Work Text:
Silco’s door creeps open, followed by a pair of tiny footsteps. He lays his work down, a headache building from reading endless lines of text. Hundreds of architectural reforms, a few dozen policy changes, handling payrolls, and even domestic disputes between his employees overtook his day. He felt like he was one more complaint away from screaming. The truth was, Zaun had never been safer. It was worth it, for all the headaches, frustration, and putting up with the council-. Zaun was safe, Jinx was safe, and she was safe.
“Papa?” A pair of large crystal-blue eyes peek over the edge of his desk, wild bangs falling past her soft brows. One tiny hand helps her balance as she spies upon his work. Nonsensical to a child, he’s sure, but she didn’t need to make sense of what kept her safe.
“Yes, child?” The girl lays a piece of candy on his desk, pushing it forward without a word. Silco examines it slowly, holding it to the light as he ponders. The day has hardly started, the sunshine streaming in through mosaic glass dances across the room. The young girl chases the shapes as they move in front of her. “Pray-tell, what did your mother say?”
The babe goes quiet, looking away shyly. “I see.” Silco takes the piece of taffy, carefully unwrapping it and holding it out to his daughter. “It’ll be our little secret. Eat quickly and before your mother finds out.”
Xyris’s eyes light up, and before he can blink, she’s stuffed the entire piece in her mouth. “Thank you, Papa!” Silco smiles brightly for her, ruffling her hair when she smiles back through candy-covered teeth.
The door opens again, and his firecracker girl gently peaks through the opening. He watches her curious expression turn as bright as a thousand suns when her gaze lands upon their child. “There you are squirt!” Xyris freezes at Jinx’s voice, her little cheeks full of taffy.
“Don’t,” Silco says when he realizes she’s trying to swallow the whole, unchewed sweet. Jinx is nearly silent as she comes up behind Xyris. She scoops the young girl up in her arms with a laugh that makes Silco warm.
“Don’t what?” How Jinx managed to balance Xyris while pregnant. He’d never know, nor would he admit his blood pressure rising when she spins the girl around, and he fears she’ll fall. His wife examines the sticky mess on their daughter's lips and raises an eyebrow at him. “Where’d you get this, kiddo?”
“Awntie VI!” Xyris beams through a mouthful of her sticky-sweet treat.
“Uh-huh.” Jinx is smiling as she says it, attention flittering to Silco with a mischievous grin. “And who opened it for you?” Xyris’ baby blues go wide. Then her not-quite-innocent gaze is turned on him, then the floor. Jinx smacks a kiss on her cheek. Silco leaps from his chair when she wobbles a bit as she bends over to set the girl back on her feet. She doesn’t fall, hardly even phased, but his heart is soaring in his chest. Jinx waves him back with a fond eye roll that does little to soothe his frayed nerves.
“Run along, flower. I’d like to speak with your mother for a spell.” Xyris nods, waving at the both of them before she hurries along, no doubt to one of her aunts for another treat. He falls back in his chair with a soft sigh and opens his arms for Jinx.
His beauty, his queen, his wife- crawls into his lap like she’s done for many years. His body goes slack at the familiar feeling. He rests his hand on the swell of her stomach where their children grow. Six months pregnant with twins, and she’s still so full of energy, he doesn’t know how she does it. It's yet another mystery for another day. Silco lays his head on her exposed collarbones and breathes deeply. In reverie, he speaks from his soul and bares his heart to her. “You’re perfect,” he could drown in her presence.
Jinx stretches like a cat in a pool of sunlight. Silco rubs circles along her spine and feels more than hears her relieved sigh. “I’ve been thinking.” She examines her freshly painted nails, though he can see the chips in the blue-pink polish from where she’s picked it.
He inhales her scent of gunpowder and flowers and something uniquely Jinx. “Tell me, my love. What occupies your thoughts?” Silco runs his fingers along her braid, his eyes falling closed to the sound of her heart under his ear. Silco listens to her whispers as she tells him all the secrets of her heart. He knows a smile tugs her lips. Her voice is like a lullaby, pulling him towards a place where the world melts away, and all that's left is Jinx.