“You are in every line I have ever read.”

Estella Jones, five foot two inches of twenty three year old bookworm made up of 60% water and 40% tea. “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” -Jane Austen

[leomunroe-blog]

this is the golden age of something good and right and real // leo & estella

[estellajones]

Estella had only managed a couple of moments with her baby before sleep had overcome her, dragging her tired body down into unconciousness. Still, holding her daughter in her arms was more than worth forcing herself to stay awake; she mentally tried to document every second, making her drowsy brain acknowledge every inch of the tiny girl’s face, body, hands, the warmth radiating from her and the weight she pressed against Estella’s chest.

The second she’d been placed in Estella’s arms, some maternal instinct must have kicked in because she found she wasn’t terrified of holding the small body, the weight comfortably settled in her arms without fear of hurting her.

After reluctantly allowing the nurse to take the baby to the cot, Estella had caught Leo’s hand and dopily smiled at him; their little girl was finally here.

A few hours later, she was roused from her sleep by the mattress dipping beneath her. She could tell it was Leo from the warmth and smell coming from the body next to her, but she resisted waking up for a few more moments, wanting to gain every bit of energy that she could before having to face the day. That is, until she heard him speak when her eyes flew open.

Mummy.

“Mommy.” She corrected sleepily, shifting so she could see their daughter, curled up in Leo’s arms. A swell of pride surged through her at the sight of the miracle a New York bookworm and a lost Londoner had managed to create together.

“She’s beautiful.” She nudged Leo playfully, careful not to jolt his arms and disturb the baby. “Well done.”

She kissed his shoulder then lay her head against it. “She needs a name.” She commented softly as she lifted a sleep heavy hand and gently stroked the downy hair, the same flame shade as her father’s.

[leomunroe-blog]

“We are not pulling that shit with our daughter.” Leo said, the words trickling from his lips instinctively. He’d read something in the baby books about their baby being able to hear him and recognise his voice before even being born, and he’d really tried to get a hand on the swearing, but nothing had proved effective so far. He ran a hand over the back of her tiny hand as though to apologise for the vulgarity that had come from him, quietly adding, “She’s Mummy, isn’t she? We’re going to call her Mummy.”

He glanced sideways slightly, managing to tear his gaze away from the tiny bundle in his arms long enough to press his lips to her temple. The man didn’t know when he’d made the transition from hating to being touched to wanting to be close to Estella all the time. Hardly a moment passed when he wasn’t brushing her hair off her face or kissing her awake, and scarily, it all felt like second nature to him.

“I hardly did anything.” he admitted in a low tone, his voice a soft rumble so as not to disturb the child. Her eyes seemed as though they were fighting to stay open, to peer up at her parents. “Not on purpose, anyway.”

He grinned at her cheekily, watching as she extended a delicate hand, moving smoothly over the small patch of ginger hair that adorned her head. That, Leo was very proud of. He was certain there’d be jokes from Lily, Bee and his siblings, but for once Leo wouldn’t feel so hard up about being laughed at. All his sensibilities had been soothed with the birth of his daughter, and nothing was going to bring him down today.

“She does.” he said, settling back against Estella’s pillows slightly. “I thought it would be easier once I knew what she looked like. Didn’t you?”

[estellajones]

Estella half laughed and nudged Leo when he swore; their little girl wouldn't understand a word that was being said but she knew he was trying to watch his language. When she was older they'd have to be more careful, but at the moment it didn't matter so much. "I'm definitely Mommy." She protested. "I carried her, I get to choose what she calls me."

She let out a surprised little laugh as he spoke, shaking her head at him in amusement. "You did plenty." She murmured, transfixed by the sleepy blink of the baby as it struggled to gaze at them. She had large inquisitive eyes and Estella could almost sense the wonder with which she looked at them with, only a few hours of life under her belt and nothing to understand them with.

Estella knew she would love the little bundle unconditionally, hoping she could infuse the child's life with the same joy hers was. She hoped their little girl would have the brightness she and Leo exhibited, albeit in different ways - Leo with his wit and she with her academia - but regardless pledged to make her life as happy as she possibly could.

As Leo settled back, she curled a hand around his arm and tucked her head higher on his shoulder, her hand joining his stroking over the features of their daughter.

"Hmm." She mumbled her agreement. "She needs a name to suit her hair, all wild and red." She smirked up at him cheekily. "Like Leo. Leo the lion."

[leomunroe-blog]

this is the golden age of something good and right and real // leo & estella

For the first time that day, all seemed very quiet. The morning had been exceptionally chaotic, even if it had started wonderfully. Leo loved nothing more than his mornings with Estella, now that he’d given up making the trip back and forth to the studio every day. His little bookworm was now too pregnant to continue her teaching placement, having taken up maternity leave months ago, and due any day now. It had taken multiple reassurances from his elder brother to calm his nerves, but after a few brief discussions he’d left the studio within the safe and capable hands of Nate and his daughter, wanting to be at home with his Belle. She would read and he would drink tea, and occasionally she would sulk that she was no longer allowed to drink tea. That had been the case that morning, a book propped up against her baby bump when the first contraction had come in.

Hours later, an exhausted Estella had brought their happy, healthy baby girl into the world. Frail and breakable, but healthy, as Leo had ascertained by asking multiple medical professionals as they filtered in and out of the room. The brunette had fought to stay awake to cradle and coo over their as-of-yet unnamed daughter, but she’d eventually given over to sleep and he’d kissed her forehead, leaving the redhead to peer over the tiny makeshift cot their daughter lay in, occasionally running his pinky finger over her tiny nose and even tinier fingers, just to check she was real. He’d never imagined having a daughter.

“Would you like to hold her?”

Leo froze at the sound of the woman’s voice, his glance immediately moving upwards from the baby’s tiny face and sliding sideways to a still-sleeping Estella in case she should want to take up the offer. Instead, all he was greeted to was the soft inhale and exhale of her breaths as she slumbered onward, exhausted. She’d been very brave, Leo couldn’t help but think, and deserved to sleep for a little while.

“Go on. She’ll be missing her Mom.” the nurse nudged, tentatively picking up his daughter, whose eyes were blown wide and tiny fists balled up. Involuntarily, Leo stood, wanting to hold her but tentative to do so.

“I don’t know how.” he admitted, smoothing his hands over his trousers. A smatter of awkward laughter fell from between his lips, and the nurse gave him a good-natured smile. It didn’t occur to Leo that maybe all first-time parents felt like this, and he went red with embarrassment. 

“It’s not difficult.” she insisted, and Leo softly noted the way curly strands of chestnut coloured hair were falling from her uniform up-do. His vision swam with exhaustion as she gestured over to the chair beside Estella’s bed, which Leo sank back into with ease. The nurse leaned in so close Leo caught a whiff of her unobtrusive perfume before she pressed the tiny child into his arms, instructing him where to be careful of and how best to hold her. Leo shook with nerves as the little girl settled down comfortably, closing her dark brown eyes - like Estella, he thought with a burst of pride - and reopening them. The Brit imagined she might be smiling, although he knew that was a milestone they were yet to reach.

“She knows her Daddy.” insisted the nurse, beaming at him proudly. “I’ll leave your ladies to rest. Congratulations, again.”

Leo uttered a quiet thank you as the door clicked closed, staring down at her in wonderment. She was already clad in one of the newborn baby-grows they’d packed for this trip exactly, and he remembered Estella and himself laughing as they’d selected it. One of the bloody Star Wars ones, a present from Lily and Topher. She’d said it would be funny when they came to visit. Still, the humour was lost on him now. He was still marvelling over her, and how beautiful his daughter was, his chest swelling at the sentiment. Daughter. He had a little girl.

He wondered how long they’d been sitting there - not long enough that he felt the desire to fidget - when Estella stirred beside him, causing him to look up with a smile.

“Mummy’s awake.” he cooed to his daughter. “Good afternoon, Mummy.”

[estellajones]

Estella had only managed a couple of moments with her baby before sleep had overcome her, dragging her tired body down into unconciousness. Still, holding her daughter in her arms was more than worth forcing herself to stay awake; she mentally tried to document every second, making her drowsy brain acknowledge every inch of the tiny girl's face, body, hands, the warmth radiating from her and the weight she pressed against Estella's chest.

The second she'd been placed in Estella's arms, some maternal instinct must have kicked in because she found she wasn't terrified of holding the small body, the weight comfortably settled in her arms without fear of hurting her.

After reluctantly allowing the nurse to take the baby to the cot, Estella had caught Leo's hand and dopily smiled at him; their little girl was finally here.

A few hours later, she was roused from her sleep by the mattress dipping beneath her. She could tell it was Leo from the warmth and smell coming from the body next to her, but she resisted waking up for a few more moments, wanting to gain every bit of energy that she could before having to face the day. That is, until she heard him speak when her eyes flew open.

Mummy.

"Mommy." She corrected sleepily, shifting so she could see their daughter, curled up in Leo's arms. A swell of pride surged through her at the sight of the miracle a New York bookworm and a lost Londoner had managed to create together.

"She's beautiful." She nudged Leo playfully, careful not to jolt his arms and disturb the baby. "Well done."

She kissed his shoulder then lay her head against it. "She needs a name." She commented softly as she lifted a sleep heavy hand and gently stroked the downy hair, the same flame shade as her father's.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Maybe I should go into stripping. The money would probably be better. Wonder if my boyfriend would be cool with it.

[estellajones]

Please don’t.

[christanotkitty-blog]

I don’t know. Jasmine, Candy, Crystal…. Chandelier. 

[estellajones]

...Crystal isn’t that far from Christa you know.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Just stick to the basics and you should be fine. Lucy, Rebecca, Jacob, Charlie. If it sounds like something that borders on stripper territory, just trash it.

[estellajones]

What do you class as stripper territory?

[christanotkitty-blog]

Horrid. Chuck it immediately. It pains me even though I know you’re joking.

[estellajones]

I should probably buy one of those baby name books in case I accidentally name him Randall or something.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Forgive me for worrying, we do not have good track records in this family for baby names. Sawyer, for God’s sake. Please name your child something they’re not going to have to shorten out of embarrassment. 

[estellajones]

I’m thinking... Doris?

[christanotkitty-blog]

Just do it behind his back when he’s passed out or something. Christa’s a cute name. Between you two, Estella and Leonardo, I dread to think what her name will be.

[estellajones]

Or his.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Does this mean you’ll name it Christa if it’s a girl?

[estellajones]

Can you honestly see Leo agreeing to that?

[christanotkitty-blog]

Well, I guess that’s kind of sweet, or whatever.

[estellajones]

He or she’ll be your... second cousin?

[christanotkitty-blog]

What do you want it to be?

[estellajones]

I... I don’t think I mind. As long as he or she is all ours, I don’t care.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Have you not picked a name yet? And yeah, that’s not going to be fun. Do you think Leo will want to be in the room, or is he gonna take one look at all of that and be like, ‘nah mate’?

[estellajones]

We don’t even know the gender yet! Oh, I’m not sure. I’d like him to be but if he’s uncomfortable I’d never make him.

[christanotkitty-blog]

You’re welcome! Have fun going forth with the rest of your life with my irresponsible cousin. Are you excited?

[estellajones]

I’m excited for the baby part and the naming part and the tiny toes part... but not so much for the giving birth part.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Just keeping it real. 

[estellajones]

Thanks, Christa.

[christanotkitty-blog]

Well, babies in the womb are essentially parasites, if you think about it. So of course you feel gross, something is like, sucking your life force.

[estellajones]

[christanotkitty-blog]

I don’t envy you.

[estellajones]

I’ve been in more comfortable situations...

[christanotkitty-blog]

Well, isn’t that the case when you’re like…. a gazillion months pregnant?

[estellajones]

Most probably.