Work Text:
You didn’t plan to babysit, but your cousin called last-minute, breathless:
“Emergency – hospital – appendix. I’ll owe you a thousand cupcakes, just please take her for a few hours!”
And you agreed because, first of all, you're nice. Second of all, you’re capable, and third, you thought Angel would never be home during daylight.
Well, you were wrong, because in the next moment, she walked in with her signature heart-shaped sunglasses, a silk scarf, and the kind of energy that makes people cross the street without knowing why. Angel was giving models all around the world a run for their money without even trying. You smiled at her, she stopped cold in the doorway.
“What-” She said, voice flat, “-is that?”
You just bounced the baby on your hip.
“This...” You said brightly, beaming up at her, “is Olivia.”
The baby just burbled, then, as if delighted by Angel’s horrified expression, sneezed directly at her.
She just froze.
“I’ve been shot with less warning.”
She circled the baby like it was a ticking time bomb she didn’t know how to defuse, her blue eyes glued to the little human being you held in your arms ever so gently. You grinned at the sight.
“She’s so… soft.” Angel muttered, tracing every little curve of Olivia’s face with just her eyes. She was enthralled, and the baby was just as excited, flailing her arms around in a craze while giggling. Angel just squinted at her.
“Well, babies usually are.”
“She doesn’t even have teeth… she can’t walk...”
Angel blinked.
“She’s useless.”
You shrugged.
“So were you when I met you, and look at us now.”
She just glared, and the baby giggled even harder, with you in tow.
“C’mere, hold her for a bit.” You whispered, holding Olivia out. Angel backed away sharply, eyes wide with shock.
“God forbid, no.”
“Just once.”
“Girl...no.”
“D’aww, but she likes you.”
“She sneezed on me.”
“She does that to everyone she likes.”
Angel looked at you, then at the baby. Then… back at you. “You are manipulating me.” She muttered.
“I’m domesticating you.” You replied sweetly. She just groaned like someone facing execution.
Then, all of a sudden…arms rigid, posture military, she accepted the baby into her arms, and you could swear it was the most uncomfortable hold in human history. You chuckled at her antics, adjusting her hands before whispering: “She’s not a briefcase. Support her head.”
“I’ve killed people with less weight than this.”
“You’re doing amazing, sweetie.”
Angel sat on the couch, cradling Olivia with all the grace of a haunted statue. The baby? The baby just stared up at her, as if in a daze.
Then she sneezed again and Angel gasped, looking up at you for guidance. “Is she…did she just...is that fatal?!” She squealed.
“My love,” You laughed, patting her gently on the head, “she just sneezed. Olivia’s fine. I promise.”
“We need to evacuate.” Angel muttered, dead serious and already mentally making notes of what flights to catch.
You grinned. “You love her already.”
“I fear her.”
“Same thing, in your language.”
It happened slowly, but it did. Angel slowly started adjusting her grip by herself. She stopped flinching. She brushed a curl from Olivia’s forehead with one careful finger. You could only watch in awe. You loved her, so, so much, and seeing her with a small human being in her arms made you feel things you’ve never felt before.
“She’s so… tiny.” She whispered. “A whole new person...”
You smiled and kissed her head softly. “She’s not the only one figuring it out.” You whispered into her hair. Angel just nuzzled into you.
And then- Olivia reached up and grabbed a fistful of Angel’s blonde hair.
“…I’m being restrained.” She said, not moving an inch.
“She must really like your pigtails.”
“She’s got a grip like a miniature assassin.”
You laughed. Angel didn’t, but she didn’t pull away either.
As the day went on, the baby got hungry. People often did that, you suppose, so you stepped away to grab a warm bottle.
When you came back though, Angel was singing. It was soft, a bit off-key, and it wasn’t in english. You gazed at the two as she sang what you made out to be a spanish lullaby, maybe half-remembered from childhood. You smiled.
Olivia’s eyes were fluttering shut and Angel was rocking her, slowly, like it was muscle memory. It felt natural at this point. You ignored the feeling the sight spurred inside your chest and continued watching the two of them in silence. She didn’t notice you at first, but when she did, she looked mortified.
“I’m not doing anything.” She snapped.
You hummed. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You’re smirking.”
“And you’re being maternal.”
She just hissed like a vampire at dawn. Then looked down at the sleeping baby.
“…God forbid.”
When your cousin picked Olivia up, she reached for Angel instead of you. You feigned irritation, rolling your eyes, while smiling at the small blob of a human being as it babbled on and on about the climate crisis. You weren’t too sure about the last part, but that’s what it sounded like to you.
Angel - flustered beyond reason - handed her over like she was defusing a bomb.
“I am not emotional.” She said immediately, eyes misty. “That’s just a side effect of… of baby pollen or whatever they emit...I am still extremely dangerous, I assure you.”
You smiled before kissing her.
“I know. You rocked her to sleep like a mob wife and threatened to assassinate a sneeze. It was hot.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
Later that night though, Angel curled into your side on the couch, hair slightly mussed, expression unreadable.
“You think I’d make a good mother?” She asked softly.
“You’d make an incredible one.”
She hesitated.
“I’m not used to… being soft.”
“I know.” You kissed her knuckles. “You don’t have to be. Not all the time. Just sometimes, with me...and maybe,” You added, smiling, “with tiny humans who sneeze with the force of a thousand dads.”
She laughed. Quiet. Shy. Then whispered:
“I’d name her after a knife.”
You gasped.
“As if! I’m not letting you name our kids Bayonet.”
“Oh? Our?” She smirked at you, before pursing her lips and tapping them with a perfectly manicured index finger.
You just swiftly jumped over the couch, face beet red from embarrassment, and ran in the kitchen. Unfortunately for you though, you could still hear her angelic laugh from the other room.