MHA #2 | Tuesday Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

Someone around here had been neglecting her plants.

They were alive still, of course; not only had Annie not been so distracted for the last month as to not kill her plants, but she also knew Diego watered them when he remembered, too. But Annie had noticed earlier that they were a little dusty, and more than a few were still clinging to some dead leaves or a withered flower, and they were -- neglected. It was the only word.

Annie even found a string of lights wound through one -- along with a knife, but there were knives in most of these pots -- leftover from the Christmas rager. Damn. She'd been kinda checked out on this kind of thing for awhile, huh?

And while she was working on this, a text message came in to confirm an appointment she'd set up a long time ago, way back before Wanda had ever come asking her for help, and Annie stopped with her little leaf trimmers and read it.

...and then stayed stopped, to think about it, before ultimately setting her phone aside and deciding that needed to be a discussion, and resumed tending to her nearly-self-uprooted aloe while humming to herself.

[for the husband! contents of conversation NFB, please!]

Comments

[knife_bender]

Diego had gotten his time at the gym done and stopped by the Perk for fancy coffee for himself and Annie before heading home.

"They've got pistachio lattes now."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oooh! Are they green?" Annie asked, setting her clippers aside to give Diego a smile and a kiss hello (and as thank you for bringing her probably-not-green coffee.)

[knife_bender]

"Not that I can tell," he said, handing her a cup. "Would that somehow enhance the flavor?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Probably not, but pistachio ice cream is always green for some reason," Annie noted, taking a sip with obvious enjoyment. "You're the best. Good workout?"

[knife_bender]

Diego nodded, setting down his cup so he could shrug his coat off. "Not bad. You do anything fun while I was gone?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Cleaning up the plants," Annie said, actually sort of proud as she gave her newly-dead-headed plants a little Vanna White flourish for Diego's benefit. (This was, of course, mostly notable because Annie hadn't cared about plant time for a good month and change, more than anything, but she was trying not to make a big deal of that part.) "They're much happier now, I think. Knives are all accounted for, too."

Though if you were gonna swipe one of Diego's knives from this apartment, a plant knife was probably one of the easier ones to make off with.

[knife_bender]

"They look less droopy, anyway." Diego had noticed they were being ignored but was he going to go to some big effort to fix them? Absolutely not. "Thanks, honey."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"They needed it," Annie said with a little smile, shrugging. "Poor guys haven't gotten a lot of attention for a minute."

Which was kind of why she was hesitating about the text she'd gotten, in a way. What if she got too sad to care about her plants again? What if it wasn't just plants, next time?

[knife_bender]

"Well. They're plants." So it was no surprise to him that they had been forgotten. "We should pat ourselves on the back for remembering to bring them inside."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"They're alive and defenseless," Annie replied, sliding the arm that wasn't attached to a coffee cup around Diego's waist and leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw. "And it's our -- my -- fault they're here in the first place, so the least we can do is make sure they're cared for. Even if I'm not taking care of me, right?"

This was becoming increasingly obviously not about the plants.

[knife_bender]

"You are taking care of you," Diego said, bumping his nose against hers lightly. "You've been a lot better lately."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah," Annie agreed with a little sigh, equal parts contentment and self-soothing. "And I think I'm a little better equipped if it -- if something bad happens and I feel like that again."

Because let's be real -- the events of last month were just the latest in a long line of tragedies in their lives. Something bad would happen again, probably sooner than later.

[knife_bender]

"You are," Diego said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm proud of you for reaching out for help."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie smiled softly, because that -- both his being proud of her and the lack of judgement, despite Diego's feelings regarding therapy for himself -- kind of meant the world to her, these days.

"Yeah, so -- on that note," Annie started, sliding her hand down to take Diego's and heading over to the couch. "I have that doctor's appointment still, next week. To get my thing out."

And while nothing had changed as far as her desire to start a family -- Annie was just feeling wobbly enough about it in light of current events that she thought it warranted a little base-touching, first.

[knife_bender]

Because Diego was Diego he had to take a moment to figure out what "thing" meant.

"Oh, oh--the thing." Yes, that thing. "Are you still comfortable with doing that? I mean, I am all for it still, obviously, but it's not my body."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I'm totally comfortable keeping the appointment, but it's more about -- I mean, once I get my IUD out, that's it. We're officially trying for kids," Annie said, looking a little nervous to be giving that thought voice, still.

Annie was pretty sure she was even better prepared for motherhood with the new tools she was taking advantage of as far as her mental health, but -- Diego had also been the one who was there with the White Claws and the hand-holding through all of it. It only seemed right to offer him the chance to voice any hesitations he might have.

[knife_bender]

"Of course. I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Diego said. "I mean, it's scary, yeah, but I think it's kind of supposed to be?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie's smile was a little uncertain as she gave Diego's hand a squeeze. "You're still that sure? Even if I...you know, ignored the plants for six weeks?"

Plants weren't babies, she knew that, but it was kind of the perfect example of what was worrying her. She'd never fallen apart like that before.

(Because she had never let herself fall apart that hard, before, but Annie was still learning to recognize that part.)

[knife_bender]

"Plants aren't kids," Diego said. "For one thing, our kids are going to be a lot cuter than those plants."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"They can hear you," Annie teased, but her smile widened and lost a bit of its nervousness. "But you're right, they will be. And I can't wait to meet them, I just -- I wanted to give you an out. After everything last month."

And, truthfully, Annie was both very sure about this, still, but also...she'd just gotten a really good look at what kind of pain you could go through as a parent, too. It had all gotten pretty real, all of a sudden.

[knife_bender]

"I don't need an out," he promised. "Are you okay? If you're not ready I'd totally get it."

Annie had been through a lot, and a lot of it had been kid-related. Even if it hadn't been her kids.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I think...." Annie hesitated on how to say this, worrying her lower lip for a moment before offering, "I think there's always going to be something, you know? Like, this Wanda stuff happened, but before that it was Homelander and Soldier Boy, and before that it was finding your siblings, and...." She shrugged, smiling softly. "And I'm okay. I don't want to put our lives on hold."

And, importantly -- she was working on herself. If she hadn't been, her answer would have been different, because that was part of what had gotten Annie into therapy in the first place: the knowledge that if they did this, Annie needed to be solid enough for Mom to eventually become someone you could depend on.

[knife_bender]

"Okay," he murmured, pulling her into a hug. "Let's do this then. Mom and Dad 2023."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Wow." Here Annie was just getting used to the sound of 'my wife' and 'Mrs. Hargreeves' -- Mom was going to take a lot of getting used to. "No pressure. I mean, it might not happen right away, you know? From what I've been reading, it can take a little while. Maybe a few months of trying."

Annie had maybe done a little reading in an effort to soothe her anxiety, in the month since she'd seen what being a mother had done to her friend and had also suffered a minor breakdown of her own.

[knife_bender]

"Hey, I'm willing to try as many times as it takes." She probably should have seen that reply coming.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, we're very good at the trying part," Annie said, giving him a grin (and blushing a little bit under it, in spite of her better efforts not to.) "Are you sure you're ready to like...deal with me being pregnant? It's probably not going to be fun."

Please. Annie on her crankiest, most morning-sick day would still be nicer than a lot of people.

[knife_bender]

"Are you kidding? It's going to be awesome," Diego said, having no idea what he was in for. "Puking, cravings, swollen feet, I'm here for you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And I'm going to be enormous," Annie noted, which was going to be a whole thing for someone with her existing body issues to grapple with, but she also could already feel those particular, vain anxieties already making themselves known. "Especially if -- you know, we've been getting accurate previews the last few years."

Annie was trying not to have expectations, but it was hard when the island where you lived made a habit of inviting your future children to visit.

[knife_bender]

"But you're still going to look great while being enormous." And he wouldn't hear anything otherwise.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You're already nailing this," Annie replied with a little laugh, leaning into him for a kiss. "It might be scary, Diego."

It was a ways off, the scary parts, but Annie was very aware of the kinds of things she'd be going through. (Not all of the anxiety-reading had been soothing.)

[knife_bender]

"Oh, no doubt, there will absolutely be scary parts," Diego agreed. "But we do scary stuff all the time, and most of the time we don't get anything in return. This time we would."

Babies and more scary things, but still rewarding!

[defenderofdesmoines]

"At least one thing," Annie agreed with a soft smile, sliding a hand up to affectionately play with Diego's hair. "Maybe two."

Again, trying not to have expectations, but it was hard.

"Maybe we should start thinking about buying a house, too."

[knife_bender]

"You're right," Diego said with a nod. "We'll need more space for sure. And, you know, don't want neighbors killing us from all the noise."

"I'm vetoing a house the size of a city block because you do not want to be looking for someone in there, trust me."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, fine," Annie said, moving to set her coffee down so she could shift her way into Diego's lap while they talked about this, now that they'd moved into the more fun, daydreamy side of things. "Probably hell to clean, too. We're already going to have our hands full there, I bet."

Easier if you were a robot, maybe.

[knife_bender]

"It's gonna be a nightmare," he said fondly, wrapping one of his arms around her waist. "Maybe we hire someone to clean for us the first couple months with the kid...s."

It was hard not to just assume things there.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That's a good idea. And it's not like we don't have a lot of help available as it is," Annie noted, leaning against him. "Though on that note -- I'd rather not tell your siblings we're...trying, if that's okay."

Partly because of the pressure that she was sure she'd feel, but also because she didn't want to force them to think about their brother and his wife having all kinds of sex. That was what that meant, when you told people that.

[knife_bender]

"More than okay," Diego said. "We generally like to pretend we don't have sex."

Unless you hooked up with someone with cool powers. That's different. That's...research.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie was going to remember that you said that, Diego.

"Thank you," Annie told him with a giggle, leaning in for another kiss. "And in turn, I won't tell my mom until we've got, like, an ultrasound."

Annie could hold her off for awhile, but there was no doubt that Donna was about to be way more up in their business than she had been prior to now.

[knife_bender]

"Oh you wouldn't be doing that just for my benefit." It would quite possibly even more annoying for you, Annie.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Almost definitely.

"Fair point," Annie acknowledged, trailing her fingertips along Diego's neck. "At least she's probably all we'll have to deal with, from my side of things? Though we'll have to find a really discreet hospital."

[knife_bender]

"For sure," he said, leaning into her touch. "I don't think my siblings would be all that interested, to be honest. You've met them. They care about us, but they're all kind of involved in their own stuff, you know?"

Then it occurred to him, "I've never even met my niece."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That's kind of sad," Annie decided, frowning a little bit. But he did make a very good point there, and it was exactly the kind of reassurance Annie needed right now. "Do you think if Claire existed in this timeline, that'd be different?"

It mostly seemed like a product of not being in contact with Allison for Claire's entire life, and that was different, now.

[knife_bender]

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I never really met 'mom' Allison, so I'm not sure if she would be all into family stuff or not."

Allison right now seemed content on being alone and snapping at everybody.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Content might be a strong word?

"I mean, she's still mom Allison," Annie pointed out, more than a little aware of these kinds of things after the last month. "But I get what you mean. And that's a good point -- I'm still so used to being like, a public commodity. It's nice that this just gets to be...ours."

At least, for as long as Annie's little frame might allow for discretion.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah," he said, nuzzling against her neck. "I didn't think about that. Just you and me, building our little family."

If you think he's gross now, just wait until you were actually pregnant, Annie.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Um, she loved his grossness.

"Oh, I love that," Annie said softly, her breath actually catching a little. Family was gonna hit her, in this context, the same way Mom had. "Our little family. I can't wait. You're going to be such a good dad."

She just had a feeling. No evidence whatsoever to back it up, save for the couple of times she'd been four years old for a weekend and he hadn't allowed her to die.

[knife_bender]

"I hope so," Diego said. "Just do the opposite of whatever my dad did, right? Easy."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And I'll just do the opposite of what my mom did, for the most part." Annie's mom still had some redeeming qualities, like affectionately referring to her adult daughter as 'Jellybean' and actually telling her she loved her on occasion, so she got that caveat. "So many worse, dumber people than us have been parents. We'll be great at it."

At the very least, they were both more than committed to trying their best for these kids (this kid?), and that probably counted for a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.