Hey babes! Happy belated Easter! I wanted to have this up yesterday, but, well, things don't always work out like that.
This was pretty fun to write, and I don't usually post this quickly after writing a story, especially because I always get stuck on titles and work myself into a panic, but I think I've come up with a fairly decent title for this little story.
This one takes place within the Max!Verse, for those who are curious.
Enjoy!
High-pitched squealing pulls her roughly out of her deep slumber, though, not as deep of sleep as she'd like. She rolls over in the bed and pushes at the shoulder of the man lying next to her.
"Babe, your kids are awake."
"Why are they always mine when they do something you don't like?"
"Because I carried them for nine months and then gave birth to them."
"Fair point."
"That's why I used it. Now get up and take care of the kids."
"Yes dear." The edges of her lips twitch involuntarily as his own lips press against her temple before the bed dips and she hears his feet padding against the hardwood floor of their bedroom.
She lies there for a moment longer, basking in the warmth left over by her husband on his side of the mattress.
The excited shouts from somewhere else in the house continue to grow. She lets out a small groan before forcing herself to sit up in the bed. She yawns and stretches her arms above her head.
Tossing the covers off of her body, she stands from the bed and makes her way out of the room, being sure to grab her phone off the nightstand and check her messages as she goes.
"Mommy!"
She's nearly knocked off balance by the two tiny forces barreling into her legs. She looks down to see her twin five year olds wrapped around her legs with wide smiles on their faces.
"Good morning to you too," she says with a small laugh.
"Mommy! The Easter bunny! He came!"
"He did?" she asks her daughter, feigning surprise.
"Yeah!" her son shouts. "He brought lots of stuff! You and daddy too!"
"Well then we should probably open our Easter baskets, huh?"
"Yeah!"
The twins immediately detach from her legs and make a beeline for the two bright, colorful baskets sitting on the floor.
While her children go through the different treats and trinkets in their baskets, she walks over to her husband and settles herself in his lap, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck and leaning her head against his shoulder.
"I love watching them get so excited."
"Me too," he tells her. "Almost makes the waking up early worth it."
"Not quite, but I get the sentiment behind it." She sits up a little and holds her phone up, opening the camera app. "Adian, Ava," she calls out to her kids, "look over here. Say cheese."
"Cheese!" Both twins smile as wide as they can for their mom.
"Oh that's so cute," Skye says to herself as she captures the photo and then attaches it to a text message to May, Fitz, Mack, Elena, and Katie.
Happy Easter!
She sends the message and then settles herself back against her husband.
"Is May still coming down?" he asks after a fairly quiet moment.
"As far as I know."
"Great. So then we'll pawn them off on her if they start getting too rowdy."
She smiles and kisses his cheek. "I love how well you know me."
"It took a few years but I think I've finally got you figured out."
She laughs quietly, letting out a small sigh when the twins jump onto the couch and start attacking them with hugs and shouts of excitement.
"And so it begins."
"Nana May! We're gonna get a bunny!"
"We are not getting a bunny," Skye reminds her daughter as she steps down out of the house and approaches the two, hiking her bag up a little higher on her shoulder. "We're going to see the Easter Bunny and take pictures with him, followed by the Easter Egg Hunt."
Ava frowns and crosses her arms over her chest, the fabric of her pale purple dress wrinkling beneath. "I want a bunny."
"You already have two dogs. I think you'll be fine."
"Your mom's right, Ava," May says to the five year old, running a hand down over her hair. "Two dogs is plenty for you right now."
Ava sighs. "Fine." She turns and stomps off to where the family's two dogs are lying in the grass of the front yard, immediately plopping down next to Max and leaning back against him.
Skye looks up at the older woman and lets out a breath. "Oh, I am so not looking forward to her teenage years."
"Well don't think you can go pawning them off on me when they get too much for you and Grant," May tells her.
"I'm not worried about Adian that much. He's pretty relaxed for a five year old."
"Where is Adian?" May asks, eyes glancing around for her grandson.
"Probably inside with Grant getting ready. He's very adamant about helping Grant get ready, as well as matching him every opportunity he gets. It's adorable and I love it, but I'm pretty sure he'll grow out of it as he gets older which is going to make me very sad. And I know Grant loves it too."
"Then you'll just have to take advantage of it while you can," May supplies.
Skye snorts. "Oh, believe me, I am."
"Mommy look!"
Skye turns her head over her shoulder and smiles when she sees Grant emerging from the house carrying their son on his hip. They're both wearing matching light gray suits with pale purple dress shirts underneath, their hair slicked back nicely.
"Oh, look at my boys. You both look great."
"As do you," Grant says, eyeing her light purple dress up and down before he settles on her face and leans down for a kiss. "But you always look great."
She smiles. "Mm, I've trained you well."
"Nana May!" Adian shouts, having finally spotted his grandmother, immediately leaning out of his dad's arms and reaching out for the older woman.
"Hi there, handsome," May says with a smile as she takes Adian into her arms. "Happy Easter."
"Happy Easter," Adian replies with a toothy grin. "We're gonna see a bunny."
"So I've heard."
"Speaking of which, we should probably get going," Grant says. He steps away from his wife and walks over to where his daughter is.
"Hi, daddy," she says with a smile up at him.
He smiles back. "Hi, Ava-loo. You ready to go see the Easter Bunny and then find some Easter eggs?"
"Yeah!"
He chuckles, leaning down to lift her into his arms. "Well then we better get going."
"Come on, Max," Ava says, looking down at the dog still lying in the grass.
"You too, Captain," Grant says to the other German Shepherd wandering around the yard. "In the car, let's go." He gestures with his head to the SUV in the driveway and then starts making his way over to it.
Everyone climbs inside the vehicle and gets buckled in, Adian and Ava bouncing excitedly in their booster seats, eager to meet the Easter Bunny and find as many hidden eggs as they can.
.
.
.
Pulling the car up to the front of the animal shelter, Grant barely manages to shift the gear into park before Adian and Ava are unbuckling themselves from their seats and tugging at the handle of the door trying to open it.
"Both of you need to relax," Skye tells her children, glancing at them quickly while making sure she has everything she needs in her bag.
"But we see Aunt Katie," Ava replies with a wide smile.
Skye looks out the windshield, giving a small smile and wave to the woman standing out front near a long table set up in front of the shelter.
"Okay, you two can go, but please be careful."
She flips the switch to unlock the door and then the twins are jumping out of the car and barreling toward their aunt, throwing themselves at her when they're close enough.
Katie catches them expertly and hugs them tightly, dropping kisses to the tops of their heads. "Oh, I love getting hugs from you two. Happy Easter."
"Happy Easter!"
"Aunt Katie, where's the bunny?" Ava asks eagerly.
"He's around here somewhere," Katie replies. "But I think we might have to wait a little while."
Ava frowns. "I wanna see the bunny."
"And you will," Katie assures her. "You just have to be patient."
"I don't think that's a word that'll ever be in her vocabulary," Skye remarks as she approaches the scene. She pulls the other woman into a quick hug before looking down at her children. "Do you two want to help your dad check on some of the puppies real quick before we get in line for pictures with the Easter Bunny?"
"Puppies!" Adian and Ava shout together, darting over to where Grant is standing just inside the front door of the animal shelter.
"Exciting day so far?" Katie asks once the twins are out of ear shot.
Skye lets out a breathy laugh. "Oh, I think that's a bit of an understatement. It's Easter, and my mom came to visit, so, you know."
Katie laughs quietly. "Yes, well, be prepared for more excitement."
"Were you put in charge of the hunt this year?" Skye asks her.
"Kind of. I helped organize it this time around. Put my own spin on things."
"I'm sure you did. You have a tendency to do that."
"Yes, I do. But uh, I think you should probably know that Carter just showed up and I'm not sure if he's spotted your mom yet."
Skye spins around to find the older man in question approaching the shelter with his three young grandchildren, a smile on his face as he listens to the kids speak excitedly. "Oh no. I better save her before he finds her. You'd think after four years of her saying 'no' that he'd get the hint." She shakes her head as she walks across the grass to where May is standing, observing the scene as people arrive and start mingling about with one another.
"Carter just showed up, but I think we can still find you a place to hide," she whispers when she reaches the older woman.
May sighs. "I can't just avoid him every time I'm here, Skye, it's a small town."
"Yes, I know. But you turn him down every time he hits on you, I don't know why he doesn't get that you don't want to be with him."
"He lost his wife, Skye, he's lonely. He just wants some company."
"And you're already taken."
"I am not."
She rolls her eyes. "Okay, so you're still in a weird relationship limbo with Coulson even though it's obvious you two have something. As much as I don't want him around my family, you two are good for each other."
May narrows her eyes. "We're not talking about this."
Skye sighs. "Fine. But I still think Car-"
"Melinda, hello there."
May lets a small smile grow on her lips. "Carter."
"I have a feeling I already know what your answer will be, but would you care to join me for a cup of coffee?"
"I would love to, Carter, thank you."
Carter's entire face lights up. "Excellent."
"Mom."
"Skye, enough," May says gently with a pointed look before following Carter to the table set up off to the side with different drinks and treats.
Skye sighs, leaning back against the wall of the shelter, her arms folding across her chest as she watches the scene.
"You okay over here?"
"Yeah, babe, I'm fine."
"Mommy, we gived the puppies their food."
Skye smiles down at her kids. "You did? Wow." She kneels down in front of them and adjusts the front of Adian's suit jacket. "Now that you've helped your dad a little, how would you two like to go meet the Easter Bunny now?"
Both twins grin. "Yeah!"
Skye laughs. "Alright. Come on, then." She stands up straight and grabs onto their hands, walking with them toward the line of kids already waiting to get pictures with the Easter Bunny, Grant following right behind them with Max and Captain.
.
.
.
"Okay, kiddos, who's ready to go find some Easter eggs?"
Katie laughs at the excited shouts and cheers from all the kids present at the animal shelter for their annual Easter Egg Hunt. She smiles out at the swarm of them, clutching baskets and buckets tightly in their hands as they wait.
"That's what I love to hear." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, so, for you older ones who've done this before, you know the drill, but for the little ones here who are new or might not remember from last year, you're gonna go out there and find as many Easter eggs as you can find. All the eggs have some kind of treat inside them for you, so work as hard as you can to find as many as you can. On your mark...get set...go!"
All at once the children take off running through the grass around the animal shelter in search of the different colored eggs hidden around the property. Some of the younger children are being helped by older siblings or parents to locate at least a few eggs.
Grant, Skye, and May watch from the place along the front of the building with smiles on their faces as Adian and Ava work together to locate different eggs, Ava even going so far as to 'accidentally' knock into other kids to allow her brother to get to an egg.
"That child of mine, I swear," Skye mutters under her breath as she watches Ava practically barrel into a kid twice her size.
"She's pretty fearless, I'll give her that," Katie says with an amused smile as she approaches them. "I don't know many five year olds who would do stuff like that."
"I worry for my blood pressure as she gets older. Ava! This isn't tackle football, knock it off!" she shouts in the direction of her daughter, not sure if the little girl even heard her. "One of those older kids isn't going to take too kindly to being shoved around by a five year old."
"She'll be fine, Skye," Grant tells his wife, wrapping his arm around her waist to hold her closer and drop a kiss to the top of her head. "She's a tough girl, which she learned from her incredibly amazing mom."
Skye rolls her eyes despite the smile creeping its way onto her face. "Do you have to be such a sap all the time?"
He smiles, kissing her cheek. "Guess you just bring it out in me."
"Yeah, well, the other moms here are about to bring out the Mama Bear in me if they don't stop whispering to each other and giving Ava dirty looks because she and Adian beat their ten year old to a plastic egg."
"They're just jealous of how amazing our daughter is."
Skye tilts her head and smiles. "She is pretty awesome. As is our son. Two equally awesome, and extremely adorable kids."
"Hey, weirdos, I think your one of your adorable kids just kicked another kid in the shin."
Skye sighs as Grant makes an immediate beeline for their children, following after him a moment later, muttering under her breath as she ignores the stares and whispers from the other parents around her.
"Happy Easter, everyone."
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!