MCA #9 | Monday Morning

[defenderofdesmoines]

When Annie's alarm went off this morning, it was still dark outside, which was very normal considering how early she typically got up for training.

What was decidedly not normal was how she was in bed in her Starlight outfit, which was decidedly not comfortable, though thankfully her boots had been discarded in the middle of the floor at some point before she'd clambered into bed last night. It was also abnormal that Annie was alone in said bed, since she'd gotten kind of used to having Diego there.

That was explained pretty quickly, once she padded out to the living room and found him on the couch. "Good morning," she whispered, lightly perching on the arm of the couch and reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Hopefully he wasn't too mad about having to babysit all weekend.

[for he who took the couch]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Maybe if she told him in a relaxing way? "So like, apparently," Annie said softly, "there might be a weekend where kids we've had in alternate universes show up."

So normal.

[knife_bender]

He cracked open an eye to look at her. "...I don't get it."

No, he got it, he was just hoping he had the wrong idea.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Like...our theoretical kids would show up," Annie told him, her cheeks flushing just a little because she actually wanted kids someday and would be really curious what theirs would be like, but that was not, like, a normal thing to broach with your boyfriend of a couple months. "But also like...our kids with anyone. Maybe there's a universe where I had a kid with Steve. Or you did. Anything goes."

[knife_bender]

"Man, Steve and I's kid would be so cool." Of course that would be what he focused on. That was easier for him to deal with than thinking about what kind of kids he'd have with Annie.

Because, yes, he was curious too and it was a big discussion to have after only a few months.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Terrifying," Annie corrected. "Your kid with Steve would be terrifying." And would probably pick on the little blond nightmare that she'd have with Danny in turn, because that was exactly the kind of thing the island would think was funny. "But yeah, that's something to look forward to."

She kind of wondered what kind of powers a little January-Hargreeves (oh God, that was a mouthful) kid would have, though. Speaking of terrifying.

[knife_bender]

"Can't wait," Diego said flatly, shifting so he could tuck his head against Annie's neck. "Our kid would be cool too."

See it was easier to say things like that when he wasn't looking directly at her.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie felt a little flutter in her chest. "They'd definitely be cute," she offered lightly, because ugh she did not want to be the girl who like, doodled his last name next to hers but also she really liked Diego, and it was getting harder every day to imagine a future without him in it. "Because we're adorable."

And their kid would probably be spoiled absolutely rotten, given their respective upbringings.

[knife_bender]

"This is true," he agreed. "Probably be overpowered as hell though and take out a city block with one tantrum."

No, that would be if Annie had a kid with Vanya.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie and Vanya's kid would have basically no choice but to become a supervillain, seriously.

"So we'd just have to make sure they never threw a tantrum." Oh, sure, Annie, that was possible. "And we'd at least have a leg up with having powers ourselves." Because there were absolutely no powered parents having powered kids in her world, for some reason.

[knife_bender]

And still that was less weird than forty-something women spontaneously giving birth to superpowered kids at the same time.

"This is true," he said. "Though it's entirely possible we could be great parents and the kid can still be a jerk."

What with those Hargreeves genes.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, sure." Annie moved her hand back to his neck, continuing the gentle little massaging movements from a moment prior. "That's true of anyone. But we have, like, the manual on how to not do it. I think our kid would know they were really loved, even if they were a jerk."

It was a lot less scary to admit that she'd love a theoretical kid than to admit she might be starting to feel that way about the not-at-all-theoretical guy in bed with her.

[knife_bender]

"This is true," he said, pressing a kiss against her neck. "Maybe they'll just be a jerk to everyone but us."

He could live with that.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Sounds about right," Annie murmured. Because like, she was nice to everyone, but the other half of that kid would be Diego, so....

"But," she added, "we're probably safe for a few months, so everyone has time to recover from this weekend."

[knife_bender]

"Thank god for that," he sighed. "I need a break from babysitting."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Aw, come on. I was a delight." Okay, even Annie knew that wasn't really true the whole weekend.

[knife_bender]

"You were very cute," Diego said with a smile. "But also very loud."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, you know," Annie noted softly, "maybe not all rules are bad ones?"

Because little Annie would have totally been quieter if asked. (And then would need to be asked again about every half hour, because she got excited and loud a lot.)

[knife_bender]

"That's fair." Okay, maybe he went a little too hard in the opposite direction of his dad. "I did ask you not to kill anybody, so that should get me points."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You were a great guardian. And I actually only used my powers once, and I was very careful," Annie told him proudly. "Which is great 'cause at that age I was super bad with them."

Probably not shocking.

[knife_bender]

"I think that's pretty common," Diego said. "How can you expect a kid to not use their powers?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I was kind of a prodigy," Annie admitted, because that was totally a difference between their worlds. "Where I'm from, not a lot of kids that little have their powers yet. So, like, I was usually pretty good about not using them 'cause I had it drilled into my head that I could hurt people, but - you know. Still caused that blackout."

Little Annie would be very impressed by her older counterpart's tendency to use her hands as flashlights.

[knife_bender]

"I still think that's really cool." Probably shouldn't have told a child that since it could encourage bad behavior, but still.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You would," Annie teased. "I got in so much trouble." For all that Annie had been worried about it, she really hadn't gotten into serious trouble all that often as a kid (since, you know, she was Annie), so the blackout had been something of a core memory. "I had to start going to special classes for powered kids at school, after that."

[knife_bender]

"Shit, your home is super prepared for that sort of stuff." If only they had special schools instead of being given out to billionaires all willy nilly.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, it kind of sucked. I had to miss art." She still couldn't cut in a straight line, Diego! "You're going to be so weirded out if I ever take you home. Everything revolves around people with powers."

Like, she legitimately was not that special for having them in the first place; she was just lucky that hers were awesome.