Archive of Our Own

Yoohyeon liked her new neighbour, Gahyeon was pretty, kind and was always nice when they met in the hallway. Gahyeon had moved in when she was about six months pregnant, and now her little girl, Areum was about four months old, she was a very cute baby but the little one had a set of lungs on her. Yoohyeon had spent the nights awake with the baby crying - which was really how her and Gahyeon has become so close. Yoohyeon sat on Gahyeon's sofa, holding little Areum close and rocking her while Gahyeon made a bottle. "My milk is failing." Gahyeon explained, she looked as if she was about to cry, "I just want to feed her." She said wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, coming over with the formula and taking the girl to feed her.

"Hey, you're still feeding her, even if you can't breastfeed her every time." Yoohyeon had learnt a lot about motherhood - saying it was purely to help her neighbour, but she had done far more research than she needed to. "Do you have work today?"

"Yeah, I need to get ready." Gahyeon said, Yoohyeon had also taken on babysitting the little girl when she could so that Gahyeon could work - just neighbourly things. Gahyeon looked tired, hair messily tied back and out of her face. "You won't need to take her on Saturday."

"Your shift got swapped?"

"No, well, on Friday her dad is coming and his mom said she could take her on Saturday." Gahyeon looked down at the little girl. "I mean, they're family right? I can't really tell them no."

"The father who couldn't even be bothered to show up when you gave birth to her?" Yoohyeon raised a brow. Yoohyeon had gone, her friend was scared and alone and she was not going to make her do anything by herself. "Yubin won't be happy when she finds out."

"I know but, it's her dad. How can I say no?"

"I know it's hard, and Areum deserves everything in this world." Yoohyeon said softly. "But you deserve so much better than that man who couldn't even be there for you and her when it mattered." Yoohyeon shook her head, taking Areum after her feed and holding the little girl close. "I just don't want to see either of you hurt."

"I know, I am just giving him a chance and if he can't be there for Areum, we're done and we're going to move on without him." Gahyeon said determinedly, getting up and going to get changed. Areum babbling a little in Yoohyeon's arms. She looked at the little girl and sighed, she hoped more than anything that her dad would be a decent father to Areum and this would be a good thing, it would help Gahyeon immensely if the father was in the picture. Yoohyeon had heard Gahyeon speak of the guilt she felt not having a father in Areum's life - Yoohyeon had tried to tell her that sometimes no father is better than a poor one. Gahyeon came out ready for work, she looked slightly more put together, but there was still an anxious energy about her. "Okay, I'll come get her as soon as I'm finished at work." Gahyeon smiled, giving her daughter a quick kiss. "I love you." She left and Yoohyeon collected what she needed and walked back to her apartment.

"We should go over and introduce ourselves." Siyeon said, Yoohyeon knew she probably should not have told her friends about Areum's father meeting her. Yoohyeon had introduced Gahyeon to her group of friends immediately and everyone had taken to her, they were all in love with baby Areum and Yoohyeon knew that their support had really been key for her neighbour.

"And say what?" Minji said, she was leaning against the arm of the sofa. "Hi, we're the people who've been more of a dad to your daughter than you have?"

"I mean maybe not in those words." Siyeon shrugged. "But Yooh was basically the father for the birth and we all know she loves Gahyeon like any father would love their baby mama."

"I don't!" Yoohyeon glared at Siyeon - that might be a lie. She had known that she felt for Gahyeon before the woman gave birth to Areum, but the fact that she'd gotten pregnant with a man was a pretty big hint that her and Yoohyeon were not playing for the same team. "And even if I did - which I don't - it's not like it would be viable."

"Have you asked her?" Yubin asked with a little smirk.

"Of course I haven't asked her! At what point do you think I've had chance to just ask her about dating, she has a baby and she works too many shifts at that cafe just to make rent." Yoohyeon sighed. "Plus the baby -"

"The baby what?" Bora said, hand gently resting on Handong's thigh. "You know we're looking to have a baby."

"Oh please, that's completely different, you two are a lesbian couple having a baby together, Gahyeon got pregnant with a man!"

"Bisexuals exist." Handong spoke up.

"I know that but-" Yoohyeon sighed, "You know I can't just ask her, she has enough going on without having my tear apart her support system by telling her that she's pretty."

When there was a knock on the door Yoohyeon was surprised, Gahyeon standing there with Areum in her arms, she looked pretty, clearly having done her makeup for the meeting, trying to make it look as if she did not need him, or maybe she was trying to win him back - Yoohyeon did not know, but she did know Gahyeon looked hurt. "Areum needs her nap." Gahyeon said and Siyeon came over to take the little girl and carefully lay her down in the part of Yoohyeon's spare room that had been semi-converted to a nursery as she spent so much time with them. Yoohyeon brought Gahyeon to the sofa and sat with her, the girls coming over to support her if they were needed.

"How did it go?"

"He wants to see her." Gahyeon said, which confused Yoohyeon, this was what Gahyeon had wanted, was it not? She gently rubbed Gahyeon's back. "He didn't even apologise for not being there for her birth or the first four months. He apparently had stuff going on." She was crying, furiously wiping her eyes with her hand. "His new girlfriend was the one who told him he should see Areum." Gahyeon burst into tears, but they felt more angry than hurt.

"He shouldn't need someone to tell him he should want to be in his daughter's life." Yoohyeon soothed, holding her close and wishing she could just protect Gahyeon from this man who was clearly not good enough for any woman, let alone the one she had in her arms.

"I can take Areum tomorrow." Yubin offered. "I really think that you should wait before letting her stay with his family, they don't deserve her." Gahyeon nodded, she was too upset to really say anything.

Gahyeon had been struggling with everything for a few days, she was clearly upset to know that her daughter's father had a new girlfriend and that was the only reason he was interested and it infuriated Yoohyeon that her friend was so hurt by this man who didn't even deserve to occupy a second of their thoughts. If only he was not Areum's father, Yoohyeon would tell her to throw him out of their lives forever. He did not deserve a second of everyone's time.

Gahyeon was outside her door, Areum in her travel seat and bag of their stuff slung over Gahyeon's shoulder. "A pipe burst and my kitchen flooded and so much is damaged, we can't stay there and I have no where-"

"No, you have here, come in." Yoohyeon said, moving to help take Areum and lay her down in the spare room, before getting everything ready for Gahyeon to be able to shower. Gahyeon was grateful, and Yoohyeon began to unpack everything they would need for Areum, such as the formula and diapers, carefully putting them away where they would be able to get them and where everything made sense. She knew that from the brief amount Gahyeon had explained this could be their arrangement for a while and she wanted Gahyeon to feel at home with them, because she was.

Gahyeon refused to let Yoohyeon sleep on the sofa, so they both ended up in the double bed in Yoohyeon's room, both of them lying there not talking, until Gahyeon eventually spoke. "Thank you." She said quietly. "I couldn't go back to my parents and tell them."

"It's nothing, you know you're both welcome here." Yoohyeon said with a small smile.

"You're so good to us." Gahyeon said with a small but still sad smile, she shut her eyes and Yoohyeon just lay there for a second waiting for her to drift off, she wished that Gahyeon would feel the same about her, so then she could just take care of her and Areum like they deserved, she hated having these feelings and being unable to act on them, she hated that she was just lying here next to the person she liked the most she'd ever liked someone and yet she was just unable to say anything not even tell her parts of the truth.

She woke to an empty bed and smells coming from the kitchen. Areum was lay on a playtime mat and Gahyeon was in the kitchen making breakfast, Yoohyeon could not help but wonder if she was still dreaming. She sat next to the baby, carefully encouraging her, naming the animals as she tapped them and moved them. Yoohyeon wished this was her every day but how would she even go about telling the woman who was cooking about that, she was just their neighbour. She was nothing really when it came down to it. Gahyeon served breakfast for them and it was nice, they just talked easily, and when Yoohyeon left for her own job she felt lighter knowing that Gahyeon would be at home waiting for her.

"Yooh!" Yoohyeon rushed out of the bedroom to find Gahyeon sat on the floor Areum on the mat. "Do it again Areum!" She said excitedly, "Yooh, look." and Yoohyeon looked in amazement as Areum rolled over. Gahyeon looked so happy, praising her daughter and then picking her up to give her a loving cuddle. "I love you so much." She said as she cradled the little girl. "Did you see?"

"I did! She's getting so big." Yoohyeon came over, praising the little girl too. She could not believe how exciting it had been to watch Areum do that for the second time. She already could feel what it would be like if she was lucky enough to see her first steps. Yoohyeon wanted to see her first steps and hear her first words. It would be hard to let them move out once Gahyeon's place was repaired and able to be lived in again, part of her wanted to go over and sabotage it. She wanted to keep them with her forever, selfishly. She loved them both so much, but she knew that it was unfair, while they lived together like this it would be hard for Gahyeon to find someone to date, although the other did not seem interested in that kind of thing. Even when the others had offered to take Areum for the evenings so that Gahyeon could go out and have some fun - she was still young, even if she was a single mom, the woman had refused, she was not interested in dating - she had her daughter to focus on and Gahyeon believed that everything else would just fall into place.

"She's getting better at making sounds too." Gahyeon smiled, "I can't wait for her to speak, she's doing so well." Gahyeon beamed, it was nice to see the woman smiling, that smile had been lost a lot recently. "Also, her dad wants to see her this weekend, is it okay if he comes over?"

"Do you want me to be out?"

"No." Gahyeon said, "I mean there isn't much she can do currently so it's just a bit awkward when he comes over. I don't really have anything to say to him. I can't even be angry that he didn't go to her birth."

"I think you are within your rights to."

"No, I mean, I'm glad it wasn't him who was with me." She said giving Yoohyeon a small smile. "I know we hadn't been friends too long at that point but I'm glad you were with me."

"I'm glad I was with you too."

Areum's father, Heesun, was handsome, which Yoohyeon had expected. Gahyeon did not seem to still be into him but she was trying to be the best version of herself, hiding just how hard it was for her as a single mom. Yoohyeon had to bite back a comment when Heesun commented on the fact that Gahyeon was not breast feeding, the last thing she wanted was to make this day more stressful for Gahyeon. "When do you think I can see her away from you?"

"Heesun." Gahyeon said protectively. "She needs her mom."

"If you're bottle feeding, I can do that."

"You've met her twice, she's not going anywhere with you until you know her better." Gahyeon stood her ground.

"She's my daughter."

"Then you will get to know her and then you can take her. I'm not saying never, I just need her to get used to you, then you can have her for the afternoon or something, but until then, you're going to have to come here." Yoohyeon moved quickly to take the little girl, knowing that she would pick up on her upset parents, she took Areum to the other room so her parents could talk, singing to the little one.

"So you're letting some woman be my daughters dad!"

"Yooh has been more of a dad than you have ever been to Areum!" Yoohyeon felt angry, knowing how much Gahyeon had wanted Heesun involved and around for Areum. The first time they'd talked about it, Gahyeon was still pregnant and was convinced that Heesun would be there for the birth, that he would step up and be a dad despite them breaking up. "Yooh actually bothered to come to her birth!"

"I was busy!"

"So was I! But unlike you I didn't get to finish what I was doing! I never had the choice to just walk in and out of Areum's life, I had to carry her and give birth to her and I've been raising her by myself. I could never have done any of that without Yoohyeon, so don't you ever think you have the right to comment on who is helping me raise our daughter! It's not like I've had her dad to help me."

"You don't exactly make it easy Gahyeon."

"What was so hard? I texted you when I was in labour, I told where I was giving birth, I told you after I'd given birth, I sent you photos of our baby and you didn't care! I was struggling with our baby and you couldn't care less, so I don't owe you anything Heesun, you either keep getting to know her or you don't, but you are not having her away from me until you get to know her better and I know you can look after her."

Areum hit all her markers and was freshly six months old, the repairs on Gahyeon's apartment were taking longer than anticipated, not that Yoohyeon minded. Especially when she got to come home and see Gahyeon dancing around the living room with Areum in her arms, singing along with the music she was playing through her phone. She was the happiest that Yoohyeon had seen her for a long time. Gahyeon turned, hair swishing as she did, "Come join." She grinned, all of three of them dancing to the pop music together. Gahyeon holding Areum as they moved, dancing together as they might if they were a family.

Yoohyeon didn't know what came over her, but she closed the gap and gave Gahyeon a kiss. She was surprised when her friend kissed her back, and pulled away to bounce the little girl in her arms. Yoohyeon tried to think of something to say. "Gahyeon, I didn't-"

"Don't take it back." Gahyeon said, moving to put Areum in her playpen so she could come back and give Yoohyeon another kiss. "Please."

It was a few days later when Gahyeon was making breakfast, Yoohyeon was trying to stop Areum tipping her entire sippy cup of water all down herself. Gahyeon brought the food to the table and gave Yoohyeon a smile, looking back at her daughter and moving to try to distract the girl with some berries, "I'm so glad that you bought those extra bibs." Gahyeon grinned the girl was getting a lot more of the berries smushed on her hands and face rather than in her mouth. "Siyeon said she can have her on Friday overnight." Gahyeon did not look at Yoohyeon.

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking we should have a date, you know... talk about the kiss and what we want to do." Gahyeon sounded nervous. "I mean, I'd like to talk about it, and it's a bit hard to do when we're either at work or taking care of this little princess."

"She's a bit of a messy princess." Yoohyeon laughed, moving to try to help clean the little girl's hands. Yoohyeon then nodded, "you're right, we need to talk about it all." It can't be that bad if Gahyeon was calling it a date still, it must be something still.

The date was a bit scary, Yoohyeon had gotten ready in her room and Gahyeon had gotten ready in the spare room, wanting to surprise her - and she was surprised. She could not believe how stunning Gahyeon looked, she did not look at all like she'd had a child a little over 6 months ago, and the dress she was wearing hugged her curves in all the right places. They sat together at the restaurant, Gahyeon ordering quickly, taking a small sip of her cocktail. "This is a nice restaurant." Gahyeon smiled, "you picked well."

"Technically Yubin told me to come here, so you really have her to thank for this." Yoohyeon gave her a smile. Gahyeon nodded, she looked gorgeous and it was hard for Yoohyeon to think about it. "So the kiss?" Yoohyeon asked once their plates had been brought to them.

Gahyeon twirled the pasta around her fork. "I mean I'm a mom."

"I had noticed."

"I really like you Yoohyeon, and I love how good you are with Areum, you've always been there for us and you're amazing and pretty and if we met before I got pregnant I'd have jumped at the chance to be with you, but I'm a mom. I have a baby and you-"

"I think I've made it more than clear that you having a baby doesn't bother me at all." Yoohyeon shook her head. "You know I love Areum and I want to be with you."

Yoohyeon smiled when she walked into their room to see the toddler playing on the bed with her mom. Gahyeon laughing as her daughter played, it was Yoohyeon's favourite sound. "Are you ready? Handong is going to be mad if we miss Joochan's birthday party. She has spent slightly too long planning it." Yoohyeon grinned.

Gahyeon got up and picked up the girl, walking down to carry the girl to the car, carefully fastening the girl in and then getting in the passenger side. Her hand moving easily to rest on Yoohyeon's leg as she drove and Yoohyeon wasn't sure there was any better feeling in the world.