A/N: Hi, friends! So…Here we are. The long awaited photoshoot. Are we ready for this? Because this is a long chapter. Dear God, I didn't think it was this long, but alas. Get yourself a snack and some water and let's get into it, yeah? Love you x

(Also, just a quick happy birthday to the sweet little peanut that brought us all together in the first place and his other half that deserves all the love in the world.)

I wasn't sure what to think when I went into this. I knew I didn't want to do it when I woke up. Hearing Quinn and Zen bickering like a couple of parents thinking they can make it work for the kids never helped matters. But somewhere in the middle of that, this managed to sneakily turn itself around. It's not like I didn't know how that happened. I didn't see anyone else doing it, so I had to take matters into my own hands. And if that meant my minor act of growing a pair, then so be it. I didn't have a problem with it when Seven took care of me before the RFA party. Why should this be any different?

"MC," Quinn came in with my second coffee of the day while Seven was still tweaking my hair, "Are you jacked enough yet?"

"I'm getting there." As long as she kept pumping coffee into me, I'll be fine. Besides, Seven was almost done with me. And as soon as this coffee does what I need it to, I'll be ready to do this.

"How long until you're done, Seven?" Zen was leaned up against the glass, his fingers anxiously tapping against the railing. Something tells me the no smoking sign was probably the cause of it.

"Probably another ten, fifteen minutes," Seven looked me over, "You look cute in pigtails, MC. I'm glad I went that route."

"It works," I shrugged, knowing what the theme for this shoot was. If it could have an innocent vibe while having a little bit of a vintage one, Quinn was happy. And that's all that mattered.

"Thank God!" Zen bolted outside. Good. He needed to mellow out. I don't exactly approve, but I understood when the vices needed to come into play.

"You know, Seven," Quinn looked me over, "I had my doubts about you doing this, but color me pleasantly surprised. She's not half bad. What do you have left to do?"

"In a perfect world," Seven opened the top drawer of Zen's case and thumbed threw it, "I'd run back home real quick and grab my good lashes, but these will do. I guess."

It's weird to see Seven so focused. This was a different kind of focused. This was Seven at peace. I liked focused Seven. But then, what he just said dawned on me, "Wait, what…?"

"Shut your eyes, MC," Seven ordered, blowing on the strip of fake eyelashes in his hand, "These can get kind of finicky."

"Ok," I wasn't going to argue with him.

"By the way, unrelated note…" Those were dangerous words coming out of that man's mouth. And everyone in the room (even Quinn. Despite Quinn not knowing him that long. She's very perceptive.), "You don't have any adverse reactions to spirit gum, do you, MC?"

"Spirit gum?" I wondered.

"Seven…" Quinn got angry, "You didn't do something stupid like use spirit gum instead of lash glue for that, did you?"

"Of course not," Seven pressed my eyelashes on, "I'm a silly goose, but I'm not that silly. I just wanted to see what MC would say. Besides, I'm sure if I used spirit gum instead of lash glue, I'd stick her eyelids together and she wouldn't be able to open her eyes for a while."

"Excuse me?" I squeaked.

"I didn't use spirit gum, MC," he promised, kissing my forehead, "Although, I will say this. I did a fantastic job on you. You can open your eyes any time now."

When I did, I already felt dizzy. It wasn't often I ever wore fake eyelashes, but every time I did, for whatever reason, I felt drunk. My poor little eyes weren't used to wearing wigs. And I was going to be on skates for most of this shoot? Jesus, Quinn…The shit I do for you. I stood up and got my balance back. Even though I still had skates on my feet. I needed a mirror. And because my best friend is vain as hell, I grabbed the small mirror out of Zen's case.

"You did an amazing job, Seven!" I beamed, admiring his handiwork, "I'm cute as hell!"

"I told you I liked you in pigtails for a reason," Seven gushed, "You look like an anime schoolgirl, MC. All you're missing is you freaking out because you're late for class and you're running out with a piece of toast in your mouth. Other than that, I nailed it."

"Yes, you did," Quinn awed, "You really should do this professionally, Seven."

"I do from time to time," he told her, "But not too often these days. The day job keeps me busy enough."

"We should get started then," she decided, "Where did Zen go?"

"I'm back," Zen came back in, "Smoke break. Between a pain in the ass photographer, a low maintenance model that doesn't know what she wants, and Seven, the unexpected dark horse coming through, I needed it."

"Understanda…HEY!" Quinn whined, "I thought we were behind that. I thought we agreed that we'd work better if we worked together instead of against each other!"

"Zen," I settled things before they could escalate, "I don't ask you much. Just play nice with Quinn."

"I'm screwing with her," Zen smiled a little. And I knew. That right there saved Zen's bacon. That's all it took to melt dear little Quinn to her core, "And she knows it."

"Yeah…" she swooned. Yep. He's got her hooked, "Hey, MC. How good are you on skates anyway?"

"I'm not bad," I could get myself from point A to point B, but doing tricks might be a different story.

"Um…" Seven had the biggest, shit eating grin on his face.

And it met my finger very quickly, "Not. Another word, Seven. One more and I swear to God, I'm divorcing you."

"You're not divorcing me," Seven kissed my cheek, "We're not even married yet. Give it time. I'll wear your nerves down some more."

"You're lucky you're cute."

"I'm very lucky I'm cute," Seven blushed a little, "And I'm also very lucky that my girlfriend is incredibly understanding and patient with me."

"Go set a montage," I sent him off to the sound booth.

"Yay!" Without a second thought, he bolted to the computer, "Hey, MC, do you have a preference?"

"You'll find something," I assured him, "I know you will."

"Freeze Frame or Centerfold?"

"No J. Geils!"

"Boo," Seven groaned, "You're no fun! Do I still get to spin jams, though?"

"Go ahead, Seven," I allowed, "I'm not going to stop you."

"You know, MC," Quinn leaned over to me, "I don't know how you do it. Seven seems like he's a major handful."

"Believe me," Zen confirmed, "He is a major handful. I don't get it either."

"It's actually very simple," I couldn't hold back a smile if I wanted to, "You're both right. Seven is absolutely a handful. I'm not going to argue that."

"Then," Quinn asked, "Why the hell are you with him?"

"Because," I melted a little inside, "He's my handful. At the end of the day, he's all mine. And that's all that matters. So, are we going to do this or what?"

"Let's go!"

Again. The things I do for you, Quinn. I know I haven't been asked to do a photoshoot for her in a long time, but she's also got a million different models in her pocket. She didn't have to use me. Yet I just happened to be online. I just happened to check the old chatrooms. And we just happened to reconnect. Not that I'm complaining. Today's been the most fun I've had in such a long time.

Not that every day with Seven isn't an adventure in itself all over the place, but it's been a long time since I've had work related fun like this. But then, as I was in the middle of a few close up shots of my skates (because Quinn's a sucker for obscure aesthetic shots for filler), I heard a loud synth coming over the speakers.

"Hey, boys and girls!" the speakers yelled, "This ninja science lesson's going to rock your world. So, close your eyes and travel back in time with me and Ninja Brian. It's going to blow your mind to shit!"

"DAMMIT, SEVEN!" I yelled at him, "NO DINOSAUR LASER FIGHT!"

"Aww…"

"It's fine, MC," Quinn checked her camera, "I think we got everything we need already."

"We're done already?" I looked at her strange. Granted, she probably had a few hundred pictures on her camera, but it feels like it took me longer to get myself together than it did to actually do the shoot. Either way, I'll take it. My feet were starting to hurt from the skates anyway.

"Yep," she put her camera back in her bag, "We're all done. We can wrap. Thank you. Really. From the bottom of my heart. I can't thank you enough for this, MC."

"You're welcome," I smiled, "I'll be expecting my check in the mail soon."

"Ouch…" Seven gasped, jumping down from the sound booth, "Look at my girl doing business. Being all cutthroat."

"I get royalties from these shoots," I giggled, "It's not me being cutthroat. It's just business."

"But you're cute when you're cutthroat," he wrapped his arms around my shoulders, "Don't take that away from me."

"You did do great, MC," Zen praised, "I didn't expect to see you be a natural talent."

"Thank you," I melted a little, "I try my best."

"Hey, MC," Quinn asked, "How would you feel about a quick milkshake set for the sake of tying everything up with a neat little bow?"

"I could go for a milkshake," I nodded. A milkshake before noon felt naughty, but I wasn't going to turn that down.

"And Zen…" she winced, "If it's not too much trouble and since you're right here and I've already put Seven through enough today, do you mind sharing with her?"

"Aww," Zen clutched his chest, "I'm here for it. Let's do it."

"Seven?" I stepped in before anything could spiral out of control. Because Seven off kilter is not pleasant to deal with, "Is that ok with you? Especially since there's kind of a history with Zen and me?"

"MC, I adore you," Seven kissed the top of my head, "Yes. It's fine with me. Besides, it's just a picture. If it causes trouble with the media, then we'll take care of it."

"I'll take care of it," Zen clarified, "I got it handled. My PR team has gotten better since the last time we've had to deal with media. It was a gift from my new director. Wasn't that sweet of her?"

"What a peach." Anything would be an upgrade from the last PR team Zen had. That totally screwed us over.

"So, we need a milkshake," Quinn pointed out, "It's not like any of us are going to pull one out of our pocket."

"I sure as hell hope not," I gagged, "That'd be gross."

"I got it!" Seven volunteered, "What flavor were you thinking?"

"Strawberry," Quinn chose, "For the sake of the colors matching and the aesthetic blending together and everything working out."

"On it!" And there he went. Seven took off to find a milkshake for Zen and me. He's so sweet.

"Hey, MC," Quinn asked, "Is Seven your assistant, too?"

"No," I shook my head, "That's actually his brother. I was going to ask him to come along on this adventure, but that meant waking him up this morning. In the state I was in, I was in no position to deal with his morning crankiness."

"Saeran's a biter," Zen pointed out, "That's not something I'd wish on my worst enemies."

"You and me both," I shuddered, "Wait a second, Zen, how do you know Saeran's a biter?"

"You've told me that before," Zen argued, "You made the mistake of waking him up from a nap and I took you to get the tetanus shot."

"Oh, yeah," I remembered. Saeran didn't make it a habit to bite me. It was around the time I started staying regularly with Seven. I had worked late and Seven let me sleep in. He wasn't home. Saeran fell asleep on the couch and I was about to grab lunch. Chomp. Right on my arm. Isn't he a sweetheart? I called Zen. Zen took me for a tetanus shot. And he got me lunch.

"And…" Quinn wondered, "That's Seven's brother?"

"Yep."

"And he's your assistant?"

"Yep."

"And…" she thought it over for a moment or two, "Seven's the one?"

"Absolutely." I wouldn't trade Seven for the world.

"Honey!" Speak of the precious devil, "I'm back!"

"Thank you, Seven," Quinn noticed the bag in Seven's hand, "What's that for?"

"I got a better glass for it," Seven started putting my milkshake together in an old school sundae glass, "I didn't think you'd want to use the to-go cup."

"You're absolutely brilliant," Quinn gushed, "Seriously, Seven, can I hire you?"

Zen laughed a little under his breath. And Seven wasn't much different, "Sorry. I'm pretty exclusive to the people I work for. No, I can't really talk about it. No, MC's not in any immediate danger."

"So," Zen pulled himself together, "Should we get started?"

"Do you have a straw preference, Quinn?" Seven dug through the bag, "I got straight, bendy, and swirly."

"Did you really get swirly straws, Seven?" I rolled my eyes.

"We needed more swirly straws anyway," he shrugged.

"Bendy," Quinn picked, "And if they're striped bendy straws, I swear to God, I will lose my shit right here and now."

"Start losing your shit," Seven gave her the box, "Enjoy."

"I love you," she threw her arms around Seven's shoulders, "I absolutely love you. I understand what MC sees in you."

"Um…" I could see it all over Seven's face. He was looking for an out. If he didn't get it in the next five seconds, he was going to explode. And not in a good way, "Thank you?"

"Quinn, drop it," I ordered. Immediately, she let Seven go, "Good girl. I'm proud of you."

"I do what I can," she handed me a couple straws, "I need something cute as hell, you two. If this is what breaks me, then goddamn, let it break me. And if someone realizes who I got in my photoshoot, a bitch is going to skyrocket!"

"You make me proud, Quinn," I held my face in my hands, "But I get it. We can do this."

"Hey, MC," Zen wondered, "How exactly did you meet Quinn again?"

"She's a blogger, too," I told him, "It's alright. We just need to get through the rest of this shoot and we'll be done. Right, Quinn?"

"Yeah, yeah," she brushed me off, "Let's get this done."

After a few more shots, my energy was totally spent. I wanted to go home more than anything else. Just to go home, maybe pass out for a little while. Forget about the world. That sounded downright pleasant. When I kissed Quinn and Zen goodbye (although, it had me concerned that they left together. Considering I was their commonality, there's no way it could ever be good for me.), I kicked my skates off and got into the passenger seat of Seven's car. Coffee didn't exactly give me the artificial sleep I needed. And Seven knew.

"MC?" he gave me a little nudge, "Are you ok?"

"Tired," I grumbled, "So…Tired…"

"But that was fun," Seven held my hand on the shifter, "You have to admit it. I saw it. You were enjoying yourself."

"It was fun," I agreed, "But damn, I'm spent."

"Well then," he decided, "How about we go home, take a nap for a while, and when we wake up, we'll go get dinner. Sound like a good idea?"

"Sounds like a hell of a plan," I laid my head on the window, nearly falling asleep right then and there.

Seven carried me on his back and brought me inside. Isn't he a sweetheart? I think I like him. I think I should marry this one. Seven put me down on our bed and after a few lazy kisses, I was out like a light. As much fun as that photoshoot was, I needed some sleep. Honestly, I'm impressed Seven stepped up as much as what he did. And that he impressed the hell out of Quinn. Of course, he can make me cute. It wouldn't be the first time. And I'm sure it won't be the last.

A few hours later, I opened my eyes and caught a glimpse at the alarm clock on the nightstand. Damn…I didn't think we were going to sleep for that long. I checked my phone and saw a text from Quinn telling me she'd send proofs when she was done editing. Bless her. I'll have something to drop in the group chat. I'm sure someone's going to want to see them. If not have them framed and put in our house because that's the kind of lunatic I'm marrying.

Speaking of said lunatic, I looked over at Seven and to my surprise, he was still asleep. I didn't think I would've been the one to wake up first. Seven slept longer than I did this morning. But he's probably been through it today, too. I mean, he damn near balled up like a possum when Quinn got a little overly excited. If I wouldn't have said something, I'm sure it wouldn't have ended pretty. I know you said nap and dinner, but I'm going to let you nap for just a little longer, ok? I pressed a little kiss on Seven's forehead and left him to sleep.

The little grumble in my stomach told me to eat something before we get dinner or I'm going to end up nauseous. And I'm not dealing with that. Hell no. I walked into the kitchen in search of a light snack. We seem to be out of pizza bagels, though. All signs pointed to Saeran on that one. It's usually when he comes home from a long night at the clubs, but I don't judge. However, I wasn't expecting company.

"Hi, Vanderwood," I smiled sweetly, tearing open the wrapper on a granola bar. That should do.

"Good," he sighed out, "You're here."

"Um…Yeah?" I looked at him strange, "I live here. Last time I checked. Unless Seven kicked me out in his head and doesn't have the heart to tell me."

"It's not…no," Vanderwood settled me, "It's not that at all."

"Are you ok?" I worried, "You were all twitchy before, too. That's usually a Seven thing."

"I…" he sat down, "I have a thing to take care of tonight and…You cannot, and I can't stress that enough, you cannot tell Seven about this."

"Ok." Whatever it was, it had Vanderwood freaked out. Vanderwood was the flight attendant of this family. If he's not freaking out over something, everything's fine. But when he's this nervous…The plane's crashing and we need to be kissing our asses goodbye. But it had me wondering what the hell would have Vanderwood of all people this bad, "I won't tell him. Is everything ok?"

"I…" Vanderwood made sure to keep his voice down, "I have a date tonight."

"Seriously?" I awed, "Vanderwood, that's great!"

"Is it?" he winced, "Is it really?"

"Hold on," I thought back for a moment or two, "Do you have a date with the Pizza Street waitress?"

"Yeah," Vanderwood smiled a little bit, "I like her, MC. She's a little messy, but I've dealt with worse."

"That's not a bad thing, Vanderwood," I assured him, "Wait…Why wouldn't you want Seven knowing about that? So, you have a date tonight. Big deal."

"You know damn well why," he got defensive, "Look me in the eye, MC, and tell me he wouldn't want to stick his fingers in this in some way, shape, or form."

"You have a point," I knew exactly what he was getting at. Seven's a spazz. He doesn't want Seven screwing up his chances with the Pizza Street waitress, "So, what has you like…well, like this?"

"It's been a while since I actually went on a date," Vanderwood admitted, "And…Again, this stays between us."

"I know," I promised, "Hey…I know you said to keep Seven out of this, but for the sake of solidarity, you want to double? That way, it's not as intimidating?"

"With you and Seven?" he gasped, "Are you freakin' high? I don't think so."

"Or with Saeran and me, so you don't have to deal with Seven."

"You know what?" Vanderwood caved, "If it's between Seven and Saeran, it'd be better if it was Seven. The kid may be a spazz, but Saeran's too similar to her. We don't need them hitting it off. Not to mention, I'm sure Saeran's still a bad taste in her mouth after last time. I'll run it by her and see what she says."

"Ok."

"Run what by who?" Seven came into the kitchen, still half asleep with his lips on my cheek.

"We got a date tonight…"

"Awesome…"