Wade remains silent through most of the talking that his dad does. It’s odd to hear the older man get on the stronger side of emotional. In the last few months that they had begun an actual relationship the other had opened up in ways that Wade never believed to be possible. And yet Wade was a brick. A whole wall of them to be exact. He was still apprehensive about bringing up Ellie to him, and with moments like this it was hard to keep that secret kept. “I had to deal with that too. It was more so me being kicked out rather than the war being finished though. But I know how hard it is to transition right back into something “normal” when you’re sitting in the middle of a warzone for months.”         He thinks about Vanessa and how she had helped him so much when he had gotten back. It was years after his discharge that she waltzed in, but better late than never right? “You know if this is some way of telling me not to have kids with Shiklah then you don’t have to. Trust me, the last thing I’m trying to do is have kids with her. Well. The last thing she’s trying to do is have kids with me. I just say it’s mutual so it’s not as shitty.”

“No …” She nearly laughed, squinting as she glanced up at him, blinking water out of her eyes as her chin came to rest on his chest. The water was relaxing, enough that she nearly melted into his grip, nose wrinkling as his lips found her forehead. “Seems nice though. I’d try it.” Then again, she’d try pretty much anything at this point. Within reason, anyway. She’d come close enough to dying so many times that writing the idea off seemed absurd. Reaching up to absently work her fingers through his hair, she leaned up on her toes to close the distance between them and smirked. “Have you?”

“Mm …..” It was easy to relax once she followed him in, tipping her head into his chest as she stepped under the water. He always ran warmer than she did – she’d gotten used to it, even if she wasn’t entirely sure of the science behind it. It was a comfort now, more than anything. Fingers dropped to his hips, working their way up his front as she let her shoulders drop. And she was quick to lean into him as nails traced over skin. “We should get a hot tub. That’d be … interesting.”