MHA #6 Saturday Afternoon

[arboreal_priestess]

So, with the past week, Liam had had plenty of time to experience being around blanket forts, but Verity was pretty sure he'd still never had the fun of building one. So she'd sent him out to the store for some snacks, citing a long-overdue call with Sarah for why she couldn't accompany him and after said call (in which she harangued her cousin to at least talk to Artie, for god's sake, and also to come back to Baltimore), she stripped all the linens off their bed and grabbed everything from the closet and left it all in a giant pile on the floor for Liam to spot when he came home.

Shut up, this was totally for Liam's benefit and not at all because the past week had Verity feeling nostalgic or anything.

Comments

[arboreal_priestess]

"The longer you can stay in the fort, the longer before you parents say you have to put the blankets back," Verity said nodding. "Alex used to have a one of those constellation projectors and we'd put it on in the fort and eat snacks by the glowing light of the stars." Her eyes were warm. "They were good times."

[firstofitskind]

“That sounds nice,” Liam said, notably without the tinge of jealousy that sometimes reared its head when other people talked about their childhoods. Yes, he’d missed out on a lot of things, but Verity was doing her damndest to make sure he got to experience them now, and he just.

He loved her so fucking much.

[arboreal_priestess]

"So put that bag over here on the couch," Verity said, hopping to her feet and over to kiss him, quick and soft. "And let's start building this blanket fort. It's actually going to be a lot easier than when I was a kid, let me tell you. We're taller now."

...shut up.

[firstofitskind]

"We are, huh?" Liam said, grinning down at her as the kiss ended. And then darting out of her reach over to the couch to put down those snacks as requested.

[arboreal_priestess]

That didn't stop her from trying to swat at him as he darted by. Here in the house, she didn't often bother with shoes, so her height - or lack thereof - was readily apparent. "See if I teach you how to make a blanket fort now," she grumbled, pouting at him.

Ever so sincerely, yes.

[firstofitskind]

"You wouldn't!" he gave her his very best puppy-dog-eyes look. "Verity."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Teach you to make fun of me for being short," Verity declared, her hands on her hips. "Short people are always ready to throw down. It's because we're closer to Satan."

That was one of Alex's favorite jokes.

[firstofitskind]

"That tracks," Liam agreed. "Even if you say that like you don't make fun of me for bumping my head on things," he grumbled back at her.

[arboreal_priestess]

"The world was built for tall people," Verity declared blithely. "That you're still having problems is a you-thing."

She was dimpling at him something fierce. "We gonna get this show on the road then? I wanna watch TV in our fort!"

[firstofitskind]

"Bossy," Liam said, as if that wasn't one of the things he loved most about her. "Lead on, then. What's next?"

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity's bit top energy might have been the first thing about her that he'd noticed.

"Well, first you've gotta look around your construction site," she explained. "Are there any sections of it that you want to incorporate in your fort?"

[firstofitskind]

... Yeah, that absolutely tracked.

"Well," he bit his lip, surveying the living room. "If we're watching TV in this fort... should the couch be inside or are we supposed to be on the floor?"

[arboreal_priestess]

"Technically, there's no wrong way to build a fort," Verity said, knowing Liam's fear of Doing It Wrong. "But laying on the floor is closer to the spirit of the fort. Also, the couch is far enough from the TV that the roof might dip down and obscure our vision."

[firstofitskind]

"Okay," Liam nodded, absorbing that information. "But we could flip the couch around and use the back as a wall?"

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity snapped her fingers and grinned at him. "Now you're picking up what I'm putting down," she told him. "Let's flip that around. Though we're also gonna take all the couch cushions off first so we have stuff to sit on."

[firstofitskind]

"More comfortable than right on the floor," Liam agreed, moving to take the couch cushions off.

And stack them neatly according to whether they were seat cushions, back cushions, or the throw-pillow style, because he was that type of nerd.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity watched him, mouth twitching. God, her husband was positively ridiculous. She adored him.

"We're also going to have to find a way to give ourselves a little height," she said as he finished. "A floor lamp works, but only if it's never on." ASK HER WHAT COULD HAPPEN, LIAM, GO ON. ASK. "Tacking it to the ceiling usually works."

[firstofitskind]

"... You tack the floor lamp to the ceiling?" Liam blinked at her in momentary confusion, not realizing those were unrelated statements.

[arboreal_priestess]

"I'm just going to give you a minute," Verity teased, draping the sheet over the back of the couch.

[firstofitskind]

"...Oh," Liam grinned sheepishly, a blush coloring his cheeks. "I get it."

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity's expression was all fondness. "Knew you would," she said, voice more warmth than teasing. "Which is good, because you're the giant who gets to do the tacking."

[firstofitskind]

"Weren't you making fun of my height, like, a minute ago?" Liam demanded, already grabbing one of the sheets.

[arboreal_priestess]

"I'll I'll do it five minutes after you finish tacking the sheet to the ceiling," Verity teased. "If you're worried you won't reach, you could also lift me up on your shoulders."

[firstofitskind]

"If I'm worried I won't reach," Liam repeated with a scoff. "You just wanna feel tall for once."

Theirs was a relationship built on love and respect!

[arboreal_priestess]

"I spend most of my time at the lofty height of 5'8 and you know it," Verity snorted. "I'm just classily offering if you want my thighs wrapped around your ears."