If you had told Diego five years ago that he'd be a father and that the mother of his child would be the strange, standoffish woman who could walk through walls and easily kick his ass, he'd have scoffed and gone about his day as if you'd never spoken.
Yet, that was exactly where he was. Isabella Grace Hargreeves-Starr had been born two hours ago. She was 6 pound, 3 ounces and had a head of beautiful brown hair that was somewhere between the shades of both of her parents. She had ten fingers and ten toes and she had quickly take up residence as the love of his life.
Ava had, as always, been the amazing super star that she was and Diego had glowed with pride even as tears had rolled down his cheeks at seeing her in so much pain. His heart had never been as full as it had been the moment he'd watched her look down at their daughter when the nurse had placed the infant on Ava's chest.
They're alone now, Diego perched on the edge of Ava's bed with Isabella resting in his arms, fast asleep after her arrival into the world. He smiles at Ava.
There was a whole list of things that Ava had accepted early in life that she wouldn’t couldn’t shouldn’t ever do. With Diego’s help over the last several years, she’d come a long way in proving a whole lot of those ingrained fears wrong, learned to slowly gain back the sense of identity she had stripped away from her.
Having a child, however, wasn’t just an imagined worry. It wasn’t one so easily overcome, and Ava had spent a long time trying to convince herself out of it. That she wouldn’t be a good mother anyway, that the risk was selfish, that even if she managed to carry to term that her baby would inevitably inherit the same condition that made her own life so difficult. But while Ava wasn’t somebody that had a whole lot of wants in life, the desire to have a family after losing her own ran deep.
She’d been afraid to bring it up at first, knowing Diego’s own childhood had been difficult and she wouldn’t have blamed him if it put him off the idea entirely, the fear of repeating his father’s mistakes. Except Ava knew that there was no way that Diego, caring and protective as he was, would ever allow himself to follow in those footsteps. But it had been Bill that was more difficult to convince, who was rightly concerned about her health as he researched solutions. None of this would have been possible without him.
But today is the first that Ava truly feels proud of something, accomplished and exhausted. The first time she doesn’t automatically feel the urge to deny Diego’s praise. She smiles tiredly in response, doesn’t want to risk closing her eyes and missing a single moment. The newness of everything is still overwhelming, and there’s so many emotions and not a lot of words that Ava can quite put to any of them. “She’s perfect. Must’ve gotten that from you.”
"Nah." Diego shakes his head and smiles down at Isabella who is fast asleep in his arms and looks more perfect than anything else Diego has ever seen in the world. He can't believe how lucky he is to have ended up here. "She absolutely got it from you. I think she's going to have your eyes. She's gonna be a tiny you and there's nothing I want more than that."
He glances back up at Ava and he realises something.
Little Isabella hadn't opened her eyes much yet for her to confirm, but she certainly inherited a liking to sleeping in Diego's arms from Ava. A tiny her that she would do whatever it took to keep from having to go through what she had. It had taken some convincing to get Diego to allow Isabella his last name, but the benefits of the influence of the Hargreeves allowed a layer of protection that her own last name, that of a long-deceased and disgraced scientist, could not.
She's so distracted by taking in the sight of him cradling their child that she almost misses the question, pale eyes going wide when she processes it properly. She never needed marriage to define how she felt for him, but when he asks there really was only one answer to give. "Of course," she sits up a bit more, a small wince from how sore she still feels. "Yes." She reaches out, hand light against his elbow.
Diego smiles and stands carefully. With Isabella tucked gently against his chest with one arm -and, holy shit, she's so small- he leans down to press a kiss to Ava's lips, spare hand resting on the pillow behind her head to hold his weight off of her.
"When we get out of here, we'll go pick you a ring. Something beautiful, just like you."
She does look forward to getting out of there, back in her own bed where the both of them can fit. But right now she doesn't have the energy, awake still only because she's afraid if she closes her eyes for just an instant that she'll realize it's all been a dream. The kiss leaves her lips tingling gently, a reminder that it's all real, and Ava stares up at Diego with adoration. "She's so small," she echoes his thought, because Isabella does look much smaller in his arms than her own.
"I don't want anything big," she tells him, as if he suddenly forgot what sort of woman she was. Not the ring, not the dress, not the ceremony. She doesn't know much about the whole wedding thing, planning it, picking things out, inviting people. She just knows she prefers simple, and right now doesn't want to worry much about it. She's enjoying the view far too much.
"That's not what you were saying a few hours ago." Which made perfect sense because he'd known child birth wasn't gonna be easy but watching Ava like that had been really hard.
He kisses her again and settles on the edge of the bed. "You'll pick exactly what you want and after we say the I Dos, the three of us can go to Italy or something and eat all the pasta and make sure Isabella gets to have the start we didn't."
She laughs, and it's easier to laugh now that it's all over with, rubbing at her brow with the back of her hand. "Yeah, well, it's different now that she's out. And thinking how big she'll end up." Her eyes well up slightly at that thought, and she's not used to being so emotional, not sure why because she's not sad.
"I'd like that. All of that." She reaches out to tenderly brush her fingers over her daughter's soft hair, already vowing to figure out how to style it once it's long enough better than she ever bothered with her own.
"Do you think she's going to... turn out like us?" she asks, and she's asked plenty of times before the chances of their child being born with powers, with no real definitive answer.
"Yeah, it's crazy to think someone so tiny and perfect caused you so much pain." It's probably the first time Ava was ever in pain that Diego didn't want to kill the cause. Diego wipes a thumb underneath her eye and smiles softly.
"Yeah? Perfect. We can start planning when you feel up to it." Diego presses a soft kiss to Isabella's forehead before leaning over to place her in Ava's arms once more. "What, you mean awesome?" He knows what she means but he'd rather keep it lighter for now.
"I'm pretty tough," she remarks, even as he wipes the tear away. She has no idea how she ended up so lucky, after everything. She takes Isabella back, studying her sleeping features, and she supposes she can see a bit of a resemblance. She has no baby pictures of herself to compare, but vows to take plenty of Isabella. She never thought she'd be one of those parents, though Ava didn't even own a social media account to post any of them to. But she'd have to send some to Bill later.
"Mm, yes, awesome," she agrees, accepting the gentle steering away from the heavier topic.
"You're the toughest, novia." Diego's also ready to take hundreds of photos of their daughter, especially when she's sleeping in Ava's arm and he can get the both of them at the same time.
"She's going to be the most amazing thing in the world, powers or not."
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Yet, that was exactly where he was. Isabella Grace Hargreeves-Starr had been born two hours ago. She was 6 pound, 3 ounces and had a head of beautiful brown hair that was somewhere between the shades of both of her parents. She had ten fingers and ten toes and she had quickly take up residence as the love of his life.
Ava had, as always, been the amazing super star that she was and Diego had glowed with pride even as tears had rolled down his cheeks at seeing her in so much pain. His heart had never been as full as it had been the moment he'd watched her look down at their daughter when the nurse had placed the infant on Ava's chest.
They're alone now, Diego perched on the edge of Ava's bed with Isabella resting in his arms, fast asleep after her arrival into the world. He smiles at Ava.
"You are so amazing, do you know that?"
no subject
Having a child, however, wasn’t just an imagined worry. It wasn’t one so easily overcome, and Ava had spent a long time trying to convince herself out of it. That she wouldn’t be a good mother anyway, that the risk was selfish, that even if she managed to carry to term that her baby would inevitably inherit the same condition that made her own life so difficult. But while Ava wasn’t somebody that had a whole lot of wants in life, the desire to have a family after losing her own ran deep.
She’d been afraid to bring it up at first, knowing Diego’s own childhood had been difficult and she wouldn’t have blamed him if it put him off the idea entirely, the fear of repeating his father’s mistakes. Except Ava knew that there was no way that Diego, caring and protective as he was, would ever allow himself to follow in those footsteps. But it had been Bill that was more difficult to convince, who was rightly concerned about her health as he researched solutions. None of this would have been possible without him.
But today is the first that Ava truly feels proud of something, accomplished and exhausted. The first time she doesn’t automatically feel the urge to deny Diego’s praise. She smiles tiredly in response, doesn’t want to risk closing her eyes and missing a single moment. The newness of everything is still overwhelming, and there’s so many emotions and not a lot of words that Ava can quite put to any of them. “She’s perfect. Must’ve gotten that from you.”
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He glances back up at Ava and he realises something.
"Marry me?"
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She's so distracted by taking in the sight of him cradling their child that she almost misses the question, pale eyes going wide when she processes it properly. She never needed marriage to define how she felt for him, but when he asks there really was only one answer to give. "Of course," she sits up a bit more, a small wince from how sore she still feels. "Yes." She reaches out, hand light against his elbow.
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"When we get out of here, we'll go pick you a ring. Something beautiful, just like you."
no subject
"I don't want anything big," she tells him, as if he suddenly forgot what sort of woman she was. Not the ring, not the dress, not the ceremony. She doesn't know much about the whole wedding thing, planning it, picking things out, inviting people. She just knows she prefers simple, and right now doesn't want to worry much about it. She's enjoying the view far too much.
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He kisses her again and settles on the edge of the bed. "You'll pick exactly what you want and after we say the I Dos, the three of us can go to Italy or something and eat all the pasta and make sure Isabella gets to have the start we didn't."
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"I'd like that. All of that." She reaches out to tenderly brush her fingers over her daughter's soft hair, already vowing to figure out how to style it once it's long enough better than she ever bothered with her own.
"Do you think she's going to... turn out like us?" she asks, and she's asked plenty of times before the chances of their child being born with powers, with no real definitive answer.
no subject
"Yeah? Perfect. We can start planning when you feel up to it." Diego presses a soft kiss to Isabella's forehead before leaning over to place her in Ava's arms once more. "What, you mean awesome?" He knows what she means but he'd rather keep it lighter for now.
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"Mm, yes, awesome," she agrees, accepting the gentle steering away from the heavier topic.
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"She's going to be the most amazing thing in the world, powers or not."