One Year Later
23-Years-Old

Aera sat at her desk, nervously chewing her thumbnail. She looked at the clock and sighed slightly. This felt like it was taking forever.

She tried to distract herself by working on her latest project for work. Not long after she and Yoongi had adopted Jungkook, she realized that everything in her life was perfect except for work. She hated her job and, with Yoongi's encouragement, had begun to look for a new one. It wasn't long until she happened across a job posting for a children's book illustrator. She had applied and gotten the job. It was supposed to be a one time thing, but the publisher was so impressed with her work, that they'd offered her a full time position. And the work could be done at home, which was something Aera preferred in case Jungkook ever got sick or needed anything.

It was Aera's dream job, and once she'd gotten it, that's when everything in her life had finally fallen into place and been made flawless.

Until now, that is.

She pulled the instructions out of the box on her desk and read and re-read them for the hundredth time. She was doing this right. She knew she was. She was just looking for a distraction.

What if this was actually happening? What would Yoongi say? They weren't even married yet. With Aera's new job, Jungkook entering kindergarten, and Yoongi's company signing a big new artist that took up a lot of his time, they just hadn't found the right time to have a wedding. They'd planned everything. Aera even knew what dress she wanted. But they hadn't set a date. Now they would possibly have to wait even longer.

The alarm on Aera's phone chimed, and she quickly stood. She nervously walked into the bathroom and hovered over the small, white stick sitting on the counter.

And there it was – two little lines. Aera groaned. She supposed she'd known it would be positive, but she had kind of hoped it wouldn't be.

It's not that having a baby would be a bad thing, per se. It was just a scary thought. Again, they'd all been so busy. And Aera had imagined she'd be married before having any more kids.

And then the scariest part: She loved Jungkook so much. She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to love another child the way she loved him. What if she couldn't provide this baby with the amount of love it deserved?

Shaking slightly, she returned to her desk and called Yoongi.

"Hey, love," he said as he answered almost immediately. "What's up?"

"Um, can you come home?"

There was a pause. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"I-I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "I just need to talk to you."

"Okay...I'm actually at a place where I can stop right now, but I'll still have to talk to Nari. Give me a few minutes and I'll call you right back, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

When he called her back, Aera could hear the bustling of people and the whistle of the wind in her ear.

"I'm on the way to the bus stop, okay? I'll be there soon."

After they'd hung up again, Aera sat down at her desk and stared, unseeingly, at her project. She knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything until she'd told Yoongi. She was very glad he was able to come home. Usually, he couldn't get away from work for anything. Although, he always made sure to leave on time. He no longer worked past his normal hours. He didn't want to be away from Aera and Jungkook for any longer than he had to be.

The door eventually opened, and Yoongi came rushing in and over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I think so. I don't really know. I..."

Yoongi bent down to be eye level with her and took her hands in his. "What's going on? You're scaring me, A."

Aera sighed, then stood and headed toward the bathroom. Yoongi watched her go with a furrowed brow.

"So, um, this happened," Aera said when she returned, handing him the pregnancy test. Yoongi looked at it for a moment in confusion until it struck him what it was. His eyes widened.

"A-Are you serious?"

Aera nodded.

"You... You're – "

"Yes."

Yoongi jumped up and pulled Aera into his arms. "You're joking! You're not joking, right?"

In spite of herself, Aera let out a slight giggle. "No, I'm not."

He lifted her in the air and spun her around. "Oh my god! I can't believe this! This is amazing!"

"Is it?"

Yoongi looked at Aera seriously as he lowered her back to the ground. "Of course it is. Are you not excited?"

"I dunno... I mean, our wedding. And Jungkook. And – "

"We'll still get married," Yoongi said. "And what about Jungkook? Don't you think he'll be excited to have a little brother or sister?"

"Probably," Aera admitted. "But, Yoongs...what if I can't love this baby as much as I love Jungkook?"

Yoongi's eyes softened. "Oh, A. That'll never be the case. You have such a big heart. You'll always have enough love for everyone."

Aera shook her head as she wasn't convinced. "When will we get married, Yoongs? We'll have to wait at least another year and – "

"Says who?" Yoongi said. "We can get married whenever we want."

"But – "

"A, we've been putting it off just because things got hectic. But it's all calmed down now. We're in a really great rhythm now, all three of us. So, let's get married!"

"But – "

"Marriage and a baby, all within a year. Isn't that exciting?!"

"Let me talk!" Aera said firmly. Yoongi's face fell.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," Aera said hurriedly, not having meant to upset him. "I just...you're making everything sound so simple. It can't possibly be that simple, can it?"

Yoongi grinned. "And why not?"

"I..."

"I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be," Yoongi said carefully. "This is huge, A, but nothing we can't handle together."

Aera looked up at him and finally smiled slightly. "Y-You think so?"

"Of course!"

Aera sighed, though her smile remained. "I guess you're right."

"C'mon, I've got the rest of the day off. Call your boss and see if you can call out for the rest of the day. Then we'll go by the venue we picked out and see what dates they have available for a wedding!"

Aera smiled. "Okay."

"Can we be excited about the baby now?"

Aera chuckled. "Yes, we can."

"Yay!" Yoongi shouted like a child. He picked Aera back up and spun her around again. She giggled as he did, and finally allowed herself to match his enthusiasm.

"A baby, Yoongs! We're gonna have a baby!"

Yoongi laughed. "There's my girl!" He set her down again. "Oh my god, what if it's a girl?!"

"You'll be the best girl dad."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Yoongi grabbed her gently by the waist, pulled her to him, and wrapped his arms around her. Then he kissed her and grinned.

"Would you have ever thought we'd end up here?" he asked her.

"Not at all," she replied. "How'd we get so lucky?"

"No idea," Yoongi said as he leaned in and kissed her again. "But I'm so glad we did."

"Hey, Yoongs."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for agreeing to be my friend, all those years ago."

Yoongi smiled. "Thanks for asking me to be."