Work Text:
“…do you think she’s warm enough?”
JJ stares down at Maud, who is suspiciously quiet as she stands on the doormat in the entryway. Which JJ could take as a ‘no’, but maybe it’s more likely to be a ‘if I don’t talk they won’t add another layer’ type of situation.
Between the full-body snowsuit, snow boots, scarf, hat and mittens, the only parts of Maud that are exposed to the elements are her nose and hesitant brown eyes. Honestly, it’s a miracle she’s still up on her feet. For all intents and purposes, their little girl looks an awful lot like—
Well, like a marshmallow. A very cute one, but a marshmallow nonetheless.
…Okay, so maybe they’ve slightly overdone it.
“Probably,” Emily finally acquiesces at her side. She leans down to adjust Maud’s beanie so it stops its journey down past her eyes. The pompon that tops her tiny head wobbles at the movement. “What do you think, my love? Are you dressed well for the weather?”
This time Maud does respond with a series of unintelligible noises, a happy cadence they will never get tired of hearing. She makes to move forward, but her new outfit limits her movement more than usual, and instead of walking successfully she loses her balance and plops down on her bottom.
Maud stares at her boots with a look of betrayal.
JJ’s lips twitch and she finally turns to grab her own coat off the coatrack, passing Emily’s on to her. She slides her arms into the sleeves and fastens the buttons before slipping on her gloves. Maud is halfway through an unsuccessful attempt at getting back on her feet, and she crouches to pick her up, settling her on her hip.
“Let’s go outside,” she tells Maud in a light voice. A string of mamamamama filters into the air, and she smiles, tucking a strand of Maud’s wispy blond hair away from her forehead, back under the beanie. “Yes, baby. All of us are going outside.”
Soft wool settles around her neck, and she looks sideways in surprise to find Emily winding her forgotten scarf snugly against the bare skin of her throat to trap in the heat.
“There,” Emily says with a kiss to her cheek. “Do you need your hat?”
JJ shakes her head. It’s cold outside, but she dislikes the frizzy mess of hair hats tend to leave her with. She’ll survive without. She casts a look at the living room door. Besides, they’re just heading into the backyard. If it is too cold, JJ can just pop back inside for more winter clothes.
JJ glances at Maud, decked out in every single piece of possible winter gear and presses her lips together. Their ‘first-time-mom’ energy is really showing with the overbearing care they put into dressing Maud today. Though some things come more easily, this is the kind of stuff they still have to figure out. They have been around toddlers before, through work and friends, but it’s different when you’ve got your own little human to care for. JJ has grown a whole new capacity for worrying, one she knows Emily mirrors. Perfection is impossible, and they’ll undoubtedly make mistakes, but if they can help it they never want to fall short for Maud.
Slightly ridiculous dressing practices and all.
Before they had Maud, they read every parenting book out there, learning the rules by heart, only to push them aside once Maud was with them and they realised babies don’t follow rules and decided to stick to guidelines instead. Those same guidelines had led them here, with carefully chosen clothes and layers to combat the colder temperature outside.
And Maud… Well, she’s getting better at letting them know when something isn’t to her liking, anyway. She’s not as little as she used to be, when she still fit within the crook of their arms. JJ and Emily cling hopefully to her title of baby, but toddler would be a more apt descriptor at this point. Their baby is a girl with a mind of her own, babbling through the days and taking any opportunity to explore the world around her and find her own way through it.
Maud kicks her legs, the soles of her snow boots digging into JJ’s upper thigh. She winces, carefully stilling Maud’s movement with a gentle grasp on her leg.
“Impatient,” she teases with little heat and a whole lot of fondness. “I wonder who you got that from.”
Her pointed look at Emily earns her a swat to the arm and a bright, beautiful laugh.
“C’mon, you woman,” Emily says, gloved hand pressing to JJ’s lower back. She guides her through the entryway and living room to the back door. “We better get outside before the sun is gone again.”
A cold, cutting wind blows into their faces the second they step onto the back porch. JJ sucks in a startled breath, cheeks tingling at the sudden change in temperature. It’s all worth it, though, the second she steps down from underneath the awning and the fresh snow crunches beneath her feet.
The world is strangely, beautifully quiet.
Their entire backyard is covered in a blanket of soft white snow, as far as the eye can see. It almost hurts to look at, and JJ squints her eyes as they adjust to the shift in light, but she’s smiling before she knows it. There’s something about the winter’s first fresh snow that fills her with a childlike sense of wonder, no matter how often she has experienced it before.
This time is extra special, though. It may be a known sight for Emily and JJ, but this is the first winter snow has settled and stayed for longer than a fleeting moment since Maud was born. They’d woken up to a snow storm, and Maud had spent the morning watching through the window with wondrous curiosity as the world transformed. And now…
JJ turns her gaze to Maud, who looks at the world around her with wide eyes, her mouth parted in awe. Her face has gained a healthy rosy hue from the cold, colour pooling in her round cheeks. JJ exchanges a loving look with Emily, holding back the swirl of overwhelming emotions that arise in her chest.
She returns her focus to Maud. “What do you think, baby?”
Maud babbles quietly in response.
“That’s snow,” Emily explains softly, pointing at the ground beneath their feet. Maud tries to mimic the word, prompting a proud smile. “Yes, snow.”
JJ pulls Maud’s beanie back from her eyes once more, readjusting it on her head, before lowering her to the ground. The snow gives way under her snow boots and Maud stares down with a mixture of interest and hesitancy, one hand held tightly within JJ’s. She looks up at Emily.
“Snow,” Emily confirms once more.
Maud holds her free hand up to Emily, who curls her fingers around Maud’s mitten in a secure grip. They watch as Maud casts another dubious look at the ground, before lifting a foot and toddling forward at a slow but steady pace, her moms following at her side. The tiny series of footprints are lined by their larger tracks, curling into the backyard.
Maud gasps in delight when she discovers she kicks up snow with her steps, pausing at random intervals to admire the untouched snow that blankets the rest of the backyard.
Though the wind blows steadily, the cold is quickly forgotten. Maud tugs them forward again and JJ follows, tilting her face up to the sun with a happy sigh. She briefly closes her eyes as she soaks up the rays she has so sorely missed during the grey, dark days that lie behind them. She loves the cosiness of winter, but it’s hard to go without sunlight for long. She makes an effort to commit the feeling to memory for the undoubtedly many grey days that are still to come before spring breaks and summer approaches again. Because, well—
JJ looks down at Maud, then up at Emily, whose face is bright with joy for their daughter, and knows she wouldn’t trade any of this for the world.
They’re halfway into the backyard when Maud stops again, this time letting go off their hands to crouch down and press her mittens into the snow. JJ takes a few steps back, taking off her gloves and fishing her phone from her pocket to snap a few quick pictures to capture the moment.
Emily stays in place, sticking her gloved hands into her pockets, watching Maud with undivided attention.
A tiny frown pulls at Maud’s face, lips pursing as she turns her hands around and stares at the snow sticking to the palms of her mittens. She looks up at Emily and presents the snow-covered hands. Emily smiles at the unspoken request and swipes away the snow.
Maud babbles her thanks and straightens up. It’s not without the necessary wavering, but she succeeds without help. Emboldened and ever-so-independent, she takes an investigative step forward on her own. Another step, and she wobbles dangerously, losing her footing on the uneven surface. But before she can fall and crash, Emily is right there, catching her under the armpits.
“I’ve got you,” Emily says quietly.
She lifts Maud back onto her feet, holding her in a gentle grasp until she’s steady again.
JJ inhales deeply and repockets her phone, wrapping her arms around herself. It’s weird how sometimes Emily can do the simplest thing, and yet steal the air right from her lungs.
Though Emily offers her hand, Maud elects to stay in place this time. Her attention strays and Emily crouches down next to her, holding a quiet conversation as she points out the different parts of the yard hidden away under the snow. Years of facts and knowledge about the weather phenomenon pour past her lips in simple language as she teaches Maud everything there is to know. Maud hangs on to every single word with rapt attention, interjecting with the occasional babble Emily takes in stride.
Warmth spreads through JJ’s body.
Emily is, and always has been, a natural at this.
A new gust of wind blows past them, and the clouds shift, covering the sun. JJ sighs at the loss, but doesn’t dwell on it too long. Though the lack of sunlight results in their surroundings being cast in a depressing shade of grey, the pure white snow is bright even still.
Something cold touches her nose and JJ startles, tilting her head back.
Oh.
The grey clouds have broken open, millions of tiny snowflakes fluttering down towards them in a swirling, magical sight.
The realisation hits Emily mere seconds later, and she perks up with an excited gasp, looking up to the sky. Much like Maud, her cheeks are bright red from the cold, but her eyes shine in a warm brown, glistening as she watches the snow settle around them. Pure white specks cling to her grey hair, staying in place even when she shakes her head in delight.
JJ holds her breath, unwilling to risk disturbing the quiet atmosphere.
Emily lifts her gloved hand up, catching snowflakes in her palm. Maud watches with curiosity, before stretching her arm up in a perfect copy of her mom. The fresh snow settles on Maud’s mittens and she squeals happily, holding out her hand to Emily, who admires Maud’s catch.
“It’s very beautiful, isn’t it?” Emily marvels in a hushed voice.
Maud inspects the snowflakes, then turns towards JJ, taking a careful step with her hand held up. JJ closes the short distance between them in seconds, getting down to Maud’s level like Emily, and taking her turn to wonder aloud about the snow’s beauty.
Maud takes a liking to catching snowflakes, enjoying the new game JJ and Emily are all too happy to play along with. She’s entirely locked in, until a large snowflake lands on the tip of her nose, melting away against her rosy skin, provoking her to cross her eyes in surprise.
JJ and Emily laugh, bright and warm.
“It’s cold, isn’t it,” JJ comments, tenderly brushing the water from Maud’s face.
Maud makes a noise of affirmation.
JJ smiles and kisses her nose. “There, all better.”
Maud’s gaze tracks from JJ to Emily, and JJ turns with it to find Emily brushing away the snowflakes that have landed on her skin.
JJ hums with mischief. “Looks like Mama could use some help too.”
Before Emily can comprehend, JJ cradles her face between her palms and follows the path of the snowflakes across her cheekbones and forehead. She intends to end with a kiss to the nose like with Maud, but Emily laughs and instead catches JJ’s lips with her own for a final kiss.
“Better?” JJ asks when they pull apart, amusement dancing across her features.
Emily fondly shakes her head. “Better.”
Maud squeals with laughter at all the silliness, and Emily picks her up, straightening with a groan and cracking knees to toss Maud in the air to the sound of boisterous giggles. “I love you, you silly girl.” Once their daughter is safely back in her arms, she turns to JJ, winding her free arm around her shoulders to pull her in for a warm embrace. “And I love you, Jennifer Jareau.”
JJ can’t imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else.