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Leon let out a huff, rubbing his nose slightly with a gloved hand as he hopped off his motorbike. He turned off the engine, stuffing the key into the pocket of his jeans, and grabbing the plastic bag from the trunk before walking over to the front door of the building he lived in. He had just gotten back from a week long mission, and he was tired, he needed a really long nap.
He was exhausted, and that sounded like an understatement to him. All Leon wanted to do was to just go into this house, make some dinner for him and his wife, as well as their daughter, but she didn't really eat anything other than chicken nuggets and fries. Slightly concerning, but he was fine with it.
He was sure Ada fed her other stuff when he wasn't around, even though he knew that she can't cook for shit. He just hoped they hadn't been eating burnt food for the past week, if the premade meals Leon made before leaving had finished.
Leon was always sure to make food before leaving, putting them in boxes and sticking them into the fridge. All that had to be done was for it to be put in the microwave or in the oven for a few minutes. He even stuck little notes on them with very clear information to make sure Ada knew what to do.
He let out a yawn, looking around the pockets of his jacket for his keys as he got into the elevator. Leon scanned the chip in his key chain, then clicked on his floor. He leaned against the mirror of the elevator, closing his eyes for a moment as he waited to reach his floor.
Leon felt like he needed another week-long break, maybe that was just an always thing, but he just hated going on extra long missions. It stressed him lots, and he could barely sleep during most nights, not until he was sure that everything was done.
When he heard a ding , his eyes fluttered open, and he stumbled up to stand straight on his feet. He leaned against the wall while walking towards the end of the hallway where his apartment was, fiddling around his keys to find the right one that fit the door.
He hated how tired he would get after missions, it always made him feel like he could barely move or do anything, Leon didn't even know how he trusted himself to drive back home. It was stupid really, he even made sure to have a cup of coffee earlier, but it seemed like that wasn't going to work anytime soon.
Leon scrunched up his nose when the door opened up with a noise, he should oil that some time. He chuckled tiredly when he saw a quick blur running over to him and hugging his leg. He smiled softly, ruffling her hair as he walked further into the apartment with Natalia wrapped around his leg like a koala on a tree, giggling happily.
He kicked off his boots near the shoe rack, taking off his jacket while smiling at the warmth of the apartment. Leon continued smiling at Natalia's laughs, she was gripping onto the pants of his leg like her life depended on it, as if she was going to fall any moment now, even though she was barely a few inches off the ground.
"Hey" Ada chimed from the kitchen, the sleeves of her sweater rolled up to her elbows from where she had been mixing something in a bowl. Leon raised his eyebrows at that, picking Natalia up properly, and then over his shoulders before walking into the kitchen, peeking over her shoulder to see what she was doing, while he placed the bag onto the kitchen counter.
"What are you making?" Leon murmured to her ear, kissing Ada’s cheek lightly, and then looking around the kitchen before moving his eyes back at the mixture she had in the bowl. Ada only laughed, dipping the tip of her finger into the mixture before putting it to Leon's lips. He licked it, giving a slight hum with a nod at the taste.
"Cake?" Leon mumbled quietly, pulling his hair out of Natalia's hands which had been tugging at a fist full of it. He put her off his shoulders, placing her at his hip instead. He was rather surprised the mixture tasted so nice, Ada usually makes horrendous things in the kitchen that he shudders at the mention of, but he didn't know she could bake. "I didn't know you could bake"
"I can't," Ada muttered quietly, pursing her lips into a straight line. Leon only raised an eyebrow at her. He huffed for a second, seeming to think of an answer to this situation. She looked up at him through the corner of her eyes, continuing to mix the batter all together.
His wife made cake batter, but she didn't know how to bake. That was quite something.
"I'll shower and change, then I'll come help, don't touch the oven. I don't trust you with it" Leon spoke with a lighthearted warning glare, pressing another kiss to Ada’s cheek, then putting his daughter onto the couch in the living room, handing her a random toy he had grabbed from the coffee table before heading into the bedroom for his shower.
He hoped Ada didn't try doing anything, because he had a slight feeling she would burn the oven and everything around it, then somehow, it would all set on fire. Even though it sounded unrealistic, he had a feeling she could make that happen.
-
The cake batter was now in a circular pan and in the oven. Just the smell of it made Natalia all excited as she jumped around the kitchen, slowing down whoever she got close to the oven because she didn't want to get hurt like Leon did when he moved the pan to a higher row.
They had even made cookie dough, and Ada made sure to put a generous amount of chocolate chips on their daughters request. Although, most of the leftover chocolate bits were eaten by Natalia every time she walked past the bag.
Her little hands reached over the kitchen counter that was taller than her, then searched around for the bag of chocolates chips without seeing. Leon scooted the bag closer to her hands once or twice, but when she gave up on getting the sweets that way, she climbed onto the counter, eating them like she hadn't had candy in ages.
Natalia's love for sweets started because of Leon, Ada blamed it entirely on him, even though she had her own stash of candy hidden in a jar in the top kitchen cabinet, but Leon and their daughter did not need to know that.
Leon had a cup of coffee in his hand, trying to keep himself as awake as possible as he listened to Natalia's stories that meant absolutely no sense to him. Still, he kept asking her a few questions every once in a while, loving the way she seemed so enthusiastic while telling all the events. She even jumped around a few times.
"Really? What did Jennie do then?" Leon asked with a confused expression, opening the open to check on the cake. He reached over and started sticking a toothpick into different sides of the cake. Once he saw that it was clean, he smiled, pulling the pan out of the oven with a cloth, then placing it on the counter to cool down.
"Then she- is done?" Natlia asked, jumping next to him eagerly to see the cake that he just pulled out of the oven. Leon chuckled, putting the tray of cookies in the oven instead. He then moved to pick her up, letting her see the finished cake, although he kept her slight far from it so her hands wouldn't accidentally touch the hot pan.
"I smell cake" Ada chimed as she walked into the kitchen, holding a grocery bag she had just got from the store. Natalia beamed eagerly in Leon's arms, kicking around excitedly. He placed her back down onto the ground, letting her run over to Ada who hugged her with a grin.
"What'd you get?" Leon asked, leaning his elbows on the counter as he watched the two girls, waiting for the cake to cool down while the cookies baked in the meantime. Ada placed Natalia on the counter, taking out a box of frosting and a second box of strawberries.
"Strawberry!" Natalia beamed at the sight of the fruit with a gasp, wanting to reach over for them but Ada pulled them back, clicking her tongue as she put the strawberries away, handing Leon the frosting to put it on the cake.
"I need to wash it first, darling" Ada spoke, kissing Natalia's nose before taking the box of strawberries to the sink, washing them thoroughly before placing them in a bow. She gave one to her daughter, sliding the rest to Leon for the cake once more. A vanilla cake always tasted better with strawberries on top.
"We should clean this up" Leon laughed, looking at the flour dusted counter, the dishes in the sink, the messy living room and Natalia's chocolate chip filled face. They split the chores, Leon got the kitchen while Ada got the living room and the girl.
Leon wiped the kitchen counters clean with a wet towel a few times, making sure it was sparkling like it had been before, before moving over to the pile of dishes. With a sigh, he rolled up his sleeves, starting on them one by one.
Meanwhile, Ada cleaned up the living room, putting all of Natalia's toys in a little box by the TV stand while she waited for the water to warm up so she could give her daughter a bath. Flour dusted hair and a chocolate covered face was not something to go to bed in.
They were done in no time, all three of them sitting at the couch with a kids movie on the tv. Natalia happily munched on the chocolate chip cookies they had made together, giving both Leon and Ada a bite of her cookie. They took tiny nibbles of it though, letting her eat the rest by herself.
"She's not sleeping tonight with all that chocolate" Ada muttered to Leon's ear, watching their daughter watch the movie while standing in front of the screen. She just couldn't sit still. He laughed, leaning his head on Ada’s as he watched the little girl's energy.
"I'm not sleeping anytime soon either, I had a few cups of coffee to be awake this far and they're starting to kick in" Leon mumbled into Ada’s hair, feeling his wife lean into him, both mostly focused on their daughter than the movie they were supposed to be watching all together.
"You take her for the night then, I'm going to bed" Ada grumbled, letting out a yawn against Leon's shoulder. He hummed at that, kissing her forehead before moving his arm from around her back, letting her go to bed. She smiled at the gesture, pressing a soft kiss to Leon's lips before walking out of the living room.
"Where's mama?" Natalia asked a moment later, running over to the couch and snuggling up into Leon's side, purposely getting herself stuck between him and the arm of the couch. He only laughed, running his hands through her hair to make it look slightly better.
"She went to sleep, do you wanna sleep with her?" Leon asked, allowing her to cuddle up to him as much as she wanted. He put his arm around her and pulled her to his lap, kissing her cheek softly with a light smile. Natalia beamed at that, burying her face to his chest. Leon guessed it was because his body was warm.
"No! I wanna stay with you" Natalia giggled, looking up at him and wrapping her arms around Leon's chest as much as she could to hug him. He smiled at that, hugging her back and keeping her close to him, kissing to top if her head.
"That's fine with me" Leon mumbled, laying onto the couch on his back, making Natalia lay on top of him as they snuggled up together while watching TV.