The Lee-Dee-Yaaaaa!! (enjoytheadorbs) wrote in wariscoming, @ 2014-10-13 04:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | john mitchell, lydia bennet |
Who: Lydia, Mitchell, and baby Edward
What: Being adorable babysitters and asking a very important question
When: Backdated a smidge to Saturday night
Where: Locksley Manor
Despite losing her last baby-sitting charges (in her defense, there'd been four of them and they were all older and mischievous), Lydia had taken to being an aunt like she was born to it. From the moment Robin had placed her godson in her arms, she'd fallen in love with the little guy. He had his godmommy wrapped around his teeny fingers and he seemed to know it, too. She knew she'd do just about anything for Edward and she intended to be the best godmother she could be.
The one that surprised her, though, was Mitchell. Big scary vampire, turned at an age where, in Lydia's time at least, most guys cared more about their next beer or the next possible lay. And yet, put a baby in his arms and he was perfect. All sweet smiles and gentle voice and he was possibly even better at it than she was. And though she'd once sworn, despite her mom's best efforts, that marriage and family weren't a Lydia Bennet thing, she couldn't help but wonder. What might it be like to have that? That future that was meant for people like Jane. For people like Robin and Marian. Oh, she knew logically that if she stayed with Mitchell, something would need to change. He would forever be 24 and she was eventually going to look older than him. And she couldn't conceive, either.
But this was Lawrence. The Seal could find a way. And she couldn't help but wonder.
"Don't you two fall asleep on me yet," she teased, walking back into the living room of Locksley Manor, warmed bottle in hand. Her boyfriend and her nephew were apparently having bonding time waiting for her to return. She wasn't jealous. Rather, she wanted in on it.
It was a skill that Mitchell had developed, being able to turn his head to look at his girlfriend coming back into the room without moving his upper body from where he was sprawled across the sofa. Which was useful considering the three month old baby stretched out on his chest, looking extremely comfortable.
“But we’re comfy,” he managed to put a playful whine into his voice as he glanced up, his hand curled protectively around Edward to keep him steady as the baby wriggled slightly. The truth was, he had always liked babies. Not that he had much experience being around them or anything, vampires did not tend to come into contact with infants much, but on the rare occasions he was near one, he tended to be amused by the way they acted. And, in Edward’s case, the way Lydia was completely besotted with him.
Very carefully he shifted himself to a slightly more upright position as the baby yawned. “Come on, buddy,” Mitchell’s voice was soft as he murmured. “Aunty Lydia has prepared you some dinner and it is very rude to turn a lady down when she does such things for a young man.”
There was that familiar little tug in her chest as she heard that gentle, lilting accent talking to the baby. Were she talking with Lily or Alex about it, she'd probably describe it as ovaries going boom. With him, though, she simply handed him the bottle. She'd intended to feed Edward herself-she wasn't about to push all of her childcare duties on Mitchell. But he was already holding him, and somehow watching him feed baby Edward just made her melt that much more.
Instead she joined the pair on the couch, nestling into Mitchell's side. "You're kind of a natural, you know that? You sure you didn't have a sprinkling of little illegitimate babies all over Ireland before the war?" Her voice was teasing, of course, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, watching her nephew struggle to keep his eyes open while he ate.
Edward only made a few noises of annoyance at being moved before he settled into drinking from the bottle, still leaning on Mitchell’s chest. Mitchell was sure that supposedly professional childcare experts would be horrified at his technique or lack of, but it seemed to get the job done and Edward was sleepily having his dinner.
He laughed slightly at Lydia’s question, turning a little to kiss the top of her head. “Reasonably sure, yeah. This might surprise you, but I was kind of a dork with girls back when I was human. I was not always this suave, sophisticated man you see before you.” Of course, Edward chose that exact moment to burp, a little drizzle coming out and spilling onto Mitchell’s shirt. “See? Sophisticated.”
He might think it looked stupid, but to her, he couldn't have looked more perfect than he did at that moment. "Sophisticated guys are overrated, " she argued, turning her head to meet his lips with hers. "I happen to love my dork, even if he is supposed to be a sophisticated vampire now." She reached up to brush his hair off of his face before hopping up to grab a wet wipe from the overnight bag Marian had packed. Tenderly she wiped the baby's chin before wiping the milk filled drool from Mitchell's shirt.
"If you're really good, we'll find reasons to get you out of that shirt once Edward's asleep." With a gentleness she hadn't known she was capable of, she bent to kiss the baby's forehead. "You'll give Aunt Lydia that much, won't you, angel?" she asked, but was only rewarded with more drool.
“Well, this dork is very lucky then,” Mitchell smirked affectionately as Lydia cleaned up Edward’s mess before he resumed feeding the baby, who seemed a little bit more enthusiastic about his dinner now. At least until he drooled on Lydia in response to her request for him to go to sleep later.
“Oh come on now,” he looked down at Edward, one eyebrow raised. “Help a brother out here, it’s part of the guy code. I can’t get shirtless until you go to sleep, so do me a favour here, I’ll totally owe you one.” Admittedly that one would probably involve him being the one to get up in the night to give Edward another feed or change him or carry him around for a while before he fell asleep again, but really, small price to pay.
"I'm beginning to wonder if Robin didn't pay him off to play chaperone," Lydia teased, grinning. "Not entirely sure how you bribe a baby, though. Tummy time? No idea but if anyone can figure it out, it's Robin." Giggling, she eyed her godson. "Did Daddy tell you to be naughty? Don't think I won't just hand you off to Uncle Much, mister." Her tone was teasing, though, and she sat back down, curling one leg around Mitchell's.
Watching him merely reminded her of what she'd been longing to ask him. And it was probably stupid. They'd been together a year but only one and maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe it was a terrible thought to think that he could tolerate her that often, enough even to live with her. "I was thinking..." Her voice grew serious, but a moment later she admittedly chickened out. "About your Halloween costume. You have to dress up as something!"
Lydia might have been joking, but Mitchell thought it was entirely possible that Robin Hood, ‘big brother’ of Lydia, had bribed his son to somehow put a wrench into any romantic plans Mitchell might have with his girlfriend. Or even just alone plans. Or really, plans. In general. Sometimes Mitchell thought the prince of thieves just wanted to mess with him. “Robin is sneaky, it would not surprise me at all, and I didn’t want to say anything, but I’ve caught Edward giving me the side eye more than once, those two scheme together, I just know it.”
He shifted a little so Lydia could curl against him more easily. This was actually one of his favourite things to do, to just be on the sofa with his girlfriend, like they were a pair of normal people. Mitchell glanced over slightly at the start of her question, wondering at the tone of her voice, before it seemed to go to a normal place. “I haven’t actually got a clue, and do not say I have to dress up as a Hobbit Dwarf person, that would just be weird. So aside from that, or a leprechaun, what do you think I should wear?”
Lydia gave a good natured groan at his joking. "My baby boy loves my big boy and you know it. And frankly, though he'll put on the big scary brother air, Robin does like you, too. You're good to me, that's all he asks." George Wickham, however, would have a world of hurt dropped on him if he ever arrived. Maybe Lydia would save him under the "second chances" rule. And maybe not.
"You're too tall for a dwarf, or a leprechaun, " she agreed with a good-natured elbow to the arm not cradling her nephew. "You should be something...dark and mysterious. Something supernatural but not a vampire because haha, no." Though she did think he'd pull off the dark, broody vampire of legend look quite well. Question would be, would they even make it to the party? "Oh, or maybe one of the big screen legends! Like James Dean. Mmm...not bad for his time, that one."
Mitchell snorted with faint amusement. “Robin likes to give me pointed looks whenever I walk into a room with you. And I swear, one time he was deliberately sorting his arrows just when I was there.” He was joking, mostly. Of course, he had no doubts that if he ever made the mistake of hurting Lydia, the infamous Robin Hood would make him pay for that. And he would be right to.
“Thank you, definitely too tall for a dwarf.” Oh why did his face have to play so many strange things? He had also been a werewolf in that bad movie. “You mean you don’t want to see me in the full Dracula cape? Spoil all my fun.” Though really, his Transylvanian accent was appalling. “I always did like James Dean. Good actor, tragic death.”
"Yeah, but did you meet him?" Lydia teased. Because it seemed the vampires she knew all knew some famous person or another. And Mitchell did have his share of famous names behind him so why not? "Ooh, we could rent you a tux and you could be James Bond! That's pretty hot, not gonna lie." She grinned, tickling the baby's tummy. "Looks like you've won the battle. He'll be asleep in no time."
And then they'd be alone. Like grownups. And it would be time for grownup discussions and damn, why was she so bad at them? She'd tried to explain that little fact to Jane but her sister didn't seem to want to believe her. It should be a happy sort of discussion to have but it still scared the hell out of her. What if he decided she was just too clingy and dumped her?
“No, I did not meet James Dean,” Mitchell had to laugh. “I was in Casablanca, not every cool movie of the mid century.” Though it would have been awesome if he had been. “Would James Bond have hair like mine? Because I am not cutting this, it’s carefully styled. I call it messy.” As if to prove his point, he ruffled his own hair, letting strands fall over his face.
He glanced down at Edward who was yawning and stretching, that blinking expression that showed how close he was to finally falling asleep. “Call me the baby whisperer.” Gently, he shifted the infant in his arms. “Now we just need to get him into bed without waking him up, and then it’s just you and me.”
Admittedly she was pretty fond of that hair. She grinned as she twirled one of his curls between her fingers. "Can't have you cutting it. Pretty sure this hair is what I fell in love with. Maybe we could slick it back and wave it and pull off the James Dean look?" There was an obvious wink before she got to her feet and reached down, taking her nephew in her arms.
"He'll probably stay asleep once he's all the way there. He's pretty good about it. Coming to the nursery with me or do you just want to meet me in my room?" Which she would likely spend much less time in if she did end up moving out on her own...with someone else. This someone else. Who she loved a ridiculous amount but was that enough for something like this?
“I think that with enough gel, this mop of hair can be slicked back, James Dean style,” Mitchell nodded with a faked serious look. “Then it’s just jeans, t-shirt, and sunglasses, and of course looking cooler than anyone else in the room.” Important factors to pulling off that look.
Thankfully Edward didn’t stir as he was transferred from his arms to Lydia’s, simply yawned again and snuggled against his godmother. “I’ll come with you, I like watching you with him.” He spoke almost without thinking before he realised what he had said and he gave a bashful smile. “You’re good with him, it’s fun to watch.”
"And a leather jacket," she added, her smile almost wolfish. "I do love a man in leather." Or people would think he was Danny from Grease and it made her almost sad she'd already started working on her costume or else she'd suggest it and say she should go as Sandy.
The comment almost went over her head. When it did hit her, she blushed prettily and ducked her head with a smile. "I've never really been into kids," she admitted, leading the way upstairs. "I mean, I liked them okay but... I'm not very good with them. I don't know, he's the exception, I guess. Maybe I'm just biased and think he's perfect." Or, and it was something she wasn't likely to consider on her own, Lawrence had forced her to grow up. She'd matured in ways a San Diego Lydia wouldn't have.
“I can manage a leather jacket,” Mitchell smirked, because really, it wasn’t so different from his normal look. Different cut of jacket, less scruffy shirts and more white t-shirt, and that was the look. “Of course, you will have to restrain yourself from ripping off the jacket too soon into the evening.” He matched her look with one of his own. After all, no matter what she chose to wear, he would have a hard time keeping his hands off her.
“I think it’s probably different when it’s a kid that means something to you. And yes, you are quite possibly biased, but that’s okay. I think most people are.” Mitchell reached over and kissed the side of her head as they reached the top of the stairs, taking a moment to appreciate the softness of her hair, the scent of her shampoo. He really did love watching the way she was with him. That was just his bias.
The moment was so perfectly them. That strange combination of sexual innuendos and gentle teasing and perfect amounts of affection. It still wasn't something she was used to, but she was getting there. Being in love wasn't new to her. She was the sort to always think the next hot thing would be the greatest love of her life. But being truly loved? Loving with the intensity she found herself loving Mitchell? Well. That was definitely new and it warmed her in ways her quick flings never could have.
She closed her eyes briefly at the touch of his lips against her hair and she couldn't help smiling. It was just...nice. Really nice. "Probably. He's a great kid. And you, my handsome HottieVamp, happen to be an equally excellent babysitter. When were you going to fill me in on your secret baby whispering abilities?"
Mitchell had been in love a couple of times in his long life. Josie, that sweetness of a love that drifted apart. Annie, the dramatic love that had never truly been. Others that had been tainted with pain and betrayal. Lydia was different. She was accepting of him, faults and all. He could trust her so completely and being with her made him a better man. She was, without question, the love of his life.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you? It’s one of the vampire superpowers. Speaking to babies. Only the Irish ones, mind you. It’s a combination of factors, all adds up to baby whispering skills.” Mitchell nodded, attempting to look serious before he broke into a smirk. “I have no idea, he’s the first kid I’ve really spent any time with.”
"Maybe it is the accent," she said seriously. "It's more similar to his Mom and Dad's. Plus it's got that soothing, melodic sound." Oh, did it. As long as she'd known him, as long as they'd been dating, she still melted a little when he spoke. Especially over words like 'I love you' or her name.
She rested the baby in his cradle, Robin's old one with the intricate engravings, and then kissed the tips of her fingers before touching them to his head. "Sleep tight, little angel." With one hand she reached for the baby monitor and with the other, she took Mitchell's hand. "Come on, Baby Whisperer. Time for some grownup time."
Mitchell had to resist the urge to laugh, not wanting to risk waking the baby. “You’d actually just listen to me recite the phone book, wouldn’t you. Weirdo.” Though admittedly, there was so much affection in his voice.
He smiled softly at the way she put Edward down. “Night, kiddo.” And, thankfully, backing out of the room didn’t seem to wake him up in the slightest. “So, grownup time?” He tugged Lydia close to him with a smirk. “I do like the sound of that.”
She would. She wasn't going to deny it. Honestly, she could listen to him talk all day long. And not just because of the accent, but because that was the man she was in love with. And it warmed her when he talked, because usually he was saying things that made her smile.
Nestling into his chest, she slid her free hand around his neck. "Not in the hallway, gorgeous. That would be the one time Much would get a wild urge to come check on the baby." Grinning, she leaned up on her tip toes to kiss him. "Come on, my room."
He had to nod with a rueful smirk. “The guy does have a sense of timing for when it’s going to be the most annoying.” Not that he had any problem with Much, he just had this habit of showing up at random times.
Mitchell kissed her back before he grinned. “Why, Miss Bennet, are you trying to lure me back to your room to seduce me, well I never.” Really, he couldn’t even pretend to be scandalized. Especially since he knew the exact way to her room, how many steps it would take even. So, with that in mind, he swung his arms down so he could scoop her up in a dramatic fashion, carrying her easily. “See? How many men can whisk you off your feet the way I can?”
Lydia had to stifle her giggles at his sweeping gesture in order to not wake the baby and wasn't that a thought she never thought she'd have? "Glad to know that vampire super strength is good for something. I can still have that second donut in the morning and yet be carried off story book princess style."
In order to cement the princess mold, she desperately draped her arms around his neck, pretending to swoon. "Oh, handsome knight, I do believe you've earned your reward for such a daring rescue!" She leaned up to kiss him again before curling into his chest. "Shall we?"
“You know, vampire super strength is also useful for things like opening jars,” Mitchell nodded with a feigned sage wisdom. “It’s the little things like that that never get talked about in the media. I can also reach things from the top shelf, but that was a skill I had when I was human too, so I don’t think that counts.”
Then it was his turn to stifle a laugh at her amazing princessing. “Ah, then my reward I shall claim, oh beautiful lady.” And with that, he carried her down the hall to her room, managing to actually be graceful the entire time, with the brief exception of opening her door without putting her down, which did involve having to bend slightly strangely. But, once it was open, he managed to avoid the cliched move of bumping her head on the doorframe, instead stepping inside and pausing to kiss her nose. “Your chambers, my princess.”
"Somehow this worked better in the less modern parts of the house," Lydia declared, looking around. The room she had chosen had been decorated to her tastes and was possibly the most 21st century looking place in the manor. "Still. Have my handsome man. Have my adorable baby nephew, " she added, holding up the baby monitor. "I can't think of much that would make it better."
Well. She could think of one thing. This time, when she hesitated, she didn't immediately backtrack. She actually let herself think on it. What was the worst that could happen? He'd say no? Big deal.
...or he could say that she was getting way too attached and maybe they needed to see less of each other. But no. The man who had just fought his way into her bedroom without dropping her wouldn't think that way. Would he? "Well. Maybe one thing could make it better." She reached up to stroke his cheek with her fingertips. Jane had supported her. She trusted her. This would be fine.
Mitchell had to admit, he did love this room. It was just so perfectly her and it was one of the few places he felt truly relaxed and at peace.
“And what’s that?” He smiled with curiosity, wondering what she might want. If it was in his power to give, he would. Turning his head just a little meant he could kiss her fingertips. He relaxed on the bed, lacing his fingers with her free hand.
There, curled in his arms, she felt like she could ask him anything. Like she could do anything. "If we did things like this in a place of our own."
It wasn't entirely the way she'd intended to go about it. It wasn't a direct question, either. But it did open the door for discussion. And it was true. She wanted that. Their own place. Somewhere where he still felt safe with her, where she could just go home to him at the end of the day and know he'd be there, loving her. It was something many couples took for granted and yet, after all they'd been through, she knew she never would.
A place of their own? The two of them living together, every day? It was a nice thought, comforting, one that Mitchell had, if he was honest with himself, dreamed of before. But was she definitely ready for that?
He shifted so he could look her in the eyes more easily, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Is that what you really want? I’m not an easy guy to live with. You’ve seen how I am, I’m kind of a slob and I’m still not actually sure how the dishwasher works.” He reached out to brush a lock of her hair back. “I would spend every single day with you if I could. I just want you to be sure.”
She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until he answered. When it seemed he was more concerned with her feelings and worries than his own, however, she released that breath slowly and easily. "I'm one hundred percent certain. I've thought a lot about it. This isn't just some passing Lydia Bennet wild idea. This... It's what I want. You and me."
Yes, she knew he was a slob, and she was, too, and they'd have to work at that. And they'd likely bicker, most couples did. But that didn't change things. Not to her. "We'll have to make a chore wheel or something. So we can actually make sure stuff gets done. Since I hear living together is more than just sex on every available surface." Her grin grew a bit wicked at that, but it eased into a gentle smile. "If you want to, Mitchell. Don't just say yes because it's what I want."
He laughed at her insistence. “Oh wait, you mean it’s not just about that, oh then I’m totally out then, I’m only in it for the sex in every room, on all the furniture, all the time, obviously.” The smirk on his face showed just how much he was joking and he tightened his embrace around her.
All joking aside though. Mitchell did like the thought. “I do want to. I really do. I want to go to bed with you every night, wake up with you every morning and all the other stuff. So how do we do this? Get our own place. And you’re the one telling Robin, I get the feeling he would glare too much at me.”
She couldn't help it. A huge smile broke out on her face and she didn't even bother attempting to hold it back. Now that it was out there and he was agreeing and they were actually planning, she couldn't remember why she'd been so worried.
Taking his chin in her hand, she pulled his face closer for a soft kiss. "Don't worry so much about Robin. He just wants me happy. And you do that. It's Jane you have to worry about." Her smile was sly, though, and she reached up to play with his hair. "We either pick one of the complexes or find a place that requires adult things, like jobs and rent and stuff like that. At least a one bedroom, none of that studio crap. And Kitty comes, too. Sorry, love."
Really, Mitchell had been deflecting about Robin. Jane was terrifying. Those big pleading eyes, the soft voice, the look that said she wasn’t angry, she was disappointed. Mitchell was fairly sure that even Hitler would have felt shame and awkwardness when faced with such a person.
“You can tell Jane too, right? You won’t make me have the conversation about this, how I’m going to move in with her little sister and take her to bed every night and things like that?” He listened to her list of requirements with a smile. “Definitely a separate bedroom, just in case we have people over, and I would not dream of denying Kitty anything, where you go, she goes, I know that.”
She couldn't help but giggle. Both because of how cute he was, with his begging and fun comments, and also because she was just in a really good mood. How could she not be? For the first time in a long time, things were nearly perfect. If the Seal would just cough up Lizzie and Mary, she'd be one hundred percent content. And if Hal could be less of a douchebag. "You'll be happy to know, I've already talked to Jane. We have her blessing. Sort of."
It was going to happen. It was really, finally going to happen. And she almost couldn't believe it and she kept waiting for something to go wrong but it wasn't and it made her want to squeal with happiness. "It works out because Kitty likes you anyway. Good thing, too, or that was a deal breaker. Love me, love my cat!"
He did love the sound of her giggle, and felt a little smug that he had helped cause it. That smugness lasted until he caught the end of her statement. “Sort of? What do you mean sort of? Do I need to prove that I love and adore her little sister? Because I’ll do it.” Somehow. How did someone prove to an older sister that her little sister’s heart was safe with him?
Being with Lydia made him just happy, it was that simple. He felt almost human again, as though he could forget all the pain and darkness that came with being a vampire. When the cravings of his addiction to blood reared its ugly head again, just thinking of her made them ease again. Not gone, not ever truly gone, but eased enough for him to keep going, to try to be better, worthy of her love. And now the idea of living with her, it made him feel light. She brought out the playful side of him again, and he loved her for it. “Kitty just likes the fact that I’ll get up and get her food or open doors for her when she mews all pitifully,” he commented dryly, though he was fond of the cat really. “I know how these things work, the cat is really the boss. Those are the rules.”
"Sort of as in, she's sad I'm moving out but she's happy for us. And maybe thinks my paranoia is ridiculous because I was terrified to even bring this up." And, as always, Jane was the smart sister, especially with people smarts. Because she'd been right and Lydia had been pleasantly surprised.
Curling into him, she tried unsuccessfully to stifle her grin. "And you're such a good cat slave, too. It's quite possible that keeping you around was her idea. I just couldn't find a reason to tell her no." Which was an understatement. Keeping him around sounded like the best choice she'd ever made. They faced obstacles of course, but they always had. And they'd face them. Together, like they always did.
The fact she had been terrified to bring it up was actually adorable, and made Mitchell smile as he pulled her closer for a hug and a kiss to her nose. “You never need to be terrified to bring these things up with me. I love you, and Jane was right. Which isn’t surprising really, she’s smart.” Weirdly, Mitchell was often worried about disappointing Jane, dreading the idea of having those sad eyes turned on him.
“In which case I am very grateful she was so insistent, maybe I should find some way of thanking her.” Besides, he liked the cat really, finding it soothing the way she could sometimes curl up on his chest and purr for a while as he dozed. It was a domestic situation he had never experienced before. Friends and housemates, sure. But this, the woman he loved, her cat, her godson and her sister, the family around her that accepted him even with his complications. This was all new, and he loved it.