"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑛𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎: 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑒?"
—𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦 𝐵𝑦𝑠𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦

𝒩.

𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 her coffee into her usual mug that had a horrible science joke printed on it ('Don't trust atoms, they make up everything!'), she heard the bedroom door creak open and the sound of footsteps followed.

She suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind, causing her to giggle lightly, and a kiss was firmly planted on her cheek.

"'Mornin', princess," Diego, who had already changed into his usual sweater and jeans, mumbled before kissing her neck.

"Good morning, handsome," Natalia murmured as she turned to face him. She took a sip of her coffee as she watched Diego grab his own mug and go to the coffee machine. "Do you happen to know what day it is?"

"Mm . . ." He pursed his lips, though it was clear he was resisting a grin as he shrugged and poured his coffee. "No clue."

She giggled. "Oh, really?"

He used one hand to lean against the counter while using the other to bring his mug to his lips. "November fourteenth?"

"It is the fourteenth," she confirmed with raised eyebrows. "And the fourteenth is . . . ?"

He swallowed before blowing air from his cheeks, pretending to look stumped. "Gee, I'm not sure."

"Wow, all right, I guess you forgot." She gave a dramatic sigh as she rested her mug on the kitchen island and turned the other way. "I'll just go and—"

"Oh, you know I'm kidding, baby," chuckled Diego as he stepped toward her and kissed her gently. "I mean, it's our one-year anniversary. How could I forget?"

Natalia giggled softly before kissing him once more.

He kept an arm wrapped around her as he pulled away and quirked an eyebrow. "Do we have a plan or are we just free-styling the day?"

She glanced over to the phone she had put back only ten minutes before giving Diego a scrunched nose. "Actually . . ."

"Oh, no," Diego sighed.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"That's your 'I have bad news' face," he answered with a small shrug, causing her nose to scrunch even further.

"What face?"

"You squint your eyes and wrinkle your nose and all that shit," Diego said with a wave of the hand. "Just tell me."

Natalia sighed. "Well . . ."

"Spit it out, Nat."

She took another sip of coffee before leaning back against the island and raising her eyebrows. "You know Zenya?"

"Your student?"

"Not really my student, just a researcher in my lab," she corrected. "I mean, she's, like, five years older than me."

Diego nodded. "What about her?"

"Well," she began as she put her coffee mug back down, "her husband is currently out of town, and her sister just went into labour."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Okay . . . ? So what?"

"I'm not done," she chided, eliciting a shrug in return. "Zenya, obviously, has to go to the hospital to support her sister."

"And?" he questioned. "We have to go?"

"What?" She scrunched her face and shook her head. "No. I don't even know her sister."

"So where is this story going?"

"If you'd let me finish, you'd find out!"

"Okay," he sighed as he motioned for her to go on, "finish."

"I'm trying," she muttered. "Zenya has a one-year-old, and her usual babysitter isn't picking up."

Diego's eyes widened in realization, and he groaned. "Please don't tell me—"

"We have to babysit her kid today."

He rubbed his eyes as he leaned back against the counter. He looked up at her after a moment, his eyebrows raised mildly. "She has no one else who can do it?"

Natalia shrugged. "She tried a couple people, but it's either they aren't picking up or they're busy."

"We're busy!"

"This is different," she pointed out as she picked her mug up and let it warm her hands. "I mean, it's a nice way to spend time together, right? Babies are cute!"

Diego took a sip of his coffee, his eyes lowered onto the ground as the wrinkles in his forehead became more apparent. "I guess."

"Good," she sighed, "because I already told her yes."

He put his cup down as he questioned, "Why didn't you tell me about this until now?"

"She called me ten minutes ago!"

"So what? She wants me to be there, too?" he asked. "I've only met her once!"

Natalia shook her head. "She's totally fine with you coming, darling, don't worry."

"How long are we taking care of this baby?"

"I have no idea." She sighed. "Could be for a few hours, few days, months, years . . . Probably just for the day, though."

Diego let out a low groan as he stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder. He kissed her neck before muttering, "I wanted this day to be about you and me."

"It will be, honey," she murmured as she embraced him and gently caressed his back. "You, me . . . and Ivan."

"I'm not good with kids," he protested.

"Well, what about our kids?"

"We don't have kids." He paused before pulling away, his eyebrows furrowed. "Right?" He looked down to her stomach, though it was concealed by the Led Zeppelin t-shirt that she had borrowed (stolen) from him long ago. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No," she chuckled as she swatted his arm, causing him to sigh in relief and rest his head on her shoulder again. "I just mean in the future."

"Well, they'll be ours," he muttered. "And because they're from me, they'll be perfect."

"Oh, shut up," she laughed as she broke away from him. "C'mon, we have to get to her place as soon as possible."

Diego groaned once more, though he still grabbed his keys and slipped on a light jacket.

Natalia grabbed her coat and shrugged it on, making sure that her apartment key was still tucked inside the pocket before gesturing for Diego to follow her out.

The chilly air nipped at whatever skin was exposed as they stepped outside, and the sun was hidden behind the grey clouds that hung over them. Natalia wrapped her arms around her waist as she squinted her eyes and followed Diego towards his car, shivering slightly.

She got into the passenger seat, breathing a sigh of relief as the crisp air was left outside.

"Where does she live?" Diego questioned as he turned the engine on with one hand, using the other to cover a yawn.

"She has a condo on 111th Street," Natalia answered as she shut her eyes and leaned back against the seat.

Diego sighed as he merged onto the road. "Have you met the baby yet?"

"Of course," she answered as she combed her fingers through her hair; she didn't exactly have a whole lot of time to get ready—she didn't even get the chance to put makeup on. "I visited the hospital a day after she gave birth, and I've seen him a few times after that."

"At least tell me he's a behaving kid," he pleaded with a short sigh.

"He is," she reassured him with a nod, "don't worry."

"Whatever," he muttered as he turned onto the street on the right. "It'll be the same as taking care of Klaus."

She laughed. "Honestly, I think it'll be easier than that."

They managed to get to Zenya's door a little more than ten minutes later. Quickly, Natalia knocked on the door, and they were greeted with a rather rushed Zenya, who was cradling Ivan.

Her brown hair was a little messy and the stress was more than evident on her face, but she still managed to give them a smile and nod in welcome.

"Hi, Zenya!" Natalia greeted before bending down and ticking the baby, who giggled. "Hiya, Ivan!"

"Sorry for interrupting your day with this," she sighed as Natalia and Diego stepped into the home.

"Oh, it's no problem!" Natalia reassured her with a comforting smile.

"All right, I've laid all his stuff out on his dresser—his diapers, baby wipes, baby powder, all that," Zenya began as she glanced at the clock. "He already had his breakfast, but he can eat any soft foods; bananas, yogurt, oatmeal, steamed veggies, that kind of stuff. He usually naps for a few hours after lunch. He's a pretty quiet kid, I don't think you'll have to worry about him being too loud."

Natalia nodded. "Got it."

"If you have any questions, just call."

"Of course."

"Thank you so much," Zenya sighed as she carefully handed Natalia the baby. "My husband is still at his conference, but he'll leave as soon as possible. He'll come home sometime this evening."

"All right," Natalia replied, now gently caressing Ivan's cheek with her finger, "that sounds fine."

Zenya gave her another appreciative smile before leaning down and kissing Ivan's forehead. She grabbed her purse and a jacket, and quickly rushed out the door, calling, "Bye!"

Natalia waved before shutting the door, and she leaned against the kitchen island as she smiled down at Ivan.

"Hi, Ivan," she cooed as she lightly tickled his stomach. "How are you, sweetheart?"

Diego walked over and peered at the baby in Natalia's arms, whose curious brown eyes shifted to him. "Cute baby."

Natalia slowly bounced Ivan as she turned to Diego and raised her eyebrows. "I thought you didn't like babies?"

He shrugged. "I can still say they're cute."

Ivan babbled as he reached his arms out towards Diego, and a smile spread onto Natalia's face. "He wants you to hold him."

"No," Diego quickly refused with a shake of the head and a step backwards. "Nope."

Ivan's babbles grew louder, and his arms remained stretched towards Diego.

"Come on," Natalia insisted as she walked toward him. "Just hold him for a minute."

He sighed before gently scooping Ivan out of Natalia's arms.

Natalia's smile grew as she watched Diego gently bounce the baby and grin. Ivan's babbles, in turn, turned to quiet giggles, and he tightly clutched onto Diego's shirt.

She kissed Diego's cheek before smiling as Ivan looked up at Diego with bright eyes. "He loves you."

𝒟.

Diego sighed, his eyes staring at the baby who was staring right back at him.

"All right, kid," he began as Ivan squirmed in his high chair. "We're gonna have to work together on this one, 'kay?"

Ivan cooed in response.

"Good." Diego scooted closer to him before picking up the small plastic spoon and lifting a piece of banana towards him. "Open wide."

Ivan eyed the banana wearily and then gave a babble that caused Diego to sigh.

"Come on, kid." He leaned towards him, slowly circling the spoon. "The airplane is coming or whatever."

Ivan reached out, and, just as hope sprouted in Diego's chest, he knocked the banana off of the spoon.

Diego sighed. Babies were . . . really annoying. If they weren't going to listen to him, then what was the point?

Diego stared dejectedly at the piece of banana that was now on the kitchen island before looking back toward Ivan, who was giggling softly. "You better pick that up."

Diego suddenly felt a kiss being pressed onto his head before a voice spoke, "Are you two having a food fight?"

He scoffed. "Ivan started it."

Natalia laughed before stretching her hand towards another slice of banana that was on the plate, and her magenta energy swirled around it and her hand as it lifted.

"Open wide!" she murmured, and, to Diego's surprise, Ivan heeded.

"Oh, come on!" Diego complained as Ivan chewed on the banana and clapped his hands together. "I've been trying to get him to eat for, like, ten minutes!"

She giggled as she took a seat next to him at the dining table. "I think it's just the pretty colour."

"Or maybe he doesn't like me," Diego grumbled as he watched Ivan accept another slice that Natalia magicked over to him.

"Oh, that's not it," Natalia chided as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Who were you on the phone with?" Diego questioned with raised eyebrows, glancing back at the living room that Natalia had just come from. "Was it Zenya saying her husband'll be here in an hour or so?"

"Um . . ." She sighed as she leaned over and patted Ivan's arm. "It was Zenya . . ."

It took only a split second for Diego to recognize her 'bad news' face, and he sighed internally. Whatever it was, it wasn't in their favour. "Just tell me the bad news."

She swallowed before giving him a nervous smile that reassured him no further. "Her husband is taking a flight here—around three hours, I think—but he missed his plane."

"He what?" Diego questioned incredulously before groaning and leaning back in his seat.

"Luckily," Natalia said hastily as she raised a finger, "the next plane leaves in a few hours. He'll be here before midnight."

"Oh, great," he muttered as he turned to Ivan. "We get to spend ten more hours with you."

Ivan giggled.

𝒩.

Sat on the ground of the living room, Natalia smiled as she watched Ivan pick up the toy wooden mallet and bang it across the mini xylophone in front of him.

He giggled as the high-pitched notes hit the air and looked up at her with bright eyes. He began to wave the mallet around, nearly hitting the sofa next to them.

"Yes, keep playing!" she cooed as she gently guided the mallet toward the xylophone. "You're an incredible musician!"

"Incredible is one word for it," Diego murmured, watching with an amused smile as Ivan dragged the mallet across the toy instrument.

"He's also barely a year old," she pointed out with a chuckle.

Diego shuffled himself closer to her before wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. He kissed her neck, eliciting a giggle.

Ivan babbled as he began to hit the mallet against the ground, and Natalia laughed as she reached over and gently grabbed his hand.

"No, Ivan," she chided softly. "Only hit the toy."

She brought his mallet back to the colourful tiles on the xylophone, and the shrill notes floated into the air once again.

"Isn't he so cute?" she sighed as she leaned back against Diego's chest.

He chuckled as he rested his hands over her stomach. "Ours would be cuter."

She let out a small scoff as she began to play with his fingers. "You think?"

"Hell yeah." He grinned. "I mean, we're both hot on our own, can you imagine a combination of us? The world might not be ready for that."

"Oh my God," she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes in amusement as she watched Ivan drop his mallet. "Please don't talk about how hot our child would be. Stick to cute."

"I'm just sayin' the truth," Diego protested with a grin. "Hot baby. Because of their hot mommy and daddy. Especially because of their mommy, though."

Natalia giggled as he began to nip at her neck, though her attention quickly drew to Ivan as he began to cry. She scooched forward, cooing softly as she carefully took him into her arms. She rubbed his back and slowly got to her feet.

"What's wrong?" Diego questioned as he stood up.

"I don't think he's hungry; he ate an hour ago, and we just changed his diaper, so . . ." Natalia glanced over to the clock, which showed that it was nearing four, and sighed. "Probably time for his nap."

Thankfully, Ivan soon calmed as she rubbed his back and murmured soft reassurances to him. She brought him into his room and gently laid him onto his crib.

His eyes were fluttering shut as she placed his blanket on top of him, and she caressed his arm for a moment. She spotted a small plush bunny sitting at the corner of the crib, and she grabbed it before resting it next to him. A smile spread across her face as he grabbed it and held it close to him.

"Sleep tight," she whispered to him before she shut the lights off and left the room.

She made sure to keep the door open just a crack for a little light, and glanced over to see that the small nightlight that was plugged into the outlet was on. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she checked to make sure that the baby monitor was on.

"Is the baby sleeping?" Diego questioned when Natalia had joined him on the couch.

She nodded before questioning, "'The baby'? Do you even remember his name?"

"Clark?"

"You know," she chuckled as she rested her head on his shoulder, "not everyone is named Clark."

"Really?" he questioned with a rather dramatic gasp. "That's news to me, Clark."

She slapped his arm, eliciting a laugh in return. "His name is Ivan."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he reassured her as he kissed the top of her head. "Ivan. Though, I think the name 'Diego' is better."

"Huh," she scoffed. "I wonder why you think that."

He wrapped an arm around her as he decided, "I think our first kid should be named 'Diego'."

"Yeah?" She gave him raised eyebrows as she straightened up. "What if it's a girl?"

He shrugged. "Diego can be a girl name."

"No."

"Oh, come on," he whined playfully. "It's a good name!"

She scoffed in amusement. "No."

"Okay," he conceded, "what do you wanna name the kid?"

She let out a long sigh, racking her brain for names as she pursed her lips. After a moment, she gave a firm nod. "Anything except for Diego."

"Wow."

"If it's a girl . . . what about . . ." she pondered for a moment before turning to him with a small grin and suggesting, "Grace?"

A smile spread onto his face, and he gave a nod. "Oh, I like that a lot better than Diego."

She kissed his cheek as she leaned back against the couch and folded her arms. "And for a boy . . ."

"Pogo?" he joked.

"No way," she laughed, lightly hitting his arm. "Luther?"

"I'd like Reginald more than that." He scoffed before raising his eyebrows, the corners of his lips pulling upwards. "Ben?"

Her amused smile became sincere. "I would love that." She nestled more into him as she, a little shyly, asked, "When do you want one?"

Diego gave her a sly smile. "After we get married."

Her eyebrows raised as she turned to face him, and, as innocently as possible, she questioned, "And when would that be?"

He chuckled. "You'll find out sooner or later."

Her index finger began to draw small shapes on his chest as she asked, "You so sure we'll stay together long enough to get married?"

He looked down at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What, you aren't?"

She shrugged. "I'm just asking what you think."

"Oh," he scoffed lightly as he used his index finger to tilt her chin up, "I'm more than sure, princess."

He gave her no time to respond as he pressed his lips against hers, and she quickly climbed onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her heart rate picked up as his hands slid down to her hips and pulled her up his lap.

"Hey," she mumbled as she pulled away, though she could barely resist the enticing lips that were an inch away from hers, "there's a baby in the other room."

"He's asleep," Diego whispered before capturing her lips in his once more.

Natalia had no choice but to melt into the kiss as she shifted closer to him, giggling softly as he gave a quiet groan. Her breathing shortened as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her stomach filled with butterflies as his tongue explored the insides of her mouth, and her arms grew tighter around him.

His hands moved down to fiddle with the button of her jeans, and before he could get it undone, she pushed him away and laughed.

"No," she scolded playfully as she got off of his lap to sit back down on the couch, earning an annoyed groan from him.

"Why?" he huffed as he snaked an arm around her waist and playfully tugged at the waistband of her jeans. "It's our anniversary."

"Because," she said as she smacked his hand away, "this is someone else's home, and their baby is one room away."

"Who cares?" he whispered as he began to plant kisses along her jaw.

"I do!" she laughed quietly as she pushed him. "Stop it!"

"Fine," he muttered with a small pout. "Your loss."

𝒩.

"Thank you so much for taking care of him," Alex, Zenya's husband, expressed his thanks profusely as he stepped into his home, his reddened cheeks jollying his smile and his forehead beaded with sweat.

It was nearing eleven o'clock, and everything after Ivan's nap had gone by quickly. They had fed him dinner (diced chicken and steamed broccoli), gone to the park that was just outside, bathed him, and, after a long day of a kind of responsibility that she was foreign to, put him to sleep for the night.

"It was no trouble at all," Natalia reassured him as she slipped her jacket on. "Really, if you guys ever need something, don't hesitate to call."

After receiving another few thanks and promises to return the favour (though Natalia denied the need for that), Natalia and Diego bid Alex farewell and headed to the car.

"See?" Natalia sighed as she sat down in the front passenger seat. "That was fun, right?"

"Sure," Diego agreed as he started the engine, "but I'm never changing anyone's diaper ever again."

"You're gonna have to with our kids," she pointed out with a small scoff.

"Nah, I'll leave that job to you," he replied with a grin. "But, still, I would've preferred if this had been on a day that wasn't our anniversary."

"Ah, it's fine, we have tomorrow," she reassured him as she leaned back in the seat, exhausted. "We can go out, and have a nice dinner . . . It's Sunday, too. No work."

Diego gave a small hum of agreement as he merged onto the road, and soon, comfortable silence fell between them. The only noise was the occasional sound of the blinker and the raindrops that had begun to lightly pelt against the windows a few minutes into the drive.

Natalia kept her gaze out the window, her eyelids growing a little heavy. Though they had mostly stayed inside, taking care of a baby was far more exhausting than she could ever imagine. She had no idea how mothers did it every day. Or how she would do it when she became a mother.

The outside was growing increasingly darker, and the raindrops that made the view blurry didn't help in the least. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass, however, was rather soothing to her ears, along with the low rumble of the engine. That, combined with the gentle light from the inside of the car, and the warmth that came from her jacket, was enough to cause Natalia's breathing to steady and for her eyes to flutter to a close.

When she woke up, she was already in the kitchen of their apartment. Diego was carrying her bridal style and his jacket was on top of her—he had put it on top of her to protect her from the rain.

He chuckled as he noticed that her eyes were open. "Sleepy?"

"What?" she murmured as he brought her to their bedroom, using his foot to close the door behind them. "No, I'm completely awake."

He raised his eyebrows as he used his elbow to flick the lights on. "Obviously."

Gently, he laid her down on the bed and grabbed his wet jacket off of her before tossing it to the side. He planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling the covers over her.

"I have to shower," she mumbled as she pushed the blanket off. "And change."

"You have to shower now?" he questioned as she slowly sat up. "Can't you shower tomorrow morning?"

"I need to at least take my makeup off," she pointed out as she rubbed her eyes.

"You're not wearing makeup."

"I'm not?" She pulled her hands away to see that there was no smudge of black on them, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No," he answered with an amused smile.

"Oh." She then remembered that she had had no time to put any on, given the emergency. "Right."

"You need sleep, gorgeous," Diego chuckled as he kissed her cheek; "you're getting delirious."

"I still have to change," she sighed.

"I'll get your pyjamas for you," he murmured before heading to the dresser.

Natalia rubbed her eyes once more, attempting to rid herself of the haziness that was clouding her thoughts.

Diego quickly came back with another one of his shirts that she had stolen (this one was for AC/DC) and a pair of black flannel bottoms.

"Wonder where you got the shirt from," he chuckled as he tossed her the two items of clothing, to which she gave a sleepy giggle.

"It's most definitely not yours," she replied as she pulled off her shirt and exchanged it for the pyjama.

She tossed her clothes to the side once she had changed; she'd leave them for her next morning self to clean up.

She then got up and drowsily walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair, though she did both as fast as possible.

Once she was finished, she got back into bed, feeling fatigue immediately cover her body along with her blanket. The bed couldn't be more inviting as her body dipped onto the mattress, and a small sigh escaped her as her head sank onto the pillow.

After turning off all the lights, Diego got into bed, and he pulled her half-asleep body close to him as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the tip of her nose. She could smell the new face wash that she had bought for him the other day, and the citrusy scent made her lean closer.

"Sorry we couldn't do anything special today," Natalia mumbled as she toyed with the neckline of his shirt.

"Everything I do with you is special, princess," he reassured her softly. "And, like you said, we have tomorrow."

She sighed, planting a kiss on his neck. "Being a fake mother is tiring."

"Oh, well, you'll be a great real mother," he murmured, his hand rubbing slow circles on her back. "The best in the world."

Though she was exhausted, Natalia could feel butterflies in her stomach again. "You think?"

"Oh, yeah." He kissed the top of her head. "The most beautiful, kind, caring, and—most importantly—sexiest mother."

A scoff of amusement left her lips. "I don't think that last one is the most important."

"Maybe not. But it's true—you'll be the world's sexiest mother. Hell, I'll just go with the world's sexiest woman."

Natalia's lips curved into a lazy smile, and she forced her tired self to lean closer and plant a kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," he murmured.

Natalia's smile slowly faded as sleep approached, and her eyelids began to close as the silence overwhelmed her.

Suddenly, she was jerked awake once again as Diego muttered, "Nat."

"Hm?" she hummed, licking her lips to rid them of their dryness.

Though it was dark, she squinted to see that Diego had a small frown on his face.

"If we have kids . . ." he began, causing her eyebrows to knit together tightly.

"Yeah?" she questioned.

"Would they have powers?"