James swooped Nadine up and carried her bridal style to his room. Nadine was giggling into her hand so she wouldn’t wake up Sora. He kicked the door closed and placed Nadine on his bed before climbing into bed, hovering over her.
“It’s almost 2 in the morning. Sora’s gonna wake up in 5 hours,” she peered at him through batted eyelashes.
He smirked, “Then I got 4 and a half hours to--”
Nadine tried to hold back a yawn but failed. James yawned as a consequence of watching her yawn and just laughed. She giggled as she reached up to cup his face.
“Matulog na tayo.”
“Tayo? You mean you’re sleeping here?” James sat up and looked at her still lying down in his bed.
She sat up, “No… I just mean in general. I am sleeping upstairs in my room.”
James grabbed her back into bed and laid them down in his arms. She wrapped an arm around him and snuggled close, allowing him to throw the blankets over them.
“Just sleep here.”
“Walang malisya, James Reid,” Nadine mumbled into his chest.
James kissed the top of her head and tightened his hold on her, suddenly getting hit with drowsiness. Nadine’s breaths evened out, letting him know that she had quickly fallen asleep. As he rested his head on the pillow, succumbing to sleep, everything finally felt right in the world.
Nadine felt so light, like a weight was lifted off her shoulder. That’s why it took her little to no time to fall asleep in his arms. When she didn’t feel his presence next to her as the morning sun brightened up the room, she quickly opened her eyes to see if she did, indeed, fall asleep in his bed. She looked around to see where James could be, but she heard Sora’s laugh coming from the kitchen.
“Hello, Mommy,” James came up to her as she entered the kitchen to give her a quick kiss on the head.
“Mommy! Look! Daddy’s making pancakes!” Sora leaned over the counter that she was pretty much climbing on it.
Nadine raised her eyebrows at the both of the, “Love, sit down properly. You might fall.”
Sora pouted and sat down in her seat, “Mommy… Is Daddy really going to stay?”
James and Nadine looked at each other, James looking for some sign from Nadine to talk. She raised her eyebrows and smiled at him, nodding that it was okay. So he walked over to the counter seat Sora was on and put his hands on her head.
“I’m staying.”
“In this house?” Sora squinted at him.
They both laughed at their daughter’s antics as Nadine fixed Sora up a plate.
“In this house, love bug,” Nadine answered for James.
James carried Sora from the chair and set her on the counter so she was more leveled with his face. Nadine was already on their side to put the plate in front of Sora’s chair, watching the his face turn a little serious.
“Sora, I have something to ask you.”
Nadine’s heart was beating fast because the tone in his voice suddenly made her nervous. Sora nodded at her dad so that he could ask.
“How would you feel if Mommy and Daddy started dating? Like if I asked Mommy to be my girlfriend?”
“Hmmmm,” Sora hummed as she thought of what to respond back with. “Are you going to get married later?”
Her mother’s voice was stuck in her throat and she was barely breathing the minute James asked, but hearing Sora’s question turned her into a coughing fit.
