It was now a few hours after the whole fiasco and Ava and Alex had both finally calmed down. Ava was currently in her apartment with Noah, who was having the time of his life rolling on her bed. Noah on the other hand went back to his place to grab some stuff for a sleepover at her place. She had no choice but to take Noah to her apartment because Alex's place was definitely not suited for a 5 year old, let alone himself. It wasn't the first time Alex had slept over but this was the first time it was because a child was crying saying his parents had split up and he wanted both of them together again. Claire had told her to act like a mother to this child so that he could explain where he came from and what he was doing here in Glead.
Ava had a sense of familiarity with this child but she had never seen him before. It could be due to the fact that she had to take care of her own younger sister but this child was different. He was so unpredictable. Maybe in an alternate universe, she would have a child with Alex but in this world Alex was nothing more than her best friend and teammate. Alex is someone who was very close to her heart because he was there for her in the darkest moments of her life. She was grateful for his existence and she never thought of pursuing a relationship further than that.
"Mama, where's papa?"
Ava could tell he was getting tired but was trying to stay awake to see his two parents together.
"He'll be here soon. If you are tired you can head on to the shower first and get ready for bed." Ava said while preparing the bath for him.
Not long after that, she heard a knock on the door. Ava headed over to open the door, only to see Alex carrying a huge bag of things and a brown bag in his arms.
"Lex, I said you could sleepover, not move in." Ava stared at him while reaching out to help Alex carry the brown bag.
"These aren't all for me. I was searching around my house and found a few old toys I used to play with. Gotta keep a child entertained."
"Okay well go give it to him. I'll help clear your things."
Ava went to the kitchen to sort out Alex's stuff but when she opened the brown bag it was full of pastries from her favourite bakery down the road. Alex knew Ava always skipped breakfast because she couldn't be bothered to wake up earlier to make food so she would go to the bakery down the road to grab a quick meal before going to the guild. Since they had a child appear now, Alex wanted to help by at least getting breakfast for her. Also because it was on sale since they were about to close soon and he knew Ava liked them so he was killing a lot of birds with just one stone.
Ava smiled at this gesture and put them in the fridge so that it could be warmed up tomorrow morning for breakfast. Meanwhile, Alex and Noah were busy talking and playing and usually Ava doesn't like noises in the evening because this was the time where she would relax but she didn't mind the sounds of their laughter and chatter.
"Come on boys, it's time for bed. We have work tomorrow. Noah to the bed and Alex your couch." Ava pushed them in their separate locations and went to switch off the lights.
"Mama always makes papa sleep on the couch because he moves around so much but in the morning all three of us will be together."
Ava joined Noah in bed and asked "Oh wow, what else do you remember about us?"
Noah then went on to tell Ava about how she would tell him bedtime stories about Light deities and spirits and teach him simple magic spells to help protect himself. He also explained how when both of us were on missions, he would stay with aunty Claire. Aunty Claire can be scary sometimes but most of the time she would teach him how to use earth magic and tell him stories about the adventures all four of us had.
"My favourite light deity is helios, he seems really cool. Can you tell me his story again mama?"
"I see, but it's getting late now. I promise to tell you his story again tomorrow. How about that?"
"Fine.. goodnight mama" Noah tilted his head up to see if Alex was still awake but he was fast asleep.
Ava turned her head to see what he was looking at and chuckled. She headed over to pull Alex's sheets closer to him.
"Goodnight Noah."
As the sun slowly started to shine through the windows, Alex stirred himself awake. He looked over to see the bed across him. He saw a blonde beauty fast asleep and the little boy was staring out the window. Noah turned around when he heard some movement and locked eyes with Alex. He motioned for him to come over beside him. Alex knew that if he went over there, Ava would freak out. So he shook his head and stood up. Noah gave him the puppy dog eyes and practically begged him to come over with just his eyes. Alex gave in and made his way towards the bed.
As Alex got into the sheets he noticed that Ava was sleeping peacefully but a few strands of hair were blocking her face. Without thinking, he reached over and brushed her hair aside and tucked it behind her ears. He looked at her like it was the first time he saw her all over again. Alex knew his best friend was pretty. She was the pride and joy of the guild and everyone always complimented her wherever she went. He never really thought about how naturally beautiful she was. To him she was just someone he felt the need to protect and at times rely on her.
When he felt movement under his hands, he quickly took it away. Noah who was watching the entire thing grinned. Alex had left his hand on Ava's face for a good five minutes staring at her. At that moment, the alarm went off and automatically Ava's body reached out for it to turn it off. Once she turned back to the bed and opened her eyes she noticed two pairs of eyes staring back at her. Her eyebrows furrowed and then became confused. Then she remembered how Alex had slept over and she now had a kid named Noah.
Ava kept her calm and narrowed her gaze at a now wide eyed Alex, "how did you end up in my bed mister Alex"
"The kid gave me the puppy dog eyes and I couldn't resist." he replied softly
Ava laughed and shook her head "Well go get ready, we need to go for a mission today."
Ava went to the kitchen and took out the pastries to heat them up. She was humming a tune as she prepared breakfast. Surprisingly, she was taking the whole babysitting thing really well. She felt as though this was something that felt right. She couldn't explain it but she was in a comfortable situation. She knew she would have to get an explanation out of Noah sooner or later because she didn't she didn't give birth in the last five years, let alone her entire life.
After breakfast, the three of them headed to the guild together. Noah was holding hands with both Alex and Ava.
In a distance, Grayson and Claire were also making their way to the guild. They both lived in the opposite direction of Ava and decided to head down together. Both of them were pretty close seeing as both of them were constantly around each other. Grayson was the best friend of Alex and Claire was the sister of Ava. Alex was always with Ava, one way or another.
Both Grayson and Claire never really thought about them being in a relationship until a child came up claiming both of them as parents. Despite all that, both of them silently agreed that there was no way because both of them are dense. So dense that they think it's normal to be together all the time, constantly have inside jokes, especially Alex who always has an arm around her and would glare at any guy that would look at Ava for a little too long. Ava who is always making sure Alex is safe and always lets him sleepover after a long day of missions.
Those two are the exact definition of a couple, they just haven't realised it yet.