Family, mental breakdowns and strawberry cake

Honeymoon

“Angel, Princess just purposefully pushed your cookies off the counter, that’s on you!” Jungkook‘s voice sounds outside to where I am sitting on the Hollywood swing, my eyes closed as I am bathing in the last rays of the sun that are almost feeling the faintest bit like summer.
Well, kind of.
But who am I lying to, I just miss Florida and the heat that was still very intense even in late October when me and Jungkoon had flown there for our honeymoon after our wedding on October 9th to escape the tight hold of fall on England that was quite nasty with all its rain and wind.
Even though I have lived here in this house for about two years now I still haven’t gotten used to how much more windy it is far from the protective walls of school or downtown London where I work.

“She’d never do that, she is so careful where she steps, darling, that must have been an accident.“ 
I respond and get up nevertheless to not miss out on Jungkook‘s pout that must be on his pursed lips now because our cat has apparently decided she wanted to annoy him.
Jungkook insists she is only clumsy when he is around because she doesn’t like him to which I usually respond with kisses because he might be right.
Our maine coon that we picked up from an animal shelter for Christmas last year had quickly picked favorites and her choice has, for whatever weird reason, fallen on me.
I walk into the kitchen and wrap my arms around Jungkook‘s waist, placing my head on his shoulder so very naturally.
My husband.
Sometimes that word randomly pops up in my head and makes me so indescribably happy because I can‘t believe it came true and that he promised to be with me until we die.
I look at the cookies on the floor and then up to Princess, our cat, who is sitting on the counter and is innocently looking at me out of her blue eyes.
I sigh and let go of Jungkook to crouch down and start picking them up so I can put them back in the bowl that has luckily not broken upon falling onto the floor.
“I am sure they‘ll taste the same though they are a bit broken baby.“ I mumble and look up to my husband who leans forward and takes the cat, plucking her right off the counter so he can carry her out of the kitchen overall.
I finish picking all the crumbs up and quickly wipe over the spot to make sure it‘s clean all the way.
Jungkook has not returned to the kitchen and I smile as I walk into the living room and see him lying on the couch with a book I‘d brought him from Diagon Alley last week.
Without another word I squeeze in next to him and lay my head down on his chest, closing my eyes to maybe take a quick nap. Every time I do this, I feel like I am 64 instead of 24 but I have never realized how much an afternoon nap on a weekend after a tiring week of work helps you relax and so I drift away to Jungkook mumbling random things while reading. He does that sometimes, talking to the characters to change what they do and he never notices it until I tell him that he is muttering nonsense.

The doorbell rings and I lift my head off my husband‘s chest, looking at him in a confused manner, my eyes small from having slept for the past 30 minutes or so.
“Are we expecting anyone?“
He lifts himself off the couch and walks over to the door, shaking his head and shrugging.
“I don't think so, angel.“
I hear him opening the door, then a loud shriek and then a loud thud. I immediately jump up.
“You alright?” I run towards the hallway. 
As I turn into the hallway I can see my husband laying on the floor, his sister just getting off him as she seems to have literally jumped him for a greeting, while Fred is standing there laughing and looking at them fondly.
“You know I told you, you shouldn’t do this, right?“ Jungkook complains and gets up though his happy smile is giving away that he is in no way actually mad at her.
“Oh, hi Tae! Surprise I guess!” Purple grins and walks around her brother so she can hug me too and I hold her tight in my arms because I‘ve missed my best friend that I hadn‘t seen in a while.
“Well, come on in you two. Do you wanna stay for dinner?“ I ask and the two of them nod and follow me into the living room, sitting down just as Jungkook does while I walk into the kitchen and pick up a bottle, showing it to our surprise guests.
“Do you guys want wine, one glass before dinner?“ 
Fred and Jungkook nod and my best friend opens her mouth as if to say that she is taking one too when she bites down on her lip all of a sudden and instead purses her lips.
“None for me, no.“ She mumbles grumpily.
I send her an apologetic gaze and take their jackets and invite them into our home. 
Since neither Jungkook nor I had actually started to prepare dinner all four of us took place in the kitchen where Purple and Fred helped with magically chopping vegetables for our casserole. Noodles were quickly boiled and it took about 15 minutes in the oven and so we could eat in less than half an hour. 
Nevertheless Purple got the chance to again complain about the fact that she actually hadn’t been invited to our wedding just a month ago. 
Me and Jungkook decided, after he so beautifully proposed to me, to not invite her, for everything she had done to us including catching us during christmas holidays. We instead purposefully orchestrated everyone around her for that she was keeping that day clear in her schedule but that it was going to be a huge surprise for her and a big laugh for everyone else, including Fred.

~~~

We just had dinner and moved back to sitting on the couches, the fireplace spreading warm, orange lighting in the room and we are just talking and catching up and I am so very happy in this moment because it seems like this is not just some crazy dream but actually my life that, after everything, I seem to have deserved and though I am failing to understand that, I let myself enjoy it.
I look to my side where Purple is sitting with our cat on her lap and take a sip from my wine.
“You are kinda fat, Princess.“
A smug smile spreads over my face and I lift my gaze to my best friend‘s face. She playfully hits my arm and scowls at me.
“Oh seriously?! You’re going with that one? I heard better.” She teases back and I shrug.
“You think I was talking to you?! I meant the furry ball on your lap hun.”
Fred chokes on the water he had just been drinking and Jungkook pats his back while laughing at how he spilled water over his lap as he laughed at me and Purple‘s bickering.

“Well, actually“ Purple mumbles and looks at her husband on the couch across from her and he nods, a huge grin spreading his lips.
“I kind of did gain some weight as you can imagine…“
She carefully takes the cat that was dosing on her lap and hands her to me which Princess comments with a disgruntled meow.
My best friend quickly walks over to her purse that she left on the kitchen counter and pulls an envelope out of it so she can hand it to me with a sheepish grin.
Jungkook has gotten up and sits down next to me while Purple keeps standing right beside us, tugging on her sleeves as she always does when she is nervous.
“What is this?“ Jungkook asks and looks at his sister.
“Just open it.“ She mumbles and so I wait no longer and open the simple, green envelope and pull the single paper out that is inside.
“Oh my god“, Jungkook whispers and quickly jumps off the couch to hug his sister as tight as he can while I just hold this ultrasound picture in my hand.
These tiny grey blobs will become two entire humans and I stare at this image in utter fascination.
It is only when Jungkook is already hugging Fred and telling him how happy he is for them that this information sinks into my mind and I carefully lay the picture aside before wrapping my arms around my best friend and pull her onto my lap so I can hold her as close as I can, like we did in old times.
“I am so happy for you, princess. Two little you‘s inside of you, that is so crazy. I can‘t wait to meet them.“
I can feel Purple nod, her head buried in my chest and when she lifts it up again to look at me, I can see her eyes swimming in tears.
“You‘ll be the godfather of one of them, you dumbass.“
Now I can feel tears stinging in my eyes as well and I hug her again.

“Talking of“, Purple mumbles and wipes the tear away that rolled down her cheek.
“When are your babies coming here?“
I have a feeling that she is trying to distract from her emotions that seem to be overwhelming her at the moment but I let her do so.
“Soon, their move is scheduled for December 3rd and we are getting the room upstairs ready. In the beginning we decided they can share it until we had the wall pulled up in the sitting area next to our bedroom and they can each have one.“ 
Purple nods and looks at me so gleefully as if it was her own kids getting their rooms done.
“I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s done. Now show me a picture of them dumbass, come on!”
Jungkook grins and walks over to the huge chest dresser on the right side of the door leading onto the back door and picks up the red folder that I‘ve seen so many times already.
“Let‘s sit down at the table again, the lighting is kinda horrible back here.“ 
And so all four of us sit down and Jungkook opens the folder, flipping through all the paperwork we submitted and that we kept copies of, just in case.
“These were all the things we had to give them. Proof of stable income, police reports, education and all that. It‘s quite the process, we‘ve been on this for so long I can‘t believe they‘ll actually move in in a few weeks.“
He flips a couple more pages until he finally arrives at the pictures, both those taken by the agency and those we took when we visited them the several times we drove there to meet them.
They are currently living with a woman who had taken care of them until we finally completed this process.
“Meet Charles and Somi, our four year old twins.“ My husband simply states and Purple immediately pulls the folder across the table so she can look at the pictures, making small noises of adoration as she shows them to Fred before she looks back at us, her eyes once again filled with tears and this time, she can‘t hold them back anymore and a few roll over her cheeks and she sniffles as she pushes the folder back to us.
“They look so amazing. I‘m so happy for both of you oh my god, you‘re gonna be amazing Dad‘s.“
Jungkook and I look at each other and my hand finds his beneath the table, squeezing it tightly.
“Just like you‘ll be amazing parents.“ I mumble and the silence after my words amongst the four of us is one of the most fulfilling ones I‘ve ever experienced.