Work Text:
Hen groans and puts the scissors on the tabletop with a loud clank. "I'm too tired for this crap," she presses out.
Karen glances up from her sheet of paper, an amused smile playing on her lips as she scans her partner's face.
"It's only about thirty more. It was Denny's biggest wish."
"Weren't there any signs on Amazon?" Hen mumbles.
Karen rolls her eyes softly and keeps on cutting out the decoration in her hand.
"Not with the Pokémons he wanted. Be thankful that the printer worked and you don't have to colour them," she teases.
Hen sighs and grabs the scissors again, cutting out the laminated dino-like figure.
"I love that you care so much about his wishes," she says.
"That's our job as moms," Karen says. "Not to spoil him beyond all bounds, but…" She shrugs.
"I wouldn't have known which his favourites are," Hen says. "They look all the same to me."
"I only know them because he showed me," Karen replies, scrutinising Hen for a long moment. "Are you okay?" she asks, frowning.
Hen hums noncommittally. She's been groggy all day and being forced to craft isn't exactly lifting her mood. But she also doesn't want to be one of those people who leave birthday preparations for their kids to their partners.
"I can finish this alone if you're too tired," Karen offers.
"Nah. I won't leave you in the lurch," Hen says. Karen worked all day. She surely would prefer doing other things too, right now.
Karen chuckles softly and grabs another printout. "I love that you do everything you can to make this the perfect birthday party for our son," she says. "The scavenger hunt will be a blast."
"That's our job as moms, isn't it?" Hen smirks. Sometimes, she feels like she's failing them, risking her life, working too much, leaving too much for Karen to conquer. But they're both doing their best, she supposes. Denny is fine. Their relationship is fine. They're doing great as a family despite their ups and downs.
"It sure is," Karen says, the warmth of her voice settling something in Hen's chest that had been bound tightly all day.
They work in silence for a long while, Karen cutting the paper, Hen feeding the laminator and cutting off the excess plastic until the stack of printouts has turned into signs for the scavenger hunt and decorations for the gift bags.
"I really like parenting with you," Hen says. Karen snorts a laugh.
"You don't look like it."
Hen chuckles.
"There are things I like more than this," she says, holding up a cute Pokémon she wouldn't remember the name of if her life depended on it, "but I wouldn't wanna do it with anyone else but you."
She means it with all her heart. Karen is the best, the toughest, the sweetest, the most everything of all the things Hen's tired brain can't even conjure up words for.
Karen raises from her chair with a sparkle in her eyes and leans over the table to place a kiss on Hen's lips. Hen sometimes forgets how much she loves kissing her, stressed out and tightly scheduled as many of her weeks are. But when Karen kisses her like that – indulging, lingering – time stands still, looses meaning. It's such a cheezy thing to think but it's the truth.
"I agree," Karen murmurs as if she hadn't just stopped the world. She straightens, rolling her shoulders with a gutteral groan. "Let's tidy up and go to bed, huh?"
"Just bed, right?" Hen asks, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"I don't want you to fall asleep between my legs again," Karen teases.
"That happened one time," Hen protests. "You'll never let me live that down."
Karen grins. "I just want to avoid a repetition, that's all. You had a stiff neck the next morning."
Hen purses her lips. "Fair enough. But falling asleep while kissing is still okay?"
"It sure is," Karen replies, smirking, and brushes the paper scraps into the wastebasket.
Hen puts the paper chase signs into a box and checks on Denny before she gets ready for bed. Karen lifts the bedspread for her, and Hen slides under it, wrapping herself around her partner immediately.
They manage about four minutes of sweet kisses before they lie snoring in each other's arms. Right where they belong.