Jyn Erso (kybercrystal) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2019-03-18 23:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log, r * chel, r * laura, r: diego rojas, r: grace rojas |
WHO: Diego & Grace Rojas
WHEN: Within the last 2 weeks
WHERE: Their bedroom
SUMMARY: Grace and Diego talk about some elements of family planning :D
WARNINGS: *~scissors emoji~*
The quiet moments after Grace said good night to the girls and before Diego did the same were some of his favorite to spend with his daughters. They’d sit up, him reading to them or letting Molly read to them until he had to pry her book from her fingers, until his arm was going numb from the weight of Hannah asleep on it. And then, once they were out, he pulled their doors mostly shut (but not all the way; they liked to have a little bit of light peeking in from the hallway) and wandered downstairs to finish up some work or read for a while. The ritual was as relaxing for him as he thought it was for them, too. With Grace fully enveloped in her final semester of her undergraduate degree, Diego was chipping in more and more with the girls to give Grace more time to do her homework. Anything to help her out and make sure she fulfilled her own goals in life, outside of the ones she had for their family. He wanted their girls to see their mother reach for her dreams, and to see their father supporting her every step of the way. He hoped they were absorbing every bit of it. He made a cup of her favorite tea and brought up to her desk in their bedroom. “How’s it going?” Strung out wasn’t the right word. Physics and astronomy all too often came easy to Grace; almost as if the Erso family legacy brought itself into the strange space she possessed and attempted to smooth her way. But tonight, with hair swelling each time she vined her fingers through it and gave a frustrated clench, they had forsaken her. Plotting distance by matching the frequency of sound through black holes seemed to make sense until she had discovered the Whirlpool galaxy’s quiet core. When Diego entered she looked up and gave him a defeated sigh. “I can be a janitor at NASA.” “You would be the world’s most perfect NASA janitor,” he reassured her, reaching a hand out to rub her shoulder gently. He knew that wasn’t what she wanted, of course. One of the things that had drawn him in, one of the things that had made him fall in love with her, was her drive. She had goals, she had plans, and she’d always been determined to see them through. “How can I help?” All of Grace’s homework went right over his head, but he wanted to be able to support her in some way if she was struggling. She turned in to him, vining her fingertips through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Her smile was crooked and as she spoke, she couldn’t help a quick laugh. It was like his very presence lightened her. But didn’t it always? “Distract me.” “Ah, but --” Diego grinned, his expression mischievous. “I’m supposed to be helping you work, not getting in the way.” But he placed a hand on her shoulder, right where it met her neck, and he pressed his fingers against her skin to try to loosen the muscles a little. “Also, I think me distracting you is how we got Hannah.” “ … I thought I was distracting you that time,” she countered, letting her head bow and her shoulders round so that her muscles could relax. She smiled, nonetheless, and let her hands rest in her lap. “Your time was Molly.” Then … “It’s just one of those things. I’ve researched myself into a corner. Do I position my way out of it or acknowledge that there’s a lack of data and posit where I could go with the knowledge I have?” Diego hummed in response, not giving up his ministrations as he thought her question over. Her work always went right over his head, so he tried to position it like it was one of his investigations instead. What would he do? It didn’t help much. If he didn’t have enough proof to back up what he was claiming in an article, it would be tossed out and he’d have to look at it from another angle, or put it aside entirely. He frowned a little. “I don’t know, mi amor. Where can you go with what you have?” She turned to him, lip caught between her teeth. “I can suggest next steps and use this paper as a way to request funding or begin a proposal to NASA.” It was ballsy and downright out of the norm for an undergraduate to begin making these kinds of moves. But she wanted her professors to understand the gravity of her interest. Somewhere along the line she knew Jyn’s story inspired her; as if the soundless echo of another world reached her unconscious through links millions upon billions of miles away and in other universes. “But later. It’ll keep.” She stood and wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders. “You know distractions are lovely, don’t you?” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Diego said quickly, “I shouldn’t have gotten in the way.” All he’d really meant to do was bring her tea and make sure she was still awake and surviving. He knew she needed to work, and he didn’t want to stand in the way of that. … he also didn’t bother stepping away from her, however, so it was probably clear that he didn’t feel that bad. Instead, he looped his arms around her waist. “Are you talking distractions or children?” She grinned. “ … I’d choose you over black holes any day, querido.” The paper would keep. It was due tomorrow, but due in such a way that she could take a few hours and clear her head for the best possible outcome. So, it was easy to step further into his embrace. For them children had come easily -- even joyfully. So she gave him a shrug. “One thing leads to another, I’m told.” “Most romantic thing anyone’s said to me all day.” Diego leaned in for a quick kiss, but he didn’t linger or let it deepen like he really wanted to. “I actually -- I wanted to talk to you about that. The future.” His fingers traced tiny circles at the small of her back. There were ways to limit the expansion of their family -- regular, tried and true ways -- but it wasn’t perfect, and Grace was on the verge of finally getting to the career she’d always dreamt of. “I think we’re perfect as we are. Don’t you?” It hadn’t occurred to Grace that Diego would look at the expansion of their family as anything other than what nature intended at the moment. She hadn’t, really. She’d let it develop and progress as it seemed wholly applicable. But thinking of Finn in college, thinking of the girls and how they were entering important parts of their lives, how Diego had to be itching to work on a longer project like a book had her brow furrowed. “We are perfect,” she agreed. Every now and then, someone asked him when they were going to try for a son, as though their family wouldn’t be complete without one of his own. The question always made Diego bristle; he already had a son, and he didn’t need to fulfill some sort of ridiculous old-fashioned notion of what a family should look like. He had everything he needed under his roof already. And, from a practical standpoint, it’d been a struggle. Navigating the girls’ schedules, Grace’s schedules and his own sometimes didn’t leave them with much time for themselves as a family. He wanted them to have more freedom to be together, more resources to follow all of their dreams. “I’m still planning on distracting you properly tonight,” Diego reassured her. “I only -- I didn’t know how to bring it up.” “Should we …” The conversation was delicate. Grace was careful about her birth control and there was always protection on hand; nevertheless, there were also more foolproof options that wouldn’t require them to have that miniscule chance if she ended up with a cold. “When the semester is over, I can go to the doctor.” “Dios mío, no.” He hadn’t even considered Grace being the one to go to the doctor. She’d carried the babies; couldn’t he be the one to make this decision now? It had been his idea to bring it up, anyway. “I have a check-up with my doctor in two weeks, I can ask then. You don’t need to do anything, my love.” He kissed her forehead gently. “I just want you to be able to focus on your career without any more distractions underfoot, sí?” Grace, momentarily shocked into silence, supposed that she should have expected this from Diego. Ultimately selfless, of course he would have already considered and then would further offered to go beneath the knife. Her hands rested just inside the waistband of his trousers. “Okay.” “Okay?” Diego could tell his voice sounded tentative, like he wasn’t sure he really believed she was fine with it. If he thought about it from a practical standpoint, it was for the best -- they were strapped between tuition and other bills, and the growing expenses of growing girls. If they’d had unlimited funds, maybe … and then there was the issue of the dreams. If they planned on remaining in Dunhaven, Diego did not want any more children of theirs to become subject to the same things they were. There was no telling how it might impact Hannah and Molly, and he wasn’t eager to find out. But truthfully, Diego also was also just very, very content with where they were. Holding back meant they might be able to buy a house within the next few years. It meant Grace could reach for her dreams. It felt right. “Te amo.” “This is a good idea. We can start to get comfortable.” She wrapped her arms around him all the more tightly to whisper her love and thanks into his lips. The word lucky floated around in her subconscious for a moment before she took a moment to let her hand at his waist drift lower. She squeezed a section of his backside and smiled crookedly. The surprise made Diego jump a little, and he laughed. “You minx.” Her tea was forgotten, and even if Diego had remembered it, he wouldn’t have cared. He had other things on his mind at that moment, and he planned on showing her just what that was. |