Thirteen

Lux

Archer and I decided to have our date at home so we wouldn't have to ask his friends to babysit again. I also liked the idea of having Gunner with us, because he was and would be an important part of whatever relationship we built together.

After all, Gunner was the whole reason we'd met. Who knew how much longer it would've taken our paths to cross if not for the little one?

Humming to myself, I walked around the living room with Gunner wrapped against my chest with the baby wrap cloth. Humans could be so ingenious sometimes. They made up for a lot of their weakness through science and technology, and I was always a little in awe of all they'd managed to do without magic. It was probably one of the reasons why magic was kept a secret from humans. If they could do all this without magic, lord knew what they'd come up with if they got their hands on it.

Gunner babbled at me, and I glanced down at him with a raised brow, offering him my tail to play with since he seemed to love it so much.

Having Gunner wrapped around my human form hadn't felt secure for some reason, so I'd shifted into my true form, and he felt much safer. It didn't hurt that I'd looped my tail around him too, just in case the wrap accidentally came loose or something.

"What's that, Gungun? You're wondering what your dad has planned for our evening?" I asked as I started stacking his toys into the basket. They'd inevitably be on the floor again in a few hours, but I liked the routine of my tasks, and it was the only thing keeping me from worrying myself into a spiral about our date tonight.

I wasn't sure exactly what was making me so nervous. Maybe it was because everything had happened so fast, or the fact that I hadn't really expected Archer to return my feelings, much less want to go out with me, especially after he knew what I was.

Archer's acceptance of our mate bond had been a surprise, but I supposed even if humans couldn't sense their mates, they must have some kind of instinct that told them their mate was a good match for them. I knew humans sometimes did find their fated mates. That was how the concept of soulmates was created in their world. Still, the number of humans who ended up with their mates was laughably small, despite their large population compared to the supes.

If both people were clueless about the bond they shared, they were so much less likely to fight for each other.

I, on the other hand, would've readily stuck around as Gunner's manny—a term Jerry had introduced me to—if Archer hadn't returned my feelings, simply because I knew that sooner or later, he would. It was fated to be, and all I would've needed was a little bit of patience.

"Okay, Gungun. We really need to stop getting caught up in these thoughts," I told the baby, who giggled at my troubles. Smiling and tweaking his nose, I walked over to his nursery, realizing the little mister was ready for a diaper change.

I had to shift back after I'd placed him on the changing table since I couldn't exactly change him when I had claws instead of fingers. Once I was back in my human form, I quickly changed Gunner while telling him about the first time I'd visited the human realm after Underworld closed down.

"It was so beautiful, Gungun. There were trees everywhere; the lakes were pristine and clear. There was no plastic, no garbage everywhere, no tall buildings blocking out the sky. Everything was just...wonderful."

Gunner gazed up at me with wide blue eyes, as if he could understand everything I was saying. Shaking my head, I smiled at him as I stuck on the last tab of the diaper, then slid him back into his onesie, zipping it up.

"There. You're back to your handsome self."

Putting away the wipes and powder, I picked him up and carried him back into the living room, wondering again at how easygoing Gunner was sometimes.

Recently, we'd started leaving him at night when he woke up. Archer hadn't been able to do it when it was just him, so it'd taken until I arrived to teach Gunner to self-soothe. (Not that it was any easier for me, but with the two of us, we held each other accountable in an 'if I have to suffer, so do you' way.)

Even so, Gunner rarely cried for long, even at night. I wasn't sure if we just excelled at taking care of him, or if he was just an especially easy-going child, but either way, we were grateful. Not that I wouldn't have adored him just as much if he was a screaming hellion, but I was glad he wasn't.

"Oh, Gungun, look at the time! Your dad will be here any minute!" Archer had gone out to get us some food, since the place he wanted to get it from didn't offer delivery. It was where he would've taken me if we'd gone out, and I was looking forward to the meal. I loved trying new human foods.

I glanced down at myself and wrinkled my nose at the spit-up and various other unidentifiable stains. With a bit of magic, I changed my clothes, sending the dirty ones into the laundry basket, then took Gunner over to his crib, placing him inside.

"Are you hungry? Let me grab you a bottle, and then maybe you could take a nap, hmm?"

I bustled around the kitchen, readying his bottle, and I'd just started feeding him when I heard the garage gate open.

"Your dad's here!" I murmured, my voice undeniably excited.

Since Archer was bringing the food, I wanted to contribute something to our date too. I had the image all set in my mind, so it took just a snap of my fingers to transform the living room just the way I'd imagined. I hoped Archer would like it. Gunner certainly did, if the way his eyes flicked around as he drank his formula was anything to go by.

The garage gate slid closed, and I took a deep breath, holding it in as I waited for Archer to step through the door.

Archer

Clutching the bag of food in my left hand, I pushed open the garage door with my right, stepping into the house and closing it behind me.

When I walked into the living room, I stopped short, surprised.

Lux was placing Gunner in his crib, and he glanced up at me the moment I stepped inside, a smile lighting up his face.

"Hey!" he greeted as he straightened up, and I headed over to him.

"Lux..." I trailed off, glancing around us once again. "Did you do all of this?"

"Um, yeah. But don't worry—I did it with my magic, and it's not dangerous at all."

I hadn't been worried, not at all. Mostly, I was just in awe.

Scattered all over the room were more than fifty candles, filling the room with a warm, yellow light. Lux had turned off the overhead lamp, instead stringing golden fairy lights around. Soft music played in the background, and the couch, armchairs, and coffee table had been moved to the side so the rarely used dining table could sit in the place of pride, a tablecloth I most definitely didn't own covering its surface, along with a small glass vase with a single red rose inside.

"Lux, this is beautiful." I was stunned at all the effort he'd put into this. Sure, he probably did most of it with his magic since he must've been busy taking care of Gunner, but he'd still put a lot of thought into it. No one had ever done anything like this for me before.

"You like it then? I was worried it would be too much." He tugged at his hair, a bundle of nerves, and I grabbed his hand with my free one, bringing it between us and giving it a squeeze.

"I love it. Give me five minutes to change, and then we can get started on our date."

"Okay! I'll keep the food warm." Taking the bag of takeout from me, he shooed me off, and I hurried into my bedroom.

I hadn't wanted to go pick up the food all dressed up, but now I changed into some nice dress slacks, and a pale pink button- down that Jerry had told me showed off all my best features, whatever that meant.

Lux had transferred all the food from the cartons to bowls, and the aroma of warm, spicy food filled the air. Lux wanted to try out various cuisines, and we'd already had Japanese, Mexican, Greek, and Thai so I'd picked up food from my favorite Korean restaurant for our date.

Smiling at Lux, I walked over to the crib and peeked in first, smiling at Gunner's sleeping face. His post-meal naps in the evening only lasted for an hour or so now, and then he needed one final playtime and diaper change before he was ready for bed. I didn't think he'd wake up for the duration of our meal since Lux had just put him down.

Walking back to Lux, I smiled, my eyes roaming over his form. He wasn't dressed in his usual brightly colored clothes tonight. Instead, he wore a form-fitting blue button-down that brought out the blue of his eyes, and slim-fit dark jeans that wrapped around his thighs oh-so-well.

His blond hair hung across his forehead, looking the perfect mix of styled and mussed. God, he made quite the sight. How had I lucked into finding someone like him?

I supposed I owed some thanks to Fate for crossing our paths and bringing us together.

Pulling a chair out, I gestured for Lux to take a seat, and he did so with a pleased little smile.

Walking around the table, I took my own seat, and then we spent a few moments just gazing at each other. We'd already spent so much time together, and gotten to know each other so well that now I couldn't find a topic of conversation. What were we supposed to talk about?

"Okay, this is a little awkward," Lux said with a small laugh, and I grinned.

"Yeah. It is. It's okay, though. We'll figure it out. How about we eat this delicious meal and then see where things take us?"

Lux nodded quickly, and I smiled as I uncovered one of the bowls, breathing in the scent of kimchi chigae. The spicy stew was right up Lux's alley, and I scooped him a big helping of it before taking some for myself.

The next bowl was the rice, and I spooned some onto his plate before taking some for me, then did the same with the japchae. I'd figured the sweet potato noodles would pair well with the kimchi since it wasn't as spicy.

"This looks delicious," Lux commented, eyes on his food, and I grinned.

"Doesn't it? It's from my favorite Korean restaurant. I hope you enjoy it. The woman who owns it gave me a lot of advice when I first brought Gunner home."

"Oh? How come?" he asked curiously, using the chopsticks perfectly as he ate the kimchi. How could he make using a pair of chopsticks look so sexy?

I shifted in my chair as his question filtered through my mind, and blinked, needing a moment to answer.

"Oh. Well, I order a lot from them since they're close by. I had some baby supplies with me once, and she asked me if I had a new baby, and I told her I was a single dad. She gave me a whole bunch of advice, including who the best pediatrician was in the city, and what places to get the best baby gear and toys from. Apparently, her son had a daughter around the same time Gunner was born, so she was all up-to-date on the information."

"She sounds like a lovely woman," Lux said, voice full of warmth, and I smiled.

"She is."

The spicy food burned my mouth in the best of ways, and I took another bite of the plain rice before eating some more of the stew.

As we ate, our conversation flew all over the place. Lux told me about his friends, while I told him about Jerry, and Kat, and how we'd been close practically all our lives.

It was the most relaxed first date I'd ever been on, and I enjoyed every moment of it.