Life is Fluff
“Hey, I love this part, let me read!”
Max sighed, knowing that there would never be a time they got through the Hobbit without Kate insisting to take this portion of the book. This was their third time through, despite the fact that they were supposed to experiment with new literature in these nightly readings. It was just such a comfortable piece, you know?
Max turned on the bed, her back flat on the bed now, and handed the book over to Kate, making sure to mark with a finger where they were so when Kate took it and rolled over to her side, she’d find it easy to continue on. Max wrapped her arms around Kate’s waist and pulled herself close against Kate’s back, resting her head on the small girl’s shoulder to look down at the pages.
“It was just at this moment that Bilbo discovered the weak point in his plan. Most likely you saw it some time ago and had been laughing at him; but I don’t suppose you would have done half as well yourselves in his place. Of course, he was not in a barrel himself, nor was there anyone to pack him in, even if there had been a chance! It looked as if he would certainly lose his friends this time (nearly all of them had already disappeared through the dark trap door), and get utterly left behind and have to stay lurking as a permanent burglar in the elf caves forever.
Kate giggled a little at that, but quickly recuperated and continued on with the paragraph,
“For even if he could have escaped through the upper gates at once, he had precious small chance of ever finding the dwarves again. He did not know the way by land to the place where the barrels were collected. He wondered what on earth would happen to them without him; for he had not had time to tell the dwarves all that he learned, or that he had meant to do once they were out of the wood.”
Max snuggled Kate tighter, and Kate sighed pleasantly for a moment, pausing before they got to the song portion, as Max would insist on sitting up and either reciting it like proper poetry or actually finding a musical interpretation online.
“Why do you like this scene so much?” Max inquired, planting a kiss on Kate’s neck, then just below her ear.
Kate hummed in appreciation. “Hmm, I don’t know. I guess I just like it when he talks to us directly. Plus, I don’t know, it’s silly. It’s one of those points where you can see that it was meant for kids. I dunno, I just like how much is childish in a serious world.”
Max’s breath tickled her a little, but she liked it.
Max reached around Kate, grabbing the string that acted as the book’s marker and laying it inside the pages, before tugging on Kate’s shoulder to indicate that she should turn. Kate turned towards her, and noticed that Max was making an effort to establish eye contact, so she returned it, though making sure to look away for little pauses to give Max’s breaks.
“Kate . . . do you think you want to have kids some day?”
Kate’s hand scratched up and down along Max’s side, inside her pajama shirt. “Yeah, definitely. I mean . . . I don’t know when, but I know that I want to be a mom. I know life can seem busy as it is, but I don’t want to live as an island unto myself. I’ve always wanted that sort of family, I guess. What about you?”
Max had never really thought about it, and as she struggled to find a response to it, she admitted just that: “I guess . . . I guess I’ve never really thought about it. I . . . have a lot of trouble relating to people who aren’t my age. I’d probably be a crummy parent, unless they like, really liked Tolkein.”
Kate shook her head. “No.” Her voice was higher-pitched and . . . cuter than normal.
Max raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“No.” Kate smiled.
“Care to elaborate, love?”
The smile cracked into a full grin. “You never give yourself enough credit. You’re diligent. You listen. You care about other people’s feelings, and when you look out for someone, you stick by them. I think you’d be a great parent.”
Max brought her hand out from under the covers, reaching up to Kate’s cheek and stroking it gently. “Thank you sweet heart.”
Kate brought up a leg to wrap over Max’s own, bringing their bodies closer. “But for now, I’m your family, okay? And Chloe and your parents, okay, but me, you understand?”
Smiling, Max leaned forward to bring her lips to the warmth of Kate’s own. When their lips parted from each other slowly, Max let her eyes slide back open, Kate’s so close and big they ate up much of her vision. “Okay, Kate Marsh.”