She turned to face him, a small smile on her face. "They like you," she said. "They really like you." She rested her hands on his shoulders, her gaze flickering up to his. It seemed that of all her siblings, only Poppy had inherited her mother's eyes. "Thank you for coming with me."
He kissed her nose, before looking into her eyes, getting a bit lost. "It was my pleasure. It's not like I would say no."
She was quiet for a moment, her thumb rubbing his jawline, before clearing her throat. "So," she said thoughtfully. "You seem to be getting along with Bee pretty well."
He leaned into her hand easily, the action calming him. "She's pretty adorable. Really sweet kid," he said softly. "Apparently red is the magic color for being fast."
"Obviously," Poppy said, giving him a soft smile. She paused before raising an eyebrow. "But I thought you didn't like kids?"
"I normally don't, but she's pretty easy to deal with," he said, pulling away to sit down on the bed. "So I suppose not all kids are bad."
"Hm," Poppy said quietly, leaning on the windowsill. She paused, biting her lip, clearly a little uncomfortable. "Listen, don't panic when I ask this," she said, her head cocked. "It's just pure curiosity. But..." She hesitated before resting her head back on the wall. "What do you think of having kids? I can't really get a read on you about it." (For some reason, that was really hard for me to type out.)
(It would be hard for me, too, but it's okay because it's really cute) He looked up at her, his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, um... I'd like kids one day," he said slowly, and a bit nervously. "What about you?"
She exhaled, and her shoulders relaxed. "It's kind of a deal breaker for me," she said, tugging on a curl of her hair. She seemed a little uncomfortable, and she dropped her gaze, folding her arms across her chest. "Sorry. That was a little weird."
He stood up, taking her arms. "It's alright. The only thing weird about it is thinking about it. Like, it might happen one day, which is odd to think about." (I feel like Francis would be kinda emotional if he found out he was having a kid.)
"That is weird," she agreed, stepping closer to him. She was quiet for a moment before shrugging smoothly, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear. "But I don't hate it."
"Me neither," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "Y'know, I've never actually discussed having kids with anyone. It's strange..."
"Maybe it's because everyone else assumed," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, I would have definitely thought that you'd say 'no' to having kids before this trip. But Clara and I were talking about how good you were with Bee, and..." She trailed off and shrugged. "I don't know. It got me thinking."
He brushed her hair back thoughtfully. "How soon would you want kids, though?" he asked hesitantly. "Definitely after marriage, but how long after?"
"Hm," she murmured, her head cocked. "I'm flexible, I suppose. Besides, we did just start dating. We're looking pretty far into the future."
He raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Hey, you're the one who brought it up. I was just wondering, for distant future reference."
"Distant future," she said, nodding. "Right. And, you know..." She trailed off before shrugging. "This is all assuming that nothing changes."
Her hands rested on the side of his neck and she watched him for a moment before kissing him lightly, her hair brushing his cheek. "I love you now," she said. "And I don't really see that changing."
