@starblcssd bc I have no self-control
the question is urgent enough to demand rapt attention… but dwight can hardly hear her words, let alone focus at all. she has hold of his collar again, beguiling little witch, and tiny fingers wrap around it greedily as eyes take her prize in with uncomprehending fascination. already, she is a pirate queen — just like her mother. more than a week since she was born now, and dwight has found it impossible to separate from her. all other concerns have fallen to the wayside, far less significant now than they rightfully are. all the world could be boiled down to this cottage, h e r , and the remarkable woman she has borrowed her striking dark eyes from.
‘ never been a fan of ‘q’s, ’ he replies, shifting the child in his arms so she can regard her mama. at the sight of esmeralda’s accomplishment, his grin widens ;; it is all he can do not to laugh out loud. ‘ by god, she’ll be nameless until she’s twenty at this rate. ’
❝ NOT A FAN OF Q’S, mmm ? ❞ with a mere turn of phrase, Esmeralda is so easily distracted from this task that had just moments ago held her RAPT attention. it’s enrapturing, watching him smile down at her, this NAMELESS babe of theirs, as though she had grabbed his heart with tiny fingers instead of his collar. ( she hasn’t felt that instant connection that mothers so often speak of, but it’s enough to witness it in Dwight. he’s spared no effort to ensure she feels it too, and she’s sure she will. in the meantime ––– she only loves him all the MORE. ) with the lightest of laughs, she abandons her list, snuggling in beside them to rest her head on his shoulder and gaze down at that girl they’d SOMEHOW created.
❝ naming them too early is BAD LUCK, you know. maybe it’s not such a bad thing. ❞ she truly sounds like a superstitious old sailor now, carrying on about BAD LUCK. there’s the faintest twist of nervousness in her stomach, but his hands are suitably occupied –– she wouldn’t dream of sequestering them away ––– so she runs her hands through his hair instead. ❝ it’s not like we can change our minds afterwards. ❞
