“Are we getting out of bed today?” Joohyun asked, pressing a kiss to Chaeyoung’s shoulder.

Laying on her stomach, her hair fanning around her head in a golden halo, Chaeyoung hummed into the pillow, enjoying the feeling of Joohyun’s warm hands and lips on her bare skin. It was nearly lunchtime, and aside from a quick trip downstairs to get bowls of cereal for her and Joohyun, as well as a packet of Ritz crackers and some blueberries for herself. They’d had hot chocolate in bed, courtesy of Joohyun, and if her wife had any thoughts about Chaeyoung precariously balancing blueberries on top of the crackers, she kept them to herself as she silently watched. They hadn’t moved since then though, wrapped up in the warmth of each other’s embrace and the layers of heavy blankets, talking as they watched TV and occasionally drifted in and out of sleep.

“No,” came Chaeyoung’s muffled reply, “I’m staying here forever.”

With a snort of laughter, Joohyun hovered over her, her long hair tickling Chaeyoung’s back, before she settled down on top of her, squishing her into the mattress and pile of pillows as Chaeyoung laughed. “As much as I’d love to keep you prisoner in our bed, we do have to go back tomorrow,” Joohyun quietly said in Chaeyoung’s ear, her warm breath tickling her. “And you do have to get out of bed sometime today. I have a surprise for you.”

Pushing them both up, Chaeyoung wriggled beneath Joohyun, until she was flat on her back with Joohyun sitting in her lap. Looking up with raised eyebrows and an expectant look on her face, Chaeyoung smiled, “a surprise? What is it?”

Laughing, Joohyun leant down and gave her a lingering kiss, before drawing back and giving her a teasing smile. “Well the point in it being a surprise means you’ll have to wait and see.”

“I hate surprises.”

“Tough.”

“Did you know that I’m the Queen?”

“Really? I hadn’t heard,” Joohyun dryly replied.

Sitting up, Chaeyoung brushed Joohyun’s hair out of her face and gave her an amused look, leaning in to kiss her shoulder. “Well, you see,” Chaeyoung said, kissing the hollow of Joohyun’s collarbone, “I have my own country. And people have to do what I say. Because I’m the boss lady - figuratively speaking - so… you have to tell me, or it’s treason.” She kissed a path up Joohyun’s neck, starting at the bottom of , all the way up to the sharp angle of her jawline, before cupping Joohyun’s face in her hands and crushing their lips together.

Laughing into the kiss, Joohyun pushed herself back slightly, “you know, I don’t think that’s technically how it works.”

“No? Well then, how about you tell me anyway.”

A thoughtful look of deliberation on her face, Joohyun pursed her lips slightly, glancing up at the crown molding of the airy bedroom, before she looked down at Chaeyoung and gave her a wide smile. “No,” she firmly replied, laughing as Chaeyoung flopped back down onto the pillows, her arms spread wide open as she sulked.

Her hands pressing into the pillows on either side of Chaeyoung’s head, Joohyun hovered over her, her lips curled up into a smile as her green eyes sparkled with mischief, and Chaeyoung groaned as she laughed, closing her eyes. “You’re such a tease.”

She opened her eyes again to stare up at Joohyun, her heart leaping slightly at the sight of her messy haired, wild-eyed wife, with her teasing smile, and Chaeyoung drew her down to kiss her. They stayed in bed for a little while longer, until Chaeyoung’s stomach started rumbling mid-kiss and she let out an embarrassed laugh, shrugging as she gave Joohyun a helpless look when her wife drew back. Joining in on her laughter, Joohyun glanced down at Chaeyoung’s stomach, now looking even more bloated after two weeks tucked away in Ireland, and she slid down the bed, propping her chin up in her hand and reaching out with her other hand to gently cup the slight swell of Chaeyoung’s belly.

“Looks like Princess Pea is hungry,” Joohyun said, a tender look in her eyes as she rubbed gentle, soothing circles on Chaeyoung’s stomach. Chaeyoung’s heart melted as she watched Joohyun lean over and place a delicate kiss to the side of her bellybutton, and she was overcome with a sudden rush of emotions, making her eyes prickle with tears for some reason. Scrambling into a sitting position, Joohyun climbed off the bed and searched around for her pyjamas, tossing Chaeyoung her own too. “Come on, let’s get some lunch in you.”

Pulling on her clothes, Chaeyoung slipped out of bed and gathered up the remains of their breakfast, following Joohyun downstairs. A fire was burning low in the grate from where Joohyun had lit it that morning to warm up a few rooms downstairs, and Aoife was curled up in front of it, her ears twitching at the sounds of footsteps. Chaeyoung stacked the dishwasher and let Aoife outside to run around the garden, while Joohyun made them both lunch, waving away Chaeyoung’s help whenever she drifted too close.

Retreating to one of the leather armchairs in the main living room, Chaeyoung relaxed in front of the embers of the fire, still radiating warmth, and scratched Aoife’s muzzle as the dog plopped her head down in Chaeyoung’s lap for some attention. It wasn’t too long before Joohyun was calling her back to the kitchen, and Chaeyoung quickly climbed to her feet, eagerly making her way towards the food as the shaggy grey dog followed at her heels. She was handed two glasses of sparkling water with mint leaves swirling amongst the ice cubes and ordered out into the garden, and Chaeyoung was all too quick to obey, stepping out into the mild weather and squinting in the weak sunshine. It was their last day in Ireland, probably for a while, and Chaeyoung knew Joohyun would want to make the most of the still-flowering garden before they left and winter crept in on them.

Following behind, Joohyun carried two plates piled high with a variety of foods, and they wound their way through flowerbeds and rose bushes, coming upon a wrought iron table with two matching chairs set onto a little patio nestled amongst the trees and plants. Taking their seats, they started picking at their food, and Chaeyoung let out a snort of laughter at the selection of healthy foods Joohyun had prepared for them. Neat carrot and celery sticks, marinated olives and little stuffed peppers that had been delivered by the housekeeper, kale chips that made Chaeyoung wrinkle her nose, slithers of smoked salmon for Chaeyoung, a mixture of seeds and nuts, and all manners of other picnic foods.

She picked up a stick of cucumber and took a bite, raising her eyebrows in amusement as she looked at Joohyun. “Are we trying to get rid of the baby weight before we even put it on?”

“Eating healthy is never a bad thing, darling,” Joohyun said, giving her a stern look, “and I don’t want our future heirs to come out with two heads. Besides … I felt like celery.”

Blinking in surprise, Chaeyoung gave Joohyun a knowing smile, “did you- is that a craving , princess?”

Joohyun was two months pregnant now, and so far she hadn’t exhibited a single symptom of it. Her tailored clothes still fit her perfectly - although the sweaters and pants weren’t exactly form-fitting anyway - her morning sickness had yet to kick in, and even if she was tired, she was still up at the same time every single morning. Despite her relief that she didn’t have to put up with hormonal mood swings, knowing how snarky and flippant Joohyun could be in her bad moods, Chaeyoung was a little peeved that somehow she’d had all the bad luck. Her morning sickness wasn’t confined to her mornings, she was feeling even more bloated and exhausted, and had become fussier with what snacks she wanted. She wasn’t even a third of the way through yet, and Chaeyoung was starting to realise that it was going to be decidedly less fun than she had thought it would be. In her mind, being pregnant had always been a rose coloured ideology of happiness, with that glowing aura and a gentle calmness of someone who was prepared to be a new mother, but the tinted glasses were off, and at ten weeks in, she was starting to realise that not everything was quite as pretty as that. As soon as her fitted dresses and skirts stopped fitting, she knew it would only go downhill from there, but a