A Dangerous Game Interlude: Perfect Moments

A Dangerous Game Interlude: Perfect Moments
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine.
Author’s Notes- This is for Lizeboredom, who likes it when I make Vega get fluffy. This is set after Act I of A Dangerous Game. It takes place shortly before “Beginnings”, though you can find the whole timeline here.
Pairing- Adam Vega/MC
Rating- PG
Summary- Lilith wants to create the perfect moment to share big news with her husband.
Words- 1289

I looked around the room, taking in the sight of the Christmas tree and the flawless decor, my eyes falling on the small wrapped back sitting on the rest of the beautifully wrapped boxes.

Shadow had wanted to play with those boxes earlier when she’d followed me into the room, but I’d banished her. Both to preserve the tree and because, while I adored her, she and Adam didn’t co-exist well and I wanted this moment too much to have it interrupted by a snarling kitten.

Because it was all about the big moment. My husband had been away and I was welcoming him home; I was also telling him news that would change our lives. That deserved the perfect setting, didn’t it?

Something about that thought made me start laughing, almost hysterically. What was I doing? Why was I making this a big thing? It was just window dressing. Adam already knew what I was going to tell him, after all he never missed anything and certainly not something this important, and it suddenly seemed so foolish to go through all this effort, but… I wanted the moment.

Why was it so important to me? It wasn’t like our marriage was real, right? Adam and I had married for reasons that had nothing to do with love and this moment, like all the others, were part of the arrangement.

Yet, I wanted it to be real. This moment and all the others and that was why I’d put on the nice dress and chose this room and gone through the effort of making this into something, hence the wrapped box, because I needed this to mean something. A reaction I didn’t want to read too much into.

I sighed, looking at the box and wondering if I was a fool. I reached for it, to hide it, but just as my hand grazed it I heard footsteps approaching. Too late to turn back. I took a deep breath and stepped back from the tree, straightening the skirt of my dress as I did so.

“There you are,” Adam greeted as he entered the living room, reaching for me immediately. I went into his embrace eagerly, standing on my tip toes to accept his kiss.

“You look beautiful,” He told me when we parted, his arm still around me. I saw him take in the setting, “I was expecting you to be in the foyer or in our room.”

Because that’s what I normally did. I either met him the moment he walked in the door or in the privacy of our own room, but I’d wanted this moment to be different. Private, but without the distractions that being alone in our room provided.

Of course, with enough motivation that kind of distraction could occur anywhere, but Adam was particular and rarely got distracted, much to my occasional chagrin.

“I liked the ambiance,” I told him, pulling out of his embrace, “It’s nice to enjoy the season a little before we get overwhelmed by the social rush.”

In Adam’s world Christmas meant parties and appearances. I’d upset my mother by refusing to go home to Arizona and after several teary phone calls, it was agreed they’d visit between Christmas and New Year’s. The idea of having my family in a house full of vampires had me on edge, but Adam assured me they’d be safe and would remain ignorant to the truth and he had shown me I could count on him. Besides, what other choice did I have? They were my family.

“I appreciate any opportunity to have you to myself,” Adam assured me, his eyes met mine. “Are we just enjoying the ambiance or is there something else that has put that sparkle in your eyes?”

He knew.

Of course, he did. It wasn’t like this was a surprise. There was no room for surprise in this situation. He knew I’d undergone the procedure and how long ago that had been and the waiting game that followed.

But he stood there, his eyes on mine, his hand on my waist, waiting for me to tell him, letting me have that moment, his demeanor gentler than I’d ever seen it. I realized that he wanted this too. He wanted this moment and all it represented. It wasn’t just window dressing.

I pulled away from his embrace and went to the tree, picking up the box. I handed it to him.

“It’s not Christmas yet,” he teased even as he opened the box. He took out the Christmas ornament that announced the due date of August 2019. It suddenly hit me just how cheesy this all was. The vampire thing aside, Adam was super sophisticated and this kind of gesture was not his style.

But it was mine and maybe that was the point. Besides, I’d already committed and he was still looking at me encouragingly, not seeming to care that the ornament would look out of place on his professionally decorated tree. So I went with it.

“I’m pregnant,” I told him softly, the joy bubbling out of me along with the words, “we’re going to have a baby.”

There was no surprise on Adam’s face but there was satisfaction and genuine joy. He cupped my face tenderly with his free hand before bringing his lips to mine. There was a sweetness to it, passion tempered by affection and pure happiness.

“How are you feeling?” Adam asked when he broke the kiss, his hand gravitating from my face to rest on my still-flat stomach.

“Fine,” I assured him, “a little queasy if I go too long without meals and a little tired, but nothing terrible. It’s still early.”

I was just under 5 weeks pregnant, too early even for an ultrasound. That terrified me too. It was still so early and so much could happen and perhaps I was getting ahead of myself with this moment but… I wanted it and I wanted to share all of this with Adam. Just as if we were a normal couple.

“I’ll talk to Lisa and get her to ease up on your schedule,” Adam informed me, to my surprise he walked over the tree and hung the ornament right in the center.

“It doesn’t exactly go with the other ornaments,” I said self-consciously.

Adam shrugged. “It’s just decorations. I told you, whatever you wanted for the tree was fine withme.” He had, but I’d begged off and let someone on his staff do it, understanding that the kind of Christmas tree I’d always preferred didn’t fit in my new life and yet, seeing the delicate ornament with our child’s due date on it next to all the perfect glass ornaments… It looked better than I would have thought. Much like I’d fit into Adam’s life easier than I’d expected.

Adam stepped back from the tree and pulled me into his arms again, leading me to the couch. “When do you see the doctor next?”

“Beginning of January,” I told him, giving him the exact date, “I have an ultrasound scheduled. I have to go in for blood tests before then.” To make sure that my numbers were increasing at the right rate and that the pregnancy was viable.

It was all so clincial, just like the entire process had been, and maybe that was why I’d needed this moment so badly.

“I’ll clear my schedule so that I can be there,” Adam assured me, his arm wrapping around my shoulders. Maybe I should have been surprised, but I wasn’t. When Adam committed to something, he gave it his full attention. I thought it was probably one of the qualities that made him so dangerous.

I nodded in silent agreement, snuggling into the crook of his arm, enjoying the moment. It was exactly what I wanted. It might not have started out that way, this thing with Adam and I, but… Well, like the little ornament on the tree, it was starting to come together better than I could ever have imagined.

• The End