Work Text:
Sometimes Katja liked to pretend that she was still a model. She’d strut around the bunker, always barefoot despite the chilly cement underfoot. She was doing that now, imagining cameras flashing and music playing as she walked down an invisible catwalk. With her eyes closed, she used quick bursts of echolocation and her own memory of the layout of the place to know where to go.
And then her eyes flew open as she stepped in something squishy and warm and wet.
“Ew,” she said, picking her foot up and leaning against the wall to see what she’d stepped in. It was some kind of brown mush, but it smelled fishy. “Who left cat food on the floor?” At least, she hoped it hadn’t been in the cat yet.
“Sorry, I must’ve accidentally dropped it when I was feeding Mandy,” said Alex, appearing from around the corner. Looking around, Katja realised that she’d almost reached the kitchen.
“You were feeding our daughter cat food?” asked Katja, glaring at her fiancée.
“No, it’s that special tinned tuna that’s kinda mushy,” said Alex.
“Tinned tuna?” asked Katja, her voice a little louder and angrier. “You can’t feed our baby that!”
“Well, you said she needs fish…” said Alex, looking down sheepishly. Katja sighed and kissed her.
“It’s okay,” said Katja. “At least you tried. She can eat tinned tuna, of course, but I have standards. Do we have any tuna left in the fridge?”
“I think there’s some in the freezer,” said Alex. She’d bought it for Katja’s birthday, and they hadn’t been able to eat it all. Maybe she shouldn’t have bought an entire fish.
“That’ll do,” said Katja. She wiped the mess off her foot with the washrag, then opened the freezer and took out the parcel of fish.
Alex sat at the kitchen table and watched her cook.
“How come you were walking around with your eyes closed?” asked Alex, propping her chin on her hands.
“Remembering what it was like to strut the catwalks,” said Katja breezily as she thawed the fish with a quick song and started cutting it up to cook.
“You can’t be a model anymore, you’re a mum,” said Alex, and smirked. Katja turned a little to glare at her.
“Like hell I can’t,” said Katja. Alex just laughed.
“I didn’t know you could cook,” said Alex. Katja didn’t even have to consult a cookbook to cook the tuna properly.
“I learned,” said Katja. “You cooked for Buck but when I was raising Lighto, I had to learn. You were an awful cook in that cycle.”
“So does that mean you can cook us dinner one night?” asked Alex.
“Maybe,” said Katja with a little shrug and a coy smile.
After the tuna was cooked enough, Katja found the stick blender to turn it into mush. She blended it in the pot, tasting and adding some more salt or other things as needed.
“Go get Mandy,” said Katja. “Mark’s asleep or I’d have him taste-test too.”
“It looks gross,” said Alex, peering in the pot at the brown mush. Katja smacked her on the arm.
“Well, you’re not going to be eating it,” said Katja. “I could say the same thing about some of those horrid druid concoctions you make.”
“That’s fair,” said Alex. She left the room, and Katja smiled as memories drifted back to her. She’d had similar conversations with the Alex of the Lighto cycle, only that Alex hadn’t even been good at making druid concoctions. She’d even managed to burn water.
“Mandy, try this,” said Katja, ladling some of the mush into a bowl when Alex reappeared with their daughter. The toddler looked at the mush and wrinkled her tiny nose up.
“Same,” said Alex. Katja stuck her tongue out at her.
“Come on, it’s really quite nice,” said Katja, taking a tiny spoonful of it. She’d been tasting it all along, and she was still very happy with the taste of it. “See? I’ll eat it.” Mandy looked back at her mama, and Katja grinned.
“Oh no,” said Alex. “No way, I’m not eating that.”
“She needs the approval of both of her parents,” said Katja, still grinning at Alex’s discomfort.
“But I don’t like tuna,” said Alex.
“I’m sure you tried that other tuna when you were feeding her earlier,” said Katja.
“Yeah, and it was disgusting,” said Alex.
“And you expected her to like it?” asked Katja. She started poking the spoon towards Alex, much to Mandy’s amusement. “Eat it.”
“No, I refuse to- mmf!” Katja laughed at Alex’s discomfort, but she was pleased that her fiancée at least chewed and swallowed it.
“See? It’s not terrible,” said Katja.
“Alright, I’ll admit that,” said Alex. “That did taste pretty good. Kinda mushy though.”
“Of course it’s mushy, stupid, Mandy doesn’t have teeth yet to eat it with,” said Katja. She turned back to their daughter, still held in Alex’s arms. Her eyes were bright with laughter. “Do you want this yummy food, Mandy?”
Mandy accepted the spoonful, then gurgled happily. Katja grinned, and Alex laughed at her enthusiasm before putting their daughter in a highchair. Katja sat down in front of Mandy with the bowl, and grinned as she fed their daughter. Alex had never seen her so happy.