Lovebirds

forty-eight

"Honestly, you boys never change," sighed Naira, pinching the bridge of her nose as she saw the mess around her. She hated being back to work already instead of at home, well her new home after moving in. 

The scene before her could only be described as chaos. Jax leaped off the kitchen table to rub against her legs, purring in merriment as the black of his coat was covered in snowy dust. She picked him up, using her hand to brush off the flour. 

"Seriously?" she questioned the Red Knights with a disapproving shake of her head. 

A mischievous grin flickers across Kyle's lips. "Hey, no one ever said baking was clean."

"You can't blame a guy for trying," shrugged Wesley, adding to his best mate's nonsense. 

This time, Naira glanced over at her husband, eyebrows arched in question. "What's your excuse?" 

His smile flashed pearly whites towards her, vibrant eyes peering at her with a devilish glint. Rayan was further from innocence than the other two, that was for certain. 

Jax began to fidget, so she released him before focusing her attention back at the matter. The Red Knights were supposed to film a video of them baking cupcakes for a fundraiser. The video would be used for marketing purposes and to make them appear more humane and kind, not that they weren't already. 

However, instead of filming like she should have, Naira heard the ruckus from her office or them having a food war in the office kitchen. Even if she tried to ignore them, she couldn't. The investors were breathing down her hijab with orders and rules that the Red Knights had broken and that she, as their temporary manager, had to fix before the next board meeting. 

Talk about stress. 

"Well?" she prompted him. 

He walked up to her, slow and deliberate, almost as if he wanted to get on her last nerve. Naira was reeling her patience in, but it was becoming a much more difficult task. Kyle and Wesley exchanged amused glances as Rayan held onto his silence like a torch to melt the ice away from her wrath. 

"I'm your husband. It's my job to be annoying," he smiled. 

She glared at him, eyes narrowed. 

Leaning over, he placed a chaste kiss to her cheeks, lips lingering for a moment before he pulled away. 

"H-Hey!" she exclaimed as a fiery of red engulfed her. Instinctively, her hand flew to her cheek. 

"Anyone ever tell you how cute you are?" he chuckled. 

Somehow all her retorts went numb on her tongue, body set ablaze by his attention and unwavering gaze. She wasn't sure how he managed to make her insides feel a mess or how he distracted her, but Naira fell victim to it every time. 

Baking video, Naira. Focus. 

She shook her head, willing the crazy thoughts away. 

"Not so fast. The task at hand is this baking video. No distractions," she said sternly as she adjusted her glasses and pulled out her tablet. "Now, where were we?" 

"Let's see," started Kyle with a look of seriousness that made Naira think he would say something meaningful. "You yelled at us, Rayan called you cute, you guys start flirting, Rayan gives you heart eyes-"

"No, not that," she face palmed. 

Wesley and Rayan erupted in laughter in the background, their joy bouncing off the walls as the room filled with humor and rejoice, as their eyes glimmered with a light that only existed when the Red Knights were together. 

"But it's what happened," whined Kyle before pouting. "And I still got in trouble. Wesley, help a brother out." 

"What do you want me to do? This is a love affair that doesn't concern me."

"You could be my lover."

"Gross."

"Everyone hates me," sighed Kyle as he feigned hurt, placing a fist over his chest. "I can hear my heart shattering."

"Clearly, it wasn't strong enough in the first place," muttered Wesley under his breath. Before Kyle could retort a witty comeback, he cleared his throat, directing his gaze to Naira. "As you were saying, Manager?" 

"Can we all please be adults for five minutes?" she sighed. "I need something to boost your viewership, something cute and relaxed. Your fans are dying for a new release and this will buy us some time." 

"I think they want to know why their favorite idol got hitched," said Kyle. 

"Not the topic, Kyle," she hushed him before a thought came across her. "Have you been keeping up with your nutritionist schedule?"

"Of course," he said as if it were the most obvious thing. "Do you think I have a death wish? The last thing I want to do is get on your bad side."

She stared at him blankly, waiting for him to add more, almost prompting him with her dark eyes. 

He exhaled a tired breath. "And because it's important to my health," he added at last. 

Naira smiled. "Thank you. Now, Wesley, where are we with logistics?"

"Aside from this mishap, we're on schedule for everything else. Next tour is up to the board, you have the financials covered, and we just need to keep up with the weekly band streams until the concert and tour is released."

"Perfect. Rayan, how are we with costume, props, and overall engagement?" she asked. 

"On track with everything, except for one thing," he said on a wince. "There's a lot of hate coming towards us now." 

Naira almost choked. "How?"

He didn't need to say anything. All he showed was his phone screen, and it felt as though Naira's world would fall apart. Her career laid at the mercy of internet trolls, but this time Naira wasn't sure if her reputation was salvageable. 

----

Bro, how did the innocent one in BTS write such a dirty song (reference to SEVEN)? I was appalled, but at the same time silently vibing. 

And then the worst thing ever happened. My husband walked in. I just knew he was praying for my soul =]

Anyway, I can never let my characters live in peace, can I? 

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