Scott held his daughters in his arms, his head in his wife's shoulder, as his youngest braided his hair.
"Dad," she whispered, her little nails blue she waved him down to her.
He bent down. "Hm?"
She got close to his ear. "I want to make Mommy something," she said in a normal voice.
Scott frowned, pursing his lips. "We gotta teach you how to whisper kid."
Lia cocked her head. Ana hid her smile, pretending she couldn't hear. Annika showed her the comic she was reading, one of the many interests they shared.
Ana cultivated most of the interests she had in Annika, and Annika loved them. From comics to anime, to food, Annika grew to love most of the things her mother did.
"Oh my goodness," Ana read over the panel. "What issue is that?"
Annika grinned. "I'm gonna send you the link."
"Just send it to the chat, because I'm gonna hear about it all week, so I may as well read it," Scott said.
Annika smiled, sending the link to the family group chat. Even Lia was in the chat, but she didn't have a phone, she just used her iPad.
Scott was convinced she could read, and decided to catch her in the act.
Lia waved her dad down again, making Scott smile.
"I wanna go to...to...to the story."
Scott chuckled. "You mean the store?"
She nodded vigorously, her curls bouncing. "I wanna go to get um...get stuff for Mommy."
"Okay," Scott ruffled her hair. "Sure."
Lia laughed happily.
Scott did some research and it turned out, when she actually spoke, she was very advanced.
Lia laid back in his arms, unbraiding the braid she'd made, braiding it again. Lia was a beautiful little girl, but she was an odd mix of Scott and Ana.
She had beautiful dark skin, like her mother, but her features closely resembled Scott's. Her eyes were a dark blue but no where near as light as her father's blue eyes.
Scott smiled when he looked at her, because she looked so much like Ana.
"Dad," Lia pulled on his hair. He picked her up, sitting her up closer to him.
"Hm?"
"Do you and Mommy married?"
He blinked. "Oh, are we married? Yes, Mommy and I are married."
"And...and, and is I'm married?"
"No. You're not married. You're three."
"Nikka? Is Nikka married?"
"Nikka is only 16. She can't get married either."
Annika smirked. "I can with a parents permission."
Scott pulled the cover over her head. "Over my dead body. You are baby. Both of you."
Annika pulled the cover off her head. "Hey! I'm not a baby."
Scott raised a brow. "One day Alfred will die and Batman will be all alone in that huge mansion."
Annika's eyes welled up with tears.
Scott nodded. "See-"
"Why would you say that," Ana sobbed. "You're such a fucking asshole."
Scott chuckled, leaning over to give her a kiss. "There, there Ana. Nikka. I'm sorry. I'm sure there's somewhere in the DC multiverse where Alfred is immortal, or a robot, and he'll never leave Bruce alone."
Ana smiled. "Yeah...you're right."
Lia looked around confused, before tapping Scott.
"Why everyone crying?"
"I'm an asshole," Scott shrugged.
Lia nodded solemnly.
"Hey!" Scott protested, picking her up. "Don't agree to that."
He rubbed her face. "You've got soft skin. Is it because you're a baby? Or is it because of Ana's genes?"
"Hey, Dad?" Annika said suddenly. Ana slid out from under the pile of people laying on her.
Scott looked up at her. "Where are you going? I still don't feel well."
Ana rolled her eyes. "Can I pee by myself?"
He shrugged. "I don't think it's entirely necessary but fine."
Ana raised her hands in defeat going into the bathroom.
"What were you saying, Annika?"
"A lot of people's dads say mom."
"What?"
She shifted. "Like Dad's will say, your mom this, or your moms said that, when they're talking to their kids."
"So?"
"Why don't you?" She asked, looking up at him.
Scott looks at the bathroom. "Because that's not her name. She's not just your mom. Her name is Morgana, and she was a person before she became your mom, and she's her own person now."
Annika felt strangely proud of her father for making such a considerate statement.
"It's dehumanizing, to not call someone by their name. And Ana prefers it that way. So..."
Scott changed the subject, quickly asking about one of Annika's comics.
Ana smiled to herself in the bathroom, glancing in the mirror. Maybe he did listen.
Just a little.
