- Mornings -

 

It was a sunny Friday morning, but thankfully for Mrs. and Mrs. Bae, the curtains were closed with only a few beams of sunlight slithering through the small remaining cracks. Every so often, Wendy manages to wake up before their alarm clock goes off and today was one of those mornings. Her eyes slowly open as she lifts her right arm to rub her eyes and peeks at the time.

6:18 AM

Wendy yawns before turning to face the welcomed weight lying on her left arm. She feels her stomach swarm with butterflies as she revels in her wife's sleeping expression, taking her time to tuck a strand of hair behind Irene’s ear and kisses her forehead gently.

The pair typically wake up at 6:30 so Wendy could prepare breakfast while Irene gets both herself and their child ready for work and for school respectively. But, seeing her wife in such a beautiful, peaceful state makes Wendy pause.

A couple more minutes won't hurt.

She turns off the alarm, then pulls her wife into her arms and lets out a content sigh as she feels Irene bury her head further into Wendy’s neck. It's moments like these where Wendy wishes she could freeze time and stay like this with her wife forever.

Just a little after 6:45, Irene stirs awake and is greeted with Wendy's usual raspy muttering of 'Good Morning' and a warm smile that she loves so much–the kind of smile that Wendy only reserves for her. She giggles as the younger woman peppers her with quick kisses along her face. Her forehead, her cheekbones, the tip of her nose, the corners of and with a small whine, Wendy ends it with a grinning peck on the lips.

The couple eventually get up to officially start their morning. Wendy heads downstairs to start cooking and Irene goes to wake up their little 6-year-old after she had gotten dressed.

Wendy’s in the midst of flipping pancakes when she hears excited pitter-patters of footsteps down the staircase and into the kitchen. A small voice breaks out and their daughter's head just barely peaks over the countertop, "Mommy, can I skip school today?"

Hearing the question, Wendy chuckles and quickly avoids her daughter's eyes. Their daughter was well aware of the fact that her mommy often gave into her puppy dog eyes because, and she quotes, 'They remind her of momma and it's hard saying no to momma.'

"Well, what did momma say when she was with you this morning?"

Irene enters the room just as their daughter, Ellie, replies with an unserious sigh, "She said no, just like every other morning."

Irene snorts and kisses the top of Ellie's head, "But you still love me, right?"

"Of course, momma," the girl brightens. "I love you and you love me…"

"To the moon and back," both parents finish the sentence. Their daughter watches with a smile as Wendy happily kisses Irene on the cheek when she approaches her side. It was very rare for there to be mornings where their routine changes which was both great, but also a bit of a struggle for Irene. She has always wanted to wake up before Wendy and make breakfast for the family for a change, but 9.9 times out of 10, Wendy would always be up first. The only time it was a guarantee was whenever it was Wendy's birthday and both Irene and their daughter would make breakfast for her.

After they all finished eating, the 6-year-old runs off to put on her backpack and shoes while the parents clean up the table.

"Looks like your note has been working, by the way, Ms. Tooth Fairy," Irene whispers, making sure no one else could hear. "Nice touch, adding that she can only enter rooms that are clean since they're easier to fly through. I don't think I've ever seen Ellie's room so tidy."

"You make it sound like I’m bribing her to do her chores," Wendy laughs.

"That's because it kinda is, honey," Irene boops her wife's nose, making the other woman scrunch her face amusingly. "Not that I'm complaining."

Soon enough, their child calls out that she's ready to go and the couple heads towards the door. Wendy kisses both her daughter and wife good-bye, but then slips some chocolate into the little one's pocket when Irene's putting on her shoes. The two giggle in secret, but when their kid is out the door and Irene and Wendy share another kiss, the younger woman's cheeks turn pink when Irene whispers with a husky chuckle, "I totally caught that."

Once both are buckled in the car, Irene looks in her rear-view mirror and meets her daughter's curious eyes, "What is it, Ellie?"

"Oh nothing," she brushes off, but Irene squints suspiciously. She raised her daughter and knows that look in her eyes. Something was definitely going on and she's sure it had nothing to do with the candy since it has happened in the past. But, Irene also knows her daughter well enough that whatever she's hiding will eventually come out since she's never been good at keeping secrets just like her other mom.

With Ellie dropped off at school, Irene heads to the courthouse with a heavy heart. Right now, her and her legal partners were nearing the end of one of their biggest cases to this day. It was one of those cases that if they were to win, it would place their firm on the map and so she was stressed to say the least. She enters a private room and is immediately greeted by Joy and Yeri who, just like her, kept on a confident exterior despite the nerves. They had a couple more hours before closing statements and thus spent some time debriefing. 

At home, Wendy was at her desk, looking at her computer screen with uncertainty. She has been having this debate within herself for quite some time now and isn't sure when would be the best time to bring this up to her wife considering everything that is going on right now at her job. She decides to do a bit more research when suddenly, she hears the front door open. 

She looks at her watch and her eyebrows furrow, Irene should still be at the courthouse.

She closes her computer screen and with caution, opens her office door only to then be immediately reeling back as Irene enters with haste.

"Baby? Is everything okay?" Wendy asks worriedly as she approaches her wife and rubs her arms in a soothing manner. "Is the case over?"

"No, no, it's not," Irene corrects. "I just um, I came by to remind you that you have to bring Ellie to dance practice after school."

"I appreciate the reminder, my love, but couldn't you have just called or text? I'm always happy when you're with me, but shouldn't you be with your client?"

"Well they, they just pushed back the trial for another hour since some other cases are taking a bit longer than they thought so…"

"I see," Wendy says understandably.

"Anyways, I'm sorry, you're right. I should probably head back now," Irene admits, but Wendy still looks concerned.

"Agh," Wendy waves off. "I'm sure Joy and Yeri can handle the client on their own for a bit. How about we go sit in the living room?"

Irene nods and the couple cuddles on the couch. They sit in comfortable silence with Irene wrapped up in Wendy's arms and they simply bask in each other's presence. Wendy rubs her hand against her wife's back and Irene sighs, "I'm worried, Wen."

In response, Wendy doesn't waste a second to bring Irene in a little closer and rubs circles on her back. It was just as she thought. In times like this, Wendy knows to let Irene speak her mind first without interruptions since the older woman seldomly shares what's troubling her.

"If we lose, the whole firm will lose so much confidence. Not just because it's a high-profile case, but also because we're all so passionate about it since most of us are parents. It's our biggest fear to see our child or any child go through something like that and not have justice in the end."

Wendy takes a moment to gather her thoughts. She's not the most knowledgeable about law, but after years with Irene, she gets the gist, "They have a strong defense?"

"Strong, but it definitely has its weak points."

"Weak points that you were able to highlight with evidence?"

"Most of them. Some evidence ended up getting thrown out."

"What's your thoughts on the jury?"

"Based on some of their reactions, they seem to be just as disgusted as we are. But they could just be disgusted at the action itself while not actually attaching him to doing the action."

"Fair point, but there's one thing that they don't have."

"And what's that?"

Wendy looks into her wife's eyes, "You."

"Wen…"

"And I'm not saying that to be greasy, okay? What I'm saying is that you wouldn't have picked up this case if you weren't confident that you could win it. If there wasn't substantial evidence to pin this guy as guilty. I have seen you take on cases with less damning evidence and win the whole thing. Me and so many other people hold so much trust in you for a reason and that's because you are good at what you do and achieving what you think is best for not only yourself, but for others too. So, believe me when I tell you that you are going to nail that closing statement and bring justice to that young child and their family."

Irene can only look at her wife with so much love, "Remind me to call Seulgi and thank her for introducing you to me. I really don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know what I'd do without you either," the two share a lasting kiss.

"I love you."

"And I love you," Wendy returns before they both say in unison, "To the moon and back."

 

- Evenings -

 

Wendy and Ellie are currently at home following dance practice and are working on Ellie's math homework together. Uncharacteristically, however, Wendy was having a harder time concentrating in comparison to her 6-year-old. She would find herself often checking her phone, waiting for an update from her wife about the case verdict. The last thing she heard was that they had finished closing statements and that Irene and her team felt good. But besides that, Wendy can only wait in anticipation and worry for her wife.

"Is everything okay, mommy?" Ellie breaks her trance.

Wendy's focus returns and reassures her, "Everything's fine, little one." She then skims her daughter's worksheet and her eyes widen. "But I don't know if 6 minus 3 equaling 4 is fine," she jokes.

She continues to check her phone every so often while making sure that Ellie is getting the right answers. But as the sun goes down, her concern goes up. She notes to watch her expressions as she doesn't want her daughter to grow worried for either her or Irene. And so, Wendy does her best to remain calm.

It was Ellie who catches the sound of the door being unlocked and Wendy's unsure of what to think. Irene came home without giving me an update on the case?

She couldn't decipher if it were for a good or bad reason. Good in the sense that Irene was too distracted with celebrating with the firm or bad in the sense that Irene wanted to simply hide away in her office and be left alone.

The answer was cleared up, however, as soon as the door opened and Irene entered with others right behind. The four women notably had their hands full of bags of food and drinks and more importantly, bright smiles on their faces.

"Momma!" Ellie squeals happily, running to give her mom a hug.

"Hi, baby," Irene giggles as she drops the bags and kneels down for the much welcomed embrace.

When Ellie separates, she notices the other women and lists them off, "Auntie Seulgi? Auntie Joy? Auntie Yeri? Is there a party or something?"

"Oh yes there is!" Joy answers and then shares a look with Irene and Yeri. "Because…"

"We won!" The legal partners yell with Seulgi's "They won!" in the mix too.

Wendy lets out a huge sigh of relief before going up to kiss her wife and hugs their friends in congratulations.

"You know," Seulgi starts when she and Wendy are assigned to set up the table alone. "When Irene called me up to come over, the first thing she told me was 'Thank you' and didn't explain further. But she did say that you'd know why she said that."

Wendy wears a knowing smile as she peeks at her wife and daughter preparing the food–laughing at whatever antics Joy and Yeri were up to together, "Honestly, I should be thanking you too."

"Aish, you're both so weird. You two are seriously meant to be, I swear," Seulgi cackles. "At least you got Ellie to make you both somewhat normal."

"Oh believe me, she's the least normal amongst the three of us," Wendy jokes and the best friends have a fit of laughter before catching up with one another.

Dinner is rambunctious, loud and although only three are related, the six together feel like family. It's why they are called aunts even though none are a sibling to neither Irene nor Wendy. Seulgi, Joy and Yeri have each babysat Ellie at least once and no doubt has some sort of unique bond with each of them that her parents may never understand. And tonight, that was made clear.

"I have a question," the small voice announces to the table filled with adults. It catches the attention of everyone and they all listen carefully. "When will I stop being the only kid around here?"

"Oop!" Yeri laughs aloud, high-fiving Ellie which she returns proudly. "Sounds like someone wants to be a big sister," the youngest of the adults teases the married couple.

Clearly, she learned how to tease from Yeri.

"Or maybe, you can actually find someone and then have a kid that I can play with, Aunt Yeri," Ellie suggests. The notion is innocent, but it cracks the table up except for Yeri, who turned tight-lipped.

Seulgi nearly chokes on her food with laughter at the little one's bluntness, which everyone notices. Joy, who was sitting next to her, pats her on the back to help her out.

Surely, Joy has been a role model in caring for others.

"Or!" Ellie pipes up again, although she seemed a bit more ecstatic this time. "Aunt Seul, you can finally-"

"Ellie-"

"-propose and then have a kid!" The 6-year-old reveals. "Of course, it'll be a tiny baby and probably a few years before we can play together, but at least…"

Ellie continues to ramble on, completely missing the social cues that were occurring. Seulgi appeared to have deflated in her chair after her failure to stop the little girl from continuing. Yeri had her hands covering , which had hung ajar following Ellie's words. Joy sat frozen, completely stunned. Wendy and Irene shared an astounded look across from one another.

And she had somehow inherited the ability to accidentally let things slip without realizing the impact of it from Seulgi.

"Pro… Propose?" Wendy speaks up first after Ellie finishes her spiel. Seulgi sinks further into the chair and Wendy's sure that if her best friend could disappear right now, she would.

"Propose to who?" Irene follows up, the curiosity getting the best of her.

Before Seulgi could answer, the ever-so ambitious Ellie beats her to it, "To Aunt Joy, of course."

For the first time, Mrs. and Mrs. Bae think they could actually hear a pin drop with how silent the dining room had become.

"Wendy came by the shelter today looking for a dog!" Seulgi suddenly blurts out in a clear state of panic.

The once silent table now sounds like it got its head as almost everyone started speaking at once.

"Oh do not try to change the subject!" 

"Seul!"

"She did what?!"

"Mommy! You went without me?!"

The last voice was the loudest amongst the chaos and ultimately ended up overtaking the discussion. Wendy gives a pointed look at Seulgi before turning to her daughter, "I'm sorry little one, but I had to go take pictures for our thing while you were at school since it was the only time I could without being suspicious."

There's a pause and unexpectedly, Joy stands up and walks who knows where and Seulgi doesn't waste a second to trail right behind. Yeri looks between the two wives and soon whisks Ellie away, tempting her to go play some video games. And then there were two. 

"Phew, our Ellie sure knows how to liven up a party, huh?" Wendy attempts to joke.

"Well, that's one way of putting it," Irene replies, tone unreadable.

The air doesn't exactly feel tense, but definitely shifted than what they're used to.

"We've talked about this, Wen," Irene eyes the food she's moving around on her plate with her fork.

"I know," her wife concedes, almost embarrassed.

"She's so young and a dog is a lot of responsibility."

"I know that too," Wendy hesitates, but continues.  "But Ellie brought it up again and she claims it's the only gift she wants for her birthday!"

"So, you were going to get her one without even telling me? I had to find out from Seul that you already went looking for one at her shelter?" Irene questions, disheartened. A faint pout appears which Wendy manages to catch.

The younger woman gets up from her seat and moves to sit next to her wife. She intertwines their hands together, "Baby, I promise you, I was going to tell you about getting a dog and I don't want you to think that I had already decided on adopting one. I would never do such a thing behind your back. And for the shelter, there's a reason why I went there today and you were supposed to find out about that another way too. Just trust me on this."

Irene and Wendy lean forward until their foreheads gently touch, "You know I'll always trust you, hon."

They share a sweet, intimate kiss.

"Okay, then," Wendy smiles. "Just give me like 10 minutes and I'll join you in the living room with Yeri and Ellie."

Wendy gets up passionately and almost leaves until Irene grabs her wrist, "But what about Seulgi and Joy?"

For a few moments, the couple say nothing to each other, but their eyes say a lot. 

"They'll come down when they're ready."

After some time passes, Wendy appears in the living room with her laptop at the ready. She waves Ellie over and the little girl hops towards her excitedly. They whisper to each other as Irene joins Yeri on the couch.

"Do you know what's going on?" Yeri asks.

"Yes, but also no," Irene tells her honestly.

Wendy is setting up the TV to share her laptop screen when Seulgi and Joy join them quietly on a separate couch. The five friends look at each other for a brief moment, silently agreeing to talk it out after whatever shenanigan Wendy and Ellie are up to.

"Ladies and momma," Ellie begins. "After much talk with my mommy, we have created a slideshow for."

Wendy shows the first slide and their daughter clears before reading the title, "Why Ellie Bae and mommy and momma should get a pet, but not any pet. A DOG."

The four seated adults subtly giggle at Ellie's cute attempt to appear professional.

"Number 1: They are very cute and fluffy and cuddly. And if we have a dog, me or momma can cuddle the dog while the other cuddles with mommy."

The next slide, Wendy reads, "Number 2: This is a great opportunity for Ellie to start learning responsibility. She has agreed with my terms that if we were to adopt a dog, she must always help with him/her whenever either mommy or momma asks." Ellie nods enthusiastically.

Back to Ellie, "And Number 3: Mommy says that adopting a dog from a local shelter, like Aunt Seulgi's shelter, is a good thing to do because 'Everyone deserves a second chance including pets.'"

In the corner of her eye, Irene catches Seulgi mouthing the last phrase as it was one that was painted inside of her shelter.

"And lastly, mommy went to the shelter without me, but it's fine," Ellie adorably grumbles. "And took these photos to prove just how cute and deserving of a home they are. The end."

Yeri and Joy clap in amazement, while Seulgi also stands up with pride, "That was incredible! Very well put together."

"So, what do you say, mom?" Wendy asks as Irene takes the time to look at the pictures of the dogs.

"Yeah, what do you say, momma?" Ellie quickly follows up. 

The room fills with anticipation as Irene taps her chin with her pointer finger, "I guess the Shih Tzu is a bit adorable."

"YES! YES! YES!" Ellie runs all around the living room before jumping into Irene's arms for a smothering hug. "I love you. I love you. I love you!"

The air in the room turns light and homey after the presentation and everyone couldn't be more relieved. They stay up for a little longer until Irene notes the time. Given that the talk around Seulgi and Joy had yet to happen, Irene is the only one to go and get Ellie ready for bed. Thankfully, the girl tired herself out from running around the house in excitement that she didn't put up much of a fight to go to bed.

The remaining four don't bring up the tide turning topic until Irene returns from tucking Ellie to sleep. As soon as she is seated next to Wendy, the five once again share glances amongst themselves, waiting to see who'll break the ice.

As everyone pretty much hoped, Seulgi speaks first, "So, um, how should I… hm. Well, first of all, I'm sure you're probably wondering what the heck Ellie was talking about. About me, you know," Seulgi scratches her head awkwardly, "proposing."

No one says anything just yet, knowing that there's much more Seulgi needs to address.

"Proposing to s-someone," Seulgi fiddles with her hands. It was one of her habits that she wished she would stop doing. "And not just someone, but actually to- um- to-"

"To me," Joy finishes, stopping the woman's suffering. She places her steady hand on top of Seulgi's shaking one's and the rest of the group finds it pleasantly surprising to see that it halts Seulgi's nervous motions.

"So, then…?" Yeri edges on, still confused with the situation at hand. "Are you guys going to get married?"

"No!" Both Seulgi and Joy speak quite fast.

"Look, it was just one big misunderstanding from Ellie, okay?" Seulgi clears up. "Now, it is true that Joy and I are dating."

Everyone gasps.

"We've been dating for a while now and we just didn't know when to tell you. And before you ask, Ellie only figured it out because when we were babysitting her together, she walked in-"

"Oh my god! Wait! Please do not tell me- Oh my god," Wendy nearly gags.

"She saw me kiss Seul on the cheek! That's it, we swear!" Joy spits out, then nudges shoulders with Seulgi.  "And this big ol' bear claims that it's too hard for her to lie to Ellie so when she asked why Seul was kissing me like her mom's do, Seulgi spilled the beans."

"Well, the other option was 'That's what good friends do,' so pick your poison I guess," Seulgi defends. "I'm just surprised that Ellie actually kept her pinky promise, or at least until now."

"So, then how long have you two been together?" Irene asks next.

"Just about 6 months."

"Damn, Seul, and you're thinking about proposing already?" Yeri says half jokingly, half serious.

"Like I said, it was just a total misunderstanding. She was helping me organize my jewelry and found my grandmother's ring. I told her that I was holding onto it for when I propose to my special someone. And since she knows I'm with Joy, she probably just assumed that, you know, and now… here we are."

"Well, who woulda thought?" Wendy asks, flabbergasted but happy.

"I thought, but Irene wouldn't agree to make that bet with me," Yeri huffs.

"You were gonna make bets?!"

With that, more banter ensues and the normal dynamic of the five friends return as if nothing had changed. They catch up for a while, mostly about how Joy and Seulgi even came to be, and eventually end off their night with a toast to the big win, a new dog and a new(ly announced) relationship.

 

- Nights -

 

When Irene and Wendy hit the bed, it was as if the whole mattress could swallow them up as they melted upon it. Once Wendy was settled, she felt the typical weight land gently atop her left arm and Irene's arm drapes across her chest with the two relaxing in utter satisfaction.

"What a day, huh?" Irene's voice is soft in the quiet night.

"Honestly, I don't know what's more surprising. The fact that Seulgi and Joy have been dating without any of us knowing or just how quick you agreed in adopting a dog," Wendy points out.

"Well, what can I say? The presentation was very convincing."

"So, it was just the presentation, hm? No other factor?" Wendy asks in a cheeky tone, acting as though she knew there was more. 

"I have no clue on what you're trying to suggest," Irene taps Wendy's stomach. 

"Oh, admit it! You are so much more of a sap to Ellie than me," Wendy laughs. "I just know you were grateful that it was only me bringing up a dog before instead of Ellie because you knew that if she asked, you'd fold so quickly. The only exception is if she wants to skip school."

"That's because her education is important!" Irene defends and Wendy kisses the top of her head with a smile, now dropping the topic as she knew that Irene would never admit to being wrapped around Ellie's finger despite it being so true.

As they both feel the weight of their eyelids get heavier and heavier, a creaking sound at the door keeps them open. They feel a dip in the bed and soon enough, a small body wiggles its way between them and rests against Irene. 

"Excuse me," Wendy whispers playfully to Ellie. "I was in the middle of cuddling her first."

"Well, she's my momma," Ellie replies with ease. 

"But she's my wife," Wendy counters and Irene giggles at the interaction as Ellie chooses to keep her eyes closed and snuggle into Irene even further. 

After seeing that, Wendy can only look on in endearment. She had the two most important people in her life right in front of her and she really couldn't ask for more. Irene and Wendy's eyes meet for one last time, both mouthing silent words of affection to not disturb their daughter's return to slumber. 

At last, the quiet serenity rests upon the household as it awaits for what tomorrow has in store for Mrs. and Mrs. Bae and their little one. Irene just hopes she can wake up first this time.

---

A/N: Thank you for reading! I thought I would drop this as one last fic to end off 2022, so please give shonwenderp's thread a lot of love, especially if it inspires you to write a fic based on it as I'd love to see if our opinions differed or not :)

Whether you've read my other work or if this is the first time you've read a fic of mine, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you! I've been writing fics for almost two years now and there is no doubt that each of you have played a role in making me want to continue on to next year. I'm not sure how 2022 has been for you, but I hope my writing has brought at least some sort of escape just as other writers have done for me. I also hope that next year will be better for all of us and our 5 cake girls.

See ya next year <3

- S

(rv_twice5 on twitter)