Genre: domestic fluff

Pairing: Wooyoung x Zena (oc)

Word count: 1.6k

Mood samplers:

    Zena shuffled around in bed for a minute before accepting reality and waking up; she needed the toilet.

    She navigated her way to the bathroom with her eyes shut and did everything while her brain is on autopilot.

     She almost threw herself back to the confines of her bed when she finally realized how empty it was. Her eyebrows drew closer in confusion as she scratched the back of her head.

      While she did fall asleep without him, Wooyoung had promised he'd only stay up for a maximum of an hour. Zena might not know what time it is, but judging by the red marks on her pale skin, she'd been sleeping for quite a while now.

      Zena walked out of the bedroom; the light of the hallway that was usually left open for the kids immediately harassed her tired eyes, and she squinted to the best of her ability to avoid the tingling pain.

      The hallway continued to the living room, where Zena could see Wooyoung sitting at the dining table in the dark. The light from the laptop in front of him reflected on the glasses he had resting at the tip of his nose as one of his hands hovered over the keyboard without moving while the other was between his teeth as he nipped at his nails absentmindedly; a habit he never seemed to grow out of.

     Zena looked at the clock on the wall as she moved toward the living room; it was, indeed, way too late.

     "What happened to 'give me a minute, and I'll go to bed'?" Zena asked as she leaned by the door frame with her arms crossed; partially for sass, but majorly because of the cold of this room.

      "Did Kyu wake you up?" Wooyoung asked back as his eyes flickered up to her before turning back to the screen; his hand slowly retracted from between his lips to the keyboard as he sat up properly.

      "No," she answered, her voice coming out scratchy, "my bladder did." She moved to stand behind him as he chuckled at her reply. "But since Kyu is the reason it's so weak, I guess, yeah, he woke me up," she shrugged, and he laughed; a sleepy Zena was always unhinged with her jokes, and it's been a while since he saw her like this.

      "You're still not done?" Zena asked as she leaned in to see the screen with her hands on his shoulders. He lost the smile on his lips slowly, feeling his nerves return.

       "Hm," he let out, clearly feeling the weight of the time passing, which translated into his heightened anxiety; he was back at biting his nails, this time a bit less gently.

       Zena's hands glided up from his shoulders and moved closer to his neck before she squeezed the muscle a bit to release the tension.

       "You should go back to sleep," he advised as he began to type again in fear that her presence would get him distracted.

     "In that sense, you should too," Zena replied as she continued her massage gently, lulling him to sleep against his will.

      Wooyoung dropped his hands with a prolonged sigh, "I know, I'll finish in a bit..." He fought his exhaustion.

      "How much more do you have left?" Zena breathed out as she leaned closer to him to get a proper view of the screen.

      "Only one objective left actually, but I've looked through every listed reference for it, and I still can't find anything remotely related," he answered, his voice reflecting the frustration he was trying to mask.

       Zena read the objective under her breath before her eyebrows inched closer. "It is very specific," she commented.

      "Exactly, nothing discusses it in that much detail. At this point, I'm better off doing my own research!" Wooyoung huffed as he crossed his arms.

      "Did you try contacting the advisor?" Zena suggested only to have Wooyoung turn to face her with an expressionless face.

       "It's 3 a.m." he deadpanned, and his demeanor made her chuckle.

      Zena pushed his glasses up his nose with her index finger as she giggled, "maybe you should've listened to me and started earlier."

     "I knew you would say that." He rolled his eyes and attempted to turn away.

       "I'm sorry," Zena apologized sympathetically before wrapping her arm around his figure to pull him into a hug. "If you were in my position you'd rub it in my face, too, babe," she quipped. Wooyoung scoffed but pulled her closer, unable to deny her words.

     "Maybe you can wake up early tomorrow and contact him?" Zena suggested as her fingers ran through his hair.

      "I don't know..." he trailed off, suddenly all the exhaustion poured on him at once in her warm embrace. "Will I even have time to finish it in the morning?"

      "Your seminar isn't until 10:30, and the advisor will probably be available at 8:30, so wake up then and immediately contact him-"

      "B-But how will I do that if I'm stuck wi-" before he could finish off his sentence, Zena continued her own words.

       "I'll take care of the kids, and I'll drive them to the daycare. You should finish your research," she commanded like a navy general.

       "But don't you have a meeting at 9?" Wooyoung asked, genuinely concerned for her.

       "Then I'll wake up early, everyone will be ready by 8, I'll drop you off, and I'll make it in time, don't worry," she reassured, her eyes softening when she studied the black circles under his eyes that contrasted with how pale his skin was from staying up so late.

       "You sure?" Wooyoung muttered, still uncertain about putting all the workload on her due to his poor time management, but her response was a scoff.

       "If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have suggested it," she countered before her hands wrapped around his wrists so she could haul him up and off this chair he's been glued to.

      He giggled at her response as he let her drag him. "Thank you," he sighed out as he let the force of her hauling him up aid him in pulling her into a hug that showed his gratitude more than his tired voice could.

       "I'm not doing much, you're the one who pitched the 'we're a team' idea," she laughed, slightly smacking his shoulder, but seeing as he wasn't planning to let her go any time soon she started gently patting his back instead.

       "We're a team," he slurred out a chuckle, sleep overwhelming him to the point that he could fall asleep standing.

       "Let's get you to bed," Zena muttered softly, not wanting to snap him out of his drowsiness. She pulled away gently before one of her arms wrapped around his waist to support him as they walked towards their bedroom.

        Wooyoung purposefully dropped all his weight on her suddenly, making her gasp as she struggled to support him.

       "Wooyoung, stop it, you moron!" she whisper-yelled as they were near their kids' room.

       "I'm just so tired," he dragged his words out, but the sly smile on his lips was more than enough to let Zena know he was messing with her.

       With one strong push, she managed to get him off her before fast-walking away.

        "No!" he whined dramatically as he followed her, his hand holding her wrist to pull her back against his chest. "I'm sorry," he giggled before wrapping his arms around her from behind and letting his head fall into her exposed shoulder, peppering it with soft kisses.

       Zena rolled her eyes before a smile managed to break her vexed facade.

       "Ok, ok," she gave in with a giggle. "Let's just sleep, otherwise I can't guarantee waking up early tomorrow," she threatened, and it worked instantly, Wooyoung walked with his hands around her, forcing her to take steps on the same pace until they reached their bed.

      He didn't even bother to let go of her as he plopped on the soft mattress, dragged her down with a surprised yelp.

      "What are you doing?" she hissed, not being able to free her body from her constricting grasp.

       "Good night, baby," Wooyoung muttered, acting as if he didn't hear her as he placed one final kiss on her neck. One of his arms released her momentarily to drag the blanket over their bodies.

       "Let me at least set an alarm!" she argued as she struggled against him.

       "No need, your conscience will wake you up," he retorted idiotically as he snuggled up against her.

       After letting out an annoyed sigh, Zena shuffled around until she was comfortable enough with his arms still around her. It didn't take long for her to feel his deep breathing against her neck, signalling that he was already asleep. She couldn't help but inwardly coo; he must've been so tired.

         As softly as possible, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and placed a considerable amount of alarms to wake her up. Her conscience died a long time ago; if it hasn't, she wouldn't have caught a wink of sleep thanks to Nayoung and Kyu.

        Zena leaned back into her old position and turned her head enough to peck Wooyoung's cheek before wishing him a good night. She relaxed her body, feeling more comfortable now than when she slept alone, and she fell asleep way faster, too.

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More Wooyoung because why not?

Also, what's with all the ateez with kids content as if I'm not down bad already?