Test the Waters (Cracker x Reader)

Sorta Good with Kids

He held the kids, one on each side. They held on to him, confused as to how they'd gotten so far off the ground so fast. The rest stopped their charge, staring up at him just as puzzled as the siblings in his arms.

"She's a little delicate at the moment, take it easy on her." He said, still smiling.

The kids in his arms came to their senses and started squirming. The little girl on his left side turned to you, her brows furrowed as she pouted. "Big sis who's this? And how come we gotta be easy?"

You took her from Cracker, balancing her on your hip as you walked further in, catching sight of Atticus halfway down the stairs. "That's my husband I told you guys about last time we talked."

There was a chorus of "ohhhh"s as they began to understand and the remaining child in his arms settled down, no longer struggling to escape.

"And your big sis is pregnant so she has to be a little more careful." Atticus added as he hit the landing. "I may have forgotten to tell than that." He said sheepishly.

"Oh I figured as much." You giggled, smaller siblings now clamoring around you and Cracker but without the same high energy they had moments ago.

They were firing one question after another at you as they all demanded a chance to touch or be held by you. Others that didn't hear your initial arrival began to join in, getting reminded by Atticus and Cracker to be gentle. It was a funny sight, watching two men try to corral the more hyper kids in their arms so you wouldn't get tackled under the small bodies.

Your original worry that they might find your husband frightening was proven to be wrong when a few began to gravitate over to him, asking to be held so they could see that it was like to be so tall or so they could get close enough to poke at the scar across his eye. He happily complied, seemingly having no problem dealing with so many kids at once. Then again, when someone has as many siblings as he does, it made sense that he'd be able to handle it.

"Hey mister?" One of your younger brothers asked, sitting comfortably in Cracker's arms facing him. "How did big sis (N/n) get..." He frowned as he tried to remember the word.

"Pregnant?" Cracker finished the sentence, the smile he'd been wearing getting bigger. "If you really want to know, she and I-"

"Charlotte Cracker don't you dare!" You snapped warningly, only eliciting a delighted giggle from the man. "Baby, you can talk to Addi about how that all happens." You said sweetly to your little brother, not wanting to put him or any of the other kids through whatever crass things your husband would say.

"I don't know what to tell them." Atticus hissed under his breath with a slight panicked tone.

"Just tell them the truth, it's no biggie." You rolled your eyes. "I just don't want Cracker telling them all the dirty details." And you knew that's exactly what he would do.

He groaned before his eyes met the crowd of smaller expectant ones. They were waiting for the full explanation. "We can talk about that later guys, (Y/n) wants to see the new work around the place."

They let out a collective sound of disappointment, a few of the youngest scattering off to play. It didn't take much for them to get bored of one thing and move on to a next. The boy in Cracker's arms wiggled around until your partner put him down, letting him join his brothers and sisters to a different part of the house.

Your sister stayed cuddled up in your arms, nuzzling into your chest as she stared up at you through sleepy, adoring eyes. It made your heart ache with how sweet it was and how long you had to wait until you could hold your own child like this. As much as the little ones annoyed you in the past, you couldn't deny you missed having them around.

When there was only a small group left, Atticus let out a tired sigh before giving you a close lipped smile. "How about we start with you checking out the last bit you got to help with?"

"Sounds perfect." You kissed the top of your sister's head and she snuggled up closer, obviously having missed you a lot more than some of the others.

You couldn't hold back the gasp that left your lips at the sight of the ballroom. When you last saw it, you were still helping him pull out old, rotting floor boards. The walls at the time were a mess with peeling wallpaper and half the pillars were destroyed thanks to your husband. It looked completely different now. The floors had been replaced with a new, lighter wood, all the walls were cleaned with a fresh coat of cream colored paint, except the far back one. That wall was a brilliant shade of red, making the room feel more extravagant than it already was. The ruined pillars were replaced with perfect replicas and the best part was the crystal chandeliers dotting the ceiling. They reflected the light off of each other and the large windows, adding the perfect touch to make it feel like a real ballroom.

"This is amazing Addi..." You stepped further into the room, spinning slowly as you took it all in.

"It's definitely impressive." Cracker added, placing a hand on one of the pillars and examining the handy work. "A far cry from the dreary place it used to be."

"It took a lot of time but it was worth it." Atticus waltzed over with his hands in his pockets. "You should've seen how long it took to get all that wallpaper down. It was especially bad towards the ceiling."

You looked up, noting how tall the room was. The ceiling was easily at least 30 feet up. "I can imagine." A laugh bubbled up as you continued to wander. "I don't think I want to know what stupid stunt you pulled to get up that high."

"If you do it right, it's possible to stand on stacked ladders. Moving them is another story though." He smiled proudly, as if doing that wasn't super dangerous.

"To this day I don't know how you've managed to survive your so called creative solutions."

"Me either."

You both broke into laughter. Your sister grumbled a bit, she had fallen asleep and didn't like you bouncing her around.

"Let me take her." Cracker chuckled as he pulled the girl from your grasp, carefully helping her get her arms around his neck as he got adjusted.

"I swear you actually like kids."

"I do, when they're family at least." He hummed, rubbing your sister's back as she relaxed against him.

You blushed, realizing he meant he counted your family as his own as well. Between him saying that and treating your siblings so well, you couldn't help but fall for him a little harder. You couldn't wait to see him with the baby when it came.

"Alright you two." Atticus pat your shoulder. "There's still more to see."

The rest of the day went extremely well. You were led around the house to see the different small changes your adoptive father had done to the place along with the renovations he was doing to another small room. Eventually you felt tired enough for a nap, those were becoming more common for you, so Cracker got comfortable with you in a couch in the mansion's large sitting room. He wasn't one to turn down a chance to relax with you.

Atticus told the rest of the family to leave you be until you got up but much like you, they didn't always listen to him the best. You woke up with kids sleeping right on top of you and Cracker or playing quietly on the surrounding floor. One of your brothers had learned how heavy of a sleeper your lover was and took the time to poke at his scar curiously. The man just snored away, not noticing the small fingers playing with his face or the little knees and elbows prodding him as the kids cuddled up to him in the most uncomfortable looking positions possible.

You wanted to get up to escape the jabs you were getting from them as they shifted in their sleep but found the sight of your husband dealing with them so well too endearing. They took to him easily, knowing that he was with you. But that should be expected from a family made of misfits and abandoned children. They'd been raised to accept whoever was brought in without question. Appearances never mattered in the past so it would make sense that they didn't now.

So you stayed cuddled up to your husband, loving the slightly painful but sweet pile of bodies around you. You felt more at peace now than you ever had before.