"And I just thought this one was cool so I got it. It doesn't mean anything, at least I don't think it does."

Taehyung nods lethargically as Jeongguk explains the meaning of another one of his tattoos.

"This is my newest one." The older says pulling his shorts up to show the tribal band tattoo around his thigh. "This one hurt the worst."

It was almost two in the morning and Taehyung had given in and laid with Jeongguk...it was totally platonic. Taehyung asked why he had so many tattoos but instead of answering Jeongguk just explained what each one meant to him.

"You still didn't answer my original question." The brunette points out as Jeongguk sits up to put his hoodie back on. "Why do you have so many?"

The ravenette looks away, shrugging a little. "Because they make me look tough. Even though I'm not."

"I think you're tough."

"I'm not."

Taehyung pouts a little when he sees Jeongguk's expression. The ravenette's sad eyes making him wonder if there was a deeper meaning behind his words. "Why do you think you need to be tough?"

Jeongguk sighs as he lays back down on his side. Facing Taehyung before he answers. "My dad's tough, and my brother. But I'm not. And I never have been. They look at me like this weak kid that can't do anything for himself. And my tattoos cover that up I think."

Taehyung nods along with Jeongguk's words. He's surprised that he's opening up to him like this.

"When most people look at me don't see how weak I really am." The ravenette chuckles as he rolls his eyes. A sad smile still playing on his lips.

"I know for a fact that you aren't weak," Taehyung says. "It takes a strong person to step up like you have for me and the twins. I don't care what your dad or your brother says, you're a tough guy."

Jeongguk smiles at Taehyung's words, his face flushing a little. "Thank you."

As Taehyung smiles back he realizes that Jeongguk isn't at all who he perceived him to be the first night he met him. The hoodie Jeongguk wears covers all his tattoos, and without the distraction, Taehyung sees the ravenette. He truly sees him.

"What?" Jeongguk asks when Taehyung doesn't say anything.

"Nothing." The brunette says. "I'm just really lucky to have you, Jeongguk."

The older smiles a little at his words. "I guess we got lucky in more ways than one that night."

"Idiot." Taehyung laughs, rolling his eyes as he scoots closer to the ravenette.

Jeongguk chuckles as he puts his arm around Taehyung without a second thought. It almost seems natural for them to be this close. "I'm glad we met, Tae."

"Me too." The brunette smiles, ignoring the way his heart beats faster and butterflies form in his stomach.

Taehyung agreed to this platonic co-parent dynamic for a reason. But it seems as each day went by, and the closer he got to Jeongguk, those reasons became less and less important to him.

~The next morning...~

Taehyung groans as he stirs awake. Stretching as he forces his eyes open against the light pouring into the bedroom.

He looks around in confusion before remembering last night. A small smile forms on his face as he pushes the covers off of himself.

He finds some folded clothes on top of a chair beside the bed. A note sitting on top along with a towel.

Pushed the appointment back so you could sleep. Take your time getting ready. :))

ps. sorry if the clothes i picked are terrible. i tried not to pick any of my shitty shirts. (which are almost all of them according to you.)

Taehyung chuckles at the note as he sets it aside. He grabs the clothes and towel before showing himself to the bathroom. Stopping short when he realizes he doesn't feel like puking.

"Aw, is today a good day, guys?" He baby-talks as he shuts the door. "Or are you going to wait until I least expect it? Hm?"

He doesn't rush getting ready, taking his time in the shower. It felt nice not to have to rush around for a change.

When he leaves the bathroom he folds his clothes and leaves them on the chair. Making a mental note not to forget them when he leaves.

He walks out of the bedroom and finds Jeongguk in the kitchen dressed in day clothes. But instead of his signature muscle shirt, the ravenette wears a long sleeve black shirt.

"Hey," Taehyung says getting his attention. "I'm sorry I overslept. I didn't mean to."

Jeongguk turns to him with a smile. "Don't worry about it. We were up late last night so you needed to rest."

The brunette nods. "Thanks for the clothes. I actually don't hate them."

"The 'actually' was a nice touch." The ravenette says rolling his eyes as he turns back to the counter. "I decided to cook breakfast instead of ordering in."

"I don't mind either way," Taehyung says leaning against the counter. "What time is the appointment?"

"One. Dr. Song said that was her next opening." Jeongguk says handing Taehyung a bowl of food. "Is that alright? Did you have other plans?"

"No, that's fine." The brunette says looking at the bowl. Pouting adoringly at the food in the bowl.

"What?" Jeongguk asks looking at it as well.

"Nothing, it's just cute how you went out of your way to make it look pretty." Taehyung pouts.

"Wh~ I just put it in the bowl, Taehyung." The ravenette says rolling his eyes as he turns to grab his bowl. "Stop trying to make everything I do cute."

"I can't help it." The brunette says taking his food with him to the living room. "Oh, I should call Namjoon. I didn't tell him I was staying out last night."

"Don't worry about it. You're boyfriend called this morning and I told him you were fine." Jeongguk says joining him in the living room.

"You answered my phone?" Taehyung asks grabbing his phone. "Why?"

Jeongguk shrugs. "I didn't want it to wake you."

"You should've woken me up if it was Namjoon." The brunette says looking through his notifications.

"Sorry, I didn't think it was a big deal." The ravenette says rolling his eyes a little. "I told him you were fine."

"That's not the point, Jeongguk," Taehyung frowns. "You answered it because you wanted him to know I was here last night."

"Actually, no I didn't," Jeongguk says furrowing his eyebrows. "Did you not want him to know for some reason?"

"I don't care if he knows. But I care if you only told him because you were being possessive." The brunette says honestly. "I don't get why you feel like you have to do that type of shit."

"I didn't answer to be possessive, Taehyung. I answered because I felt bad for keeping you up last, and I wanted you to sleep. But don't worry, that's definitely the last time I answer your phone." The ravenette says standing, putting his bowl down on the coffee table. "I'm going down to get my mail."

"Jeongguk, I'm sorry~"

"No, it's whatever," Jeongguk says stepping into his house shoes before leaving the apartment.

Taehyung sighs, deflating a little as the door shuts behind the ravenette. He didn't mean to ruin a perfect morning with such an unnecessary assumption.

Jeongguk returns after a few minutes. Looking down at the mail in his hands as he walks to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry, Jeongguk. I shouldn't have assumed you were trying to get at Namjoon." Taehyung says standing and walking to the kitchen. "It's just that you always act like you hate him."

"I don't get what you mean, Tae. When I talk about him I only do it to annoy you. Not because I seriously have something against him." Jeongguk says looking up from the mail. "But I do think it's weird that you have to check in with him like you're a child or something."

"I check in because I know he'll worry if I don't. It's not about him keeping tabs on me." The brunette says shrugging his shoulders. "It's no different than you asking me to text you when I'm home after I leave."

The ravenette rolls his eyes a little. "You're right I guess."

Taehyung smiles softly. "Yeah? So can we please go back to having a decent start to the day, please? This is the first time in two weeks that I haven't woken up feeling like crap."

"Alright, fine," Jeongguk says giving in to the brunette's puppy dog eyes. "The appointment is in half an hour so we should leave sometime soon."

"Okay." Taehyung smiles happily as they both take their seats back in the living room.

They leave for the appointment after finishing their food. Arriving just on time and checking in. Dr. Song administers the ultrasound for change.

"Any questions or concerns, Taehyung?" The woman asks as she closely monitors the screen. Focusing intently as she moves the wand over Taehyung's stomach.

"Not really." The brunette says as he watches as well. Jeongguk standing close to his side. "I was just wondering if they met their milestone this time."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about next." Dr. Song says as she turns the machine off. Handing Taehyung a few napkins before going to turn the light on. "Have you been experiencing any unusual abdominal pain or discomfort in your lower back?"

"Well, my back hurts from time to time. I just figured it was because I started working again." Taehyung responds with a nervous expression as he wipes the jelly from his stomach. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I just need to ask a few more questions to rule some things out." The woman says grabbing a clipboard and jotting some things down. "Have you been experiencing extreme bouts of nausea or lack of appetite?"

"I usually get sick throughout the day, yeah." The brunette frowns. "And I have to remind myself to eat sometimes."

"Do you find yourself getting easily emotional?"

"Sometimes."

"Trouble sleeping?"

Taehyung frowns before reluctantly nodding his head. He didn't know what all this meant but he was worried.

"Is there something wrong?" Jeongguk asks placing a comforting hand on Taehyung's back.

"You both are well aware that male pregnancies are high-risk. Taehyung is carrying twins, which only heightens the risk." Dr. Song explains. "I'm afraid the babies haven't grown much since our last meeting. And this could be due to many things, but I think in your case it's due to stress."

Taehyung bites down on his lip anxiously as Dr. Song continues. His eyes widening with worry.

"Stress is one of the biggest risk factors for pregnancy complications including high blood pressure, delivering prematurely and low birth weight in babies, even those born at term." She continues. "Now, this is nothing that can't be reversed if handled properly."

"How behind are they?" Jeongguk asks, hiding his worry for Taehyung's sake.

"Just a few weeks. With the proper rest and diet, I'm sure they'll be able to pass this milestone with ease and meet their next one." Dr. Song smiles reassuringly. "That being said, I'm prescribing you one week of strict bed rest followed by one week of partial bed rest. And while you're resting I want you to take a look at all the things in your life that bring you stress. And I want you to eliminate at least one of them. Two at best."

"Okay." The brunette says looking down. Placing his hand on his small bump with a sorrowful expression.

"And I want you to know that this is one-hundred-percent not your fault." Dr. Song says placing a caring hand on Taehyung's arm. "Bed rest is prescribed to nearly twenty percent of pregnancies around the world. And twins are generally smaller in size than a single baby."

Taehyung nods but her words don't comfort him at all. "What am I supposed to do to help them grow?"

"I'll give you a list of prenatal vitamins and dietary supplements I recommend. But other than that I recommend upping the number of carbs, fats, proteins, and even fluids you take in on a day-to-day basis." The woman nods. "Even if you have to set alarms to remind yourself to eat in the beginning. As your stress levels go down you'll start to gain a proper appetite again."

Taehyung nods. "Okay. Thank you, Dr. Song."

"Of course. They'll give you everything you need at check out." Dr. Song says shaking both the parents' hands. "I'll see you back in two weeks. Everything's going to be fine. I promise."

"Thank you." Jeongguk smiles as the woman leaves the room. Turning to Taehyung who stands up with tears in his eyes. "Hey, don't cry, Tae. She said everything was going to be fine."

"I can't believe I let this happen." The brunette says wiping his tears. "I thought I could work and go to school, and be fine. But I just hurt the babies~"

"You didn't hurt them." The ravenette says taking Taehyung's hands in his. Letting the brunette cry against his shoulder. "They're fine, Taehyung. You just need to rest."

"I can't afford to rest, Jeongguk. I can't stop working or going to school." Taehyung says hopelessly. He's been so busy trying to make sure he could provide for the twins that he completely disregarded his own health. In turn, jeopardizing theirs.

"You don't have to stop going to school. But you can stop working." Jeongguk says making the brunette look up at him. "Move in with me and let me take care of you."

"Jeongguk~," The younger says rolling his eyes at the stupid proposal.

"I mean it." The ravenette says firmly. His tone and expression are serious. "Even if it's just until the twins are born. Or even until you're able to get back on your feet."

"I can't do that," Taehyung says shaking his head. He couldn't just live rent-free in Jeongguk's apartment.

"Yes you can, Tae. You're going to hurt yourself trying to work and go to school full time." Jeongguk says. "Long-term stress is only going to make your pregnancy harder."

Taehyung sighs as he weighs his options. He knew that he wouldn't be able to afford to live with Namjoon without working. And he knew the stress of work and school would only put the twins in harm's way.

"Please?" Jeongguk asks looking at Taehyung hopefully. "It's for the best, Taehyung. You know that."

"I know." The brunette says, his voice cracking as more tears well in his eyes. "I know."

"All you have to say is okay."

"...Okay."