... Come to Those Who Wait

AN: Originally, this was supposed to be a third OMAKE for All Good Things, but when I started working on it again during the Australian Open I realized that it was better served as its own chapter. Much like Coda, the new character in this is left unnamed. Hope you enjoy!


"And that," the satisfied feline told a spellbound little girl with moss green hair, no more than five or six years old, "is how your Auntie Celine made sure that your Papa was going to treat your Mama well."

… Okay, she may have taken one or two liberties, but it was mostly accurate. Besides, the kid didn't have to know *everything* at her age, right?"

"Wooooooow! Mama and Papa never told me that story before!" she exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling.

"I'm not surprised," Celine replied, raising a paw for cursory inspection. "Papa probably doesn't like admitting a cat scared him senseless."

"Hehe," came her giggle, sounding so much like her mother's it was scary. "Maybe not. But wait, does that mean Papa proposed after?" she continued, and Celine had to bite down a chuckle on her emphasis. Goddess, this kid was way too precious…

"Oh no, this was a while before that. Actually, lots of stuff happened before they could meet again – just ask any of the hundred plus relatives you've got running around. But," Celine paused with an evil grin, "if you really want to know the proposal story – "

"It'll have to wait for another time," a familiar voice intoned from the door, and the girl spun around to see her parents standing there, Emma with her hand on her hip and Machias with his arms crossed, both trying and failing to keep from blushing.

"Mama! Papa!" the girl exclaimed with the unbridled joy native to a child being reunited with her parents before she clambered up from the floor and sprinted over to Emma, throwing her arms around the brunette's waist in an eager hug.

"Well hello there," Emma cooed, kneeling down and kissing her daughter's cheek, eliciting another happy giggle. "We missed you! Were you good for Auntie Celine?"

Her head bobbed up and down with no small amount of vigor. "Uh huh! She told me a lot of stories!"

Machias snorted, drawing a haughty look from the familiar. "You don't say."

She detached herself from Emma and held up her arms toward Machias, laughing all the while. "She did! Is it true that a friend of Auntie Vita's tied you up one time?"

The sound Emma made when she struggled not to burst out laughing herself was reminiscent of a tire being deflated, and the sight of her husband ineffectually sputtering even as he picked up their child didn't help matters in the slightest.

"… That's another story best left for a different day," he finally conceded, fixing Celine with an imperious stare and rolling his eyes when she stuck her tongue out at him in response.

The warm bundle in his arms pouted before relenting. "Okay. I don't want you to tell a story that will make you grumpy, Papa."

The cat started snickering. So did Emma.

"H-Hey! It was a long time ago, remember?" Machias reminded them, his eyes narrowed in indignation. "It was embarrassing back then, but hearing it now would hardly make me – "

"Grumpy, grumpyyyy!" the little girl sang with joyful cheer, gazing up at her father with a wide grin.

"It most certainly would not," the green haired man protested in vain before Emma sidled up next to him, looking more than a little mischievous.

"Grumpy, grumpyyyy~!" the witch echoed, smiling at her husband's disgruntled expression before she kissed his cheek and laid her head on his shoulder with a content sigh. "Love you."

Well, that was hardly fair. Then again, he had come to expect that by now.

"I love you too," he grumbled facetiously as he lifted his daughter aloft, much to her delight. "You and this little one both."

"What about Auntie Celine, Papa?" she asked when she was safely ensconced his arms again, looking back at the ever relaxed feline.

Machias shrugged, looking about as disinterested as humanly possible.

Celine snorted, taking no offense at what had become a time honored routine at this point. "Right back at you, pal."

"Anyways," Emma coughed as Machias set their daughter down, fighting the urge to shake her head in exasperated affection, "you've had a long enough day as it is, I think. Someone's probably ready for bed…"

There was a small frown, but little more. "Okay."

"Go wash up and get changed, all right? We'll be right along to tuck you in," Machias told her, taking a cue from Rean and patting her head, her mood lifting immediately.

"Hehe. Can Auntie Celine come, too?" she asked, giggling again in spite of herself.

The familiar gave an exaggerated yawn. "If you insist. I'll meet you in your room, all right kid?"

The vigorous nod as the cyan eyed girl sped off was the only answer she gave, and Celine chuckled a little, fond memories of another child running through her head at the moment. "Gee, I wonder where she gets that from…"

"Thanks for looking after her, Celine," Emma said, walking over and giving the familiar's ears a good scratch, much to her pleased satisfaction. "We really appreciate it."

"Even if you did decide to bring some skeletons out from the closet in the process," Machias deadpanned.

"Don't worry about it," Celine assured, waving a paw in dismissal. "It'd be one thing if she were still a baby, but now that she's a bit older it's hardly a problem. Hey, I managed to look after you, didn't I?"

Emma merely smiled at the jibe, a gleam behind her lenses that warned a counterattack was coming. "Look after me. Sure. Let's pretend that it was a one way street and I never had to help you out of that tree, or distract that wild dog from chasing you, or…"

Machias raised an eyebrow. "You of all cats got stuck in a tree?"

"Once!" Celine yowled, her nose scrunching in affront. "That happened once, and don't even get me started on that stupid dog…"

"Oh, so now that the stories are about you, suddenly you're not so eager to share, hmm?" Machias pressed, not bothering to disguise his amusement.

"You're still on that? Look, I know what I can and can't tell a kid. I mean, she doesn't know the reason that I got on your case is because my nose told me that Mama and Papa made out by an ancient building for like three and a half hours -

Emma's face exploded in a sea of red. "W-We didn't just do *that*!" she cried, looking more than a little scandalized. "And it certainly wasn't for that long!"

The green haired man frowned as he scratched his cheek a little, his complexion just as crimson as his wife's. "… Actually, it might have been. If I recall correctly, we barely wound up making curfew – "

"Shush, Machias."

"Geez. It's a real miracle that she didn't come along earlier," Celine quipped, more than enjoying their mutual discomfort. "But you didn't have to worry, I wouldn't have told her the proposal story anyway – "

"Thank Aidios for small blessings," the gunman grumbled.

"I mean, why would I? Vita would tell it way better than I do," the familiar finished with an evil grin as she made her way to the doorway. "Time to go check on the munchkin. See you two in a little while!"

Emma waited before she was out of earshot to smile and lean against her husband again. "She loves her niece so much, doesn't she?"

Machias chuckled warmly into her hair. "Indeed she does. Celine was smitten with her almost as quickly as we were, hmm?"

"Pretty much, and it was so cute."

"It was." He paused, looking a little wistful. "She's gotten big."

"Mm-hmm. Don't worry, though; I'm sure it'll be a long time before a boy shows up wanting to play chess or declare how he's not going to let her beat him in exams again," Emma needled, a tiny grin dancing over her lips.

Machias gave a disdainful sniff and pointedly ignored the little twinge in his chest brought on by Emma's forecast of the future. "As far as I'm concerned he can take as much or as little time as he wants, just so long as he shows up after the snake pit's been prepared," and peals of laughter rang out in reply.

"You've thought that far ahead, have you?"

"It pays to be prepared for your child's suitor, Emma. That was something your grandmother and the other villagers taught me by example," he answered, barely repressing a shudder at the memories.

Terrifying group, the Hexen were. Especially when it came to their village's pride and joy.

"Celine and I did warn you," the brunette shrugged, sapphire eyes twinkling all the while. "As much as they wanted me to settle down, they weren't about to let it happen without thoroughly vetting the person first."

"Thoroughly indeed," Machias muttered under his breath, sounding a touch sulky, only to be jolted out of his reverie when Emma slipped her arms around his neck and looked upwards expectantly, pink lips parted in anticipation.

She was so gorgeous.

"It was worth it though, right?" she murmured, her fingers brushing their way through his hair, and Machias couldn't help but let out an affectionate sigh.

"… Really. You're just fishing for compliments now, aren't you?"

She playfully cocked her head a rige. "Maybe. Is it working?"

The kiss he gave her in answer sent sparks running down up and down her spine, and she couldn't help the smile from forming against his lips – something that didn't exactly escape his notice.

"Still can't keep from laughing, I see."

"Oh, shut up," Emma giggled, tugging him down to take care of the height difference before her mouth returned to a decidedly more pleasant task. It wasn't as if it happened that often, honestly…

Her husband's arms had just slid around her waist to pull her closer when a familiar voice rang out and broke the spell, an impatient tinge to every syllable.

"What's taking you two so long? If you're trying to make another one, the least you can do is put this one to bed first and let me leave!"

So much for that.

Emma broke the embrace with no small amount of reluctance, wearing an annoyed look that matched the one that Machias had. "That's one way to get our attention, I suppose."

"And knowing our luck," he sighed, brow furrowed, "when we walk into that room the first thing we'll hear is a question about where children come from. Thanks, Celine."

He jumped a little when she gave him a mischievous nudge. "And what would you say if we do, pray tell?" she challenged, her curiosity overcoming her exasperation.

Machias crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "I would probably steal Rean's answer. You see," he began in earnest, much to the witch's amusement, "when two people are ready to be parents and have been good for a long time, an Ashen Knight descends from the sky with a very special delivery…"

The brunette snickered in spite of herself. "I still can't believe Alisa let that slide."

"Let's be honest here; she was probably laughing too hard to do anything else, and I can't exactly see Sharon or her grandfather going out of their way to fix that particular misconception."

"I… can't really disagree."

The gunman started to say something else, but was interrupted by another call echoing from somewhere above them.

"Maaaaammmmma! Paaaaaapaaaaaa! We're ready!"

Emma gave a tender smile when she saw her husband's gaze soften, and she reached out to link their hands. "You heard her."

"Yes, yes. So, what are we reading her tonight?" he asked, their fingers intertwining as they had countless times before. "More exploits about Dreichels?"

"That's certainly an option. But then again," she continued in a mild tone that indicated Machias wasn't going to like her next suggestion at all, "maybe it's time that she hears about some of Auntie Vita's friends, wouldn't you say?"

Green eyes rolled behind silver glasses. "You're going to need to do better than that to get a reaction out of me after all this time. I'm disappointed, quite honestly."

A dramatic sigh. "Alas, my attempt at re-living the distant past has been dashed."

"… It's not *that* distant. We're hardly old enough to qualify for that," he quipped in reply.

"It feels like it though, sometimes." She paused, giving his hand a tight squeeze, and Machias read the change in her demeanor immediately. "We've come a long way, haven't we?"

Emerald met sapphire, and Machias found himself smiling again as he stared at his wife.

His wife. Aidios only knew he would never get tired of that.

"We have." He drew her forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead, and it never ceased to amaze him how the smallest gestures could still make her blush. "I'm very glad you asked me to play chess that day, you know."

"So am I. It's amazing what the little things can lead to, hmm?" she asked, practically radiating happiness as she tugged him towards the doorway. "Come on, Papa. Duty calls."

"All right," Machias agreed, letting himself be pulled along without a hint of hesitation. "It's about time she gets to bed, at any rate."

The conversation continued as the pair left the room, their voices steadily growing softer and softer, before...

"… So, does that mean I can tell - "

"Absolutely not."