"Berwald?" Tiina started, cautiously putting a hand on the doorframe. Her husband grunted, shifting a glance. He was hard at work, taking the drafts Tiina had given him hours before and turning them into real toys. He was trying to properly sew clothes on a girl's doll, but he was able to listen to his wife at the same time. She fidgeted, unnerved. "It's about the papers I found."
The man stopped, taking pins out of his mouth. He looked over at Tiina, as unnerved as she was. His voice was timid, yet still rough with his Swedish accent, "What papers?"
"The... adoption papers for 'Peter Kirkland'..." Tiina replied, shifting her weight from the doorframe to walk inside of Berwald's office. Berwald tensed noticeably, nudging the doll-in-progess forward a bit. "Did you seriously apply to adopt him? I'm not upset, just... awfully confused."
"Ya said ya wanted a kid," he mumbled, glancing over at Tiina. She stopped short, eyes wide. What Berwald had said was true; Tiina had off-handedly mentioned, while relaxing at the park with Berwald, that she wanted a child someday. She actually wanted a big family, with many young children running around, playing with Flower-Egg, but she didn't want to push her dreams onto her husband. She had hoped at the time they could have tried to have one, however, the subject of an adoptive son was already in the picture. She cleared her throat.
"So... is that why you wanted to adopt him?" she asked. Berwald nodded, looking away. He was already starting to get flustered, and Tiina couldn't help but crack a smile. She walked over to put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. "That's... well, that wasn't something I'd expect. Especially something I didn't expect you not to talk about... it's a pretty big decision. I would have liked to talk to you about it-"
"Sorry," Berwald mumbled, head lowered.
"Oh, Ber... I-I'm not mad! Really! I think I'm too shocked to be mad," Tiina said, softly. She laughed somewhat after that, Berwald barely able to make contact with his wife. He wanted to surprise her, but as he thought about it, he couldn't exactly have explained they suddenly had a son. At least she was smart enough to find out on her own, even if by accident. Berwald sighed, Tiina flinching at the sudden noise.
"I... had t'adopt 'im. His father's..." he trailed off, shaking his head. Tiina nodded, immediately understanding what Berwald meant.
"...Arthur, isn't it? He... mm. I could see why you're concerned about Peter. What was he like?"
"He's a good kid. Likes ta talk... en'rgetic. Seemed ta be excited 'bout bein' adopt'd..."
"He does sound like a nice boy, from what you're saying. You seem to really want to take him home..." she smiled, laughing a bit when Berwald nodded at her assumption. She softened incredibly, and while she wanted to scold him for not bringing it up earlier, she knew she didn't have to. She could trust Berwald, and trust the decisions he wanted to make for the both of them. She did almost single-handedly adopted Flower-Egg without Berwald's consent before. It was almost the same sort of thing (to a higher degree). She couldn't bring herself to chide the older male, despite how she felt. "How long does the adoption process take? I'd like to meet him, if we have to wait a while."
"Nh, it'd be a while. Gotta go to court... lotsa paperw'rk. We'd get ta see 'im, though," he replied, brightening up a bit as he talked more about Peter. Tiina moved her hand down to his arm, making eye contact with her husband. She played with his hair a bit as she hummed, mulling everything over.
"Do you think we'd make good parents?"
"Of course. Yer the best wife... any kid would love ya," Berwald stated, blushing shortly after. Tiina blushed, too, laughing sheepishly. She kissed his forehead, letting her lips linger there for a while. She pulled back with a large smile, all teeth.
"And you would be the best father to ever exist. We'll have to read up on parenting, find a good school, and do a whole lot of work, but... if you think we can do this, I think we can, too. I'll let you get back to work, I have to call Eduar-" Tiina cut off, pulled in for a kiss. She melted completely into Berwald, holding onto him, happily continuing the kiss until neither of them could breathe. She rested her forehead on his, long hair falling off her shoulder.
"You were sayin'?" he asked. Tiina laughed, giving him another long, passionate kiss.
Berwald left his work unattended and carried his wife to their room bridal style, shutting the door behind them.
