So here's another Christmas Salex fic, simply because the world needs more Salex. Chapter 2 will be posted tomorrow.
Chapter 1 - Hot Chocolate
The early morning light streaming through the bedroom woke Alex up, causing her to stretch her back before sitting up in bed. She glanced around the room to find Sean pulling on a fresh pair of pants, his hair and muscular chest still damp from his shower. She chewed her lip as she watched him, a question on her mind.
"Sean?" She queried gently as she watched him.
"Yeah?" He asked doing up the button and zipper before looking up at her, grasping a shirt in his hand.
"Do you ever think about us having another baby?" She questioned slowly.
Sean paused in slight shock, glancing at her. "Sometimes." He admitted. "Do you?"
"Recently, yeah more and more." She spoke. "Nick is almost five, and that's already such a huge age gap." She sigh. "Is it too late?" She queried as she ran a hand through her hair, knotted from the night before.
"I don't think so. There's 8 years between me and Jill." He reminded as he moved to sit next to her on the bed. "Though I was a surprise." He laughed, knowing that his birth had been a shock to his mother.
Alex laughed. "Well Nick wasn't planned either." She reminded with a small smile as she leant her head against his strong shoulder.
The pregnancy had initially caught them both off guard. They had only been together for around two years when Alex discovered it; they hadn't even talked about marriage. Nicholas was born 9 months later, and soon after they were married. Looking back on it now neither of them would change a thing.
"That is true." Sean realized as he wrapped his strong arm around Alex's shoulders, pulling her against his chest as he pressed a kiss to her hair. "So we're doing this?" He asked.
"Yeah we're doing this." She grinned as she kissed him before pulling back. "Before we get carried away though, we should get ready, Nick really wants to go skating." She reminded.
Sean nodded and stood up, putting his shirt on over his head.
Alex smiled and stood in front of him, her hands looping around the back of his neck for a quick moment. "It's too bad you already had your shower." She mentioned. "I would have loved for you to join me." She teased before kissing him quickly.
"I don't mind having another shower." Sean said quickly, a grin on his face.
"Slow down there Captain America." She urged. "Nicolas wants to go skating and he still hasn't eaten." She reminded.
Sean sigh and nodded. "I'll go get him breakfast." He assured. "Though I hope you know I plan to spend time with you tonight." He grinned.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." She smirked before she sauntered off to have her shower as she heard Sean leave their room to get their son.
"Mommy hurry up!" Nick called as he ran to the edge of the rink before realizing his parents were still behind him, he then decided to turn and run back to where they were walking. He grabbed his mothers hand and pulled her along, dragging her to the outdoor rink.
Alex let out a laugh as she followed her son, a grin on her face. "Nick buddy slow down dad's right behind us." She assured her son as he sat on the bench.
Sean came up behind them, taking the skate from the bag that was over his shoulder. "Are you okay to get his skates on?" He asked Alex as he found his sons helmet.
"Sean I've been skating since I was a child I think I can put skates on my own son." She spoke as she moved to put her sons skate on, only to encounter difficulty.
"Mommy I think it's on the wrong foot." Nick mumbled.
"Not one word." Alex warned Sean when she saw he was about to say something. "Sorry baby." Alex spoke as she put the skate on her sons proper foot before doing up the laces and repeating the action with the other skate. "Not to tight?" Alex asked.
"They're perfect." Nick grinned.
Alex smiled and leant forward, kissing her sons forehead. "Dad almost ready?" She asked as she glanced at Sean after she put Nick's helmet on him, pushing his dark brown hair beneath the helmet before snapping the cage closed.
"Yeah dad's ready." Sean smiled, sometimes it still surprised him that he was in fact a father.
Sean put his helmet on, without a full cage, and stood up. "You good buddy?"
Nick nodded as he stood, wobbling slightly on his skates. "Mommy are you coming?" Nick asked hopefully.
"Yeah baby, just let me get my stuff on. Go with dad." Alex assured as she nudged his back gently.
Nick nodded and waddled along the path, a tight grasp on his fathers hand in an attempt to keep himself up right. When they came to the ice surface Sean lifted Nick under the arms, helping him over the step onto the ice before stepping onto the ice after him. "You okay?" He asked as he let his son find his footing on the slippery surface, slowly making their way along the boards.
"Uh huh." Nick spoke. He did his best to skate slowly, moving his small feet against the ice.
Alex soon made her way onto the ice, her skinny jeans tucked into her hockey skates. "How are my two favourite boys?" She grinned as she caught up to them.
"Good." Nick said happily as he skated to his mother, wrapping his arms around her waist. Alex grinned and took her sons hand before Sean took the other as they supported him.
Alex smiled down at him as they skated around the rink. It was fairly empty and they were able to skate freely. "Can I swing?" Nick asked as he looked up at his parents, tugging their arms to show what he wanted.
"Sure buddy." Sean grinned as he grasped his shots wrist. "Al you got him?" He asked.
Alex nodded before she lifted Nick, swinging him slightly before placing him back on the ground, making sure he was stable on his skates.
Nick let out a happy laugh, finding his footing on his skates again. "Can I skate ahead now?" He asked, feeling more stable on the thin blades.
"Yeah, go ahead." Sean answered, grabbing Alex's waist when she tried to skate after him. "He needs to be a little independent."
"What if he falls?" Alex asks as she gripped his arm.
"Then we pick him up." Sean reminded as he kissed her cheek gently. "He'll be okay."
Alex nodded but remained tense as she watched Nick skate in front of them. "Sean he's going way too fast, he's going to hurt himself." She stressed.
"Alex rela-" Sean was cut off when he watched as Nick caught an edge, slipping side first into the boards, the cage of his helmet bouncing off the fibreglass.
Before Sean could even react Alex skating to their sons side, stopping in front of him on her knees before pulling off his helmet and cupping his face in her hands. "Nick baby are you okay? Did you hit your head?" Alex asked, her worried eyes scanning over him for any sign of injury.
"I'm okay mommy." He promised as he looked up at her with the dark eyes as he saw his father come up beside them.
Alex let out a heavy breath and pulled him into her chest, kissing his head.
"Mommy you're squishing me." Nick mumbled against her coat.
"I'm sorry baby." Alex sign as she held him for a moment longer before pulling back. Her heart was beating against her chest but she was just glad that he was okay.
"Can we get hot chocolate?" Nick asked, seemingly oblivious to the accident that had just occurred,
"I don't know buddy it's getting kind of late." Alex spoke slowly as she brushed a hand over his dark hair before lifting him off the ice and skating back to the bench.
"Please mommy!" Nick pleaded, looking up at her with the wide brown eyes he had learned she couldn't say no to.
Alex sigh gently, that boy knew how to get anything he wanted from her. "Okay we can go get hot chocolate." She assured.
Nick grinned widely. "Thank you mommy." He smiled.
Sean watched the interaction with a smile, Nick had them both wrapped around his finger and his son knew, and used it to his advantage. "I'll head home and start dinner." Sean assured.
He lifted Nick off the ice and into his arms, skating with him back tot he bench as Alex followed with them. Once they were back into their regular shoes Sean gathered the skates and helmets, putting the bag back over his shoulders.
"Thanks." Alex smiled and kissed Sean quickly. "You ready to go?" She asked Nick as she took his hand.
Nick nodded and began to walk with her. "Bye daddy!" Nick spoke as the two split off.
"Bye Nick." Sean called with a smile, kissing Alex quickly before their son dragged her off with a wide smile.
"Are you going to get whip cream on your hot chocolate?" Alex asked as she walked with Nick away from the rink and down towards the Starbucks.
"Mhmm real hot chocolate always has whip cream." Nick grinned.
Alex smiled at her son as they continued, coming up to the local animal shelter.
"Mommy look at the puppies!" Nick grinned as he pulled his hand from Alex's, running to the dark furred dogs that were kept in large cage, the sides lined with warm blankets so the cold air wouldn't get to the puppies.
"Hello." Alex greeted the employee who was out with the puppies.
"Mommy can we get one?" Nick pleaded.
"I don't know buddy dogs are expensive." She reminded. Of course with the Udinov fortune they could afford it without a problem but young Nicholas didn't need to know that.
"Actually these ones are free to a good home." The lady spoke, unaware of Alex's reservations on actually adopting the dog. "Dark coloured dogs are less likely to be adopted and we wanted these ones to have a home. They're up to date on all their shots and they've been fixed. We also give a free bag of dog food." She continued.
Nick listened intently, soon pulling on his mothers arm. "Please mommy please please please!" He begged, jumping slightly as he looked up at her.
Alex looked down at her son before looking back at the puppies; she had to admit they were incredibly cute, and they did have the room for it. "Okay." She said finally.
"Really!?" Nick grinned.
"Yeah really." Alex spoke as she knelt next to her son. "Which one do you want baby?" She asked.
"Hmmmmm that one!" Nick spoke pointing to a small one at the back of the cage, the puppy had dark brown fur and bright blue eyes.
Alex smiled at his choice. It was obvious from the size of the puppy that it had been the runt of the litter and probably would have been the last one to get chosen. "The boss has spoken." Alex spoke with a smile as the woman carefully got the dog from the crate, attaching a leash to the blue colour.
"He's also already house trained so you shouldn't have too many problems." She explained.
"Thank you." Alex smiled at the woman. "Would it be alright if I left you my name and send my husband back later with the car to get the food?" She questioned, she didn't want to have to worry about Nick, the new puppy, and carrying the food on their way home.
"Of course that's not a problem." She assured as she took Alex's information and Sean's name before handing her the handle of the leash.
"What do you want to name him?" Alex asked her son.
"Can we name him Hot Chocolate?" Nick asked hopefully.
Alex chuckled. "I think that's a great name." She assured. "You wanna walk him?"
"Uh huh." Nick smiled as he took the leash.
"Make sure you hold on tight okay." Alex instructed.
Nick took it happily, taking Alex's hand in his other one.
"Have a nice day." Alex told the woman with a smile.
"You too, happy holidays."
Alex smiled as she held her sons hand, making their way back towards the house; the hot chocolate beverage forgotten.
"Sean?" Alex called as she walked into the house.
"Yeah Al?" He questioned as he moved into the front hall to see her, the wooden spoon still in his hand from the dinner he was cooking.
"Please don't be mad." She spoke as she shook off her gloves and took off her hat.
"Why would I be ma-" He was cut short by the sound of a bark, before he watched as a small dog ran by him, followed by his son Nicholas who didn't even bother to take his boots or coats off.
Alex watched the scene with a wide smile, she loved seeing her son so happy.
"Alex what did you do?" He asked in confusion. "You were supposed to buy him hot chocolate." He reminded.
"We named him Hot Chocolate." She spoke.
"You what?" Sean froze. "Alex you can't be serious."
"The local shelter was giving them away for the holidays, Nick wanted one so bad and look at how happy he is!" She gushed as her son played with the young puppy.
"Do you have no self control?" He questioned.
Alex glared at him. "Hey it's a bit late to give me that lecture, and you shouldn't be talking. I'm pretty sure no self control is how that happened." She spoke as she motioned to their son who had turned to look at his parents, the puppy kept in his arms.
Sean let out a defeated sigh as he dropped his head. "Alright well I guess I'll go buy dog food."
Alex smiled. "I left my information at the shelter, it's just down on Broadway, the first bag is free so you can go get it." She spoke as she kissed his cheek.
"You're lucky I love you." Sean laughed.
"Yes I am." Alex grinned as she went to her son and got him out of his winter clothing.
"Mommy can Hot Chocolate sleep in my room?" Nick asked, thoroughly happy with the unique name he had given the dog.
"Yes he can." Alex cooed as she kissed his head before ruffling his dark brown hair.
Later that night Sean sat on the couch, Alex's back against his chest as Nick and the puppy were curled up together and fast asleep against Alex. "I guess there goes baby number two." He spoke gently; he wasn't exactly disappointed but he had looked forward to having another child, he loved Nicolas and wanted him to have siblings like he had growing up.
Alex tipped her head back to look at him. "What do you mean? You don't want another anymore?" She asked, her chest almost tight.
"Of course I want another, but can we handle a baby and a puppy?" He asked.
"We've handled more. Besides, the dog will already be over a year old when the little one is born, he won't be as much of a hassle anymore." She reminded.
"So we're still doing this?" He asked with a grin.
"I think so." She smiled and kissed him gently, they remained curled up asleep on the couch, eventually falling asleep as a family.
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