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"That red hair," the nurse cooed. "She's absolutely beautiful."
"Thank you," Ian murmured quietly. Mickey sat in the hospital chair with their daughter wrapped up in his steady arms and Ian perched on the arm of the chair for the best view of the both of them. He'd taken at least fifteen phots from this angle already.
"Ready to complete the form for her birth certificate? I've got you both listed under parents 1 and 2 -"
"Which parent am I?" Mickey asked.
"It doesn't matter," Ian quickly interjected with a smile to the nurse.
She grinned, realizing they'd likely had this conversation previously and decided not to respond. "Have you chosen a name?"
Ian met Mickey's eyes and waited. Mickey had insisted that their first kid (Mickey's words!) be biologically Ian's. But then also insisted that since the first was biologically Ian's, that Mickey had dibs on choosing the first name.
Mickey shifted so he could hold the small bundle in one arm and use his other hand to run gentle fingers through the baby's red hair. He seemed to nod to himself and then turned to the nurse.
"Lilian."
Ian's mouth pulled up in a bright grin as he thought about how Stargazer Lilies were Mickey's favorite flower. He'd truly married a sappy motherfucker.
The nurse smiled as well and began to spell the name out loud as she typed, "L – I – L – L -"
Mickey didn't get those flowers for their big day, but Ian brought them home often. And now, after a few years of saving and planning and wishing and hoping, they'd always have a little Lilly around the house. Ian's eyes welled with tears as it hit him once again that they had a daughter.
"Just one middle L," Mickey interjected.
Ian sniffed even as his brow furrowed a bit. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to give their daughter an unusual spelling for her first name. She'd be guaranteed to spend her entire life correcting people on how to spell it.
"Mick -"
"So, L – I – L - I – A - N?" The nurse checked.
Ian's tears dried up and his mouth fell open as he heard the entirety of the letters. "Mick," he repeated, more harshly than seconds before.
Mickey hmm'd but the innocent response did not waylay Ian's suspicions.
"Mikhailo Milkovich, we are not naming our daughter Lil' Ian."
"Lilian," Mickey stressed the correct pronunciation of the common little girl's name. His fingers fluffed her baby fine ginger hair up into a tiny mohawk.
"Then we should spell it with two Ls in the middle," Ian insisted.
Finally, Mickey turned towards Ian, but Ian was not prepared for the wounded expression on his husband's face. "You don't like Lilian?"
Ian gaped at Mickey and his big blue puppy dog eyes. Who did this adorable pouting motherfucker think he was fooling? "Are you fucking kidding me right now," he whispered, despite the fact that he was sure the nurse could still hear him just fine. "You seriously want to name her Lil' Ian?"
"Lilian," Mickey repeated, "with one middle L," he directed to the nurse.
She nodded while keeping her eyes trained on her laptop screen. She wasn't hiding the smirk on her face very well, though.
"I don't know why you gotta insist on making this all about you, Red," Mickey continued to pout, attention back on their newborn. "Although, speaking of, she is a ginger just like you, so for now she does look like a little Ian. I guess." Mickey sighed as though he was put out. As if he hadn't told Ian how much he hoped this little one would end up with red hair and freckles.
"What are we naming the next one? Micro Mick?" Ian asked while frowning at his husband's profile.
Mickey snorted but didn't respond further.
Finally, Ian turned his attention back to the nurse. She seemed to sense his gaze because she glanced up at him and lifted her eyebrows in question.
Ian nodded his agreement to the nurse. He wasn't going to win this battle.
He refocused his attention on their baby girl – Lilian – and already felt like he was coming around to Mickey's name choice and spelling. After all, it did combine Mickey's favorite flower and Ian's name. It certainly had more meaning behind it than some random name picked from a baby book.
Mickey twisted in his seat so he could gently pass the baby to Ian's arms. Then he stood up so that Ian could slide down into the seat properly. Ian immediately began rocking side to side. He lifted the baby and ducked his head so he could inhale her sweet scent, but glanced up when he heard Mickey chuckle.
"You really got a thing for smelling people, huh?"
"Just the people I love," Ian replied, eyes never leaving Mickey's.
Mickey smiled and ducked his face. And right then, right when he knew Mickey was feeling all sorts of loved and happy and content and fucking smug over his name choice, Ian said, "Fair warning that next time we're using your swimmers and I'm naming the kid Minnie."
Then he smiled down at Lilian and ignored Mickey's colorful grumbling (and the nurse's laughter as she left the room).