There was something adorable about Buck's perplexed frown as he gazed down at the two pieces of wood in his hands; so much so that Taylor had to fight the urge to smile as she watched and propped a hand on her hip. She thought they'd well and truly conquered the world of flatpacking back when they'd first moved in together, and certainly when they'd bought their house, and yet here they were, stumped but a bit of wood, some nails, and a set of completely incomprehensible instructions.
Without Buck, Taylor might have found the situation infuriating, would have gotten frustrated and probably abandoned the project, but with him she found herself just enjoying the time together, no matter how they spent it. And besides there was something calming about Buck's patience, something about it that reassured her that they would figure this out, as long as they worked together.
"I feel like we're missing something," Buck said, the furrow in his brow deepening.
Taylor's hand itched to press her thumb there and smooth out the wrinkle but before she could do so, or even respond, he was surging up on his knees to rifle through all the spare parts and discarded wrapping that had become a jumbled mess on the floor.
"Why would they have nails in the first place if they weren't going to include a hammer," he mumbled to himself as he searched. "Where am I going to find a hammer? Bobby probably has one. Or maybe I could just use this piece as a hammer?" He glanced up, one of the wooden planks already held aloft to strike the nails, and caught sight of Taylor's dubious expression. He grinned, "I'm 80% sure this will work."
"I'm not sure I'm okay with that 20% margin of error," she grumbled, leaning down to brace one hand against his shoulder while the other rubbed circles into the hard well of her stomach. "Buck," she said sweetly, gazing into his eyes. "I love you, but if you break any part of this crib I will kill you. And then send you out to buy a replacement."
Buck's eyes sparkled as he ducked his head to press a quick kiss to her belly. "Don't worry, baby," he whispered and Taylor smiled, threading her fingers through the little curls at the base of his neck. "We'll make sure you have somewhere to sleep before you arrive."
"Yes," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. "But only if he doesn't try to hammer a nail in with a piece of wood."
"I'm not sure what your Momma wants me to use," he said in sing song to her bump.
"The hammer that Bobby gave us after we stole his last time we had to flatpack something?"
Buck stopped murmuring to her belly long enough to cock his head, sheepish smile crossing his face. "Forgot we had that."
"Uh huh," she said with a grin, and started levering herself to the ground. Buck hovered around her, hands fluttering a little nervously like he wanted to help, until she got settled, then swore he'd be right back as he dashed outside. Taylor had thought that Buck's protectiveness during her pregnancy would have gotten on her nerves by now but once they'd found a happy middle ground Taylor had found the whole thing rather endearing.
Taylor rubbed her stomach, smiling at the little feet that tapped against her hands. Gazing around the nursery that was slowly coming together, Taylor had to acknowledge to herself that she never thought she'd get to have something as special as this. After her mother's death and her father's imprisonment, she'd taught herself to withdraw, to trust only herself so she never had to feel the same kind of pain ever again. And it had been a fine life, if not a lonely one, but then Buck had blown into her life. And he'd been so open, with his affection, with his love, with every part of himself, and she'd learnt how much better everything could get if she allowed herself to be open like that too.
"We really lucked in, little bean," she said quietly, hunching over a little as if being closer would help the baby hear her. "I'm pretty sure you got the best daddy in the business. He's got the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known, he'll go to the ends of the earth to make sure you have everything you need, and there'll never be a day where you don't feel completely cherished."
There was a soft rustle from the doorway and Taylor didn't have to look up to know that Buck had returned even though she hadn't heard his approach. She didn't lift her head, a little embarrassed at having been caught out in her sappy moment, but she could imagine the fond look on his face as he beheld her.
"I'm not so sure about all of that, bean," he said, coming closer and flopping onto the ground beside Taylor. "But I do know that your Momma's the smartest, most beautiful, most amazing woman in the whole wide world. And I pity the person who ever tries to hurt you, bean, because she's pretty fierce, your Momma."
"You're a dork," Taylor said, even as she smiled and leaned over to press a sweet kiss to his lips.
"But your dork, right?"
"Right."
Once they had the hammer, the rest of the construction of the crib went a lot faster. Taylor got handed the instructions to read, even though she was sure that half of them were in another language and the pictures weren't much help either. But between the two of them they got the crib finished and stood back, arms looped around each other's waists.
"It's coming together, huh?" Taylor said, leaning her head against Buck's chest as she gazed around the room. An underwater mural dominated one wall before fading into the soft cream of the other walls, the furniture was all made of the same pale wood, and they'd forgone carpet in favour of a large area rug.
Buck hummed in response, and swayed them back and forth a little. "It's perfect. You're perfect." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head as one hand held her close and the other tapped out a matching rhythm to their bean's little kicks.
Yo, I'm obsessed with how fucking cute these two are. Stay tuned for 6 more days of BuckTaylor fluff :D
