AMATEURS [Tenya Iida x OC]

Epilogue 2 - The One with Some Domestic Bliss

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"Love? I'm home!" Peri kicked off her boots and hung her black peacoat on the rack. She rolled her shoulders, the gravity of her patients' stories weighing on her mind. "Something smells delicious!"

"Momma!"

Heart soaring, Peri turned to find her children racing toward her. They gripped her legs and grinned up at her, mouths half-full of teeth. She kneeled down to scoop the twins up in her arms, their matching Deku pajamas squeezing her heart with adorableness, and walked toward the kitchen. "I missed you guys today," Peri said, covering their chubby cheeks in kisses, "Where is your father? You guys didn't do anything naughty, right?"

"We were good!" Kenji grinned, his dark blue hair sticking up all over. Lipstick kiss-prints marred his freckled cheeks, but otherwise he looked like a miniature Tenya... with Peri's eyes.

Kairi nodded. "We were very good!" In a similar state of disarray, her hair was pulled back into two curly pigtails, just as dark as her brother's and father's. Despite her dark hair, she looked like a copy of Peri at that age: glasses, freckles, and all.

Carrying them into the kitchen, Peri found Tenya bent over the sizzling stove, wearing her favorite pink-ruffled apron over a white button-up shirt and dark jeans, sleeves rolled to his elbows. "We'll see if your father can corroborate your stories," Peri chuckled, letting the kids down. Screeching, they sped off into the living room to cause more mayhem, and she wrapped her arms around Tenya's waist, hugging him from behind. "Whatever you're making smells delicious, love," she mumbled into his shirt.

"Chicken piccata," he replied, holding up his spoon for her to taste. Peri sipped from it, and grinned. "Good?" Tenya laughed, pressing a kiss to his wife's cheek. She nodded emphatically, and managed to land a kiss on his jaw on her tiptoes.

"Were the kids good for you?" Peri asked, hopping up on the white stone counter next to him. "They claimed that they were 'very good'."

Tenya chuckled. "Our definitions of 'very good' might be different," he said, turning off the stove. He planted his hands on either side of Peri's thighs, and leaned in close, a soft smile resting on his face. "I missed you while you were at work, my love."

Peri leaned in, nose grazing Tenya's, and whispered, "I missed you too." They kissed softly, once, twice, three times. Peri rested her forehead against his, and sighed. "I can't believe that this is our life sometimes, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," he smiled. "It sometimes feels too good to be true. Like a dream." He kissed her forehead and stepped away to grab down some plates for their dinner.

"Exactly," Peri said, "It's like someone reached into my brain and made this really nice hallucination of exactly what I wanted. Just... the hallucination is very realistic. Excellent graphics. Sensory effects are on point. You know?" She hopped down from the counter and poured glasses of water for her and Tenya, soy milk for the kids.

He laughed as he served up plates for them, juggling all four in his hands as he walked to the dining table. "Kenji! Kairi! Time to eat! Go wash your hands!" he called. Thundering feet and giggles echoed down the hall, the water running in the bathroom.

Peri carried all four cups to the dining table, and found Tenya behind her as she set them down. He spun her so that they were facing each other, hand in hand, slow dancing. Her cheeks flushed, laughter bubbling up in her chest. "What has gotten into you?" she smiled, studying Tenya's face for some kind of clue.

He bent down and whispered in her ear. "What would you say... if I told you that I wanted to have another child?"

Eyes widening, she let Tenya dip her and pull her back up, maintaining eye contact. "I would say that you've lost your marbles, love," she muttered. "The kids are just about to start kindergarten. We're done with diapers, bottles, waking up in the middle of the night..."

"But don't you miss it?" His gaze was so intense, she shivered despite her thick burgundy sweater. "Don't you miss the baby smell? The tiny clothes? The chunky thighs?"

He was playing her, saying all the right things, and she knew it. "You are idealistic love," she smirked. "But we'd be outnumbered. You do realize that, right? Right now, there's one for each of us... Kenji darts off, you follow; Kairi dives the opposite way, I've got her. But another kid? What do we do then?"

"We have feet?" he joked.

Peri sputtered and laughed aloud. She kissed Tenya square on the lips, her hands holding his cheeks, and pulled away to stare at him. Locking her eyes on his, she stared into his perfect face...

He was serious.

The kids raced in and took their spots at the table, seating themselves and waiting patiently for their parents with feisty smiles, feigning innocence.

"Okay, love," Peri nodded. "One more." Tenya shouted with joy, spinning Peri around in a circle, kissing her cheeks, her nose, her lips.

"One more what?" Kairi said, squinting at her parents.

"Nothing," they said in unison, cheeks bright. Peri and Tenya took their seats at the table, restraining their laughter.

They ate and Peri asked about the day. Tenya hadn't gotten called into the agency, thankfully, so he had spent the day at home with Kenji and Kairi. The only silence he'd gotten all day was during their half-hearted attempt at a nap. Thirty minutes of quiet. They had colored, watched a movie, made Lego robots, walked to the children's museum up the street, and gotten ice cream. A good day with their dad.

And after dinner, bath time.

Two tiny, naked demons raced around the house, giggling and screaming, tracking water every which way. Peri managed to catch Kenji in a box of quirk-magic, and Tenya caught Kairi by hiding in a darkened room and jumping out to swoop her up into his arms.

Finally wrangling him into clean pajamas, Peri read Kenji a bedtime story (about superheroes, his usual preference), and kissed his forehead as he drifted off to sleep. She switched on his Red Riot nightlight and swept out of his room, flicking off the overhead light at the last moment.

Tenya met her in the hall, having just finished doing the same with Kairi. They exchanged a soft smile and made their way back to the kitchen, where they warmed up a pot of peppermint tea. Holding hands, they shuffled to their covered porch and sipped at their mugs.

"Is the weather bothering your shoulder?" Tenya asked softly, looping his arm around Peri's shoulders and pulling her in close.

She nuzzled her head into his chest and palmed her mug in both hands. "Not much. Barely even noticed it today," she answered. A shiver ran through her, head to toe, and Peri set her mug down on their railing to snake her arms under Tenya's shirt, using his body heat to warm her.

He chuckled, low and rumbly, and wrapped his arms around her, his chin resting on her head. "I love you," he murmured, kissing her hair.

"I love you too," she replied, talking into his chest, directly at his heart.

They stayed like that for a long time.

Happy.

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A/N: I freaking knew this would happen, because I did it with DEMONS too. I wasn't even that sad when I posted the last chapter... but now that the epilogues are up...? ;o; I cry.

Thank you again, everyone.

See you in the next one.

<3