Poof…whoosh…poof…whoosh…poof—
"Warren!"
—whoosh. "Fine," Warren muttered, extinguishing his palm and sitting back in his chair. He crossed his arms and looked petulant, trying to get comfortable in the cramped seat in the doctor's office waiting area.
Magenta went back to reading the latest Steven King, shaking her head. She glared at the page, unable to concentrate on anything other than the soft tap-tap-tapping of Warren's booted foot.
"Seriously?" she asked, arching a brow at him.
"What?" he demanded defensively.
"It's like I'm waiting with a three year old," she said, setting her book aside.
"I could have come without you," Warren snapped.
"The Sidekick's Guide to Superhero Supportation said I had to be present at any major event in your life," Magenta said. "Principle Powers said at graduation 'buy the book, read the book, live the book'. I'm just following orders."
Warren snorted at that. "Following orders? Since when? All you ever do is disobey my orders."
"I didn't say following your orders," Magenta said with a sniff. "Besides, I only disobey when your orders are producing a bad idea."
"Excuse me, Rat Girl, but who's the Hero here?" he asked, and then pointed a finger at himself. "Me," he mouthed.
"By default," Magenta said. She checked her watch. "Gah, what's the hold up?"
At that moment, a round-faced nurse came to the door and smiled, waving them back. "If you'll just follow me," she said cheerily.
Warren and Magenta exchanged a look and followed the perky nurse. "The doctor will be with you in a moment," she sang, all but skipping as she left.
"Wow. They might want to take her meds down a bit," Magenta said. Warren laughed.
He hopped up onto the exam table and stretched out his long legs. Magenta sat on a rolling stool and slid from one side of the room to the other. Warren watched her as she passed, a smile playing about his lips.
The door opened and the doctor came in. Magenta couldn't help but think the man looked like a clean Iggy Pop with glasses. She half expected him to moon them as he opened the door. She cringed at the thought.
She rose from the stool and stood next to Warren, who was now sitting in an upright position looking tense and expectant.
"How are we doing today?" he asked pleasantly.
Warren nodded and Magenta forced a smile. She chewed on her lip anxiously.
He took off his glasses and began wiping them on the hem of his lab coat. He cleared his throat and put his glasses back on.
"The…tests…that we ran," he said, speaking in that slow, dragging way that doctors do, "all came back…"
Warren gripped Magenta's hand.
"Positive. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Peace, you're having a baby."