Red Queen One-Shots

Fade Modern AU - The Dinner

A/N:  Be careful: Ultimate fluff ensues.

But to be honest:

Disclaimer: I do not know what I'm talking about. I never attended a university, I don't know at what stages of studies they'd be and I'm even less aware of American programs for young parents at college or of online tuition.

Shade POV

Our bed has turned into a parcours of books. Closed books, open books, old books, new and soft books filled with Diana's scrawl. She sits on the bed too, legs outstretched, typing into her laptop.

It's not her but Clara who reacts first to the sound of me closing the door. Our baby looks up and stares, stopping in her climbing and scrambling over the piles of books.

I greet them as put down my bags, both for college and the supermarket, walk to them and give each a kiss. Neither seem enthusiastic. Dee only smiles as Clara evades my arms.

"You shouldn't have stopped her from playing," she says.

"What, is my little girl a cat now?" I pick Clara up, hold her high. Despite her protests, her smile is just as pure and sweet as ever.

Dee turns back to the computer, still chuckling. "You're late though. I've started my assignment after the online lecture was over."

"Did you? I thought you scattered the books here so Clara can play with them."

Dee bites her lip yet blushes nonetheless.

"I used the special offer hour in the supermarket, as you've reminded me to do," I explain. I let Clara scramble again. Dee taps on her keyboard pad, no longer typing.

"Maybe we should just stay at home," she says. "You cook something from whatever you've bought, I finish the assignment and the best thing will be to imagine him futilely waiting for us to arrive."

I blink at her with all disbelief I can manage. "... Dee?"

She shrugs. "Don't you have some essay to write as well?"

I crouch closer and stare hard into her eyes, just as she likes to do. "What is it, Dee? Are you nervous? Or even afr -"

"Aren't you nervous at all?" she blurts out.

Of course I am. Meeting your girlfriend's father from the military for the first time is hard enough, but bringing along our child he may or may not know about is an incalculable risk.

"As long as he doesn't has a gun with him, I should be safe," I joke.

Dee throws her hands up in the air. "Shade, what the fuck!" But her outburst is fake. She shoves her laptop aside, pulls Clara onto her lap and leans against my chest.

"Language, Diana," I whisper. "You don't want her first word to be a curse."

"I should leave the speaking coaching to you the philosopher anyway," she replies giggling. "You'd know the most wonderful yet accurate insults without your vocabulary ever getting close to the gutter."

I tug a short curl behind her ear and kiss her neckline. "And you moan such interesting things when you -"

I clear my throat which stops her musing, her eyes still sparkling with mischief and desire. Now I must be the one blushing. "Hmm, okay. Remind me, does your father know about Clara?"

"Well, I sent him an email and attached a video of Clara and me and he replied with the invitation."

"Are you sure he watched it?" Annoyance might drip from my words. Her games with her father get us nowhere and now she just shrugs to torment me further. I have the urge to retaliate. "But Dee, I can't believe you're serious about staying at home. You, consuming from our precious stocks instead of receiving a premium meal at a restaurant, for free? Sounds fake."