I FINISHED IT!! The first one at least... I am so... tired.
I need to make another of Naraku, his twin brother, and his like... 7 kids. I gave up trying to figure his dumb face out for now. And probably another after that with Totosai, Yakurodokusen and maybe the rest of the Higurashi family. Just like the, 'extra' characters. Also I don't know what I'm gonna do with Shippo, I want him to be in the story but I haven't figured how he can. I will soon, hopefully.
I've been very absent since I've just been very drained and unable to focus, while at the same time, I was trying to work on my webcomic. But I got at least one thing complete this week so there's that.
“We could literally load up everything in the jumpship and take it to Central City. Or just… I don’t know, take the actual Time Courier.”
It had maybe seemed better on paper. The drive from DC all the way to Missouri wasn’t exactly short, but that didn’t really daunt him. Nate laid his hand on the car, looking up at Zari from her spot in front of his building. She had her arms crossed, a frown that didn’t seem like it wanted to budge on her face.
“Come on, Z,” he said. “Call it one last adventure.”
She dropped her arms to grab the duffel bag at her feet. “How long’s the drive?” she asked, heading down the steps.
“...17 hours, depending on traffic?” Nate gave the hood of the car a pat. “We can stop halfway through.”
Zari made her way to where he’d parked it. “Did you account in the amount of bathroom breaks we’ll have to take?” She slid her free hand under her baby bump, barely noticeable under her black shirt. “Or snacks?”
“Done, and done.” He gave her a grin. “I did my homework.”
“Hm.” With a shrug, she said, “Only if you drive first.”
Nate pulled the keys out of his pocket. “I’d be glad to.”
a/n: as if i haven’t called brandon routh ‘daddy’ enough in the past 24 hours, i made it the punchline of a fic. enjoy
“Ah, finally,” Zari said as she closed the door to their room. “Annie’s in bed, and let’s fucking hope she stays there.”
Nate laughed, putting down his book. “What, no late-night visitors tonight?”
“Please, I just want to sleep in peace.” She started to get her pajamas laid out on the bed. “So, how was lunch with Ava?”
“It was nice,” he said. Getting to see the other Legends was always a treat, even the director of the Time Bureau. Despite the distance, Time Couriers tended to make meeting up with her easy. “Oh, Nora’s pregnant.”
Zari grinned. “So we can finally call Ray ‘daddy’?”
Since the Crisis incident and the Superman who bore a striking resemblance to their dear friend, the two of them had joked about a certain story from when they met. Namely, John using the word ‘daddy’ to describe him as Ray looked ready to take a Kryptonite arrow to the chest.
But they had long since moved past that level of immaturity, right?
Nate grabbed his phone off the bedside table. “Z. We’re two mature adults with a toddler. Aren’t we above these silly jokes?” He didn’t look down at his phone as he went to his contacts.
She sat on the edge on the bed, looking over at his phone. “You’re calling him right now, aren’t you?”
“Oh, fuck yeah.” He clicked on Ray’s number and put the call on speakerphone. Things never changed, after all.
“Hey, Nate,” Ray said.
“What’s up, Daddy?” Zari asked before he could continue. The casual tone made the choking sound from him that followed much funnier.
Through the phone, he could hear Nora laughing. “Yeah, daddy, what’s up?” Nate added, suppressing his own laughter.
“So… is that your way of congratulating us?” Ray asked, his voice about two octaves higher than normal.
“Yeah, congrats,” Zari said. “Daddy.”
Nate heard fumbling, before Nora said, “Please. He’s turning so red, you guys wouldn’t believe.” She was still laughing, even as Ray protested.
“Nora!”
“What? I’m telling the truth,” she told him. “Thanks, guys.”
“For the congrats or embarrassing the shit out of Ray?” Zari asked.
“Both.”
With that, she hung up on them, cutting off another chorus of laughter. Nate barely kept himself together for a moment before cracking up. “We’re never gonna let go of that, are we?”
Zari was pressing her own lips together as she shook her head. “Never.” She stood up, her shoulders shaking with laughter. “God, I’m gonna go shower. Don’t tease Ray without me.”
“No promises.”
So maybe they weren’t that mature. But, he decided, life would be a lot more boring if they were.
When Nate had imagined getting married, he’d always figured it’d be… grander. He hadn’t imagined something big and regal, per say, but with his mother, it wouldn’t have been small.
Now, he sat in the city hall in Central City, looking at Zari beside him. Her dark hair was pulled back into a somewhat intricate bun, no white dress to be seen. Just a summery red dress, with a little red rose tucked behind her ear.
Beside her, Sara sat by with Ray. They’d had to bring two witnesses, and neither of them could imagine getting married without their former captain and the best Time Bro a guy could ask for.
The officiant was still getting everything ready as Nate adjusted his tie. He was a little nervous, sure, but more than anything, he was happy.
To the world, he and Zari had already been married for four years. The story was that shortly after getting married, they’d wanted kids and found a sperm donor. It was a simple way of explaining why Ani looked nothing like her father, to dodge the questions about her real father.
They had thought about making it official, but never really discussed it until just a few weeks ago.
--
It’d been a normal night for them, just after Nate had put Ani to bed. Those few hours were the only time they really got to be alone these days; toddlers could be quite the handful.
The two of them had been snuggled up on the couch in the loft, talking about work. Zari had been telling him about a new agent who had just transferred to Central City that week.
“He kept saying how brilliant my program was - a real boost to my ego, really,” she’d said with a laugh.
“Sounds like someone has a suitor,” Nate had commented, rubbing circles against her waist with his thumb. “I’m a little jealous.”
“Please, he knows I’m married,” Zari replied.
His thumb stopped, just as she froze.
“He thinks I’m married,” she corrected herself, just a moment too soon.
It was funny, he thought, how a single sentence could put things into perspective. He’d had that Freudian slip when talking to Ray or Jax sometimes - calling her his wife, when they knew the two of them weren’t married. Nate knew that he wanted to spend his life with, raising Ani together, but actual marriage was something that just seemed to linger in his mind.
Now it wasn’t just lingering - that little slip had raised it to the forefront. Until all he could think of was how nice it felt to call Zari his wife, to hear her call him her husband. How he felt naked when he took his ring off at night, how he wanted to talk about her and tell everyone how magnificent his wife was.
“You ever wish we were married?” he asked, his voice quiet like anyone but Zari was around to listen.
“Sometimes,” she answered, in that same quiet voice. “I can’t imagine my life without you, or Ani, and I don’t even know when it started to seem impossible.”
Nate grinned. “Me neither.”
--
Now here they were, ready to actually get married. They’d decided to do something small, something simple in the end. What was the point of a big ceremony if people already thought they were husband and wife?
Zari laid a hand on his knee, close enough that her shoulder brushed his. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” he said. He was relieved that he’d worn a suit jacket, since he felt like he was sweating bullets. But he still put his hand over hers, letting her lace her fingers through his.
The ring he’d given her three years ago, a relatively nice piece of jewelry from a silver shop downtown, was still around her finger. Their new rings, the real rings were tucked into the pocket of Ray’s jacket, safe and sound.
“Nathaniel Heywood and Zari Tomaz?”
He didn’t let go of her head as they stood up. “I’m ready,” he told her.
“Let’s go.”
--
“Nate, do you have any special words for Zari?” the judge asked.
“Oh, uh, yeah.” He dug inside his coat for the vows he’d written.
When they had been making all the arrangements and figuring out what they wanted to do, writing their own vows had been his idea. There were no pre-written vows to sum up what she meant to him, given… well, everything.
As he unfolded the paper, he warned, “These might be a little long. And, you know-” Nate looked at the judge, who had most definitely not been prepared for a couple of former superheroes to be getting married by her today. “Not make sense at times.”
“Our relationship has definitely not been traditional,” he started to say. “We had pretended to date longer than we’d actually been together when you told me you were pregnant and, I’m not going to lie, it was a surprise. Especially since I was 99% sure it wasn’t mine.” Nate heard Sara suppress a laugh next to them, probably remembering her reply when they’d announced it. “But even that early on, I already knew that I wanted you in my life. So we moved out here to Central City, which I think was probably in the top three of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.
“And, now, I finally get to marry you. Even if I’ve been calling you ‘my wife’ for years, I still can’t believe that you’re going to actually be my wife. If I sound a little excited, I am.” He could feel himself grinning, looking up from the paper at her face. She was giving him that soft smile that always made him feel like his heart skipped a beat, that made him feel like they were the only two people in the world. “Zari, you’re one of the smartest people I know. Sorry, Ray.” That made both her and Sara laugh again, a little less restrained than before. “You’re always trying to make the world a better place, even if it’s just by helping one person at a time. I love how much you care, really care, about people, even when you call me a sap whenever I say something sweet.
“I love the way you laugh, and how you usually - okay, always - beat me at video games. I’d let you win every race and every battle even if you didn’t beat me, because I love to see you happy. You can always make me smile with some smartass comment or just by being utterly adorable. You’re my rock… which is kinda ironic, given that you’re the one with wind powers.”
Nate took a deep breath, readjusting the paper in his hands. He’d read these words a thousand times over to make sure they were perfect, but saying them out loud was a different matter. Was he going on too long?
Still he cleared his throat, and went on reading. “We’ve already spent three amazing years together that I wouldn’t change for anything. They haven’t been easy, but I know when times got tough, I had you to get through them with me. I love you more than I thought was possible. Z, I’ll always make you smile. I’ll make coffee in the mornings, just the way you like. And I promise that, through crises and supervillians, through sick days and rude strangers, I will have your back.
“We’ve certainly seen some shit, but I’m ready to see what’s in store for us next - now with you as my wife.”
Finally he folded the paper back up, not ready to tuck it back away. Zari hadn’t stop smiling once - in fact, she seemed to not notice when the judge asked about her own vows.
When Sara passed her the piece of paper, she started. “Oh. Yeah. Guess it’s my turn now. Disclaimer, I didn’t let Mona help me write these so - they’re definitely my own words.”
Zari tucked a stray piece of hair behind her hair before clearing her throat. “When we first met, you told me to ‘Come with us if you want to leave.’ Then I left you guys to get arrested.” She pressed her lips together, hiding a laugh of her own as Nate did the same. “But obviously, times have changed. I went on adventures I never could have imagined, nearly died about a dozen times, and watched you die then come back to life. And now we’re here, raising an amazing daughter together. If everything else we saw was unbelievable, this would top them all.”
She raised her head to look him in the eyes. “I’m so happy, and lucky to have an amazing guy like you by my side. You always know how to cheer me up, and always have my back when times get tough. You stuck by me through my weirdest cravings and all those sleepless nights like a fucking champ - are we not supposed to curse?”
Nate chuckled. “I mean, I just did, so-”
“Right, right,” Zari said, letting out a chuckle on her own before going back to her vows. “You’re an actual genius, but I’ve also watched you do the stupidest things I thought someone could do. I love it when you pull me into your shenanigans, and I love when you let me pull me into mine. I love how passionate you are about history and how you’re not afraid to take risks for what you love, who you love.” Her voice broke a little on that line, but she didn’t stop. “You make me feel safe, and not just because you probably could pick me up with one arm if you really wanted to.”
“I promise to let you have first dibs on movie nights, to help make sure your ties are straighter than we are. I promise to share my food with you and not to steal all of yours. But more than anything, Nate, I promise that when you need me, I’ll be there.”
He watched her wipe away a tear, before she muttered, “Fuck, I told myself I wasn’t gonna cry.”
“It’s your wedding, go ahead and cry,” Ray piped up softly, before letting out a small groan of pain. It wasn’t a Legends affair without a minor amount of disaster, he figured.
Zari cleared her throat again. Her eyes were still wet as she read out the last few sentences. “You’re a wonderful father, and an even better fake husband. Let’s hope you somehow top that as my actual husband.”
As Sara and Ray applauded surprisingly tamely, Nate felt a tear trickle down his own cheek. He’d actually expected to cry sooner, so the fact that he was crying now was a surprise.
“Oh, shit, did I make you cry?” she whispered.
“I was going to cry anyways,” he whispered back.
“Yeah, but now I’m going to cry more,” Zari replied, her voice already quivering a little.
The judge cleared her throat. They were still on a bit of a time limit, after all.
“I think it’s time to move on to the ring exchange.”
Even though they didn’t exactly have a ring bearer, the two of them had trusted Ray with the rings. He handed the pouch to Zari.
“The wedding ring is a symbol of married love,” the judge said. “The precious metals show that your love is your most precious possession and the unending circle symbolizes that your love may never cease.”
Zari took out the two rings - a smaller ring in silver, and a larger one in gold. She handed the smaller one to him, keeping the gold one for herself.
“You may now exchange rings.”
Nate took her hand first, sliding the silver band so that it sat on top of her existing ring. The two fit together well, even if the first was a duller color than the new one. He fought the urge to press a kiss against her knuckles before letting go of her hand.
She took the gold ring between her fingers before lifting his hand. With her left hand holding his, he could feel the calluses built up from years of hacking and violin. The ring slipped onto his finger without much trouble, covering the tan line from the ring that now rested on his right hand.
“I’m now very happy to pronounce you man and wife,” the judge told them, grinning. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Although they had kissed a million, maybe a billion times by now, that rush of joy still washed over his as Zari took his face in her hands and kissed him. Her lips were soft, pressing gently against him as he wrapped an arm around her face. Sara let out a wolf-whistle, before the judge cleared her throat once again.
He broke away almost guiltily, knowing that he probably had red lipstick on his mouth. “Yeah. We’ll, uh, let you get ready for the next couple.”
--
“Okay, okay, we have one more surprise for you two-”
Zari groaned as Sara yanked her up. “Guys-”
“Yeah, it’s kinda been a long night,” Nate added, following her. Well, following implied he wasn’t being manhandled by Ava.
The two had already came to a surprise wedding party, which had been fun if not tiring. He couldn’t complain that it was nice to be surrounded by their friends even if they hadn’t had a big wedding. Mona had even sprung for a donut tower in place of a wedding cake, which had certainly made Zari happy for the night.
But now, he was just a little tipsy off champagne (okay, he hadn’t had that much champagne) and ready to turn in for the night. Sara and Ava had other plans.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. The jumpship was parked a few feet away from the Waverider, looking innocent enough.
Sara dug around in her pocket, before she pulled out a piece of metal. “It’s been awhile since the jumpship was under lock and key but… our ceremonial gift to you.”
He watched Zari take the key. “You’re… giving us the jumpship?”
“We’re giving you one night with the jumpship,” Ava answered.
Nate chuckled. “Uh, what about Ani?”
“Handled. Behrad already agreed to babysit for the night.” Sara grinned. “And Ava already packed your bags.”
“Wow, okay, you guys really thought about this,” Zari muttered.
“Hey, you only get married once.”
“Well, once to like… to the same person,” Nate corrected.
“You only get married once to the same person.” It had seemed he wasn’t the only one who’d maybe had a little too much to drink. “Weren’t your plans to take the day off and watch Netflix in your pajamas?”
Zari opened her mouth like she was going to try to defend them, but whatever argument she was thinking of didn’t make it through.
However, Ava was done with the formalities. “Come on. Your adventure awaits.”
They turned to each other, before shrugging. “Tell Behrad to call me, you hear me,” he said to Sara, pointing a finger at her.
“Okay, I will.”
“Fine.” He slipped his hand into Zari’s. “So, where do you want to go?”
She smiled. “Somewhere with a beach.”
“I’m sure we’ll find one of those.”
And so, formally as husband and wife, the two of them made their way to the jumpship.
“Ah!” Behrad jumped in his seat, just a little as the monster popped out of nowhere. Under his arm, Jax chuckled.
“I didn’t think you’d get so spooked by a cheesy monster movie,” he commented, taking a handful of popcorn.
“I wasn’t. It just… caught me by surprise,” Behrad lamely argued.
“Sure, man.”
He turned to Jax and smiled. “Did you just suggest a horror movie to watch me get scared?”
“Guilty as charged,” his boyfriend answered. The word ‘boyfriend’ still made his heart skip a beat, despite his best efforts.
Behrad hadn’t talked to his fellow former Legend since - well, Salvation didn’t count, he supposed. That was a future Jax. They hadn’t talked since he’d left the Legends, back when he was still pretty new to the team. Life, however had found a way to bring them back together when Zari had moved to Central City with Nate.
By the time her baby shower had rolled around, the two of them had spent a bit of time together. Jax had offered dinner after the party and things had heated up, just a little.
That had been two months ago, and Behrad couldn’t have been happier. Even if they hadn’t gotten around to telling anyone else that they were together. The Legends knew he was gay, and no one on that entire ship was straight, not even the AI. But they were also like the most annoying siblings a dude could ask for, and he already had one of those. No one questioned his trips to Central City anyways - they assumed he was being a good brother.
Right as the music started building up towards another jumpscare, Jax paused the movie. “Hey, I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick. Don’t watch it without me,” he said, getting up.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Behrad said with a chuckle. He took out his phone to see what was up.
His notifications were pretty sad, but that wasn’t surprising. There was an email from Ava about her new episode of StabCast and another text from Mona sending a cat video to the Legends group chat. Other than that, there was nothing impor-
Just as he was thinking that, his phone started to ring. The screen filled with a picture of Nate pulling a stupid face, and Behrad pressed the answer button.
“Hey. What’s up?” he asked him, leaning back against the couch.
“Yo.” Nate sounded a little stressed, which was odd given that it was like, 7 PM. “How soon can you come to Central City?”
It didn’t take more than five seconds to realize why he sounded so stressed after that. “Uh… pretty soon?” Behrad lied. “Is the baby there yet?”
“No, actually, the doctor said-” Nate stopped himself. “You don’t really want the details on how your sister is doing in labor, do you?”
“Is she dying?” he asked, right as Jax walked in.
Understandably, his boyfriend looked confused about why he was asking if someone was dying over the phone. “Sara?”
Behrad shook his head. “Nate,” he mouthed.
Jax nodded, before his eyes widened as he made the same realization. “Oh.”
“She’s doing okay.” He heard Nate exhale. “Sorry, hospitals are not the best place for me to be. And you know. My girlfriend’s in fucking labor.”
“I get it, man,” Behrad said. “You know, I should probably check with Sara before I head out - so the baby isn’t going to be born in the like, two minutes that should take, right?”
“No, I-” Nate paused. “I should actually go back and check with her, but I told her I was going to call you so I wouldn’t go into full panic mode.” He laughed nervously. “Uh, see you at the hospital.”
“Yeah, yeah.” With that, he hung up on him. “There goes date night.”
“Dude, your sister’s in labor!” Jax exclaimed, looking far more freaked out than he was. Maybe he should have been a little more freaked out. “You think they’ll notice if we show up at the same time?”
Behrad shrugged, standing up. “Nate’s too stressed to give it a second thought and Zari is literally having a baby. I think we’re in the clear.” He glanced down at his boyfriend’s Flash pajama pants. “Though, it might be a little suspicious if you don’t change.”
Jax nodded. “Right.” With that, he darted to his room as best as he could with his knee.
He shoved his phone in his pocket. And here he had been thinking the biggest thrill of the night was going to be bad special effects from the 50s.
Man, this was going to be a story to tell when his niece was older.
Zari looked up from her laptop as Nate came downstairs. “Yeah, someone didn’t want her mama to sleep in this morning.”
He came up behind her at the counter to wrap an arm around her waist. “So our little Baby Tomaz is an early bird,” he said with a chuckle.
“Mm-hmm.” She felt him move his hands to her shoulders, before kissing her on the cheek. “I thought I’d get a start on working on our registry. Since Mona’s so insistent on this baby shower.”
“You say that like you’re not excited to get free stuff,” Nate joked. “Did you have breakfast yet?”
She closed her laptop, pressing her lips together. “I was about to?”
“I bet Jitters isn’t too crowded yet. I could swing by, pick us up some breakfast,” he offered.
Zari turned around to face him. “Can you grab me a donut?”
“What kind? Glazed, those special blueberry ones they have-”
“Oh, those both sound good,” she said, cutting him off. With a smile, she cupped her baby bump. “Maybe you could get me both? After all, I am eating for two.”
Nate took her free hand. “First of all, we both know that’s just a saying. Second of all-” He stopped herself when her smile fell. “You know what? Fine. I’ll get both. Chai latte sound good?”
“Yep.”
He bent down to be level with her bump. “Oh, I bet you’re gonna be trouble just like your mama, won’t you?”
She laughed. “But you love it.”
With a grin, he looked up at her. “Yeah, I do.” Nate stood up all the way, leaning forward to give her a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll use the Courier.”
“Don’t get lost,” Zari called as he headed towards the door.
“That was one time!”
She heard the whoosh of a portal, before she was left in silence again. “Well, Baby T, if you take after me in one thing, let’s hope it’s that,” she said, looking down at her bump.
Just like that, Baby Tomaz moved just in the right way to probably smush some internal organ. With a wince, she turned back to the counter. “Rude,” she muttered.
Well, at least she was getting an extra donut out of the deal.
Of course the week she went back to work would be Valentine’s Day.
Zari, unlike many would think, was not opposed to the holiday. After all, there was all the candy and, even better, the post-Valentine’s Day candy sales. The mushy stuff definitely wasn’t her forte, but she could put up with it for one day.
It was also her first Valentine’s in…. forever, probably, when she had someone to share it with. Which made her drag her feet more than usual when it was time to head to the Bureau.
Nate pressed a kiss against her cheek as he took Ani out of her arms. Technically, her first day had been Wednesday, but she was only going to the office a few days a week for now. Fridays were usually slow enough that she could slip home early, which made working them a little more bearable. That didn’t mean she wished she couldn’t just stay home with the two of them
“Don’t have too much fun without me,” Zari said, readjusting her blazer.
“No promises,” he told her, readjusting their daughter in his arms.
She leaned over to tickle Ani’s stomach. “And don’t you give your baba too much trouble. That’s my job.”
Zari got a smile back in response, which made her heart soar more than she ever thought possible. It made both of them grin, before she stood up.
“Are you still coming home early?” Nate asked.
“Definitely. It’s Valentine’s Day. And a Friday. No one wants to stay at the office all day,” she said. “Are you planning something?”
He chuckled, shrugging. “You’ll just have to find out.”
“Alright.” She turned around, adjusting the Time Courier on her wrist to open a portal. “See you later.”
Well, at least the commute was easy.
♥️ ♥️
Nate pushed open the door to the pastry shop, relieved to find it wasn’t as crowded as he thought it would be. There was a bit of a line, but he had ordered ahead.
He definitely had planned something. Why wouldn’t he? It wasn’t anything too big - he knew that wasn’t the best way to go - but it was certainly a sweet surprise.
Finally, he got to the counter. “Uh, hi, I’m picking up an order for Heywood? Nate?”
The cashier looked at Ani strapped to his chest, then at the fake wedding band on his finger. “Huh. I thought you were ordering for an office party or something.”
He grinned. “No, my wife just has a big sweet tooth,” Nate said. Although it was second nature to call Zari his wife instead of his girlfriend, that naturalness of it surprised him.
She chuckled. “Big indeed.” With that, she handed him the pink box. “Have a good Valentine’s Day.”
Nate balanced the box with one hand, the other rubbing Ani’s back through the carrier. “You too.”
♥️ ♥️
Zari sighed as she walked through the portal into the house. Eight boring hours at a desk were more tiring than she remembered, though that might just have been the sleepless nights catching up to her. She kicked off her flats and walked into the kitchen, not really taking in how suspiciously quiet it was.
She was about to open up the fridge when she noticed a pink box on the counter. There was no note just… a plain box. Carefully, she started to open the box, when-
“Surprise!”
“Fuck!” Zari turned to where the voice had come from. Nate was in the pantry, a bundle of flowers in one hand and a baby monitor in the other. “Why?”
He grinned. “I was going to just surprise you with the donuts, but-”
“You decided to give me a heart attack?” she asked, crossing her arms.
Nate shrugged. “There wasn’t anywhere else to hide.”
She glanced back at the box. “So you got me donuts and flowers.”
“The surprise is uh, mostly the donuts.” He nodded, motioning to the box and Zari sighed.
As she opened the box, she saw that they were heart-shaped donuts, frosted in pink and white. She picked one up and took a bite.
“Holy shit,” Zari said, mouth full. “These are good.”
He walked over, setting the baby monitor on the counter. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, dude.” She swallowed, and held the donut out to him without a second thought. “Try it.”
Nate let her put it in his mouth before taking a bite. He raised his eyebrows and nodded. “Mm.” Putting his free hand over his mouth, he said, “These are super good.”
She took another bite, smiling. There were still a mostly-full box of donuts to go, and she shut the box. As soon as she finished off the donut, she looked up at him again. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He put the flowers down and slid a hand on her hip. “Whatcha thinking?”
“Just how wonderful my fake husband is to surprise me with donuts,” Zari answered, sliding a hand onto his arm. “Even if they were sappy heart-shaped ones.”
Nate grinned, laughing just a little. “I wanted them to be special. I even skimped out on the chocolate ones.”
“And he knows me so well.” She took his face in her free hand. “Happy Valentine’s Day, babe.”
“Happy Valentine’s.”
Zari leaned up to kiss him when the baby monitor stirred to life. They looked at each other, before she patted his arm.
“I’ll see what’s up.” She stepped away, still smiling. “Thank you.”
He handed her the baby monitor. “Love you.”
She nodded, before heading up the stairs. It had been romantic while it lasted, but…
It was still the best Valentine’s she’d had in a while.
Snow in Central City was hard to come by. But, today, Nate didn’t care about the rarity of snow or that it was far too cold to think about going outside. Today, he was more than happy to stay inside in his pajamas with the fire roaring.
Even if, eventually, he’d probably have to go outside for more firewood. Well, that was an issue for later.
He carried two mugs of coffee into the living room, sitting on the floor beside Zari. They’d just put Ani down for a nap, letting them have somewhat of a moment of peace.
“Better than being stuck in an avalanche,” Nate said, handing her the red mug.
“Definitely.” She took a sip, smiling. “Finally. After nearly a half a year of living together, you remembered how I like my coffee.”
He laughed. “Well, during most of that time, you couldn’t drink coffee.” Besides, a shit ton of sugar with the tinest amount of cream wasn’t the hardest thing to remember.
Okay, maybe he’d forgotten that she liked about half a cup of sugar in her coffee. He could blame the sleep deprivation on that.
Zari leaned forward to put her mug down on the coffee table. “You know, we have a while before Ani wakes up.”
Nate wrapped both of his hands around his own mug, letting the warm ceramic heat his cold hands. “And?”
“We could have a little fun,” she said, scooting close enough that their shoulders brushed.
“Well, let me roll out the bearskin rug then,” he joked, turning to her with a grin.
“And we can make love in front of the fire until the baby monitor snaps us out of our romantic fantasies,” she added in a sultry voice, before rolling her eyes. “I was going to suggest beating your ass at MarioKart, but I guess I should let you find that rug first.”
He put his mug down. “I don’t know, maybe I left it in DC. It’s really hard to fit in a cardboard box.”
With a chuckle, Zari pushed herself off the floor. “I’ll get the game ready and you- prepare to lose.”
“I’ll just practice my victory dance,” Nate replied.
She turned to stick her tongue out at him as she went to the TV. He looked out the window, the snow making the world outside a wintery wonderland. But he’d much rather stay in here, with coffee, MarioKart, and their little family.
“Ready to watch me win?” she said, tossing a controller into his lap as she sat back down.
“Shouldn’t it be the other way around?” he asked.
“Bold words, Heywood,” Zari said. “Loser has to change Ani’s diapers for the rest of the day.”
“Oh, so you just wanted to get out of diaper duty,” Nate replied. “I see you, Tomaz.”
She grinned mischievously. “Guilty.”
“Well then,” he said. “I better win.”
“You can try.”
The game finished loading, and Nate rolled his shoulders. It wasn’t exactly the most relaxing way to spend a snow day, but there was no way he’d rather spend it.
He glanced over at Zari, and she looked back at him. “What?” she asked.
“I love you,” he told her.
“Love you too,” she replied, giving him a soft smile. “That doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.”
