummed, pulling the blanket, which was messed after her girlfriend’s pillow strikes, back up to her chin. “I was very much attracted to you, of course. You were, are,” she quickly corrected, “the prettiest girl I have ever met in my life. Who wouldn’t get their breath stolen away by the sight of you?”

Irene raised the pillow again, shooting the younger the most threatening look she pulled, but it did an opposite effect as Wendy grinned in return.

“I still remembered that day when I entered the cafe looking for Seulgi and saw you sitting next to her. You were wearing this beige turtleneck with your hair tied into a bun, and I wondered how a person could look that stunning so effortlessly.”

Irene rolled her eyes and mumbled you’re so greasy, but she did nothing to stop the younger.

“What’s worse, though, was that it wasn’t enough that you are drop-dead gorgeous. The universe had just to make you attentive, caring, and strong.” Wendy mumbled, eyes back closing, trying to get more sleep.

“You know that from our first meet?”

“Not to that extent, but I got that hunch from our first meeting, just from how you paid attention to my rambling and didn’t mind my chattiness. I know it can be off-putting on a first meet.”

“It wasn’t. You were cute.” Irene immediately cut to assure the younger.

Wendy chuckled. Irene was like that. She wasn’t one that gave out lavish praises like Wendy did, but she would never let the younger lingered around her insecurities for even a flash of a moment.

“That wasn’t my point. The point is that you proved me right with my hunches. Hell, you took and slam dunked my hunches in the ring by turning out to be the most wonderful and amazing human being ever.” 

Irene just hummed at Wendy’s flatteries. “So when was the time that you realised that you’re in love with me?” She asked.

“I knew I had a crush on you from pretty early on, but I never acted on it or anything,” Wendy explained when Irene scoffed, interrupting her.

“You said greasy lines to me all the times since our second meeting.”

“But I said them to everyone, right? Even Yerim?” Wendy furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember.

Irene frowned at the memory. “Yes, you did. You even said them to that girl behind the counter when we bought popcorn.”

Wendy chuckled at the now sulky Irene. “Did I? I couldn’t remember. Anyway, I thought that by doing nothing to it, my crush on you would eventually pass. It didn’t, though. Instead, it grew into forceful tugs that pulled me towards you. And just like that, I was hanging on a cliff, holding on the edge trying so hard not to fall.”

Irene stayed mum for a while before asking, “Did you not want to fall?”

“No,” Wendy murmured slowly, “I didn’t.”

“Why?” Irene asked again.

“Because I was scared.”

“Of me?”

“Of being in love with you,” Wendy muttered, opening her eyes to look at Irene. She shot the older one of her easy smiles, “I had never thought that you could love me back like that. You are way out of my league, you know.”

Wendy continued before Irene could protest over her words. “So I held on tight, as hard as I could. I told myself that I should hold on until you have someone by your side so that when I fell for you, I know that it couldn’t happen because you’re taken, not because I could never have you the way I desperately want.”

“But you didn’t let it go my way of course. It was your birthday. We had a small surprise party at Seulgi’s flat, do you remember it? You were laughing and smiling so widely throughout the night, and I couldn’t remember seeing you that happy ever before. You blew the candles, we shared the cake, and then you gave each one of us a hug. That’s when I knew that I couldn’t hold on any longer. I didn’t want to hold on anymore.”

“So I told you that night. I wished you a happy birthday and said those three words that I held back longer than I should. And I’ve been falling ever since.” Wendy concluded, smiling softly before Irene snuggled her into a hug.

Irene remembered that birthday night. She had a little too much drink that she reached that point where she felt light and giddy, but still very much aware of her surroundings. She remembered Wendy’s wish, which the younger murmured as they hugged. “Happy Birthday unnie. I love you.” She just never thought that Wendy meant it that way.

“Are you still scared,” Irene murmured the words against Wendy’s collarbone, “of being in love with me?”

Irene felt Wendy’s hand on her back, pulling her even closer to the latter’s warmth. Wendy rubbed small circles on her back as she whispered, softly, “I am.”

“Even now?” Irene placed kisses along Wendy’s neck up to her jaw, her cheeks, her nose, “Even when you have me like this?” She kissed Wendy hard on her lips, drawing her emphasises on the other’s mouth in hoping the younger could know, could feel all the love she had for the tiny girl. They only broke away when both of them ran out of air. She pressed both of their foreheads together, still catching their breaths. “Even when I promised my forever with you?”

Irene watched as Wendy’s eyes met hers, felt the younger’s hand gently caressing one side of Irene’s cheek with the back of her fingers. “I am scared.” She gently tucked the auburn fringe behind Irene’s ear. “Of course I’m scared. Having you means that I can lose you, Hyun, and I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.”

Irene held on Wendy’s wrist, leaving soft kisses on the back of the younger’s palm, “Tell me,” Irene murmured against the hand, “tell me what I need to do so that you won’t feel scared anymore.”

She looked at Wendy, watched the younger threw her an assuring small smile. “It’s okay. When I let go that night, I realised that whatever fear that I have, or fears I might have, it won’t be bigger than my love to you. If it means that I could give my love to you, a little fear won’t matter, right?”

Irene left chaste kisses to Wendy’s face, murmuring “you’re so dumb” and “where would I even go?” that made Wendy giggled. “See, I told you that you’re stopping my sleep, didn’t I?” She groaned, but she was not really complaining, “Now let’s go have breakfast since I’m up anyway.”