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Late afternoon and the world feels almost still. The last remnants of fall breeze through the New York skyline as the world begins its retreat indoors. But even as the air gains that refreshing crispness in its bite, the sun peeks through the clouds, warming everything it touches. Which is fortunate because tucked away in the MedBay (although not really in need of the Bay itself), Seo has the window open for the fresh air (helping to combat her consistent nausea).
Dressed appropriately in her Fantastic Four uniform, an apt dress for any work in this space, Seo hunches over a microscope and stares at slides of blood samples.
The bustle of traffic emitted through the window has faded into the background as nothing more than white noise, creating a strange kind of work trance as she goes about her business. Steady hands use an eye dropper to add some chemical to the slide, only to warrant a vague frown — not displeasure, exactly, but confusion, perhaps. Her lips twist to the side, she scribbles a note in a nearby notebook, and then returns her gaze to the microscope in question.
*
Reed has taken his time, but talking further is bound to happen. Truth to tell, he didn't need much time to himself, but he wanted to give Sue a little space to think as much as she wanted to give it to him. The fact is, however, that there's only so long that's appropriate, and so a bit in advance of what he has judged "too long" but a bit behind the line marking the edge of "too soon", reed emerges in search of the elusive Sue.
Who is not that elusive. He watches her sliently upon the approach, like a nature documentary host looking for the appropriate time to interrupt a wild animal in their natural environment. Which is kind of exactly what it is.
In any case, he waits for a point where she won't throw a sample across the room or hit her face on the microscope if he startles her before slipping up behind, settling lightly against her back and hugging her waist. His chin alights lightly on her shoulder and he notes softly, "You know, I've always enjoyed watching you work, Dr. Storm."
*
The interruption comes just as Sue scribbles something down in the notebook, and it is something of a surprise indicated by a very momentary stiffening, that quickly shifts into relaxing, against the touch. The gentle reassurance of the arms at her waist, and chin at her shoulder have her eyes lidding lightly. Her breath emits softly, and her hands absently trail down to the ones around her giving them a gentle squeeze.
She hums quietly, and a smile curves the edges of her lips, traced with just a hint of apprehension, but it's easy enough to bid away. "The feeling is mutual, Dr. Richards." The smile shifts, fading just a stitch as she honestly notes: "I've missed you."
*
Reed rewards the trust with a light kiss just behind her jaw and under her ear, his hand moving to cover her belly lightly. Just… so. A gesture of silent reassurance. "I hope I haven't worried you," he notes. "If I have, I'd like to apologize. I was simply… surprised, that's all. But life is like that sometimes. Are we alright?" The last part is clearly the part he considers important.
*
The gesture earns Reed a sheepish smile. It's soothing warmth has her leaning further into the touch, secure in its presence. Sue's hands easily slide over Reed's. Carefully, slowly, she shifts in the embrace to face him, and her hand lifts to his cheek. "I worried myself," she manages softly. "I… tried to give you some space to think about… things…" her cheeks flush a pale pink. But Reed's question causes a twitch in her lips, "I think so. I want us to be." The thought is followed by a confession, "But I'm…" her eyes turn up to the ceiling in search of the right word, "scared, I guess. Maybe it's not warranted."
*
Reed makes an understanding, agreeable noise. "I admit, I needed to adjust, but perhaps not quite the way you might have thought. I may not have entirely been prepared for the notion of fatherhood, but it was more a question of immediacy than the idea itself," he muses with an overtone of humor.
"My multipoint plan in that direction was more like… twenty-four months than nine. But otherwise this isn't too far from what I'd envisioned." There's some truth there, but also self-deprecating teasing. More seriously: "What's scaring you? Anything I can help with?"
*
"You had a two year plan?" Seo ask incredulously. "Oh, come on, you did not have a two year plan," but even in saying the statement, the laugh can be heard in her voice. It something of a comedy. "So…" she's following the trail, "…you want a family… with me?" the last bit is added as an afterthought, but still important, perhaps more so than the first.
A sharp inhale follows, and Seo can feel the faintest frown forming over her expression, "Well… we don't exactly live a normal life. I'm not sure how a baby fits into it. Or about the three ringed circus that we've fostered. I mean, it was on purpose, but that's not normal. Or… my biology. I don't even know if my irradiated cells can sustain this for nine months… they aren't exactly normal. And what I know about biochemistry says it's probably not good."
*
Reed gives her a light hug. "I did!" he insists. "And I do, yes. I didn't have to think about that part so much. You'll be happy to know the plan included 'Talk to Seo about the plan', though. Hardly matters now, we've kind of jumped all the way to Step 17 or so." A shrug.
And a nod. "The thought had occured to me. Fortunately we've an enormous collection of the best biomedical gear in the world, friends and colleagues who are the best in the feild, and time to examine the practical realities."
*
Relief colours Seo's manner as her arms find their way around Reed. "And which step was 'Talk to Seo about the plan?'" she quirks a single eyebrow. "Hopefully not number 16." She stifles a faint chuckle. "Reed Richards, you still manage to surprise me sometimes." She grins.
"That's true, and Heather suggested finding a physician through some of her SHIELD contacts." Pause. "So. Heather knows because I needed help getting a uncontaminated blood sample. And Joon knows because I need to go to LA to tell my aunt," her eyebrows lift at that point. "And Ben guessed before I told you because he noticed I'd been ill for five days." Her cheeks turn a pale pink. "Sorry. It would've been nice to keep it quiet for a bit." Not that anything stays quiet for long in the Baxter Building.
*
Reed squints one eye in thought, leaving his arms around her. "No, it was… Step Seven. Most of the prior steps boiled down to 'work self up to talking to Seo', as an aside. Plus two rounds of discarding portions of the plan not worth presenting to Seo," he says in a fashion too serious to be entirely serious.
As to the rest… he chuckles. "Well, that answers the 'when do we tell the others' question." His head tilts to one side eyeing her thoughtfully, and lets a wry smile tug at one side of his mouth. "So… Seo…" he adds, rather leadingly. He isn't teasing her, promise. "Do you have time to slip 'being a bride' into your busy schedule in the next… I don't know… sixish months?" In. No. Cent.
*
A delighted grin turns toothy at the question. Seo's arms wrap lightly around Reed's neck as she looks up at him. "I don't know," she offers in return, "what does the plan say?" Her grin grows and her eyes hone in on Reed's, "I could… possibly make room. I suspect the daytimer could have some space." Her throat clears, "That, of course, is also assuming a proposal in the not-distant-future. Hard to be a bride without being asked." The smile shifts some, and then, more seriously she adds, "But," and this is an important but, "whoever," because it could be anyone, right?, "asks should ask because they want to marry me. Not because of circumstances. Please."
*
One of the benefits to being generally super-elastic, is it's easy to sneak your fingers into a pocket without your girlfriend noticing. "Oh, well, I would understand if you didn't want this," he notes, drawing a slender, toroidal ring of some sort of crystalline material into view. It's smooth along the inside, faceted on the outer surface, clear with a sapphire-like strip of blue down the center. And it is definitely lab-grown in its entirety as one piece and extremely Reed Richards of him. "…not being in the plan and all."
He grins. "Not because of," he assures her, holding the ring up for her inspection. "Never because of. Encouraged by, maybe. But I can scarcely say how much I would like to grow old with you, Seo." And, because he knows that phrasing is important in these circumstances and she almost certainly is waiting for a VERY particular choice of words, he doesn't disappoint.
"Seo Hyun Storm, will you do me the incalculable honor of marrying my woefully under-deserving self?" Okay, so he can't entirely resist putting a personal spin on it. Gold star, tried.
*
Wonder reflects in Sue's eyes at the rather incredible ring. Her expression softens and the edges of her lips curve upwards in a sentimental smile. She's virtually glowing. "You always undercut yourself. And you're not under-deserving. You're kind. Good. Brilliant. Diplomatic. Considerate," she murmurs the list rather quietly. "You are the man I love." A long pause follows. "None of those things say under-deserving to me. Even before you and I officially went down this road," her eyebrows draw together, "I couldn't imagine a future without you next to me. Now? Even giving you space to collect your thoughts for the last few days caused my heart to ache."
"So," her smile flickers and her eyes stare into Reed's, "probably unsurprisingly, my answer is yes. I will marry you. I love you." She presses up to her tiptoes and leans in for a kiss.
*
Reed comtemplates more than a few things he could possibly say, but you know, sometimes words are pretty extraneous, even for him. So instead, he just offers her a nice smile, returning the kiss, and slips the ring onto her finger, instead.
*