The Littlest Things

"Goddamnit, Archer! I swear to God I will shoot you in your damn stupid face if you don't back off right now!"

"God, I get you're like having a baby and stuff, but there's no need to be so rude!" Cherlene announced, storming out of the room.

Both Lana and Archer fell silent for a moment before Archer took her hand again, letting her squeeze as hard as she wanted. He was visibly in pain from her death grip, but he withstood it for the mother of his child. That, and he figured she was probably in more pain than him at the time.

"Archer, back off!" Lana yelled again.

"Oh be quiet, Lana," Malory looked up from in between Lana's legs, "he's trying to do something nice for the first time in his pathetic life so let him."

"Well thanks, Mother, that makes it all better, doesn't-"

"Push, Lana!"

With a mighty scream, louder than the scream of plane engines and explosions as the palace nearby was bombed, Lana managed to push out her small, crying daughter. Malory smiled warmly at the child before moving around the side of the desk to hand her to Lana, after drying the girl off with Cyril's coat. She wrapped her in it, and Lana took the baby in her arms, grinning.

"I'll leave you two alone for a moment, then we have to leave, got it?" Malory looked between the two before leaving, shutting the door behind her.

"I have to admit, having a baby in a warzone isn't exactly ideal, but we did it. We did it, Archer!"

Lana looked up from their daughter who was squirming in her arms, to Archer who was sitting on the chair beside her, and her heart metaphorically stopped in her chest - at least she hoped it was metaphorically.

She was looking at Sterling Archer, usually cold and emotionally distant due to a complicated past and the unwillingness to have his heart broken yet again, with a hand over one side of his face, crying. He wasn't just lightly crying either, he was shaking as he sobbed, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to stop the tears. His long hair fell into his face, and he used it to hide behind. Lana studied his unkempt features, feeling tears sting her own eyes as she watched him. Reaching out a hand, she placed it on his forearm.

"Archer? Hey, what's wrong? It's okay, we did it, the baby's safe, everything's okay," she tried to comfort him, but he didn't respond, he only turned his head down towards the ground further.

Biting her lip in concern, she removed her hand from his arm, instead gently pushing some of the hair back off his face. He still failed to respond, and she instead slid her hand into his, pulling it off his face. He opened his eyes slowly to look at her momentarily, then looked away again, trying to hide the fact that he was an emotional wreck.

"Are you okay?" Lana asked softly, and it seemed to only upset him more, "Honey.. Come here."

In a final attempt, she placed a hand on his cheek, pulling him in. As he moved into her touch, her hand slid behind his neck, pulling him down to rest his head on her chest, running her thumb along his hairline. She stroked her fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes again as he snuggled into her, giving up on his pride as he longed for her touch like a lost boy needing his mother.

"Archer. Honey, what's wrong? Talk to me, please?"

"I'm sorry," Archer finally mumbled, burying his face into the crook of Lana's neck, his voice tight and shaky, "it's just... I totally had something for this..."

She couldn't help but smile at him as he got close to her, and she sighed contently, running the back of her fingers along his cheek.

"Of course you did."

Suddenly, their daughter reached out from the safety of Lana's other arm - the one she wasn't holding Archer with - and grabbed little fistfuls of his hair, making cooing noises at him. Lana smiled wider, looking at the two kids she held in her arms; one a literal child and one a big metaphorical child who'd never had anyone to get close to.

"I think she wants her daddy," Lana tapped Archer's cheek lightly to get his attention.

He turned his head around, and upon laying eyes on his child close up for the first time, his eyes overflowed with tears once again. Would miracles ever cease?

"Baby, hi," Archer mumbled, sounding a little unsure of himself, "I'm.. I'm your daddy."

The baby giggled as he reached a hand over and held his finger out, and she took it in both her tiny hands, entertained by him. He didn't lift his head from her chest, he just laid there, completely content, and happier than Lana had seen him in a very long time.

"You see that, Lana? The baby likes me!" he called out excitedly, looking up at her momentarily to make sure she was watching.

It was just one of the little things he did that she found irresistibly cute. As much as her mind tried to deny it, as little sense as it made for the crude asshole Archer to be cute in any way, it just was.

"Of course she likes you, idiot."

"Hey, baby, your mother just called me an idiot, you should totally punch her right now," Archer looked at the baby, sitting up.

He wiped his eyes, clearing his throat to try and cover himself, but Lana didn't care. She looked down at her daughter - who she had already picked the name for before she had even told Archer she was his - and smiled.

"She's a baby, idiot," Lana replied to Archer, still looking at the child, "of course she can't punch me."

"You're the idiot, idiot. If she's my kid she's definitely intelligent."

"Or bone-headed."

"Dashing!"

"An asshole-to-be."

"Awesome!"

"Rude."

"Screw you, I was having a moment!" Archer pouted in his cute way, folding his arms as he turned away.

"Come here, dashing, bone-headed, awesome, asshole-to-be, adorable, rude idiot," Lana sighed, reaching out to poke his arm.

As he turned to her, he had a smirk on his face, like he either had a huge joke to make or he was about to make her look like a fool. Unfortunately for her, it was the latter.

"I never said adorable," he pointed out, the smirk spreading into a grin.

"I-ARCHER!"

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