Leigh!fic | Midnight Snack (1/1) | Stewart Ackerley/Katie Bell
Title: Midnight Snack (1/1)
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Stewart Ackerley/Katie Bell
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,096
Summary: Katie's hungry. Luckily, her husband is willing there to help her out.
Author’s Notes: This was written as a (late) birthday present for thejazyfizel. While it's not quite the original prompt she requested, Jaz was kind enough to let me run with an idea that hit me. Jaz, I hope you had a very happy birthday! Enjoy!
"Stewart."
"Stewart."
"STEWART!"
Stewart bolted upright in bed, one arm waving wildly for his wand. Fingers closed around it, and his sleep-heavy eyes shot around the room, looking for whatever could have possibly woke him up at this ungodly hour. But there was nothing out of the ordinary; no house elf at his bedside, the bedroom curtains weren't on fire, and there were no Dark Wizards ready to cut him down.
Glancing down at the woman beside him, he realized that she had been the one to pull him out of his blissful slumber. With a groan, he set his wand down and slumped back against the pillows. "What is it, Kates?"
In the darkness, Katie smiled and reached out to poke him in the side. "I'm hungry."
"Then go get something from the kitchen." Why was she bothering him with this? The woman knew how much he loved his sleep, and he had to be up in-he glanced over at the bedside table, checking the clock-three hours for training.
"Your Mum said bed rest, remember?" she whispered.
"Then call Riggs or Nïx," he replied, his tone petulant as he closed his eyes again.
She didn't reply, but after a silent minute, he heard the mattress creak, and then felt the bed dip as she slid off and stood up. Opening his eyes, he shot her a peevish look. "What're you doing?"
"If I wanted to call one of the house elves, I would have already done so," his wife replied with a mulish look, fumbling around for her dressing robe. "Go back to sleep, Stewart. Sorry I woke you up."
Stewart rolled his eyes. Bloody woman was going to be the death of him. Reaching out, his long fingers encircled her wrist, and he gave a gentle tug. "Get back in bed, Katie."
"No," she sniffed. "I'm hungry, and it's obviously asking too much of you to run make the woman carrying your child a sandwich." She gave her arm a shake, trying to dislodge his hold on her, but he held tight.
Swinging his legs over the bed, he scooted across the sheets and pulled himself up. "Woman, I'll fix your bloody sandwich, just get back in bed."
"Don't sound so happy about it," she groused, but she sat back down and slid beneath the covers. "Nutella, cream cheese, and strawberry Panini, please. Whole wheat bread."
Was he supposed to be happy about being woken up at three in the morning to perform a task better suited for a house elf? They had two of them; surely one of the elves could have fixed her something to eat without disturbing him.
Of course, he didn't actually say that. He'd learned early on in her pregnancy not to jeopardize her comfort. Katie had a volatile temper on a normal day, and combined with her hormones… well, he was just lucky she hadn't hexed him to France already. Blake would likely rib him about catering to her every whim, but Lord Fancy-Pants clearly had never dealt with a temperamental pregnant woman before.
"I know," he said instead. He'd made her the same sandwich at least twice a week since she'd started experiencing cravings. It usually required him Apparating somewhere considerably warmer to fetch ripe strawberries, but it was worth it. She was worth it.
Katie tugged the comforter up around her shoulders and said softly, "I love you."
Despite his irritation at having his sleep interrupted, his lips curled and he said, "Love you too, Kates."
"Bring me some orange juice, too."
His nose crinkled-anything orange and edible was disgusting, and therefore inherently evil-but he didn't say anything. Leaving her in their warm, cozy bed, he Apparated down to the kitchen. A wave of his hand Summoned the Nutella from the pantry and the other necessary ingredients from the icebox.
As he set a knife to slicing strawberries, his mind couldn't help but think about how much their lives were about to change. In just over two months, there would be another person living in their home. He would be responsible for taking care of a little life; for offering wisdom, guidance, and Quidditch knowledge.
The idea scared the living hell out of him.
But at the same time, he was excited beyond belief. Their little Gremlin-he'd had to come up with a nickname; they wanted to be surprise, and Katie wouldn’t tolerate calling their baby 'it'-was going to be perfect. He wasn't sure what he wanted more, a son just like him or a daughter with her mother's dark hair and eyes.
He quickly assembled the sandwich the way she liked it: Nutella spread out on one slice of bread, cream cheese on the other, with the thinly sliced strawberries pressed between them, and slipped it into the panini press. (Blake had given it to him eons ago, but the bloody tosser had 'forgotten' to include the instruction manual.) Flipping the switch to ON-very important-he sat back and let the machine do its job.
While he waited, he poured her glass of orange juice and thought himself very grown-up indeed that he didn't toss the bottle in the rubbish. Katie loved it, though, so that was why it was permitted to remain in his home.
When the press was done, Stewart slid the hot sandwich onto the plate and grabbed the foul glass of juice. On a whim, he summoned one of the daisies from the vase on the kitchen table and laid it across the panini.
As he Apparated back upstairs, he said, "Behold, your man has returned with…" then trailed off, quirking a brow.
Katie was fast asleep, one arm resting lightly over her heavily-pregnant belly. A few hairs fell over her face, rising and falling with her breaths, and Stewart couldn't help but smirk when a soft snore sounded from her lips.
With a sigh, he set the food down on her bedside table, casting a Stasis charm over the Panini before he crawled into bed behind her. His hand automatically found her stomach, splaying out protectively, and he was rewarded with a sharp kick to his palm.
"That's right, Grem, you tell Mummy," he murmured, nuzzling Katie's soft, dark locks fondly. He felt another kick land on his palm, and he smiled sleepily. He'd gladly wake up in the middle of the night for the pair of them, and he had no doubts that he would many more times in the future.
Closing his eyes, he let himself drift back off to sleep.
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Stewart Ackerley/Katie Bell
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,096
Summary: Katie's hungry. Luckily, her husband is willing there to help her out.
Author’s Notes: This was written as a (late) birthday present for thejazyfizel. While it's not quite the original prompt she requested, Jaz was kind enough to let me run with an idea that hit me. Jaz, I hope you had a very happy birthday! Enjoy!
"Stewart."
"Stewart."
"STEWART!"
Stewart bolted upright in bed, one arm waving wildly for his wand. Fingers closed around it, and his sleep-heavy eyes shot around the room, looking for whatever could have possibly woke him up at this ungodly hour. But there was nothing out of the ordinary; no house elf at his bedside, the bedroom curtains weren't on fire, and there were no Dark Wizards ready to cut him down.
Glancing down at the woman beside him, he realized that she had been the one to pull him out of his blissful slumber. With a groan, he set his wand down and slumped back against the pillows. "What is it, Kates?"
In the darkness, Katie smiled and reached out to poke him in the side. "I'm hungry."
"Then go get something from the kitchen." Why was she bothering him with this? The woman knew how much he loved his sleep, and he had to be up in-he glanced over at the bedside table, checking the clock-three hours for training.
"Your Mum said bed rest, remember?" she whispered.
"Then call Riggs or Nïx," he replied, his tone petulant as he closed his eyes again.
She didn't reply, but after a silent minute, he heard the mattress creak, and then felt the bed dip as she slid off and stood up. Opening his eyes, he shot her a peevish look. "What're you doing?"
"If I wanted to call one of the house elves, I would have already done so," his wife replied with a mulish look, fumbling around for her dressing robe. "Go back to sleep, Stewart. Sorry I woke you up."
Stewart rolled his eyes. Bloody woman was going to be the death of him. Reaching out, his long fingers encircled her wrist, and he gave a gentle tug. "Get back in bed, Katie."
"No," she sniffed. "I'm hungry, and it's obviously asking too much of you to run make the woman carrying your child a sandwich." She gave her arm a shake, trying to dislodge his hold on her, but he held tight.
Swinging his legs over the bed, he scooted across the sheets and pulled himself up. "Woman, I'll fix your bloody sandwich, just get back in bed."
"Don't sound so happy about it," she groused, but she sat back down and slid beneath the covers. "Nutella, cream cheese, and strawberry Panini, please. Whole wheat bread."
Was he supposed to be happy about being woken up at three in the morning to perform a task better suited for a house elf? They had two of them; surely one of the elves could have fixed her something to eat without disturbing him.
Of course, he didn't actually say that. He'd learned early on in her pregnancy not to jeopardize her comfort. Katie had a volatile temper on a normal day, and combined with her hormones… well, he was just lucky she hadn't hexed him to France already. Blake would likely rib him about catering to her every whim, but Lord Fancy-Pants clearly had never dealt with a temperamental pregnant woman before.
"I know," he said instead. He'd made her the same sandwich at least twice a week since she'd started experiencing cravings. It usually required him Apparating somewhere considerably warmer to fetch ripe strawberries, but it was worth it. She was worth it.
Katie tugged the comforter up around her shoulders and said softly, "I love you."
Despite his irritation at having his sleep interrupted, his lips curled and he said, "Love you too, Kates."
"Bring me some orange juice, too."
His nose crinkled-anything orange and edible was disgusting, and therefore inherently evil-but he didn't say anything. Leaving her in their warm, cozy bed, he Apparated down to the kitchen. A wave of his hand Summoned the Nutella from the pantry and the other necessary ingredients from the icebox.
As he set a knife to slicing strawberries, his mind couldn't help but think about how much their lives were about to change. In just over two months, there would be another person living in their home. He would be responsible for taking care of a little life; for offering wisdom, guidance, and Quidditch knowledge.
The idea scared the living hell out of him.
But at the same time, he was excited beyond belief. Their little Gremlin-he'd had to come up with a nickname; they wanted to be surprise, and Katie wouldn’t tolerate calling their baby 'it'-was going to be perfect. He wasn't sure what he wanted more, a son just like him or a daughter with her mother's dark hair and eyes.
He quickly assembled the sandwich the way she liked it: Nutella spread out on one slice of bread, cream cheese on the other, with the thinly sliced strawberries pressed between them, and slipped it into the panini press. (Blake had given it to him eons ago, but the bloody tosser had 'forgotten' to include the instruction manual.) Flipping the switch to ON-very important-he sat back and let the machine do its job.
While he waited, he poured her glass of orange juice and thought himself very grown-up indeed that he didn't toss the bottle in the rubbish. Katie loved it, though, so that was why it was permitted to remain in his home.
When the press was done, Stewart slid the hot sandwich onto the plate and grabbed the foul glass of juice. On a whim, he summoned one of the daisies from the vase on the kitchen table and laid it across the panini.
As he Apparated back upstairs, he said, "Behold, your man has returned with…" then trailed off, quirking a brow.
Katie was fast asleep, one arm resting lightly over her heavily-pregnant belly. A few hairs fell over her face, rising and falling with her breaths, and Stewart couldn't help but smirk when a soft snore sounded from her lips.
With a sigh, he set the food down on her bedside table, casting a Stasis charm over the Panini before he crawled into bed behind her. His hand automatically found her stomach, splaying out protectively, and he was rewarded with a sharp kick to his palm.
"That's right, Grem, you tell Mummy," he murmured, nuzzling Katie's soft, dark locks fondly. He felt another kick land on his palm, and he smiled sleepily. He'd gladly wake up in the middle of the night for the pair of them, and he had no doubts that he would many more times in the future.
Closing his eyes, he let himself drift back off to sleep.