(Y/N) POV:

Turns out vampires wanted kids just as much as humans. Wanted children to call their own. Had that same longing and need to feel that fulfilment that children brought. That hadn't dulled or lessened no matter how many centuries they'd been together, no matter how much time had passed.

And just as eager it seemed when it came to being very active about trying for a baby.

So utterly different to how terrifying it had been to turn as we lay together, absently murmuring as Tae nestled close to my stomach, in bat form, hand gently brushing over his fur and wings that one day, one day I wanted to feel my hand against my stomach and feel our baby there.

It was so absently said, just a feeling that spilled out despite myself but it had Joonie oppa's soft kisses across my skin stopping, lips freezing against the curve of my shoulder, it had Tae's nuzzling against my stomach stilling, his fangs that had been playfully nipping stopping. It had Minnie who'd been lifting my shirt to peer at Tae with a smile to stop, hands still clutching tightly at my shirt- eyes wide and disbelieving.

The others who had been curved around each other, lying together and close, limbs intertwined with each other in one entangled mess jerk and freeze, heads rise off pillows, off shoulders and look at me with red startled gazes.

I shift uneasily, that ease and contentedness I had felt when the words slipped out vanished, a ball of nerves and butterflies making my stomach taut and tighten, body stiffening under their gazes, feeling exposed and bare.

I shift, twisting out of Joonie oppa's grip, hand gently cupping Tae's soft furry body as my other hand straightened my dislodged shoulder sleeve, eyes averting theirs.

Minnie's hands that had been tightly fisting my shirt slips free when my hand tugs at the fabric, bringing out Tae from under my shirt to gently set down on the pillow.

"I...sorry, was it too soon? It slipped out." I mumble, skin prickling with the weight of their gazes.

But those words had barely been out of my mouth when a hand had fisted around the centre of my shirt and yanked me forward, mouth messily and hastily crashing against warm plump lips that had devoured. Devoured my mouth with his, hot and fiery and fierce as he kisses me, brands the shape and feel of his lips against mine, burns them with the fire in that kiss, tongue pushing and swiping at my mouth for entrance, teeth roughly tugging my bottom lip between his, fangs sinking in, a small prickling sensation before he's sucking hard and fast. I gasp into his mouth, groaning at how relentless his mouth is, how his lips just demand more and more, the kiss is laced with fury, crackling with both desire and rage, need and want but also harsh chastisement.

And when his mouth slides away, his hand doesn't uncurl from where it fists, where it keeps our heads bent close to each other, has my breath coming out harsh and jagged, has me peering into the depths of those crimson embers his eyes flicker with, has me glancing at those slick glistening lips that remain parted.

"Never apologise. Never too soon." He bites out, fangs poking at his bottom lip.

I blink at him, breaths still harsh and loud to my own ears.

"So...if I say I want a baby. If I say I want a child of our own." I say, filling the silence once more.

"Then...then that'll mean the world to me, to all of us." and it's Yoongi oppa who speaks, voice wavering and heavy with emotion, tears already sparkling and shining in his eyes, looking at me with wonder and disbelief.

I feel the emotion in his words, feel it bubble through our mated bond, feel the mating marks on me pulse and throb with an overwhelming amount of love and happiness.

The sheets rustle, mattress moving slightly and then a head comes to settle over my shoulder, nose brushing against the side of my jaw and a soft kiss pressed to my mating mark at my throat. Joonie oppa.

"Everything, this means everything to us." he whispers to my skin, as if confessing a secret, as if divulging an intimate part of his soul, of his heart to me.

From the pillow Tae shifts, a small chirp as his wings flap. I could swear that his eyes even in bat form were staring intently at me, that in those small chirps and flaps of his wings there was admonishment.

And I watch as Hobi oppa and Jinnie oppa's arms fall away from Kookie, watch as the three of them shift forward, eyes shining and so bright.

Jinnie oppa holds out his arms for me, looking at me with a soft hopeful look that has me clambering onto his lap, has my arms winding around him to tuck myself close for a hug.

"Having our baby is what we waited lifetimes for. Having you, having this, this chance for a family, is something I've yearned for. It's our biggest honour as mates, as husbands to have this with you." he says, murmuring softly to me, lips brushing against my temple, lingering on my forehead before he pulls away. His voice is soft but holds so much meaning, so much longing.

The love and emotion in his words have my eyes tearing up, has me ducking my head to hide against his shoulder.

"I want it too. I want to put my hand to your stomach and feel our baby growing inside." Hobi oppa says, hand moving my hair aside so he can press a kiss to the back of my neck.

I raise my head to look at him, see the sincerity and wistfulness in his eyes.

See it reflected in all of them.

Because they wanted this I realise with an aching heart. They'd wanted this for so long, had waited centuries to find me, to have a completed coven. And now, now it was fully mated that we could have our own family. Could have our own child.

And the thought made tears spill over.

I loved them so much. I loved them so much and I knew that this feeling could only grow, could only magnify and heighten even if I loved them with every fibre of my being already.

"I love you. I love you all so much." I say.

And it's Kookie who manages to grab me first, making me laugh even as I swipe at my tears as he cradles me close, arms winding around me as he hugs me.

"We love you too baby. So much that eternity is too short to show you just how much." He says, pressing kisses to the side of my face, trailing down my neck, arms tightening when it tickles, when it makes me squirm in his lap.

"Baby mate are you in a hurry?" he asks, voice low and rough, hands tugging me to pull me flush against him, heat pooling low in my abdomen when his hips buck up teasingly.

I shake my head.

"No..." I gasp out when his hand rests against my stomach, tugs me back so I can feel him against me.

"Don't worry baby mate. We can't wait." He promises, voice low and sensual, such a stark difference to how gentle and loving and sweet he was in bed and out of it. This time his words held seductive promise, rough words brushing against my skin, igniting and stoking that fire to burn higher and hotter, to engulf me whole.

My hand moves to grip at his wrist, to tug his hand away but it's unrelenting.

"We'd love to have a baby with you. And we'll do our best at it." He adds.

That had been then. That had been how a terrifying prospect had transformed into something giddy, something new and thrilling. And something that as Kookie had suggested, they'd do their best at.

And their best had turned into some sort of stretched out chase game where any sort of light giggly encounter had turned quickly heavy and heady, where I didn't know what to make of their eyes flickering red or the way their gazes focused on me.

And their active eagerness had made my body ache with the most delicious of throbs, had drawn out cry after cry, muffled whimpers against bare glistening skin and fangs sinking in to shoulders as I clutched at them tightly, trembled in their hold and came down from the highs, from the precipices of pleasure they brought me to over and over and over again.

It had felt like a constant blur of never-ending pleasure, it barely felt like I escape one mate to be caught right into the arms and grip of another. It felt like a mindless, haze of desire, pheromones and want that I was drowning in, lost in the sensation of. 

It felt like the days and everything else lost meaning, felt like I lost grasp of any time I spent at the art centre, outside with the Im coven or with Gyeomie and Eunwoo. Felt like everything came to centre down to this, to this feeling of fullness, this deep instinctual satiation but also this primal need for them, a hunger that seemed to gnaw at me, made my skin burn and prickle until it was their hands holding me, until it was just our bodies melded together and my breathless pleas muffled against them, swallowed up by their mouths- hot and feverish and just as needy against me.

Sometimes it was with water cascading over my body as I showered and the presence of another body or two joining mine under the heated spray, hands trailing over slick skin and moans bouncing off the shower walls, sandwiched between either two bodies or one pressing mine to the wall.

Sometimes it was a body spinning mine away from the others during a chase, or when I stepped through into the house to find myself later laid down onto their bed and slow, unhurried hands undressing me and lips trailing over my body.

Sometimes it was heated and burning with need and urgency, strong arms gripping my thighs and guiding me to lock my legs around their waist, pressing in close, bodies flush and the feel of the wall caging me in, keeping me pinned.

And every time. Every time there had been burning want in crimson eyes that held my own, there had been immeasurable love and trust and belonging as we found and lost ourselves to each other.

Every time I saw the same want for our own child in their eyes, and it made me feel more intimately connected to them, made me feel like our souls merged and burned together when fangs sunk in and the two of us cried out, finding pleasure in each other.

And I didn't know whether I felt satisfied or exhausted that like Kookie had said, all mates had been true to follow through on his words. About trying their best.

Trying their best they were.

And my body was a testament to it.

-----

Lips mouth along the curve of my waist, hot and slow and unhurried, the rustle of sheets as the figure under them moves.

I feel the scrape of fangs against my skin, puffs of breath against my skin and a hand turning me over, guiding me to lie on my back.

"Tae..." I sigh, sleepy, wriggling away from the touch, too exhausted and run down for another round, no matter how gentle he seemed to be going this morning.

A kiss against my hip, the rustling grows louder and I blink open my eyes to see Tae emerge from under the blankets, hair rumpled, wayward curls and a wideawake face that peers down at me.

"Morning jagi, sleep well?" he asks, lips curved up in a smile, an appreciative glint in his eyes as they trail over my body, bare from last night, save for the top I was in- I didn't remember putting it on, didn't remember much after I'd slumped down into the mattress, boneless and limp. Remembered faintly that Hobi oppa had leant away to grab a soft well-worn shirt to dress me in, faintly recalled the low hum of his words as he sent healing energy to wrap around me, to bring me to rest against him. He was gone now and bleary blinks at the bedside clock told me it was because it was late morning.

I grumble as I tug the sheets higher, blankets covering the sight of splotches of red and purple, covering up my torso completely, covering up the way the shirt slid off at angles and had been pushed up.

"No...I want to sleep forever." I mumble into the pillow, body curving to the side as I chase after that warmth, after that fog of sleep that still pervaded my mind, wanting to fall back asleep once more.

The bed shifts as Tae moves, curving over me, lowering the blanket to press a chaste kiss to my shoulder.

"You can't leave us without a baby mate if you're going to sleep that long." Tae says, faux hurt and I can hear the smile in his words, feel it when it presses to my shoulder once more, slow soft kisses.

I smile, a slow stretch of my lips. Feel content with the gentleness of the touch. Too tired to let it become anything more. I still felt the imprint of Hobi oppa's body on mine, still felt it as if I was still pinned down by it, still felt as if the throbs and trembling of my body lingered even if sleep and charms had eased it away to a distant faint feel.

"You'll have to make do. I feel like I could sleep for decades." I say quietly.

His lips trail to my neck, kiss their way up to my jaw. Ticklish and light.

"Can't survive without you jagi. None of us could. You've been sleeping more recently." He remarks at the end, a matter-of-fact observation made.

I huff.

"Is that any wonder? Is it a mission, a personal vendetta you've all sworn to? To tire me out so much that I'm just exhausted, or sleeping it off?" I ask, turning to peer up at him, eyes both fond and amused at the way pride flickers in his eyes, the way his lips curve up with a smug smile.

"Maybe~ but is it so hard to believe that all we want to do is show our appreciation over and over again?" he asks.

I feel my lips twitch.

"Particularly since I said I'd love to have a child? It seems as if you're all eager to see me all round and waddling." I say with a laugh, cut off when a yawn makes me muffle my mouth, eyes clenching shut.

Above me Tae coos, a deep hum as he leans to brush his nose against mine but when my eyes blink open again, his eyes are filled with red warmth, dark and deep, rich and inviting.

"You'll be a stunning waddler." He says seriously, laughing when I struggle to get my arm free to swat at his bare chest, rolling over to fall onto the bed to lie beside me, hand capturing mine and resting it on his chest, fingers intertwined.

"And a stunning mother too baby mate." He says, looking upwards towards the ceiling.

My other hand reaches for his, curving and twisting so I can face him sideways.

"And you'll be a stunning father." I say, pressing a kiss to his cheek before nestling close.

"But just...just sleep with me. No tricks Tae." I say.

Unsurprised when he huffs as if betrayed.

"Fine fine. No tricks. But when I have you alone..." he begins, leaning in to whisper the rest, I find myself squirming away, cheeks heating, eyes sliding away from his burning ones, from his hushed, whispered filthy promise.

"Tae!"

And his deep laughter has me giggling a bit too. But his arm that tugs me back, that rubs circles into my back has me drifting away, has me sinking into him to sleep, eyes fluttering shut.

Because above all I felt safe, felt cocooned and warm and protected.

And that won over the heat his words threaten to have flaring up.

------

I woke up a short while later to Yoongi oppa gently shaking me awake and telling me it was time for lunch. That and Eunwoo had called to say he'd be here in a while. That I should eat before heading out. And now, now my phone was lit up with a text from Eunwoo telling me he was outside, set down on the table that slid closer so I could set my phone down and hold onto it as I tugged on my shoes.

I straighten up, turning to yell out a goodbye.

"Eunwoo's here, I'll be back later!" I call from the front of the house, smiling when the door silently swings open for me to leave, my hand going to pat at the wood.

A series of love-yous ring out from the house, my words having reached everyone somehow and it's Jinnie oppa who appears to rush forward for a hug and quick peck, smiling at me when I lean in despite the buzzing of my phone, undoubtedly Eunwoo.

"Eat something. You're picking at your food these days. Go out, have fun, spoil yourself." He murmurs.

I nod, unable to stop myself for another peck before I'm twisting away, rushing out the house, laughing when I hear his worried call of 'watch the steps' follow me out.

And when I rush to the car, Eunwoo's smiling face greets me, leans over to peck my cheek in greeting.

"Well...I do believe the two of us have a date. Those fruit picking fields await us!" he says dramatically as he begins reversing out the large driveway.

I laugh.

"We do! All those ripe fruits...you know MJ oppa is already head over heels right? Fresh fruit isn't going to change that." I say with a smile as I buckle up.

"No...I know. But what can I say? I'm a sucker for that sweet smile when he gets those filled baskets." He sighs.

Weak to his mate.

Weren't we all weak to our mates?

Several hours later I feel queasy after all those stolen fruits that Eunwoo and I had swiped from each other's baskets, running on energy and sheer will alone because of how exhausting it turned out to be, to trek through endless fields in the hunt for the best and ripest of fruits. And getting a bit dizzy from being under the sun for so long, our water bottles long since drained and empty.

Back in the car once more, Eunwoo sighs as he sees me slump towards the window, the side of my face blissfully leaning towards the coldness of the glass, sighing with relief as it helps with the buzzing feeling of my head, makes the slightly sick dizzy feeling abate slightly.

"Maybe spending hours under the sun without a sunhat and not enough water wasn't one of my grandest plans." He admits with a wince.

I laugh.

"You think Eunwoo? The cost I'm paying all for your wooing ways." I say with a loud sigh, lips quirking up when I turn my face to his.

And stop at the guilty look.

Reaching over to poke his cheek.

"Don't fuss. MJ oppa does that enough. As a partner in crime I'm morally obliged to assist you in your plans." I say teasingly.

"But still..." he begins hesitantly.

"None of that, or I'll steal credit and praise for the fruit." I say, watching as he gasps and leans away, guilt melting away at the ease between us, at the way he can't detect anything wrong.

He's a sweetheart.

"And I'm not dropping this. MJ hyung will do something for that headache. I caused it after all." He says as we begin driving back.

I roll my eyes as I peer out the window but unable to stop smiling at the worry in his voice.

So sweet to fuss over a heat-induced headache.

I knew it was one of the endless quirks that had charmed MJ oppa. Both of them were sweet fusspots. It drew them closer to each other, that fussing nature, that doting behaviour.

And it was a small smile and cheek pressed against the window that I felt myself drifting into a light doze again, shaken awake gently when we reach back to not my home but theirs.

Stepping out, slightly groggy, I move towards the front door, smiling when MJ oppa opens it before we ring it, bearing baskets of fruit as greeting.

"What a surprise." He trills, eyes drifting over both of us.

"Hi oppa." I greet, stepping in as he moves to the side to let the two of us pass through.

The entryway is brightly lit, the large open spacious hallway was something I sighed with relief with now, but blinked against the lighting that harshly stung my eyes.

I barely set down the basket on the table when my head throbs with a pulse of pain, vision swimming and blurring slightly, my hand going to grip at the edge of the table.

I breathe shallowly as my head throbs, stomach twisting with a painful wrench as I bend over.

"...(Y/N), (Y/N) let's get you sitting down." A voice filters through.

And an arm wraps around me, supports me as I try to breathe in and out.

"You're okay sweetheart. We've got you." the voice continues. MJ oppa.

I nod, wincing when it sends a wave of dizziness to rush through me, staggering from where I'd been straightening up.

They did have me.

But somehow this felt like more than a heat-induced headache.

And in the back of my mind, my brain was trying to slowly piece it together for me, slowly forming connections, slowly trudging through what felt like treacle, mind sluggish.

I just needed to put the dots together to get the whole picture.

It just felt like the hand connecting them together was failing to cooperate.

Working too slow. Too exhaustedly.

As if I had no strength left.

As if my body was to tired to keep itself up, to keep itself functioning.

Even if all I wanted was to figure it out already.

(THERE WE GO! SORRY FOR THE LATENESS! BUT WE HAVE FINALLY REACHED THAT STAGE!! BABY TIME! AHHH...ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE STORY TO WRITE, LIKE IN CURSED FATE AND NOW...BABY MATE IS ALL GROWN UP AND ABOUT TO HAVE HER OWN BABY! SO IN CURSED FATE...IT KINDA READ AS A SURPRISE PREGNANCY BUT HERE WE HAVE SEVEN VERY EAGER MATES READY TO ACTIVELY TRY FOR A BABY SO IT'S NO WONDER SHE'S SO RUN DOWN...POOR GIRL! AND ON THE OTHER HAND...EXCITED? READY? AND!! WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF THE BOYS AND THEIR REACTION TO WANTING A CHILD, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER AND JUST EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CHAPTER? CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS AND REACTIONS TO IT! SO PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW...AND Midiiplier DARLING- I BLAME YOU FOR THE BABY FEVER I CONSTANTLY SEEM TO BE HAPPENING! STOP TALKING BABIES TO ME...BUT AT THE SAME TIME- DON'T? WOW...I'M GOING BABY BRAINED! AHHH! ANYWAYS...HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED, TAKE CARE AND STAY SAFE MY LOVES!)

New changes seem scary, daunting. New paths seem frightening and unfamiliar territory. New relationships make us feel out of our depth and uncertain how to tread. But though new things might be scary, might be challenging- they can bring us some of the happiest, some of the most exciting opportunities and adventures for us! So whilst it's natural to be afraid, don't be hesitant in taking the leap, taking the plunge anyways, you'll never know until you try!

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3