GUN IN MY HAND

BONUS CHAPTER: DOROTHY'S 19TH BIRTHDAY (PART 1)

Stella recognized it instantly, her big blue eyes snapping to me, as well as her entire attention as she ditched her teat, while for Blade, not even the crease lining between his eyebrows could dim the transparent shades dancing all over my features as I joined them.

"Another nightmare?" He pointed his chin towards the hallway, ready to fight whatever ghost was chasing me.

Yet as I glanced over my shoulder, not even a shiver could catch up with me. I was a shooting star, warm and sparking, and... I had forgotten why I'd even rushed there, except for seeing them.

"No, a dream come true." I smiled, kissing Stella's bouncy cheeks and then, lifting on my tiptoes to meet Blade's lips halfway for a tender kiss.

Well, with us, it resembled more a mess of lingering pecks in a precarious balance as I leaned in more, and he grabbed my chin with one firm hand, pulling me into another galaxy with a nip at the corner of my lips before we forced ourselves to pull away at the sound of Stella's babbling. 

Still, it was a waking dream for me when I opened my daze eyes to so much blue, my lips tingling with a content smile and the need for more.

"And Stella, why is she up earlier?" I asked without even catching my breath because even if we soared into another galaxy, we were always gravitating toward our little star, and she was pretty regular on her morning schedule.

"Nothing, don't worry." Blade caught my glances at her neck, sitting her up in his arms and pulling down the collar of her babygrow to show me there was no rash.

And I trusted him to have checked carefully already, since both my nephews, whom she had seen last week, had chickenpox.

"She was just excited to wish you a happy birthday."

"Aw, really? You wanted to wish Mommy a happy birthday?" I melted completely at her coo that echoed like the most beautiful 'happy birthday' in my heart.

She was the most beautiful gift as I took her against my chest: her smile, her fresh smell of softness and baby powder, and even her less smooth burp.

"And here's your gift!" Blade chuckled at the stain of possetting now half on my hair and his tee-shirt.

"It wouldn't be my birthday without a mess, right Stell'? You knew it, yeah?"

At this point, we could call it a tradition like blowing out the candles or–

"Waffles?!" I gasped when, in place of the paper towel, I found a large and round metallic utensil that stood unusually on our small counter.

As unusually as the bowl of sweet mixture in Blade's tattooed hands.

"Surprise!"

"Another one?" My eyes widened at his magical grin, exactly like for his previous surprises, and although the tickles in my insides were very different, I was as breathless as last night. "Thank you! You've already done so much. When did you even find the time to make it?"

"It's nothing. It's Nellie who prepared the mix, and now, I just have to bake them with the machine she lent me. It shouldn't be that hard."

It wasn't nothing. It was priceless, the way his piercing gaze observed the 'machine' as he plugged it in, and the way he poured a few tablespoons into the checkered plate, only for the batter to trickle down the sides when he closed the waffle maker.

"Do you need some help? I can–"

"No! You're the birthday girl, so you do nothing."

How should I have taken this? I hesitated between melting at the soft touch of his lips on my cheek or seething at the desperate edge in his voice as he led me to sit down. He even pushed a rattle in my hand, which seemed more for me than Stella, who was sucking on her little fist.