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Hellboy figured dressing up their own humble little abode was a necessary means of distraction, so Liz could stop worrying herself and stop trying her hardest to worry Hellboy about the impending birth of their twins.
It wasn’t that Hellboy didn’t think about that encroaching day, or that he didn’t want to think about it, it was just that he couldn’t be a bundle of nerves and worry about Liz and still do his job properly without Manning constantly breathing down his neck. At least Manning pulled back from Liz fairly early on and cut her some slack; of course, that could entirely be due to Liz’s raging, unpredictable hormones that exploded out of nowhere and devoured every hallway and corner, leaving everything and everyone a little worse for wear.
Not that he’d ever say that out loud.
So he graciously let Liz distract herself each day, let her ramble on and on about the most mundane things, a world he never thought he’d have period, let alone with someone as perfect and pure and made for him as Liz. He let her wake him up in the middle of the night asking about cribs and baby bottles and names because they hadn’t settled on anything definite yet. Hellboy endured the interrupted showers and the sleepless nights and the distractions when they were supposed to be working because he knew Liz, who was usually the quiet one, was only talking out her own fears and that it was better than what he did, bottling them up and ignoring them like they couldn’t possibly exist.
Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t get exasperated from time to time.
Something hit the back of his head as soon as he entered the room, as he stood there and tried to figure out where Liz would hide his latest pack of cigars, the ones she had confiscated last night seconds before he could dive in. The blow was minimal, and judging by the heat it was only a flash of her fire, but he was surprised and hurt enough that he swiped a hand over the area, groaning a little. Liz stormed into his eye-shot before he could turn and seek her out in indignation. “What was that fo…?”
“You’re blocking my view!”
Hellboy, ever being the gentleman, swept to the side and leaned up casually against the nearest wall, hoping that would appease Liz. “Sorry for being too… tall,” he finally settled on. He rubbed the back of his head again, though this time mainly in nervousness. “You all right, Liz? Something botherin’ you again?”
Liz huffed. “I just don’t know if the drapes match the carpet. And the color of the bed is all wrong, the comforter doesn’t even match the sheets. Plus, this place is a mess. You’re leaving candy wrappers all over again, and there’s still those beer cans in the bathroom from last night. This space… it isn’t fit for us, Red.”
Amazed, Hellboy finally surveyed the small, cramped room before him with a somewhat critical eye. “I think it looks just fine.” A few less beer cans and candy wrappers and it’d be home sweet home. He mentally reminded himself to run a remodel by Manning again, with a little more pressure this time and stressing how teensy it would be, to knock down a few walls and expand the place.
“You would,” Liz insisted, “because you’re a guy. You have zero instincts when it comes to this.”
Hellboy figured there was some truth in that, but he still didn’t want Liz to worry about this when there were too many other things to worry about. When she shouldn’t be worrying about anything at all as far as he was concerned. “Where’s this coming from, Liz. Huh? ‘Cause you were in a pretty good mood this morning.” Maybe the pancakes had set her off, Hellboy pondered, maybe it had been too sweet of a gesture and Liz had seen right through it, him trying to placate her after their fight last night.
“I just… I just want everything to be perfect for them.” Them. That word never stopped giving Hellboy heartburn, and it never stopped him loving her more than words or actions could ever express. He watched as one of her small hands brushed over her now noticeable bump absentmindedly, teeth chewing her bottom lip adorably. Hellboy stepped forward and settled behind her, resting a hand over hers and gently caressing her stomach.
He smiled at her as she gazed up at him for one small moment, so obviously needing him. His cheek rested against her short hair as he tried to create a soothing atmosphere in which she could hopefully relax in. “They’ll be happy as long as we are, babe.”
“I know, Red.” Liz sighed heavily in exhaustion, her eye shifting from the bed and the drapes and the carpet to rest surely on him. She burrowed herself in his arms and Hellboy reveled in the weight of her, even though there was a bit more than there had been months ago. And what a beautiful thing that is. “I know,” she breathed, at last, peacefully.
FIN