JOON POV:

I smile when (Y/N) sighs, head pressing forward into the kiss, lips soft and warm against mine. Smile when her hands snake around my neck to keep me close when my lips drift away from hers, marking a trail down to the curve of her jaw, her neck, to the dip of her throat and the curve of her shoulder.

"Just a few more days petal. A few more days and our baby will be here." I murmur, hands carefully brushing over her skin, smiling when she sinks more into the bed of flowers, cushioning her, surrounding her, her hair splayed out and staring at me with deep red eyes, fluttering as my lips continue to trail over her, rubbing circles over her sleeves, over the jumper and blanket Jin hyung had insisted she wear before heading to the roof.

The same jumper that she pouted and wriggled in because there wasn't a need for it. Not with how the dome around us kept us warm, an extension of the natural warmth that was in me, cocooning us, keeping us away from the winter air, from the snowflakes that were beginning to fall lightly.

"I know. I can't wait." She murmurs, hands curving around her stomach, eyes bright with joy and excitement as she holds my gaze, smiling when I carefully tug the blanket away to press kisses to the fully grown bump. 

I was excited. Thrilled. We all were. And whilst this pregnancy had been hard and trying, had been draining to witness seeing our baby mate suffer and endure. There had also been this magic to it, this beautiful glow that hadn't left her, this radiance of shining with pregnancy, of a soon to be mother.

And even now as she lay onto the flowers that cushioned her, now relaxed in comparison to her hesitance to ruin the flowers, moulded to her she looked devastatingly beautiful. Ethereal as she met my eyes and followed me when my head lowered to press kisses across her stomach, fingers carefully kneading at her legs, easing out the stiffness in them. Content to have her lie there, eyes following each movement, soul soaring with elation when she relaxes more and more, the flowers curving around her, cushioning her more.

Intact, perfectly formed flowers, uncrushed as they form a bed for her, so for all that she relaxes into them more the last thing I expect is for her to reach out to suddenly tug me down, body jerking forward at the sudden force, hands sinking into flowers to keep myself propped above her and staring with surprise.

"Flower what?" I breathe, lips curving wide when she shoots me a soft longing look. Hands moving to tug at my jumper instead, drawing me closer.

"You're too far. Just lie with me Joonie." (Y/N) softly asks.

I smile at her, twisting to fall beside her, drawing her hand up to hold with mine as we lie there side by side.

Content to breathe in the scent of the floral sweetness, heads curved and bent towards each other. Content to drink in the sight of each other, my eyes drifting over her sparkling red eyes, the rosiness to her cheeks that I could never quite capture in the flowers I grew, could never get that exact hue of warmth right. Taking in the way her lips rosy and full part in a small exhale, her other hand moving to trace me.

Drifting down the slope of my nose, over my cheeks, tracing my jaw and trailing ever so slowly over my lips before suddenly poking.

"I hope our baby has your dimples." She murmurs, smiling when I try to nip her finger, try to chase the trail her fingers teasingly make over me.

"I hope our baby has your sparkle. Your light."  I murmur back.

She stills in her exploratory, unhurried trace.

"What do you mean?" voice soft and gentle.

"Your eyes. They've always sparkled. Always burned with a passion for life. Whether that was when you were human or when you're a vampire." I say, twisting so I can face her properly, propped up on my shoulder as I peer down at her, press a kiss to both of her eyes. Watch as they flutter shut and the way her lips curve when I press mine to her eyelids, ghosting along them.

"Whatever your feeling your eyes tell. Whether that's fierceness, anger, hurt, love, pleasure. Your eyes tell them all." I whisper.

She blinks at me, warmth and confusion pooling in the soft redness of them.

"Anger and fierceness..." she trails off uncertainly.

I laugh.

"This was before I knew you were our mate. You once smashed a debate about life mattered, whether it was ours or humans. You said from either side the other looked like the bad. You took my breath away that day." I confess.

Her eyes flash with memory, recognition dawning on her features.

Turning wry and soft.

"I thought you never listened in those lessons. Always sitting tucked away from the others." She murmurs, fingers distractedly playing with the hem of my shirt, tugging it down.

"No one wanted to sit with me and I never tried to correct that. I sat alone but I always saw the circle you had around you." I say softly.

Hurt flashes through the bond before she's tugging me closer all the whilst wriggling into my side to lessen the distance between us.

"You should've said hi! I wouldn't have bitten you." she chides.

I raise my brows.

"But you could now." I say snapping my fangs at her and seeing the way amusement makes her melt and soften.

"I can. Maybe I will." she croons softly.

Watch as her own fangs prick her bottom lip.

"I'll bite you because you never said hi!" she says, part indignant and part tease.

I press a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm sorry for not saying hi back then. But for what it's worth I did leave that lesson to catch up with you. But Jaehyun and Bambam were your guards. Never quite got the courage to." I say sheepishly, eyes dropping away from her.

I hear the soft huff of laughter and disbelief before lips press to under my jaw.

"Well...I'll let that go then. Because you're our shy plant love." She coos.

And when my gaze flashes red and looks at her, her head tilts back as she laughs, sinking back.

Gaze turning soft and silently examining.

Fixated on the night sky.

"It's snowing. Can't you let the dome open?" she asks without turning to me.

I end up lying beside her once more.

Staring at the soft patter of snow hitting the dome and never penetrating it. See the way the snow falls around us, the circle of space we're in uninterrupted and untouched.

"Jin hyung will be after my blood. If I let a single snowflake fall on our most precious baby mate, our very pregnant baby mate then it's over. I won't get cuddles tonight." I say.

Her fingers lightly poke my side.

"Vampires are immune to temperature changes. It won't do anything to me. I can't get cold." She justifies.

I sigh.

The air around us is warm. Is like the heat of being near a hearth, of being curled up under duvets and blankets. Of sharing heat with someone.

Why did she want cold?

"Petal..." I say, already knowing I'm crumbling. Know I'm melting and caving even as I speak.

"Please Joonie oppa...I want to feel the snowflakes. We'll head back in straight away!" she negotiates.

I don't say anything.

Eyes scrunching shut briefly with resignation as I allow a hole to form in the dome, for the circle above us to briefly vanish, feel the small flakes brush and tickle skin as they settle, air cold and sharp.

Without needing foresight I know there'll be a barrage of complaints when we head down. I know that we'll be caught out straight away.

But that doesn't stop me smiling as I help      (Y/N) up from the bed of flowers, smiling when they try to cling and draw her back. When the vines tug at her gently to get her to keep lying there. And eyes fond when a few blooms remain, flowers that curl around her, unwilling to let go.

I try to brush off as many snowflakes as I can off her, trying to get the smatter of snow off the jumper as I draw the blanket around her, sealing the dome up once more.

"Thank you Joonie." She murmurs as we begin walking, slow careful steps down back into the house, the steps much closer to each other, the house adjusting and closing the distance between each step so she can't slip, can't get hurt.

And though my arms are around her, the house's vigilance doesn't let up until her feet sink into the carpet and I've stepped off the stairs.

"Reckon we can head to bed without being caught?" I whisper.

She nods.

Eyes bright with challenge and determination.

Our belief and enthusiasm is admirable.

But short-lived. Couldn't have ever been successful.

Because the house is far too quiet as we pad to my room. Door silently opening, my head turning over my shoulder to give a final scan.

About to yell with triumph when (Y/N) stills and my head turns to see Jin hyung stretched out on the bed waiting.

Eyes flashing red with amusement as he takes in our startled, frozen positions.

"Hiding from someone?" is his smooth response as he sits up, shirt riding up as he stretches.

Looks at us.

"No." I manage to get out.

And though there's something predatory and dangerously thrilling with the way he slides off the bed and stands, his hands are gentle as he moves to get another blanket, promptly moving to swaddle (Y/N) up as he peers down at her.

"Can't resist can you." he asks.

Her voice is soft, there's a smile in it as she whispers 'never'.

Tilting her face up to accept the deep, slow kiss he gives, his body loosening as he holds her, hand tilting her chin up to him.

A soft exhale of shared breath when he parts.

Eyes amused when they move to me.

"And you my flower...did you really think it'd work?" he asks.

My heart doesn't thud, doesn't rush and accelerate and give me away. But my blood burns and sings.

It heats at the look in his eyes.

It caves and moves when I lean into his touch as his fingers curl around my nape and tugs me close.

Lips a hairbreadth apart from mine.

"Next time...next time dust off the snow from you too." He teases.

And then his lips are a scorching brand on mine.

Banishing away the flurry of cold that the snow had brought. Chasing it away with the eternal hearth that hyung was for us.

For the eldest of the coven. For the one who'd brought us all together.

JIN POV:

"Stop wriggling!" I say with a laugh, trying to get the blanket around (Y/N) who with a look of amusement continues to try and avoid it, keeps moving about and dislodging it as I try to draw it around her.

"No...make me!" she laughs as her hands tug it off her, face lit up with joy and mischief.

From beside her, only a meter or so away, Hobi and Yoongi laugh.

Eyes wide with delight as they take in the sight.

Not stepping in.

Not helping.

Content to let it play about.

"You said I could! You said it was elder mate privileges!" I retort.

Her lips part as she huffs, too busy pouting to notice the way her shirt's slipped off her shoulder, the way it reveals the soft curve of it, red from the mark Jiminie had snuck up on her to give as she'd sat down for breakfast.

I try to tug my eyes away, try to yank my gaze away from the way I can see the fang marks, seeing her and remembering her startled gasp still echoing in my ears. Remembering the way her eyes had flashed crimson with surprise, head falling back and cradled by his hand as his mouth had swept down to suck at her skin, toying and teasing. Leaving us with the sight of hooded eyes and teeth sinking into her lips as she'd tried to muffle the whimpers slipping free.

I realise (Y/N)'s stopped moving, the realisation sinking in slowly as I tug myself out of memory, see the way curiosity filters into her eyes before she follows my line of sight and flushes.

A healthy light pink from feeding as her hand tugs up the sleeve, eyes sliding away from mine.

I pounce on the small moment of distraction to wrap her up and tug her onto my lap, smiling victoriously when she yelps and sinks in almost immediately.

"I win." I say simply.

Eyes flashing red with pride as they trail over to Hobi and Yoongi, see the way they shuffle close to wriggle into the space beside us.

Yoongi's head comes to settle on her shoulder as he looks at her, giving her blanket wrapped body a poke and laughing when she squirms.

"Sweetheart there's no-one who's won against Jin hyung." He says sympathetically.

Laughing when he gets a jab for that.

And for all that (Y/N) had protested at being all curled up and relaxing, she settles in for cuddles pretty quick. Melting against me, head tucked against my shoulder. 

"What do you want for a prize?" she mumbles after some time against my neck, leaning forward to press a kiss to my throat.

I hum.

What do I want?

What do I want?

It feels like I have everything within this moment. Have everything I chased over lifetimes, yearned for over centuries.

"Our baby." I murmur.

Voice barely heard but she brings my hand to rest over her stomach.

"You've already got them." 

--------

Sometimes wishes come true quicker than you expect at times.

Wishes can be dangerous and meaninglessly uttered.

But when I'd uttered the wish for our baby, I'd meant it. I was ready for our newest addition to our coven, to our family to physically appear.

What I didn't expect was that when (Y/N) got up from her nap, the four of us having fallen asleep with the closeness, with the warmth that seeped through the bond, was that she'd stumble.

Clambering off my lap and taking all but one step before her posture faltered, head bowed and expression stiffening, crying out as her legs buckled.

And in instant Yoongi is there, arm supporting her to stop her from collapsing to the ground.

Bond searing, hot and panicked. Turbulent and rough.

The sudden alarm is enough to have the bond snapping into place as the others appear. Appearing in the living room, eyes wide and red as they try to take in the situation.

"(Y/N) what's wrong?" whilst rubbing a hand up and down the low of her back, soothing even if worry flashes across his face, heightened because of the direct emotional links he has to each of us.

Her fingers curl against her side, breathing ragged as she draws in gulps of air, Hobi already stepping into place beside her even as the rest of us instinctively move closer.

And when she lets out a small keening sound of pain, back bowed further as if trying to curl into herself.

Jiminie's face blanches, undoubtedly feeling her own distress and pain ensnare him but he resolutely pushes through, her posture calming slightly as she slumps against Yoongi.

And when Hobi raises his eyes, fear and confusion flits in them. Even as he tries to mask it, tries to push it away.

"(Y/N) your body's begun to go into labour." He says softly, voice a low incomprehensible murmur as he starts healing, starts stabilising her.

But there's something he's not saying, something that remains unspoken.

Something that's confirmed by her head rising slowly, anxiousness swimming in her eyes that burn a fierce red.

"But my waters haven't broken."

Looked like my wish was getting fulfilled straight away.

(TA DA! A CHAOTIC END TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BIRTH CHAPTER NEXT! THE PREGNANCY IS OFFICIALLY MARKING IT'S END! THERE WAS SOFT JOON AND BABY MATE MOMENTS AT THE BEGINNING AND JINNIE JUST FUSSING COS WHY NOT?? HMMM~ SOMEHOW THESE PREGNANCY CHAPTERS GOT WRITTEN WITH MORE PRIVATE, INTIMATE MOMENTS BETWEEN THE BOYS AND BABY MATE AND YET I CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO REGRET IT! THERE WAS SNIPPETS OF HER PREGNANCY BUT I HOPE IT WAS ENJOYABLE AND I DID IT JUSTICE! LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FOUND IT ALL AND THAT YOU'RE ALL EXCITED FOR THE BABY JOINING THE FAMILY! AND A NEW TWIST TO THE LABOUR! BECAUSE SOMETIMES THAT CAN HAPPEN AND I WANTED TO EXPLORE THAT AND TRY TO DO THAT JUSTICE TOO! ENJOY HOPEFULLY AND TAKE CARE!)

Life is a blessing, the birth of something new, fragile and precious is always one that tugs at the need to nurture and cherish. To want to cradle that beautiful bundle of preciousness and keep it safe. Life is a thrilling adventure right from the moment it truly begins. Before it even enters our world.

Borahae! 💜💜💜

PurpleQueenie <3