XXIX ‖ happiness

LONDON
February
Location: Jaxen's House

━━━━━━━━━━

"Iva, would you be alright to drive yourself home?" Jax asked as he washed the dishes after we were done eating.

A strand of his wavy hair fell and he raised his arm, struggling to tame the strand back. I walked close to him and gestured, "Come here."

He turned slightly to face me and I tipped my toes to reach his head. Combing my fingers through his hair, I hadn't realised that was quite an intimate move until he leaned over to place a kiss on my forehead. He smiled down at me as affection filled those greyish-blue eyes.

A tingling feeling rose in my chest and I thought about the idea that we looked like newlyweds enjoying mundane household chores together. Letting out an awkward cough, I turned my head away sharply.

"I'm a little tired from being up all night for the mission," I said, feeling all the weariness. Especially with all the food settling in my stomach, my eyes were almost closing on its own and I doubt I could drive a car without crashing it.

"You're most welcome to stay with us here and I'll send you back when Thea's all better," he suggested.

"I'll help to take care of Thea too," I offered.

"You don't have to do that, sweetness. You can just rest in the guest room."

"I can see the shadows underneath your eyes," I pointed out. "I'm feeling tired just by looking at you."

"Aren't you tired because of all the food?" he laughed, pointing at the number of boxes in the sink. "I can't believe you ate so much."

"You're no better yourself, Jaxen," I frowned.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'm earning enough to feed you," he teased.

"I don't eat that much!" I argued, hopping off the kitchen island. "I'm not talking to you anymore. I'll go look after Thea."

"Don't be embarrassed, Iva," Jax chuckled. "I do find your big appetite rather adorable."

"Talking to you is embarrassing!" I shouted from outside the kitchen and hurried towards Thea's room. Looking down at myself, I shrugged. Honestly, I can't be any prouder for the amount I ate out of that huge fridge he had. It was like heaven in a chilled box and I regretted none of the calories I took.

Entering Thea's room, I sat on the carpeted floor by her bed and replaced the cooling fever patch on her forehead. The child whined a little but I couldn't make out the words that she said. A frown appeared on her angelic face and she stirred uncomfortably in her sleep.

It was out of instinct that I reached my hand out to pat lightly on her stomach to calm her down. Vivienne and I used to do that for Seth when he was little as he would often shudder awake anxious after experiencing some terrible nightmares. Surprisingly, it worked on Thea too. She calmed down at my soft touches and her breathing became paced once again. A satisfied smile lifted from the corner of my lips as I leaned down at the side of her bed, resting my head against my arm and drifted off.

In the midst of my sleep, I felt my body being lifted off the ground and I forced my tired eyes open to see a charming face right in front of me. His greyish-blue eyes gazed right into mine and he spoke quietly, "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Where are you taking me to?" I rasped, my conscious still hazed by sleep.

"You can share the bed with Thea, it's big enough for the both of you," he laughed gently, lowering me carefully into the soft sheets. The small child beside me quickly snuggled close, clutching onto the shirt I was wearing with her small hands. I wrapped my arms around Thea and looked towards Jax, my eyes barely opened. He smiled tenderly, leaning down to place a kiss on my forehead, "Go to sleep, latreía mou."

He gently brushed the fine hair away from Thea's face and kissed on her temple before he shifted to get off the bed. Overwhelmed by weariness, I continued to drift back into my slumber.

◩

I wrinkled my nose when I felt someone pinching the tip. Raising my hand to swipe along the bridge of my nose, I complained, "Viv, stop it."

The hand made another attempt to grab on my nose and I caught it swiftly. Realising that the hand was way too small to be Vivienne's, my eyes flew open immediately and stared right into a pair of bright, honey-brown eyes. The little girl in front of me was giggling mischievously and I lifted my hand to pinch lightly on her soft chubby cheeks. I rasped out a chuckle, "You're having fun, aren't you?"

The child lolled her head to the side and asked, "Who are you?"

Then, the door to the room was pushed ajar and Jax appeared behind it. He walked towards the bed and lifted Thea into his arms. "You woke her up didn't you?" Jax tapped on Thea's nose lightly and scolded in an affectionate tone, "Iva took care of you the whole day, you should let her rest."

"Really?" Thea asked excitedly, covering her mouth with her hands and let out a cute 'oopsie'.

"Yes, ángelé. Let's head out and let Iva sleep a little more."

"But Thea wants to play with her," the child in his arms pouted.

"I'm all awake," I laughed funnily.

"Rest a little more, sweetness," he hushed. "Thea will call you when dinner's ready."

"Daddy, Marianne said that there's food in the fridge." Thea wrapped her arms around Jax's neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Iva and I ate it all," Jax explained.

"What are we going to eat?" The child worried, straightening herself to face her father. "Are we heading out?"

"It's cold out there and you just recovered. So, no going out yet, ángelé." Jax smoothed a hand along her back. "Let's just make something simple for dinner."

"We?" Thea asked.

"Yes," Jax replied, slowly walking away from the bed and towards the door. Their voices faded gradually together with Jax's footsteps as the two left me in the bed by myself.

"Daddy, you can cook?" Thea asked again, almost as though she's surprised.

"It's not that difficult, ángelé." Jax responded simply.

The door closed gently behind Jax and clicked shut while I wondered why the father-daughter conversation sounded a little out of the blue. I plopped back down on the bed, lazing comfortably in the soft sheets. Tossing and turning, I wasn't feeling particularly sleepy so I stretched my arm out to grabble for my phone and when the screen lit up, I saw a text from Vivienne.

Checking on the time stamp, I realised that the messages were sent only a few moments ago. I hurriedly pushed myself to sit and sent a response. Thankfully, she came online the moment my messages were delivered.

I gazed blankly at the lit phone screen for a good moment until a sigh escaped my lips. Burying my head into the soft pillows, I grumbled in an attempt to erase the unsettling nerves that had surfaced. Since growing up with Vivienne, I hadn't ever been separated from her for missions. I couldn't help but worry, though I trust that Porter wouldn't let anything happen to her.

A sudden loud clank sounded from outside startled me and I quickly stretched my legs out of the blankets and got out of bed, running towards the door in a rush. Pushing down on the handle, I pulled the door open and gasped, "What happened?"

The kitchen was a messy sight with a toppled bowl of sauce all over Jax and Thea as they turned at the same time towards me, eyes wide with surprise. Holding on my side, I burst out laughing, "Who would've known that you'd be such a terrible cook?"

"Never had to do it myself," Jax admitted, laughing with me.

I strode towards them. Wrapping my hands on Thea's sides, I pulled her up from the counter and chuckled, "Let's get you washed up, sweetheart."

"Iva!" Thea circled her arms around my neck and crashed into me with an enthusiastic shriek. All the sauce from her hair and pyjamas immediately splat onto the clean white shirt I was wearing but I hadn't mind it at all.

"Thea, you got all the mess on her!" Jax chided from the side, though his tone was incredibly tender. At the side, he grabbed the hem of his sweater and pulled it over him, giving me a jaw-dropping view of his perfectly-sculpted body.

"Iva, why are you staring at Daddy like that?" Thea dropped her head to the side as her small hands thudded on my cheek, jarring me out of my fantasies quickly.

"Who says I'm staring?" I remarked, feeling my face heating up.

"I don't mind if you do," Jax grinned.

"I'm not!" I lied blatantly. Turning to face Thea, rubbing the tip of my nose on hers as she tittered adorably with her usual impishness. I whispered to her, "Shall we take a bath together?"

"Let's go!" Thea pointed in the direction towards the bathroom. I walked out of the kitchen with Thea in my hold and I stopped to face Jax over the counter.

"Daddy, are you cleaning up the mess?" I smirked teasingly towards Jax and he raised a brow in amusement towards me.

"Of course," he breathed out a laugh and continued with a gentle caution, "Don't call me that, sweetness."

I stuck my tongue out and make a quick run. The child in my arms squealed excitedly in a playful manner as we made our way into the bathroom.

◩

I sat in the large bathtub with Thea on my lap while I scrunched shampoo into her hair, forming a huge foam of bubbles on the crown of her head. She sat obediently, hugging on my knees as she asked, "Iva, are you Daddy's girlfriend?"

My hands carelessly slipped and the soap fell on her face, causing a fit of coughs as Thea accidentally choked on the soap. Frantic, I quickly turned her around, grabbing onto the shower and slowly splashed water on my hands before rinsing the shampoo away from her face. I apologised, "Gods, I'm so sorry."

"Blegh." Thea's face was all scrunched up as her hands wiped the water away from her face. When she opened her eyes again, she stared at me with her huge honey-brown eyes. She persisted, "Are you?"

"I'm not," I replied, pinching her cheeks lightly but felt my own growing slightly warm.

"But you like Daddy, right?" Whenever she dropped another question, I felt my face growing redder.

"Gee, children shouldn't ask so much."

"Why don't you want Daddy?" she pouted.

"I'm sure your Daddy is charming enough to get a girlfriend easily."

"Thea wants you to be his girlfriend," she grinned.

"Why?" I asked, not understanding.

"Because Daddy looks really happy with you."

Is that so?

◩

all those subtle daddy jokes. lmao, not sorry.