Helping Aurora

6

On their way to the checkout, they pass the mother and baby aisle of which Aurora immediately spots something that catches her attention. Bottles. There were so many of them. So many different colours and shapes and her stomach fills with butterflies at the sight as she instinctively sucks in her bottom lip between her teeth.

Her legs seem to subconsciously stop moving, unintentionally yanking Scarlett back a few steps backwards due to the fact she was still holding her hand. The woman looks down with a confused frown with the intention asking what was wrong, but her voice seems to fail her when she catches sight of just what had caught Aurora's attention.

Scarlett instinctively glances back at Olivia who was stood in front of the cart with her hands on the handle. Olivia immediately meets her gaze, the corners of her lips quirking up into a tender smile as nods her head.

It prompts Scarlett to change direction ever so slightly, the pad of her thumb sweeping soothingly over the back of Aurora's hand when she feels the little one freeze unsurely. "It's okay." She reassures as they come to a stop next to the bottles, bending down slightly to scoop Aurora up into her arms.

The little one still seems anxious, Scarlett giving her behind a soothing pat as she gestures Olivia over.

"Should we pick one to take home?" Olivia eases the tension ever so slightly as she reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind Aurora's ear, the pad of her thumb grazing gently over the soft skin of her cheek as she pulls away.

Aurora bites her bottom lip as she glances unsurely between both women. Her stomach felt funny now. But not in a bad way. It was like it was filled with butterflies, and they were all swarming around trying to escape.

"I think we should," Scarlett gives her a gentle, encouraging bounce, "in fact, I think we should pick out two, just in case we lose one. Does that sound good?"

All Aurora could give them was a shy nod, her cheeks flushing a light shade of red as she bashfully buries her face into Scarlett's neck.

Scarlett chuckles slightly as she meets her wife's amused gaze, and both she and Scarlett spend the next ten minutes going through all of the options. She would occasionally have to pull Aurora out of her hiding space to get her opinion, but the rest of the time the little one remains hidden in her little safe place.

Soon, everything was all checked out and paid for, and the three find themselves making their way back to the car. Aurora whines slightly when Scarlett attempts to set her down, and the woman frowns in concern as she hoists her back up into her arms.

"She's probably just feeling a little overwhelmed," Olivia murmurs as she closes the trunk and makes quick work of returning the cart, "you should get in the back and sit with her." She adds, leaning over the little one to give her wife's cheek an affectionate kiss before climbing into the drivers seat.

"You want me to sit in the back with you?" Scarlett murmurs into Aurora's ear, her hand grazing gentle circles over the length of her back.

The little one nods as her legs tighten around the woman's waist, and Scarlett presses a soothing kiss to her head as she climbs into the back seat of the car. It takes a few moments to persuade Aurora to sit in her own seat, but soon, she was buckled, her hand still tightly clinging to Scarlett's own.

"Alright my loves, let's go home." Olivia murmurs, glancing back in the rear view mirror with a smile.

*

The rest of the day passes by without much of an issue. Olivia and Aurora spend a few hours putting together puzzles -the black widow one of which Aurora was ecstatic to have been able to keep whole. It was in a frame in her room, taking pride of place hung up above her bed.

Scarlett and Aurora curl up in the rocking chair to read for a few hours of which half way through she'd fallen asleep. She'd proceed to nap in the woman's arms for the majority of the afternoon, leaving Olivia to deal with the housework. The woman had grumbled and complained, the look of pure awe that would appear on her features each time she passes by her wife and baby didn't go amiss.

It was enough to stop Scarlett from feeling guilty.

Lunch was eaten. Movies were watched, and it was soon time for dinner again. Aurora gets her nuggets just as she was promised, and she scarfs them down quicker than the two women could blink.

She ends up curling up on Olivia's lap as both she and Scarlett finish their own dinner which consisted of a delicious chicken salad, and once they were done, she allows herself to be carried up for her bath without a single word of complaint.

That, however, changes, when Scarlett takes her and tries to set her down onto her feet with the intention of stripping her down for her bath. Olivia looks up from checking the temperature of the water when she room will suddenly filled with the sound of an upset whine, met with the sight of her wife staring at her helplessly holding Aurora in her arms.

After drying off her hands, she makes her way over to the two before beginning to run a gentle hand up and down the little ones back. She could only guess now that Aurora was either close to, or had, slipped into a slightly younger headspace. It prompts her to share a look with her wife before shifting around her so she could make eye contact with Aurora.

"Should scarly get in the tub with you?" She murmurs, reaching up to brush away the hair that had fallen into Aurora's face. The little one, eyes teary and lips pouty, nods her head as she tightens her legs around Scarlett's waist.

"Is that okay?" Olivia asks as she shifts her body back around to face Scarlett, "you could put your bathing suit on. I think she just needs her mama." She adds the last part in a voice so quiet only Scarlett was capable of hearing her, and the woman nods her head as she traps her bottom lip in between her teeth, her cheeks turning a bashful shade of red.

"Okay," Scarlett softly her throat as she gently pries Aurora out of her arms, gently soothing the whine with a tender kiss to the forehead. "I'll be back. Let live get you into the tub." She murmurs, and though the little one lets out a soft whimper, she allows the woman to leave the room.

It wasn't that Scarlett any qualms about getting into the tub without clothes. Aurora was a baby. She didn't see nudity as a sexual thing. All she saw was someone who loved and cared for her. Scarlett just didn't want to embarrass whatever big part of her headspace was left.

By the time she makes it back into the bathroom clad in her bikini, Olivia was just placing a now nude Aurora into the now full tub.

There were bubbles in the water, the smell of lavender filling the room telling her that Olivia had used the special bubble bath they'd picked up at target today.

The little one was looking all pitiful again, and when she spots Scarlett, she pleading holds out her arms with a quiet whine.

"I'm here, you're okay my love." Scarlett climbs into the tub before sitting herself down, holding out her arms and waiting for Aurora to climb into them before beginning to gently comb her hand up and down her back.

Aurora sniffles softly as she nestles her head against Scarlett's chest just beneath her chin, her hand clinging to the strap of her bikini. She immediately finds herself relaxing at the feeling of the woman's skin against her own, something in her head slipping into place.

She felt light. So much so that she bring her thumb to her mouth and begins to suckle without much of a thought.

"Is she...?" Scarlett asks Olivia, and Olivia nods with a small smirk on her lips.

"She is." Her voice was just as, if not more quiet than her wife's was, not wanting to embarrass Aurora if she was just so happening to pay attention to her surroundings. Scarlett smiles affectionately as she leans down to press a tender kiss to her little ones head.

Progress.

**

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