Title: Laundry Duty
Author: Fullmetal Ai
For: SilCerny – I know you requested this a long time ago, and I really am very sorry for the wait time. Thank you, so, so much for being so patient with this request! Oh, and keep on writing Joshua/Az! Lord knows that the Chrno Crusade section needs more Joshua/Azmaria!
"Azmaria, sweetie, sit down," Joshua Christopher laughed as he took the basket of laundry from his wife. Azmaria smiled sheepishly, reaching out a hand to try and take the basket from him, only to have Joshua block it. She placed her hands on her hips, sending a tiny glare toward him. Joshua only laughed more.
"You're five months pregnant with our first child and you've been moving around all day, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry ... Az, just let me do things, for once, all right?" Azmaria sighed, hobbling over to the nearest chair and sitting down.
"Fine, Joshua. You win ..." Joshua grinned, satisfied in his triumph.
"... For now," She ended, grinning right back at him. Joshua sighed, then grinned again.
"We'll see about that, Az," He said, taking the basket of laundry to the back of the house to wash them. Azmaria giggled. Joshua couldn't do laundry if his life depended on it. He'd be back soon. For now though, she would relax, like her darling husband had suggested. She leaned back into the cushions of the chair, gently placing her arms on her bulging stomach. Five months down, only four more left. And then .. Azmaria smiled at the thought. And then Joshua and I will be parents. She had already heard from many friends how painful the entire process would be, and she believed every word of it, after witnessing a few births herself. She knew what was in store for her, but she knew that once she saw the face of her child, it would all have been worth it. Joshua seemed more than prepared for this gigantic step in their life together, and had told her so many times before; Azmaria knew that she was ready.
"Azmaria!" Joshua called from his area of laundry duty on the back porch, "Azmaria, how much soap should I put in here?" Azmaria rolled her eyes, slowly standing from her sitting position and walking to the back porch, laughing a tiny bit at her husband's ignorance.
"I told you," She said and laughed as he pouted playfully. Carefully, Azmaria kneeled down and poured the amounts of soap and water into the bucket, giggling at the pouts and puppy eyes she knew Joshua was giving her.
"Look, Joshua ... since I'm unable to go to work at the order with you now, I need something constructive to do with my time. Understand? This is my job now," Azmaria explained, placing a tiny kiss to Joshua's lips and beginning to wash the dirty clothes in the basket. Joshua chuckled and grabbed a shirt from the pile, mimicking the moves she made to clean the clothes. Azmaria smiled. He was always so desperate to make her workload easier, when he had his own heavy workload to deal with.
"I'm just worried, Az," He finally said, grabbing another shirt and beginning to wash it along with her, "Remember, you've got our child inside of you. I don't want you working too hard while there is still a chance of harming the baby." Azmaria smiled, leaning her head to Joshua's shoulder for a moment before returning to the laundry.
"I know," She responded, "That's why you'll make such a good father." She looked to him and smiled, and he smiled back. He chuckled and returned to what he was doing.
"Is that so ..?"