Benefits (and Downfalls)

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, I’m just borrowing them.

Author’s Note: This idea began as cute family fluff and quickly evolved into something a little more…mature. I blame the characters for having minds of their own.  Also, this fic contains some Greek words. I do not speak Greek but attempted to be as accurate as possible with the resources I have at hand. The book read at the beginning is Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan.

Words to know: 

• Kουκουβάγια (Koukouvágia)- owl 
• Nàvi (Νάnι)- sleep, in baby speak
• Baba- father, in baby speak
• Οχι (Ochi) – no

Summary: Drake and Eliza have a conversation involving the future of their family one night after their son goes to bed, then attempt to prove that parenthood has not changed their passion for one another.

“The rooster crows, the crows caw, and the day begins, said mama. But little owl did not hear. He was fast asleep.” I said, while turning the page of the well-worn board book, not actually needing to see the words to know what came next.

“Owl night-night!” My son exclaimed from his spot next to me on the couch, pointing towards the cartoon owl on the page. He glanced up at me wide-eyed, pride in his discovery beaming on his face.

“Yes!” I responded, as I did every night when he made the same declaration. “The owl is sleeping.”

“Kουκουβάγια nάνι!” The toddler exclaimed with similar enthusiasm, turning his attention to Drake, whom he snuggled against on his other side. With a chuckle Drake praised our son for his observation much like I had, though in Greek.

Ever since little red-faced newborn William was placed in our arms, this had been our practice; Drake spoke only Greek to him while I used English. We’d decided before he was born to raise Will bilingual and, after a little research, this was the technique we’d agreed on.

Our plan was apparently working, as he already had an impressive vocabulary in both languages for an 18 month old. Though tonight he was showing us a new side to his understanding.

“Read Mala Mala?”

A miniature version of my husband’s face stared back at me. His features contorted ever so slightly in an attempt to appear far too adorable to say no to. Despite his perfected puppy-dog eyes tugging at my heartstrings, I managed to plaster on my best gentle but serious Mom Face.

“No Llama Llama tonight little bub. Like Little Owl, it’s time for you to go to sleep.” I bent down and placed a soft kiss to the top of his head. Damp silky hair brushed my lips and the fresh scent of baby shampoo filled my senses.

“No! No night-night! Will whined in my direction before wriggling onto his father’s lap- a valiant attempt to be saved from big bad mommy trying to put an end to his fun. “Baba,Oχι Νάνi!”

After glancing my way with a look that said “come on, just one more”, which I shot down with a brisk shake of my head,  Drake stood up with a clearly exhausted toddler in his arms.

Love brimmed in my chest as my husband whispered calming words to a struggling Will before ruffling his hair and securing him against his hip, ready to finish the boy’s bedtime routine in the comfort of his own room.

“Did our son translate for me?” Drake asked when we were safely in our bedroom,  the tiny ruler of the house now sound asleep in his crib.

“He sure did,” I said with a chuckle.

I was fairly certain that wasn’t actually Will’s intention, but I liked the idea of our son deciding his father needed his help navigating a language he’d spoken fluently for decades. It was certainly much more fun than the more scientific, cognitive development reason I could have answered with.

“He’s not even two yet, how is he so smart?”

“I mean, look at the parents.” My hand flicked between the two of us. “Well, his mom at least.” I gave a half smirk.

“That must be the same reason he’s so stubborn.” Rich brown eyes smiled at me.

“Hi pot, I’m kettle,” I said, eyebrows raised.

“Fine. He may have gotten a little from both of us.”

“ ‘Little’ my ass!”

“Oh your ass is not little. Just the way I like it,” he countered, his voice teasing and deep at the end.  

I rolled my eyes, but the gesture lost value as soon as a snort sneaked past my defenses. Our laughter harmonized for a moment before we settled onto the cozy love-seat I’d insisted we needed. A firm arm wrapped around my back and pulled me close as I snuggled into Drake’s side.

“Hana asked me the other day when we’re having another one,” I said after several minutes of comfortable silence. A grunt of surprise escaped my husband’s throat causing me to chuckle. “That was my response.”

Drake pulled back slightly to meet my gaze, shock painted across his face. “Really? You don’t want another kid?”

“Oh I do. I know we’ve discussed having two and I’m still on board with that. I’m just not in a hurry to add another person into our busy life right now,” I replied.

Our life was always going to be hectic and far from normal- a fact I’d accepted when we’d returned from our honeymoon only to be thrust headlong once more into everything being a duke and duchess entailed in Cordonia. But when our plans to simply enjoy some time as a couple before starting a family had failed epically, with Will making his appearance into the world on our first anniversary, our stress level reached a mountainous peak.

Not that we didn’t love our son or welcome his arrival, but neither of us was quite prepared for the responsibility of parenthood on top of everything else. Now though, we were finally settled into a routine which worked for all of us, balancing dignitary duties and family life about as well as we could have hoped.

Our family wasn’t complete yet, I could feel that in a corner of my soul, but I wasn’t ready to disrupt our happy ‘family of three’ bubble quite yet. And up until this moment I’d assumed Drake held similar beliefs.

“Me either,” he said, as though he’d read my thoughts.  “You and Will have brought more love into my life than I ever thought possible and I know another child will add to that. But I want to savor this time together, just the three of us, for a while longer. You two are my life and I want to make sure Will knows that before we change his little world.”

Warmth and relief infused my being.

“Have I told you lately how much I adore your sticky marshmallow center?” My eyes locked with his, one finger brushing a line across his stubble peppered cheek.

“Not for a whole day. I was hoping you’d keep the streak going a little longer.”

“Sorry not sorry, Agent Marshmallow.” I curved my  lips into a wry smile, my gaze turning flirtatious.

The finger on his cheek trailed down his neck toward his collar bone while my other hand played with his belt. “You know another benefit of not having another kid right now?”

“Hmm?” Drake hummed as wanting etched across his features.

“More of a chance to have some alone time after the tiny terror goes to sleep.”

Hungry, heavy lidded eyes peered into mine, begging for me to continue.

“I like your reasoning. Maybe Will does get his smarts from you.”

“Shhh,” I purred, placing a finger to his lips. “If we say his name too much he might wake up. And then I couldn’t do this.” I pulled myself onto his lap, my legs bracketing his.

“Mmm. We can’t have that.”

His pelvis flinched reflexively when my hand brushed over his obvious growing desire for me as I unbuckled his belt and unzipped his fly. I slipped my hand under the waistband of his boxer briefs. The vibrations of his groan tickled my lips, which had begun working kissing down his neck.

“Eliza,” he murmured as his strong hands found my back and began exploring under my shirt.

I started to sit up on my knees in order to pull down his jeans, then froze. A whimpering cry sounded from the baby monitor on the night stand.

“Shit,” Drake mumbled.

“Shhhh. Give him a minute.”

After two minutes which seemed to span an eternity, we both visibly relaxed when no new evidence of our son’s wakefulness presented itself.

I returned to my task of relieving my husband of his pants as he made slow progress with my blouse.

“Fuck,” Drake moaned when I ghosted fingers down the now exposed skin of his inner thighs.

“What the he-” “FUCK!” Suddenly a cold wet nose brushed against my bare waist, causing me to flinch backwards and giving our corgi Malcolm just enough space to wiggle in between us and step directly onto Drake’s crotch.

“Malcolm no!” I exclaimed, jumping off Drake’s lap and pulling the still wriggling dog with me. “Oh my God!  Are you okay?”

“That’s it,” he croaked out, once words became possible again. “We’re giving that… that mutt…back to Maxwell.”

– The End