If someone had told Bae Joohyun that in about two weeks’ time, she’d be playing ‘mummy’ to a bouncy, idiotically adorable little hybrid puppy, they’d be dead, no doubt. Hell, they wouldn’t have been breathing two seconds after the last word left their mouth. Joohyun would’ve immediately put them out of their stupidity; drained them, of their stupidity, more precisely. There was no way in hell the icy vampiress would have even thought twice about accepting a notion that absurd. She was to be feared! Revered! Men cowered and collapsed on the ground she so gracefully glided along. She could have any victim on their knees, begging for their expendable, pathetic lives as she sunk her fangs into their throats, her talons digging into the warm, human flesh, showing not the slightest ounce of mercy. There wasn’t a power ferocious enough known to mankind that would ever get a fearsome vampiress like her to-
 

“…nnghmummy…”
 

Joohyun’s eyes shot open instantly at the tiny, muffled grunt, softening once they settled on the pair of coffee-coloured ears sticking out of the duvet.
 

The bundle in her arms shifted slightly, entirely buried in the combined warmth of the duvet and the vampiress’ marginal body heat. A tiny leg twitched, and Joohyun felt a sleepy smile tug at the corners of her lips.
 

Her puppy was dreaming.
 

What are you dreaming of, Wannie-ah? Have you finally caught your tail?
 

She chuckled, remembering the few times she’d had to pry Seungwan’s tail out of her own two hands, when the girl had somehow managed to catch the fluffy, elusive thing but didn’t seem to know how to let go. It would almost always end with Joohyun warning her not to chew on it then swiftly channelling the hyperactivity someplace else, usually with the help of some sort of a distraction; belly tickles, treats and cartoons being the three reigning champions.
 

An arm lifted to allow the bundle room to turn over so it was now facing her, ears flopping limply over one another. She let out the softest coo as a face nuzzled into her chest, exhaling steadily as she leaned in to pepper feather-light kisses all over the warm little ears, feeling them start to flick gently under her breath.
 

God, she could stay like this forever.
 

Literally, she needed nothing else… she was a vampire.
 

But the bundle in her arms very much wasn’t, and Joohyun’s eyes widened when she glanced at the time.
 

Oh puppy, it’s almost time for breakfast.
 

The covers were peeled off as gently as vampirically possible, revealing the sweetest sleeping face, now scrunching up as an unwelcoming draft blew over. She waited a second before gently running a thumb over a pink cheek, flushed from having been wrapped in the comfort of her mummy’s arms and the duck feathered duvet. Perfectly rounded nails, now clipped as short as possible, found their way to the tangled mess atop the head and began smoothing the kinks of sleep from the locks of golden-brown, rousing Seungwan into the land of the living.
 

“Ah, ah,” Joohyun chided lovingly as a grumpy puppy tried to pull the covers back over her head, “time for breakfast, Wannie. Let’s get ready. Today’s a big day.”
 

It was all too easy to lift the little grouch, much too drowsy to kick up a fuss, off the bed and into the bathroom where she ran a lukewarm bath and got the favourite bath toys out to play. Seungwan’s eyes lit up when she saw Mr. Squeaky; the yellow, rubber duck, who was bobbing along in the sea of suds. She barely allowed Joohyun to undress her before she was worming her way out of her grasp and climbing in to splash around with him. The vampiress flinched and held two arms defensively over her face as the water level in the bath depleted, the bathroom floor simultaneously becoming a slippery, soapy mess.
 

“Alright, calm down, calm down, let me scrub you before you empty this bathtub,” she huffed as she lathered up the washcloth with a few pumps of body wash and ran it all over the distracted girl. Seungwan squirmed and giggled whenever Joohyun held her arm up so she could clean her, earning her an amused laugh each time.
 

Getting the tedious bath time out the way was a huge weight lifted, and Seungwan was a fast learner with regards to the remaining bathroom chores, already being able to brush her own teeth after watching her mummy do it a couple times. So they could now do it together, much to Joohyun’s relief. After which, Joohyun would brush her thick hair and gently blow dry it, making sure it was thoroughly dried so she wouldn’t catch a chill.
 

A pair of freshly cleaned, floppy ears sprung up before folding over as the neck of a light blue jumper was pulled over their owner’s head. She had the matching blue joggers on and plush white socks tugged onto her feet so they’d stay warm in the cruelly unforgiving bout of winter. She got a quick peck on the nose before being picked up and carried out the bedroom.
 

Joohyun got to preparing breakfast as soon as she settled the ball of comfort onto the floor of the living room and reached for the pristine clad-wrapped remote to switch Seungwan’s favourite cartoon on.
 

The little monster had recently begun losing her first milk teeth so Joohyun had to be extra careful to nibble-proof anything and everything even remotely harmful the pup could get her paws on. Funny how you can buy chew toys and raw-hide of every description, but still find the rubbery buttons on the remote nicely littered around the coffee table… multiple times. Joohyun had scoured the mansion that day, taking notes and assessing every item for its ‘nibble factor’, then proceeding to move those highest on the scale to the topmost shelves so a certain unruly, teething puppy wouldn’t be able to reach them anytime soon.
 

“Wannie-ah,” she called over her shoulder, gingerly pressing a tester spoon of food to her lips to check that it’d cooled down enough, “come here, breakfast time!”
 

“Coming mummy!” the tiny voice was followed by audibly clumsy shuffling and a small thud before a face peeked round into the kitchen.
 

Joohyun couldn’t help but smile as she purposely wafted the mouth-watering scent of freshly cooked chicken porridge in Seungwan’s direction, watching it helplessly entice the puppy into the kitchen one curious little sniff at a time. With a quick boost, she was sat at the table, hungry brown eyes boring into the steamy, full bowl in front of her.
 

“Very good girl, Wannie, chew slowly yah,” Joohyun cooed encouragingly as she fed her spoon after spoon of the thick, flavourful mush and pausing between spoonful’s to lightly scratch the delightfully flicking ears.
 

Giggles and squeals echoed youth into the house and the vampiress chuckled to herself as she did the dishes.
 

“Alright, enough TV,” Joohyun quipped, picking up the remote and switching it off, earning a small pout from the girl far too invested in what the big, strong dog was going to do to the blue cat after catching it unintentionally hurting his son.
 

Joohyun ran her hands over her long, black skirt and fiddled with the neckline of her jet-black jumper before bunching luscious raven tresses into a sleek low ponytail. All the while Seungwan rolled around aimlessly on the floor behind her.
 

“Let’s go, baby,” Joohyun held her hand out behind her as she opened the doors, motioning for Seungwan to come with.
 

“Where we going, mummy?” the curious voice came as she was being buckled in.
 

“Somewhere very special, Wannie.”
 

“Yay, park time!”
 

Seungwan was practically vibrating in her seat from the excitement.
 

Silly puppy.
 

It was special. Of course, Seungwan was too young to understand its significance then, but she would grow to realise it soon enough. Still, despite being a smidge bummed at not pulling up to the usual playground she was so terribly fond of, the girl showed just as much enthusiasm for what greeted them behind the huge sliding doors, only too happy to be spending time with her precious mummy.
 

Inquisitive, wide eyes scanned each aisle she was led into, tiny chuffs of awe escaping her every so often as rows and rows of every colour her young mind could think of was displayed right there before her.
 

“You can pick any one, baby,” Joohyun sang, bending down to scoop the girl off the floor so she could get a better look at the selections up top, “See any you like?”
 

Seungwan wriggled eagerly in her grasp, pointing at a particular hue on one of the dangling bits of material that caught her eye. Joohyun readjusted the girl in her arms before reaching up to unhook it from where it hung.
 

“You sure, Wannie?” she sounded surprised at the relatively adult choice; a midnight blue. She assumed the girl would’ve gone for a livelier shade, but she knew the decision was final with the way Seungwan was nodding and taking curious little whiffs of the foreign material as if it would help her understand the colour better.
 

“You don’t like this cute blue one?” Joohyun shook the girl gently and pointed to a much lighter, pastel blue.
 

But Seungwan immediately clutched the one she’d originally chosen, shaking her head, not even bothering to look twice.
 

“This one like me, and mummy,” she innocuously punctuated each subject with a finger pointed to her baby blue jumper and then at Joohyun’s own, black one.
 

At that moment, the vampiress felt her entire being completely shatter by this exhibition of boundless innocence and thought. The girl was barely out of puppyhood, yet she could pick out the perfect amalgamation of her own preferences and Joohyun’s. It solidified the decision that night when she decided to take her in, absolutely over the moon at how she’d earned the girl’s trust in such a short time frame. It wasn’t every day that you got to experience such joy when your whole life till now had been a testament to loneliness and selfishness. It wasn’t every day that someone like Seungwan just stumbled her way in to instantly warm your stone-cold heart. It was a chance that swooped past once in a blue moon, luck be in the air that night to the one who caught it.
 

And Joohyun thanked her every day for giving her that chance.
 

Not trusting herself to not break down right there in the store, Joohyun simply nodded in agreement, kissing a confused Seungwan on the forehead before setting her down again and guiding her to the cashiers. It wasn’t uncommon for Seungwan to be showered in compliments on how cute or well behaved she was wherever they went, and it had quite frankly gotten a little embarrassing for the vampiress to have to keep shyly nodding and thanking the same people ten times in a row.
 

...
 

Joohyun hadn’t even shut the doors before Seungwan jumped out of her arms and zipped straight for the TV, narrowly missing the edge of the coffee table as she awkwardly clambered onto the sofa. Clumsily fiddling with the remote, she pressed the big red button on the top, the one button she knew, to resume where she’d left off.
 

Oh puppy, Joohyun inwardly tsked as she locked up for the night, we’re gonna have to curb TV time, aren’t we?
 

She set her keys onto the counter and took a minute to admire the adjustable collar in midnight blue. Yes, it was perfect beyond fraction of a doubt. Her Wannie was so clever, so-
 

“Mummy!” the shriek from the living room jolted her out of blissful reminiscence, “play with Wannie!”
 

Yes, yes. Your wish will forever be my command, Wannie.
 

Snapping the box shut, she placed it in the drawer in preparation for the very special occasion that would come up before either of them knew it; her first birthday as Joohyun’s little girl. It was almost too overwhelming to be true.
 

But for now….
 

Seungwan yelped in surprise, immediately dissolving into endless bouts of high-pitched laughter as Joohyun had snuck up behind her, only to playfully wrestle her onto her back, both Seungwan’s hands in one of her own as she pinned them above her head and wiggled her fingers in her armpits.
 

“Uh oh, Wannie, here comes… the Tickle Monster!”
 

The girl was going crazy underneath her, kicking and squirming as she tried to shy away from the tickling fingers. Now resorting to attempting to nip at Joohyun’s hand when she found she couldn’t get away.
 

“Oh, trying to bite me, puppy?” Joohyun teased, laughing freely herself at Seungwan’s infectious stream of giggles, “naughty girl, now you’re gonna get it.”
 

Seungwan squealed, puffy cheeks flushing a bright pink as Joohyun lifted her jumper and blew a raspberry right onto her tummy. The vampiress relented the tickles, letting a tuckered out Seungwan catch her breath while she brushed her own hair back.
 

“Come here, baby,” she said patting the sofa and curling her arm out beside her to create a space for cuddling.
 

Seungwan yawned as soon as she felt a hand start to roll her ear where it folded over. A smile crept up Joohyun’s face when Seungwan leant into her dexterous fingers as she began massaging them at the base, drawing happy little noises from her tired puppy.
 

“Can you be good and cuddle with mummy while she watches her movie?” Joohyun glanced down at the girl already fast asleep in her lap, velvet ears twitching in contentment.
 

The vampiress chuckled before flipping the channels and making herself comfortable.

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small filler...small angst may be coming up idk lol.