InsaneJournal

Carol wasn’t big on birthdays these days. She didn’t mind them, but since she didn’t age anymore, they rarely warranted more than a shrug of the shoulders in her book. She’d enjoyed the joint bash with Thor, Kamala, and Peter at Sam’s the previous weekend, but she wasn’t going out of her way to celebrate her own.

The problem with that particular stance on birthdays was that her beautiful, perfect wife, who put up with all her bouts of ridiculous behavior with grace, was a big birthday person. Thankfully, it wasn’t in an over-the-top way, usually, but there would be celebration of some kind, Carol had no doubt. Even last year, there had been cake and a chorus of the birthday song between beating up escaped nightmares.

This year, things were peaceful. Carol didn’t mind the idea of having a day for just the two of them – after breakfast with Kamala, of course – and being happy that, if nothing else, it was also her official two-year ‘Valloversary’. That was worth celebrating – it was what had brought her to Emmeline. Despite the trials she’d put them through (she’d never forget), she couldn’t be anything but happy about that.

After breakfast and Kamala’s departure to get ready for work at Wanda’s shop, Carol snagged Emme around the waist when she got up from the table and pulled her into her lap. She was fully intent on keeping her there before she could start gathering any of the dirty dishes.

“So,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to her wife’s jaw, “what’ve you got planned for us today?”

It was hardly a surprise to Emmeline when she felt Carol’s hands around her waist, and she quickly gave in and let herself be tugged into her wife’s lap. She easily looped her arms around Carol’s shoulders and angled her head to give her better access. The dishes could wait.

“Mmm.” She hummed appreciatively at that touch. “I’ve got all sorts of plans for you.”

“Yeah?” Carol grinned, trailing her lips down to dust across Emme’s pulse point. “Well, if they’re anything like that wakeup call you gave me earlier, I’m very interested.”

Laughter bubbled up from her chest and Emme moved one of her hands to run her fingers through Carol’s hair. Sitting where she was, with the warmth of Carol’s body pressed in close and that clever mouth of hers brushing against her skin, Emmeline was far too susceptible to throwing out all her plans for the day and tumbling back into bed together. She knew Carol certainly wouldn’t have any complaints. Her breath caught as Carol’s lips brushed a particularly sensitive spot on her skin.

Focus. Birthday!

“You are the worst influence, Carol Danvers-Vance.” Her voice was still a little breathy as she managed to get the words out.

“And you love that about me, Emmeline Danvers-Vance,” was Carol’s quick retort, that grin only broadening in response. She loved the way she could affect Emme. She loved getting her so worked up that she struggled to concentrate, struggled to speak. Seeing her controlled, composed wife get a little ruffled would never inspire anything less than a smile.

“No hints?” she questioned. Her hands slipped down to the hem of Emme’s shirt, shifting it just enough to rub her fingers across a strip of bare skin. “Not even one?”

That smile of Carol’s always did her in. So confident and self-assured. Emmeline had to resist the urge to capture that smirk with a kiss. She knew if she did, then they really wouldn’t get to any of her plans for the day.

“Not even one.” Emme sing-songed the words back at her. “You, my love, will just have to wait and be surprised.”

Carol let out a dramatic sigh but relented, pressing one last kiss to Emmeline’s nose. “Fine, I’ll allow you to surprise me,” she agreed. “But I’ve got dish duty. No arguments.”

Emme’s brow immediately furrowed as she absolutely prepared to argue. “It’s your birthday. I’m not letting you do dishes on your birthday. And for every word you say about it, I’m going to add something even more ridiculous to our plans for today. Starting with a glittery birthday girl sash.”

Carol narrowed her eyes and studied her wife for a moment to determine how serious this glittery sash threat was. It didn’t take her long to give in with a grumble. “Fiiiine, I guess I’ll just go shower. Without you.”

Emme preened in victory, kissed Carol quickly on the lips, then stood back up. “You made the right choice.” She dropped her wife a wink, then began clearing the table to take care of the dishes.

~*~*~*~
“You were a wonderful sport today.” Emme couldn’t help but beam at her wife as they made their way into their bedroom after a very full day. After breakfast, Emme had taken Carol on a tour of several of their favorite spots throughout the city. There had been beaches, there had been karaoke, and there had been so much food that even Carol Danvers’ considerable metabolism had been put to the test. “Thank you for indulging me.”

Carol grinned at her wife as she pulled her sand-stained t-shirt off over her head, leaving her in only a borderline-skimpy bikini top. Not her usual choice in swimwear, but who was she to protest what her wife packed for her? She knew well it was only for the pleasure of public eye candy, and she wasn’t about to protest. She had always enjoyed the way Emmeline looked at her.

“It’s important to you. No way I wouldn’t indulge,” was her reply as she went to the dresser in search of a proper hairbrush. “And you fed me enough to feed a team of horses and I survived. I’m impressed with myself, honestly.”

“Very good answer.” Emme chuckled fondly, then closed the door behind her before she moved more fully into the room as well. To her credit, she only became mildly distracted again when Carol pulled her shirt off. Eventually, she caught herself, continued over to her nightstand, and softly pulled open the drawer there. “Ready for your present?”

Carol turned back to Emme while she pulled the brush through her hair, eyebrows raising when she realized there was still a present involved. She set the brush aside again, running her fingers through her hair to make sure it felt less matted by ocean water, then padded over to slide onto the bed. “Does this present involve you being naked?”

Warmth spread along Emme’s skin and she turned back to face Carol again. “That is absolutely happening.” As if there were any possibility of her not wanting to spend as much naked time as possible with her wife. “But that’s still not your present.”

She turned back to the drawer again and withdrew a neatly wrapped rectangle box. As she held onto it, nervy flutters began in her stomach, and Emme tried to quiet her nerves. She drew a deep inhale through her nose to try and settle herself before she turned back around. She used her free hand to tug them both down into a sitting position on their bed.

“I know birthdays aren’t your favorite thing, but you are the absolute love of my life, and I don’t ever want to stop celebrating you, or the way you came into my life.” She leaned in and pressed a tender kiss to Carol’s lips while she simultaneously placed the wrapped gift into her wife’s hands.

“Happy Birthday, love.”

Carol knew Emmeline. She could tell even before she turned to face her that she was unusually nervous; she heard that breath, and for a woman who was usually the pinnacle of calm, that was a sign. Whatever this gift was, it was a big deal to her. Carol straightened on the bed, prepared to react accordingly.

The kiss was accepted just as easily as the gift slotted into her hands. She smiled and said, “Thank you,” before nuzzling Emme’s nose with her own. “For the record, you’ve done a lot of work making me care about my birthdays again. Having you to celebrate with makes them worth recognizing.”

With that, she slid her fingernail down the center of the wrapping paper and pulled it apart to reveal a pretty, dark red photo album inside. She raised her eyebrows and slipped her arm around Emme’s waist before opening the cover.

The pictures she found inside made her heart ache in the most pleasant way she could imagine. Every one of them included Marley, and they moved like Carol knew photos in wizard albums did. She knew Emme must have worked some of her own magic to make that happen; even with the magic in this world, photos were still typically static. She lingered on one that showed their daughter sitting on her shoulders, hands in her face so only one eye was peeking through while she laughed.

“It’s been so long since she was here,” she sighed quietly, still flipping through the pages one by one. Last year’s timeslip hadn’t brought Marley back to them, so Carol had wondered if she might not come to be. It hurt to consider, but around here, things were changing constantly. It was always possible.

Carol’s arm around her waist, Emme had slipped in close and rested her head against Carol’s shoulder. She could already feel the lump of emotion rising up in her throat again as they shared the moment together looking over pictures of their little girl.

“Too long.” She murmured in response. That very fact was another part of this gift, though Carol hadn’t gotten to it yet. Emme turned her head enough to press a soft kiss to the bare skin of her wife’s shoulder.

Carol paused for a moment, eyes closing at the feeling of Emme’s lips on her skin. She turned her head to brush a return kiss across her wife’s temple. She knew she wasn’t alone in missing their baby — she’d known that even before being presented with an album full of her photos.

“Maybe this year,” she suggested, half-hearted at best. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Right now, she was just glad they weren’t in a Back to the Future-type predicament. They could still have these pictures, despite how long it had been.

“About that…” Emme murmured and reached a hand over to rest gently on top of Carol’s for a breath. Then she moved it to the pages of the photo album and flipped it ahead to the last page of the book. An envelope was fastened there with a heart and their daughter’s name on the front. Emme pulled it free and handed it over to Carol.

Carefully folded inside were documents from a fertility clinic in the city. One they’d hopefully be scheduling an appointment with very soon.

The frown that appeared on Carol’s face was borne of confusion and only there briefly. As soon as she pulled the paperwork out of the envelope, her expression completely changed. Her jaw dropped slightly as she scanned the contents and realized what she was reading. A fertility clinic. Emmeline had gone to a fertility clinic.

“So, uh.” She paused and turned to her wife, studying her. “You’re ready? Are you sure?”

She knew the answer. There was no mistaking it, not with all the effort Emme had already made. This was such an intentional move, and Emme didn’t make those moves unless she was sure. But she felt like she still needed to hear it.

Emme watched Carol’s expression go from confusion to surprise to … carefully neutral. Holding back what she was feeling until she got that verbal confirmation. Emmeline’s own gaze softened as she nodded and brushed her hand across Carol’s cheek. “I’m ready, cross my heart.”

Carol let out a breath and nodded. “Good. That’s… God, that’s great, babe. I–” She didn’t waste any more words; instead, her hand on Emme’s back pressed in tighter, and she leaned in to kiss her deeply.

It was an easy transition, and Emmeline’s arms slipped around Carol’s shoulders as she turned to press their bodies together. Carol’s still mostly bare skin was wonderfully warm and Emme could feel the gentle thrum of her heartbeat. That incredible, giving, marvelous heart that had taken a stranger out for a night of Karaoke and had given her everything.

Emme broke the kiss just long enough to say “I love you,” before she pulled Carol’s lips to hers again.

Carol hummed and smiled into the kiss, sealed again too quickly for her to respond. The papers slipped out of her occupied hand and shifted to slide into Emme’s dark hair instead. She kissed her wife until they needed to breathe again, and that was when she said, “I love you, too. So much.”

She met those blue eyes, smiling a bit dazedly as she soaked in the sight of the woman she’d fallen so head over heels for so quickly and so easily. To think that was hardly two years ago, and now, here they were, on the brink of becoming parents to the little girl who had pushed them to finally admit their feelings.

“Just so you know, this is the best birthday I’ve had in decades.”

Emmeline beamed at those words, a tingling warmth spreading throughout her body and straight down to her toes. “It’s not over yet.” Then she pulled Carol’s lips back down to hers.