Three months later
There are murmurs in the air: San Francisco, publicly declared haven to mutants. The possibility of moving; the fact that Xavier's school is neither precisely a haven nor precisely Xavier's any more
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It's become a comforting act; Kate's not sure which of them really started it, though she'd bet good money it was Piotr, but she's happy to contribute. And yes, it may be (always may, with a mutant baby) another month, or around there, before they feel any movement beneath those hands...
But it's a comfort, as said, and one she adores.
"Next time, you wear it."
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It's not, really, because there's no real point to this trade. Inhibiting his mutant power would do nothing; inhibiting hers is part of the precautions they need to take.
But he'll say it anyway, half-smiling.
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Both of her hands rest, now, over his, and in this moment, it feels like everything is perfect.
"We're having a baby," she informs him, very seriously; every time she thinks about it, she's delighted and hit by the fact all over again.
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He might briefly think it, and Kate can undoubtedly guess, but he doesn't say it.
Instead, he smiles. (He doesn't know how it makes his face light up, no matter how many times she says it, but he wouldn't be too surprised to learn.) "Da. We are."
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(Admittedly, Kate likes his face period. See: the entire, oh, FIRST YEAR she spent as an X-Man, cheerfully chasing after him.)
"Man. I've got to get used to referring to you as 'daddy,'" she realizes, and grins up at him.
(Piotr, she thinks, was kinda made to be a daddy. And is going to be wrapped around their child's little finger, whatever gender that child may be.)
Speaking of which...
"You know...we've also got to start thinking of names," she points out thoughtfully. "Er, again. More seriously, now that there's an actual baby. Which, um. Might be easier if we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. I merely point out this fact."
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He doesn't remember exactly when you can tell, but he thinks it's by now.
And even if under normal circumstances medicine can't... they hang out with a lot of telepaths, and the Mansion's infirmary has a whole lot of variously advanced technology.
Anyway, he doesn't object to knowing. Piotr sees no particular appeal in this mystery, and knowing helps with logistics like, say, picking names.
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MmmPiotrnicewarm.
"Besides, I'm sure Hank already has it and half a dozen other details, probably including the baby's IQ, in his computer."
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And mostly contented. Hello, sprawling Katya.
"We can ask him. And then we will think about names."
They've tried thinking of names preemptively, at a few points. And there's the beginning of a mental list, but -- their discussions keep bogging down in the fact that there are lots and lots of names in the world.
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"Did you miss me saying it's in his computer?"
Ask Hank, Piotr?
"We'd have to find him, anyway. And with our luck, he's playing with Greenie at SWORD."
Kate does not, personally, understand Hank's choice there, though she only teases him about it because of YEARS OF PAYBACK having built-up while she was a teenager.
"Besides, then I can make you guess."
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This policy is because they've all had material on him since he was 19 years old.
"Ah. Of course."
You will forgive Piotr if he doesn't always think in terms of being a genius hacker. Since he is not.
He strokes a thumb lightly across her stomach. "I forgot. I am sure you will hold out a very long time, then."
As there are, uh, only two likely choices, here.
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And her policy exists because they've all had material on her since she was 14.
Though everyone knows better to mention two names (hint: Seth and Zsaji) around her.
Period.
"Mmhmm. I am filled with restraint. And patience," she says, a little drowsily.
So sue her, she's pregnant and comfy. And she hasn't been getting the greatest of sleep with the collar. She's very glad for Dream's help from now on, even if she understands Hank, as doctor, wanting to be cautious.
"...Okay. Seriously, mighty muscle man, help me up, or I'm going to fall asleep. And now I want to know if we're having a Rasputin or a Rasputina."
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For the record.
But all right, if she wants to do this now, it can be now. He shifts accordingly to scoop her up.
...That's what she meant, right?
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(It is possible she giggles more around Piotr than anyone else. It is possible she will hit you if you point this out.)
"Don't let me fall asleep on the way to the room, or you better wake me up when we actually get there," Kate then warns him.
"This tired thing sucks, for the record. It is unfair to take my caffeine from me and make me more tired. Remind me to register a complaint with someone somewhere."
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To remind her about complaints, or to wake her up? The ambiguity may or may not be intentional.
He is perfectly okay with carrying her to their room, though. What's the point of being built like Piotr if you can't carry your girlfriend around when she's feeling tired, once in a while?
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Uh. Anyway.
She is not asleep when they reach their room, though in part it's because she gave Emma the finger when she say Frost smirk and open her mouth at the sight of them.
If anything was actually said, she didn't hear it, and Kate is okay with that.
She is a little tired, but she grabs one of the drinks Hank insists will work for energy even better than caffeine--he lies, the evil blue beast, he does--and moves to her computer after groaning and stretching when Piotr sets her down.
"All right, place your bets ahead of time, Mr. Rasputin. Is the number coming up blue or pink?" Pause. "...We are not going with gender-colors like that, by the way. I'd throw up at a room colored like stomach medicine every time I saw it."
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Pink is okay! But it does not need to cover every inch.
(We will allow Piotr to pause for his zillionth brief moment of reflection on the fact that they're HAVING A BABY and there will BE A BABY'S ROOM.)
"I have no bets."
Unless she's going to make him pick one. Then he'll flip a mental coin or something.
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